ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE
GRADE 12
POETRY
2021-2022
CONTENTS
1. ASSASSINATION BY DON LEE (HAKI MADHUBUTI)
2
Questions
4
2. DULCE ET DECORUM EST BY WILFRED OWEN
6
Questions
8
3. I HAVE MY FATHER’S VOICE BY CHRIS VAN WYK
12
Questions
15
4. LOST OR FOUND WORLD BY MONGANE WALLY SEROTE
17
Questions
19
5. LOVE’S FAREWELL BY MICHAEL DRAYTON
21
Questions
23
6. NIGHTSONG: CITY BY DENNIS BRUTUS
25
Questions
27
7. PENGUIN ON THE BEACH
28
Questions
30
8. PORTRAIT OF A LOAF OF BREAD BY OSWALD MTSHALI
33
Questions
35
9. REFUGEE BLUES BY W H AUDEN
38
Questions
41
10. SONNET 71 BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
43
Questions
45
11. THE CRY OF SOUTH AFRICA (WAR IS HELL) BY OLIVE SCHREINER
47
Questions
49
12. THE TENANT BY NA NGULUBE
51
Questions
53
13. THE WIND BEGUN TO ROCK THE GRASS BY EMILY DICKENSON
56
Questions
58
14. TO ALTHEA, FROM PRISON BY RICHARD LOVELACE
60
Questions
62
15. TOUCH BY HUGH LEWIN
64
Questions
67
16. ULLYSES – ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON
70
Questions
73
17. TO THE NIGHT BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
77
Questions
79
18. NOBODY LOSES ALL THE TIME BY E CUMMINGS
81
Questions
83
19. MY LAST DUCHESS BY ROBERT BROWNING
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Questions
88
1. Assassination by Don Lee (Haki Madhubuti)
it was wild.
the bullet hit high.
(the throat-neck)
&from everywhere:
the motel, from under blushes and cars,
from around corners and across streets,
out of the garbage cans and from rat holes
in the earth
they came running.
with
guns
drawn
they came running
5
10
toward the King-all of them
fast and sure-as if
the King
was going to fire back.
they came running,
fast and sure,
in the
wrong
direction.
2
15
20
3
Questions
1. Consider the message of the poem and comment on the effectiveness of the first line.
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2. Describe the tone of the poem by drawing on evidence from the text to support
your answer.
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3. What effect is created by the poet’s use of capitalisation?
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4. In line 8 reference is made to hiding places. What do the hiding places imply about
those who chose to conceal themselves in them?
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5. Suggest reasons why the poet refers to the victim as ‘the king’.
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4
6. How does the poet find solace in this specific release?
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7. Study the photograph below which was taken moments after Martin L. King was shot on
April 4th, 1968. In this photograph MLK is lying on the floor of the hotel balcony,
surrounded by civil rights leaders. In a well-developed paragraph, discuss how the
photograph enhances your understanding of the poem.
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5
2. Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
5
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of five-nines dropping softly behind.
Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
10
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
15
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
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If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
25
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori - Latin phrase is from the Roman poet Horace: “It is sweet and
fitting to die for one’s country.”
6
7
Questions
1. Summarise what the poem is about in no more than 4 sentences.
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2. Explain the meaning of the title of the poem. What, at first, does it suggest about the
mood and subject of the poem?
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3. How does the poet make an impact on the reader in the first two lines of the text? Identify
the 2 similes used and explain what they tell us about the soldiers.
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4. Having read these lines, what does the reader now understand concerning the real tone of
the title of the poem? Validate your answer by referencing the text.
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8
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5. How does the poet develop the description of the soldiers in lines 3 to 7? Refer to at least
one example of metaphor, and the use of either repetition or word choice in your answer.
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6. Explain how the pace of the poem changes at the start of Stanza Two. How and why does
the poet change the pace? (Consider the use of sentence structure and what he is trying to
imitate)
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7. Consider the use of the adjective “clumsy” in line 10. Why is it effective?
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8. Explain what is being described in lines 10 to 14. How does the poet use language in lines
11 and 12 to convey the way in which the soldier is moving? Find a quote to back up your
answer.
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9
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9. Examine lines 13 to 14. How does Owen effectively convey his view of the event he is
describing?
