Category Archives: Unseen poetry

Tackling the unseen poem.

Writing about poetry

Don’t tell the story of the poem, appreciate the ideas it expresses.

Don’t point out techniques, rather discuss the effect each technique has on the reader.

Don’t state facts, instead aim to capture your emotional response.

That is all.

 

Unseen poetry mistakes!

I recently came across a scrap of paper  written after correcting a bundle of unseen poetry tests. I may as well commit it to virtual paper before dumping it.

You need to remember the following:

  1. A quality response here will get you a lot more marks than sheer quantity.
  2. Divide your time equally between questions. Students often opt to answer two 10 mark questions (instead of one 20 mark Q) but then write a page long answer for (i) and three or four lines for (ii). It doesn’t take a genius to work out that getting 8 marks for (i) and 2 marks for (ii) (50% average) is a lot less effective than getting 7 marks for (i) and 6 marks for (ii) (65%).  Watch the clock. Take five minutes to analyse the poem, then 7 minutes to answer (i) and 7 minutes to answer (ii) – or just anwer the 20 mark question, writing for 15mins or so.
  3. Read the question carefully – know what’s expected when you’re asked to “write a response to the poem” (see here) and remember if you opt for the two 10 mark questions they’ll be asking you to focus on different aspects of the poem. If you find yourself saying the same thing for both answers THIS IS BAD!  One tip is to rewrite the question in your own words before you start to answer it. This makes you focus before you start to write.
  4. Remember poetry is the ultimate form of aesthetic language – this means that what you say is in many ways less important than HOW you say it. A poet is hyper-aware of the tricks and techniques they can use; aware that language has it’s own music and rhythm and flow. Thus you must identify techniques but more importantly say why the poet has chosen to use a particular technique – what effect do they achieve in using this particular technique???
  5. Zoom in on the poem. Look at the impact of individual words/phrases. A close reading of SOME (not all) of the poem is expected – but don’t worry about ignoring sections of the poem. You don’t need to offer a line by line analysis of the poem – in fact you shouldn’t – you couldn’t possibly in the time given.
  6. Don’t repeat yourself. If you say the same thing twice (even if you phrase it differently), the examiner will simply deduct marks because your answer loses its coherence as soon as you do this.
  7. Avoid slang. You should use FORMAL LANGUAGE for critical analysis – in the same way that you are expected to dress smartly for an interview, you are expected to ‘dress up’ your language for all of Paper 2 (in Paper 1 it depends on the task).

Anyway hope that’s of enough help that I was right to write it down before dumping that scrap of paper.

 

 

 

 

Poetry vs. Song Lyrics

Once upon a time, long long ago, a song and a poem were published side by side on the Junior Cert exam paper, unseen poetry section. Students were asked to discuss the difference between the style of writing in songs and poems. I stumbled across this question in my first year of teaching and thought it was incredibly  unfair to ask something so difficult of 15yr olds. I fancied myself as a singer-songwriter when I was a teenager and as an adult had dabbled in writing poetry but I still had to think long and hard to verbalise the difference between the two. I knew the difference but found it hard to put it into words. In the end I decided the best way to become fully conscious of the differences was to change a poem into a song and then look at how the language changed.

So here’s the poem we chose:

Funeral Blues
W.H. Auden

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,

Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone.

Silence the pianos and with muffled drum

Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

—–

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead

Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead,

Put crépe bows round the white necks of the public
doves,

Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

—–

He was my North, my South, my East and West,

My working week and my Sunday rest,

My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song,

I thought that love would last forever: ‘I was wrong’

—–

The stars are not wanted now, put out every one;

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.

For nothing now can ever come to any good.

We decided that a song would need simpler imagery, everyday slang /direct speech, repetition of key ideas for the chorus, short snappy phrases to create a regular beat/rhythm, end-rhyme, and a bridge before the second chorus. With the help of a rhyming dictionary we butchered it, removed the essence (and lost the beauty). Here’s what we came up with:

Funeral Blues Song Lyrics

All of this noise keeps dragging me down to a place I cannot go,

All of these noises echo in the emptiness of my soul,

Clocks ticking. Phones ringing. Heart beating but I feel so low,

See his face when I close my eyes but then I realise

He ain’t never comin’ home

CHORUS:

I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong, I was wrong.