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10. Discuss how the use of diction in lines 15 – 16 portrays the impact of this event on the
speaker.
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11. Who is the poet addressing in Stanza Four? Why does he do this?
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12. Comment on the use of the word, “flung” in Line 18. What does it suggest about the
soldiers and the way the dying man is treated?
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10
13. Select one image from lines 17 – 23 that conveys the horror of the man’s death and discuss
why it is effective.
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14. How is the poet’s message emphasised in the closing lines (25 to 28) of the poem? In your
answer, explain how the poem’s title is negated.
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11
3. I have my Father’s voice by Chris van Wyk
When I walk into a room
where my father has just been
I fill the same spaces he did
from the elbows on the table
to the head thrown back
5
and when we laugh we aim the guffaw
at the same space in the air.
Before anybody has told me this I know
because I see myself through
my father's eyes.
10
When I was a pigeon-toed boy
my father used his voice
to send me to bed
to run and buy the newspaper
to scribble my way through matric.
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He also used his voice for harsher things:
to bluster when we made a noise
when the kitchen wasn't cleaned after supper
when I was out too late.
Late for work, on many mornings,
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one sock in hand, its twin
an angry glint in his eye he flings
dirty clothes out of the washing box:
vests, jeans, pants and shirts shouting
anagrams of fee fo fi fum until he is up
to his knees in a stinking heap of laundry.
I have my father's voice too
And his fuming temper
And I shout as he does.
12
25
But I spew the words out
30
in pairs of alliteration
and an air of assonance.
Everything a poet needs
my father has bequeathed me
except the words.
13
35
14
Questions
1. Comment on the style of the poem.
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2. List the ways in which the speaker is similar to his father. Why are these comparisons being
made?
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3. Refer to the text, “we aim the guffaw at the same space in the air” in lines 6-7. How does this
expression enhance the imagery in the poem?
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4. What is the significance of the speaker being a “pigeon-toed boy” (line 11)?
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5. When the poet reflects on his childhood, does he reveal any academic effort? Quote to
substantiate your answer.
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15
6. The poet speaks of ‘one sock in hand’ (line 21), where is the other sock? Explain your
reasoning.
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7. What is an anagram? In what way could ‘fee fo fi fum’ (line 25) be an anagram?
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8. Explain the meaning of the last 3 lines of the poem.
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16
4. Lost or Found World by Mongane Wally Serote
Skies of truth are now scenes
At the mercy of my curtain eyes,
I wink often more often
To draw the curtains
To cut and forget the skies.
5
The sea of identity is tears
A too salty expression
Bleeding my blue veins that’s my pen,
On the loose sand that shall sip,
And the wind shall help cover it,
10
From the needy arteries.
Mountains of hope are flowers,
Passes attracting cars like bees,
For the precious modern honey,
That is money.
15
This modern madness
Snaps flowers from their stems
Leaves dry dead bodies, walking up the street.
Old wishes is present deeds,
Bright with blinding for old
Dark with wonder for the new,
That’s where we are
Lost or found world.
17
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18
Questions
1. Provide a possible explanation for the use of enjambment in lines 1-2 of the poem.
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2. What does the reluctance at looking at the ‘skies of truth’ convey about the speaker’s view
of the modern world?
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3. Refer to the metaphor to line 6 “The sea of identity is tears”. Explain what makes this
metaphor an appropriate comparison?
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4. What effect does the repetition of the ‘s’ sound have in line 9?
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5. Identify the tone of lines 8-11. With close reference to the poem explain your choice.
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19
6. Analyse the structure of lines 12-15. What effect is achieved?
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7. What does the speaker mean by the term “modern madness”? What does this reveal about
the speaker’s attitude?
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8. How does the statement made in line 19 relate to the title of the poem?
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20
5. Love’s Farewell by Michael Drayton
SINCE there’s no help, come let us kiss and part—
Nay I have done, you get no more of me;
And I am glad, yea, glad with all my heart,
That thus so cleanly I myself can free;
Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows,
5
And when we meet at any time again,
Be it not seen in either of our brows
That we one jot of former love retain.
Now at the last gasp of love’s latest breath,
When his pulse failing, passion speechless lies,
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When faith is kneeling by his bed of death,
And innocence is closing up his eyes,
—Now if thou would’st, when all have given him over,
From death to life thou might’st him yet decover!