I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong, I was wrong.

I put my faith in love but I was so naive

Now he is dead and gone and I can only grieve,

I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

—–

Everyone’s life keeps trundling on but I’m here frozen in the street,

You gave me direction, without you I’m lost & lonely & incomplete

The stars burn out. The sun fades out. Oceans weep from my swollen eyes.

Try to find some will to fight on but then I realise

He ain’t ever comin home.

BRIDGE:

And nothing now can ever come to any good.

And nothing now can ever come to any good.

I trusted in forever – I misunderstood

And nothing now can ever come to any good.

CHORUS

I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong, I was wrong.

I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong, I was wrong.

I put my faith in love but I was so naive

Now he is dead and gone and I can only grieve,

I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

—–

I think the comparison illustrates the difference well but something (a lot in fact) does get lost in translation. The sheer force of Auden’s pain is brilliantly captured in the final verse where he imagines the entire universe as a empty house to be abandoned and left behind “pour away the oceans and sweep up the woods” now that his lover is gone. I think a better songwriter than me might be able to keep the beauty of that imagery and still create a catchy love song/lament. I also think that the impact of the desolate final line is lost if you keep repeating it over and over. It’s much more effective to just hear it once and let the sadness sink into your bones.

Unseen poetry

Generally speaking you can answer one 20 mark question or two 10 mark questions so we’ll deal with them separately here.

The 20mark question usually goes a little something like this:

  • Write a personal response to this poem, highlighting the impact it makes on you.
  • Describe the impact this poem makes on you as a reader.

As with studied poetry you are expected to include sentences which use the pronoun I.

  1. Talk about how the poems made you feel.
  2. Identify what they taught you, how they made you look at an issue(s) in a new way.
  3. Mention how these themes are relevant to your life.
  4. Discuss what you enjoyed in the poet’s style of writing

Remember though, no matter what the question, you are expected to quickly figure out the message/theme of the poem, identify some techniques, and comment on the feelings created in the poem and in you. DO NOT go off on a long rambling tangent about how this poem reminds you of this thing that happened to you once. Mention the poem’s relevance to your life in passing but stay focused – your job is to discuss and interpret the poem and how the poem affects you emotionally/intellectually not to talk about yourself (you can do this in Paper 1 QB and essay).  

10 mark questions

Questions on the mood/feelings/atmosphere (see poetic techniques & terminology)

  • What is the mood of this poem and how is it conveyed?
  • How does this poem make you feel? Explain by detailed reference to the poem.
  • How well does the poem capture the boy’s sense of excitement and hope?
  • Choose two phrases which best capture the girl’s feelings. Give reasons for your choices.

Questions on the setting (see language of narration / descriptive writing)

  • Do you like the world that the poet describes in this poem? Give reasons for your answer.

Questions on the imagery/ style of writing (see poetic techniques & terminology)

  • Choose one image/line from this poem that appealed to you. Explain your choice.
  • The poem uses beautiful imagery to capture an ugly reality. Discuss.
  • The poem makes effective use of irony – discuss.

Questions on the poet/speaker/characters in the poem

  • What impression do you get of ….. the poet’s father – the father/son relationship? (see list of character traits).
  • What impact does this childhood experience have on the poet/speaker?
  • What kind of life do you think the speaker lives?

Poetic techniques & terminology

WHAT THEY MEAN AND HOW THEY WORK:

Rather than alphabetical, the following list is organised from simple basic terms & techniques that you must be able to identify and discuss, to more complex ones of which a passing knowledge is sufficient.

  • THEME= the message of the poem; the point the author wishes to make.

eg. In “September 1913”, Yeats points out that Ireland has become a greedy, soulless country & laments that the sacrifices our ancestors made in pursuit of Irish freedom have been forgotten.