Never give all the Heart by William Butler Yeats
Never give all the heart, for love
Will hardly seem worth thinking of
To passionate women if it seem
Certain, and they never dream
That it fades out from kiss to kiss;
5
For everything that’s lovely is
But a brief, dreamy, kind delight.
O never give the heart outright,
For they, for all smooth lips can say,
Have given their hearts up to the play.
And who could play it well enough
If deaf and dumb and blind with love?
He that made this knows all the cost,
For he gave all his heart and lost.
21
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Questions
1. Who is the speaker addressing in the poem? Quote to support your answer.
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2. Why do you think the word “glad’ is repeated in line 3?
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3. Explain how the poet uses hyperbole to convey his message.
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4. Personification is extensively used in lines 9-12. What effect is the poet trying to achieve
through this use personification in lines 9-12? Substantiate your answer.
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5. The poet uses a dash on two occasions. Explain how the function of the dash in line 2
is different to the function of the dash in line 13.
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23
6. Refer to the structure of both “Loves” Farewell” and “Never give all the heart” by WB
Yeats and comment on which of these poems represent the theme of romantic love more
effectively.
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7. In two sentences, explain the meaning of the poem. Substantiate your answer using evidence
from the poem.
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8. Discuss, in detail, the form of the poem ‘Love’s Farewell’.
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24
6. Nightsong: City by Dennis Brutus
Sleep well, my love, sleep well:
the harbor lights glaze over restless docks,
police cars cockroach through the tunnel streets;
from the shanties¹ creaking iron-sheets
violence like a bug-infested rag is tossed
and fear is imminent² as sound in the wind-swung bell;
the long day’s anger pants from sand and rocks;
but for this breathing night at least,
my land, my love, sleep well.
1 shanties: shacks
2 imminent: existing within, inevitable, ingrained
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5
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Questions
1. In “Nightsong: City,” who does the poet refer to as “my love”? Substantiate your answer.
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2. Explain, with sound reasoning, how the poet feels about South Africa?
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3. Poets often use imagery to add to the mood or meaning of a poem. How does Brutus go about
creating imagery in the poem “Nightsong: City”? Comment on the use of emotive language in the
poem. Discuss their purpose and varied meaning. For example: What impression does the word,
'restless' (line 2) suggest about life on the docks?
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4. The title of the poem is ironic. To what extent do you agree with the above statement? Justify
your response with reference to the poem as a whole.
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27
7. Penguin on the Beach
Stranger in his own element,
Sea-casualty, the castaway manikin
Waddles in his tailored coat-tails. Oil
Has spread a deep commercial stain
Over his downy shirt front. Sleazy, grey,
5
It clogs the sleekness. Far too well
He must recall the past, to be so cautious:
Watch him step into the waves. He shudders
Under the froth; slides, slips, on the wet sand,
Escaping to dryness, dearth, in a white cascade,
10
An involuntary shouldering off of gleam.
Hands push him back into the sea. He stands
In pained and silent expostulation.
Once he knew a sunlit, leaping smoothness,
But close with his head’s small knoll, and dark,
15
He retains the image: Oil on sea,
Green slicks, black lassoos of sludge
Sleeving the breakers in a stain-spread scarf.
He shudders now from the clean flinching wave,
Turns and plods back up the yellow sand,
Ineffably wary, triumphantly sad.
He is immensely wise: he trusts nobody. His senses
Are clogged with experience. He eats
Fish from the Saviour’s hands, and it tastes black.
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Questions
1. In light of the content of the first stanza of the poem, brainstorm possible reasons for the
personification of the penguin.
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2. Explain what the words ‘castaway’ and ‘casualty’ indicate about the penguin and discuss the
cause of the penguin’s misfortune. (Stanza 1)
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3. Analyse the diction found in stanza 2 and discuss how it aids in conveying the speaker’s
attitude and feelings towards commercial greed (eg: the oil industry) and its impact on the
environment.
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4. Comment on the effect the use of alliteration has in the last line of stanza 3.
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5. Account for the use of commas found in the first line of stanza 4.
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6. Quote a simile found in stanza 6 and comment on its ability to visually represent an oil slick.