  • TOPIC= what the poem is about (the ‘subject matter’).

eg. The topic/subject matter of “I wake and feel the fell of dark” by Hopkins is depression. Sometimes the subject matter of a poem is revealed in the title (“Child”, “Spring”) or alluded to (“Mirror” deals with the topic of vanity & identity).

  • TONE = the attitude of the writer towards his subject matter.

eg. Yeats’ tone is bitter and resentful in “September 1913”; Hopkins tone is awestruck and accusatory in “God’s Grandeur”; Plath’s is both celebratory and cautious in “Morning Song”. The tone can vary; many tones can be contained within a single poem.

  • MOOD = feelings expressed. Includes what the writer/speaker feels AND how the reader feels when they read the poem. May also be related to the atmosphere created..

 eg. In “Felix Randal” the mood varies from relief, to sympathy, to impatience, to acceptance, to comfort, to admiration, and ends with a triumphant and fiercely energetic mood in the space of 14 lines!

NOTE: Tone & mood are closely related. The tone of voice used will often influence the mood/atmosphere. Yeats’ uses a sarcastic tone to reveal his anger and frustration when he says “For men were born to pray and save” in “September 1913”.

HOW DOES A WRITER CREATE A MOOD?

Largely through their choice of words:

  • Colour – white suggests purity & cleanliness; red – passion & sometimes blood/violence; black – darkness & despair; green can suggest envy or nature/new growth; yellow – sunshine or sickness (jaundice); purple – royalty or bruises; grey – depression or poverty; brown – dirt & decay; orange – glow & happiness.

 Obviously, the context in which the colours appear will influence your interpretation of their meaning. “Her yellow face moaned & writhed” suggests illness, pain. “Yellow rays played upon her face” suggests sunshine, energy.  

  •  Positive or negative adjectives – tremendous, delirious, fabulous, heavenly V’s heavy, ugly, rusty, terrible, horrific.
  •  Positive or negative verbs – to shine, to gather, to spring, to capture, to sooth, to comfort, to light, to brood, to bloom, to fill, to meditate, to sing, to skip, to brighten, to build V’s  to flicker, to seep, to swarm, to wring, to fumble, to shiver, to weigh, to scatter, to thread, to fight, to moan, to cry, to ooze, to mock, to break.
  • Rhythm & sound effects – a fast rhythm can suggest excitement, danger or anger (depending on the poem). A poet creates a fast rhythm by (a) using lots of short words (monosyllabic = single syllable), (b) using words which contain the narrow vowel sounds ‘e’ & ‘i’ and (c) repeating guttural ( g ‘guh’ / greed, r ‘ruh’ / riot), harsh ( h ‘hah’ / hate,  c/k ‘kuh’ / cry) or explosive consonants ( b ‘buh’ / bite, p ‘puh’ / pinch) eg. “There’s a dance in Billy Brennan’s Barn tonight” eg. “Why do men then now not reck his rod?

A slow rhythm can suggest relaxation, sadness or disappointment (depending on the poem). A poet creates a slow rhythm by (a) using lots of long words, (b) using words which contain the broad vowel sounds ‘o’, ‘a’ & ‘ee’ and (c) repeating soft consonants ( s ‘ss’ / soft, l ‘el’ / lovely). eg. “When weeds in wheels shoot long and lovely and lush” eg. “I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore” .

  • IMAGERY = the picture the writer creates using words. eg “In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman / Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish” (Plath, “Mirror”). “And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil; / And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell” (Hopkins, “God’s Grandeur”). “Coming with vivid faces / From counter or desk among grey / Eighteenth-century houses” (Yeats’ “Easter 1916”)

 HOW DO YOU WRITE ABOUT IMAGERY:

In order to discuss imagery, you must be willing to comment on the writers choice of words (what does a word suggest to you?) and to describe the picture that is created in your mind by the phrase/image. (In other words, your imagination must be active and at work as you are reading!)        

eg. Plath creates a clear picture of childhood when she says“I want to fill it with colour and ducks / The zoo of the new” Immediately the reader is reminded of bright primary colours, rubber duckies from bath-time, and thrilling trips to the zoo to see exotic animals for the first time.