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7. By referring directly to the poem, discuss how it can be seen as a commentary on both
society and religion.
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8. With reference to the poem, explain how the poet established the tone of the poem.
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9. Account for the use of enjambment found throughout the poem.
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8. Portrait of a loaf of bread by Oswald Mtshali
Look back to the rolling fields
Waving golden-topped wheat stalks
Mowed by the reaper’s scythe,
Bundled into sheaves
Carted to the mill
5
And ground into flour.
Kneaded into mountains of dough
To be churned by rollers
And spat into pans as red hot
As Satan’s cauldron.
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Brought to the café,
Warmly wrapped in cellophane,
By “East Fresh Bread” bakery van;
For the waiting cook to slice and toast
To butter and to marmalade
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For the food-bedecked breakfast table
Whilst the laborer
With fingers caked with
Wet cement of a builder’s scaffold
Mauls a hunk and cold drink
And licks his lips and laughs
“Man can live on bread a lone.”
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Questions
1. Analyse the first 3 lines of the poem and discuss how a change of mood is achieved in these
lines.
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2. How does the use of figurative language in lines 9-10 contribute to the tone of the poem?
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3. Consider the placement of the last four lines of stanza one and discuss the possible image
created.
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4. Discuss the contrast of content between stanzas 1 and 2.
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5. There is a definite change of mood from the last two lines of stanza 1 and the whole of stanza
2. Discuss a possible reason for this.
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6. Stanza 3 introduces yet another contrast, changing in tone from that of stanza 2. Discuss how
this is achieved.
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7. Explain the sardonic irony of the last two lines of the poem.
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8. Consider the cartoons below and comment on how each one speaks to the message of the
poem. Cartoon 2 requires you to think on a macro scale.
Cartoon A:
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Cartoon B:
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9. What connotation is made by the words ‘food-bedecked’ (line 17), and how does this
contribute to the message of the poem?
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9. Refugee Blues by W H Auden
Say this city has ten million souls,
Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes:
Yet there's no place for us, my dear, yet there's no place for us.
Once we had a country and we thought it fair,
Look in the atlas and you'll find it there:
5
We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now.
In the village churchyard there grows an old yew,
Every spring it blossoms anew:
Old passports can't do that, my dear, old passports can't do that.
The consul banged the table and said,
10
"If you've got no passport you're officially dead":
But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive.
Went to a committee; they offered me a chair;
Asked me politely to return next year:
But where shall we go to-day, my dear, but where shall we go to-day?
15
Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said;
"If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread":
He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me.
Thought I heard the thunder rumbling in the sky;
It was Hitler over Europe, saying, "They must die":
O we were in his mind, my dear, O we were in his mind.
Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin,
Saw a door opened and a cat let in:
But they weren't German Jews, my dear, but they weren't German Jews.
38
20
Went down the harbour and stood upon the quay,
25
Saw the fish swimming as if they were free:
Only ten feet away, my dear, only ten feet away.
Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the trees;
They had no politicians and sang at their ease:
They weren't the human race, my dear, they weren't the human race.
30
Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors,
A thousand windows and a thousand doors:
Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours.
Stood on a great plain in the falling snow;
Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro:
35
Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me
Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors,
A thousand windows and a thousand doors:
Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours.
Stood on a great plain in the falling snow;
Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro:
Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me
39
40
40
Questions
1. Considering the context of the poem, provide a reason for the choice of title.
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2. What does stanza 1 and 2 reveal about the position of the speaker? Substantiate your answer
by referring to stanza 1 and 2.
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"In the village churchyard there grows an old yew, Every spring it blossoms anew: Old passports
can't do that, my dear, old passports can't do that."
3. What is the connection between the yew tree and the passports?
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4. The poet uses a refrain at the end of each stanza. For what purpose does the poet use the
refrain?
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_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. What is the implication of the word “anew”?
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"If you've no passport you're officially dead."
6. What is the purpose of this line in the context of the poem?
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41
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"If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread."
7. Examine line 17. What is suggested by this statement? Make specific reference to the diction
used.
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_______________________________________________________________________________________
"Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin, Saw a door opened and a cat let in: But they
weren't German Jews, my dear, but they weren't German Jews."
8. What is the “pin” the poet refers to and why does he make specific mention of it?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"Went down to the harbour and stood upon the quay."