You may also want to comment on the feelings that this image creates in you. From the example above, my answer might continue…

The emphasis on innocence (everything is “new”) and abundance (when Plath uses the verb “fill”) creates a very optimistic and joyous mood. The use of the word “colour” completes our sense that this is a bright and carefree celebration of the child’s potential to experience everything positive the world has to offer. Finally, the poet’s desire to provide this for her child comes across when she says very simply “I want.

Notice that of the 14 words in the quote, I have commented on 7 of them. I describe the picture the image created in my mind. I comment on the atmosphere (innocence & abundance) and the mood (optimistic, joyous) the words create. I identify both verbs in the sentence (‘fill’ & ‘want’) and the feelings they suggest. Finally, I link this image to the theme of the poem (the overall point Plath makes – that she wants her child to ‘experience everything positive the world has to offer’). 

 Imagery & the senses…

We experience the world through the five senses – taste, touch, sight, smell and sound. If a writer wishes us to feel that we are there beside him, in the experience, he must give us details of smells, sounds, and textures as well as describing what he can see. Look at the following example:

“The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard /And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood”

We can hear the sound of the saw because the poet uses the onomatopoeic words ‘buzz’ ‘snarl’ & ‘rattle’. We can see the exact size of the logs they are cutting because the poet includes the detail ‘stove-length sticks’. We can almost taste and smell the dust in the air.     

Images can be VISUAL – we can see them

Images can be AUDITORY – we can hear them

Images can be TACTILE– we can touch them 

Images can be OLFACTORY – we can smell them

Images can be SENSUOUS – we can feel/taste their texture

Handy phrases:

The image is particularly striking / unusual / eye-catching because……

The writer offers a vivid image of ………….

The poets choice of verbs (‘rush’ & ‘charge’) adds energy & movement.

The description is particularly remarkable because ………….

The poem is full of bright, colourful imagery. The poet uses the words….

The poem is full of dark, haunting images of death and destruction…..

The auditory images in the poem are particularly loud, due to the poets use of onomatopoeia in the line “the buzz saw snarled and rattled”

The image is very sensuous, in its description of “silken velvet thighs”.

The imagery of spring creates a sense of possibility, of new beginnings.

The imagery of winter suggests that the end is nigh / that life is difficult.

The image of the scarecrow suggests poverty & frailty; a pitiful creature.

The image of the Holy Ghost as a mother hen protecting her nest is extremely comforting. It also offers us an interesting perspective on how small and insignificant man is when compared to God.

 TRICKS WITH LANGUAGE:

  • REPETITION = repeating a word or phrase to emphasise its importance/ create a regular rhythm.

eg. “Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone /It’s with O’Leary in the grave.”

The poet repeats the most important point over and over. The line remains lodged in our brains long after we have finished reading (like the chorus of a song). The repetition of this line at the end of every verse makes the poem resemble a ballad, and creates a strong rhythm. This repetition also emphasises the poets certainty.

Effect? Emphasis. Certainty. Rhythm. Idea becomes memorable, lodges in the brain.

  •  PERSONIFICATION = describing an object/idea as though it were alive. Giving it human qualities.

eg. “I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions / Whatever I see I swallow immediately” 

Plath uses personification in the poem “Mirror”. What is the effect? The relationship between the poet and the object comes to life. The sense that one can be devoured by vanity is contained in the word “swallow” and the mirror is likened to a bottomless pit.

Effect? Object/place/idea which is personified becomes a ‘character’, and the poet’s relationship with this object/place/idea takes centre stage. 

Object can appear in a positive (friendly, bright, comforting) or a negative (destructive, cruel, ferocious) light, depending on the description. Idea of objects coming to life can be frightening. Personification can help us to look at an object/place/idea in a new light (see Roddy Doyle’s brilliant use of personification in the short story ‘Brilliant’)

  •  CONTRAST = placing 2 very different things side by side

eg. “Like a trapped bird she hid behind her hair / Confident buxom girls crowded the corridors”

The girl’s isolation seems emphasised when it is contrasted with the friendship these crowds of girls enjoy. Her shyness contrasts with their confidence. Thus, the poet uses contrast to emphasise that this girl is an outsider and doesn’t fit in.

eg. “The world is charged with the grandeur of God / ……Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil…”

Much of Hopkins’ poetry makes use of contrast. The beauty of God’s creation and  man’s destructive disregard for nature are placed side by side. The effect of using this technique is that man’s sins seem even more heinous, and nature’s power to renew itself seems even more admirable.         

 Effect? (a) allows writer to emphasise differences between two things        

           &    (b) highlight the unique characteristics of each. 

  • SYMBOLISM = a word becomes a sign of something other than simply itself.

 e.g. The heart is an organ that pumps blood around the body but it is also a symbol of love. The scorpion is an insect but it can also be a symbol of poisonous evil. A mirror is an object that reflects peoples appearances but it can also be a symbol of vanity. A lion is a dangerous animal but it can also be a symbol of courage.

 e.g. In “September 1913” John O’Leary is a real person who Yeats was friendly with, and who fought for Irish freedom, but he also becomes a symbol of bravery, self-sacrifice and devotion to your country.

Effect? This is a powerful device because it encourages the reader to read deeper layers of meaning into the poem. It also allows the poet to evoke an idea (vanity) without naming it directly. Writers consider this important because they don’t like stating the obvious, or saying things in an overly direct and childlike way.

  •  SIMILE = where the writer compares 2 things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.

 eg. Plath says of her bees “It is the noise that appals me most of all, / The unintelligible syllables. / It is like a Roman mob

Often, the writer will compare two things that on the surface are very different – at first we think that a box full of bees is nothing like a mob of poor people from ancientRome. However, both are dangerous when upset, both find strength in numbers, both can create a buzz of anger and unease, and both feel mistreated by those with power over them.          

 When discussing a simile, first state which two things are being compared; next explain the link/similarities between them. A good simile helps us to understand something more clearly (eg. the bees) by comparing it to something else (the mob). Writers try to avoid similes that are used in everyday speech, however, as they lack originality and have become clichéd – for example “as black as coal”, “sweet like chocolate”, “run like the wind”, “as strong as an ox”.

Effect? Helps the reader to form a vivid picture. Reader can quickly understand what an object is like by linking it in their minds to something else.

  • METAPHOR = where two things are said to be the same.

eg. Seamus Heaney in “Bogland” declares “The ground itself is kind, black butter”. Obviously, the bog is not made of butter, but by saying that that the ground IS butter, instead of saying the ground is LIKE butter, the comparison becomes more direct, forceful, and certain. In other words, many writers prefer metaphors to similes, because they think they are more powerful!   

Other examples which should help you to clarify the difference between metaphors and similes e.g. “a blanket of mist” instead of “mist like a blanket” e.g. “the eyes are the mirror of the soul” instead of “the eyes are like a mirror” e.g. “the yellow smoke…licked it’s tongue into the corners of the evening” instead of “the yellow smoke was like a  tongue”.    

Effect? Helps the reader to form a vivid picture. Reader can quickly understand what an object is like by linking it in their minds to something else.

NOTE: Similes/metaphors make a poet’s imagery more vivid / effective.

  •  ALLUSION = where the writer makes reference to ‘well-known’ figures or events from literature, history or mythology.

 eg. In “Easter 1916” Yeats makes reference to Padraic Pearse: “This man had kept a school / And rode our winged horse”. In “Spring”Hopkinsrefers to the biblical story of Adam & Eve’s fall from grace, and the subsequent infection of the world with sin: “A strain of the earth’s sweet being in the beginning /In Eden garden…”

Effect? The writer gives the impression that he is very educated and knowledgeable, and as a result the reader is more likely to respect his opinion and believe that he has something important to say. By connecting his work to previous important events and famous works of literature, the writer indirectly suggests that his work belongs on a par with them. The meaning of the poem also gains a greater depth and significance through reference to similar historical/literary events/figures. If the reader is unfamiliar with the reference, this can rouse his/her curiosity. However, if a writer uses allusion too often, or refers to obscure or difficult sources, the reader can become confused & frustrated, and begin to feel stupid, because they don’t ‘get’ it.

NOTE: Lots of television programmes now make extensive use of allusion. “The Simpsons” frequently makes reference to well-known celebrities, historical figures & historical events. “Killnaskully” recently based an entire episode on the story of the John B. Keane play “The Field”. If you ‘get’ the reference, the episode (or poem) becomes funnier or more meaningful. If you don’t, it can be hard to make sense of it and thus excessive use of allusion can be frustrating for the reader – but you can always find out what it means and then the poem has another layer mof meaning for you to access.

  •  HYPERBOLE = the deliberate use of exaggeration.

eg. Wordsworth, in the poem “The Daffodils” says “ten thousand saw I at a glance” in order to emphasise their sheer number and create drama for the reader. Hyperbole can also add humour – “he had an arse like an elephant and a personality to match” or emphasise the strength of a person’s feelings  – “football isn’t just a matter of life and death; it’s more important than that”. However, if used too often, it loses its effect.

Effect? Adds drama, humour and/or emphasis.

  • AMBIGUITY = where words/sentences have more than one meaning/ are open to numerous interpretations.

 eg. Kavanagh, in the poem “Inniskeen Rd…” says “A road, a mile of kingdom I am king / Of banks and stones and every blooming thing.” 

In this example the word “blooming” creates the ambiguity because the word can mean ‘to grow’ – so he is king of every growing thing in nature OR the word “blooming” can be a curse – so he is king of every bloody thing! This makes it difficult for the reader to decide if he is happy or upset.

Poets often make their poetry ambiguous (open to various interpretations) deliberately. In this example, Kavanagh was happy to be left alone on the road because it inspired him – what ‘bloomed’ or grew from the experience was this poem. Yet he was also sad that he didn’t fit in, that he was always alone – and that is why he curses. Thus, the writer uses ambiguity to explain to us that he felt TWO WAYSabout this experience – both happy and sad.

Effect? Poems can mean different things to different people. Writers use ambiguity to point out that our feelings, our experiences, and our words are not always simple and straightforward – sometimes they mean more than one thing to us! Writers can express the complexity of their feelings or ideas by deliberately creating an ambiguous statement. For example, Yeats’ attitude towards the 1916 Rising: “a terrible beauty is born”. The violence & bloodshed is terrible, but the rebels’ devotion to Irish freedom and their willingness to fight for what they believe in is beautiful.        

  • RHETORICAL Q = a Q that doesn’t require a response (a statement disguised as a question). 

eg. Yeats asks “Was it for this the wild geese spread… /For this that all that blood was shed?” but the unspoken, implied answer is emphatically NO.

Usually, the tone of rhetorical questions is one of outrage and disbelief “Are we barbaric enough to bring back capital punishment?”

 Effect? By asking a rhetorical question, (and suggesting that the answer is so obvious that no-one need even answer), the writer implies that anyone who disagrees with him is a fool.

 SOUND EFFECTS

  • ALLITERATION = the repetition of the same letter at the beginning of a series of words. Eg. “Billy Brennan’s Barn”

Effect? Depends on the letter – see above.  Our eye is drawn to the repetition of the same letter, and our ear perks up when we hear the same sound repeated. Used for emphasis, and for the musical effect it creates.

  • ONOMATOPOEIA = words whose sound imitates their meaning. eg. “buzz, tinkle, rattle, stutter, whisper, bang”

Effect? The reader can hear what is being described. Auditory images (those which appeal to our sense of hearing) bring a description to life.

  • ASSONANCE  = the repetition of similar vowel sounds.

Effect? Alters speed/rhythm of the line. See above (fast/slow rhythm).