9. For what reason would the couple have gone to the harbour?
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"Walked through the wood, saw the birds in the trees; They had no politicians and sang at their
ease."
10. Explain why the poet refers to “woods”, “birds” and “politicians”.
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42
10. Sonnet 71 by William Shakespeare
No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell
Give warning to the world that I am fled
From this vile world with vilest worms to dwell:
Nay, if you read this line, remember not
5
The hand that writ it, for I love you so,
That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot,
If thinking on me then should make you woe.
O! if, I say, you look upon this verse,
When I perhaps compounded am with clay,
10
Do not so much as my poor name rehearse;
But let your love even with my life decay;
Lest the wise world should look into your moan,
And mock you with me after I am gone.
Modern translation
Do not mourn for me when I am dead longer
Than the sound of the surly funeral bell that you hear
That announces to the world that I have fled
From dwelling in this low world with the lowest worms:
No, if you read this line, do not remember
5
The hand that wrote it, for I love you so much
That I would rather be forgotten by your sweet thoughts
If thinking about me would cause you sadness.
Oh if, I say, you look at this poem
When I am perhaps mingling with clay ,
Do not repeat so much as my poor name,
But let your love decay with my life,
So that the wise world doesn't investigate your moaning
And mock you for your association with me after I am gone.
43
10
44
Questions
1. What is the significance of “the surly sullen bell” (Line 2)?
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2. Explain in detail (reference the poetic technique/s) how line 4 adds rhythm to the sonnet.
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3. What type of rhyme scheme do English sonnets usually have?
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4. By commenting on the tone and choice of diction, explain how the poet expresses a deep
sadness about his inevitable death.
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5. Identify and explain the meter used in the poem.
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45
6. With reference to question 5, explain how this meter impacts the rhythm of the poem.
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7. What important feeling or idea is shared in the last two lines of the poem?
'Lest the wise world should look into your moan,
And mock you with me after I am gone.'
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8. What is a possible theme or main message that Shakespeare is communicating in Sonnet 71?
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9. Critically analyse the structure and form of the poem. Be sure to cover a range of poetic
techniques in your response.
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46
11. The Cry of South Africa (War is hell) by Olive Schreiner
Give back my dead!
They who by kop and fountain
First saw the light upon my rocky breast!
Give back my dead,
The sons who played upon me
5
When childhood’s dews still rested on their heads.
Give back my dead
Whom thou hast riven from me
By arms of men loud called from earth’s farthest bound
To wet my bosom with my children’s blood!
Give back my dead,
The dead who grew upon me!
47
10
48
Questions
1. Comment on the use of the word “cry” in the title. Focus on the relevance and effectiveness
of the word as it relates to the poem.
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2. How does the exclamation mark in line 1 link to the title of the poem? Make reference to tone
and grammar in your answer.
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3. Identify the speaker of the poem. How is the use of this form of speaker effective in relaying
the poet’s message? Substantiate your answer by referring to the diction used.
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4. Explain why the poet uses anaphora in the poem. How does this impact the message or
theme of the poem?
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49
5. What is a ‘kop’ (line 2) and what meaning does the use of this word contribute to the poem?
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6. What figure of speech is used frequently throughout the poem? Explain its effectiveness,
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7. Enjambment is used in lines 8-11. Explain what effect this creates in the poem?
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50
12. The Tenant by Na Ngulube
There is no room for you
in my heart. The only tenant
who ever lived there left
some luggage behind.
I didn’t even evict her. She
5
simply left without a word.
I keep hoping she will come
back and collect the luggage
or at least arrange for disposal
clean out the place, throw out
10
old memories.
I could possibly live with
The marks on the walls. Some
are completely indelible
some I even like.
But you see I am afraid that
If it all goes, what will I do
With all that empty space.
51
15
52
Questions
1. Provide a reason for the choice of title considering the context of the poem.
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2. The word ‘luggage’ (line 4) has several connotations. Explain two connotations that would be
fitting in the poem.
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3. Analyse stanza two and explain what impact its structure has within the poem.
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4. Provide a reason for the enjambment in stanza 3.
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5. Explain what impact the words ‘throw out’ in line 10 have on the poem.
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53
6. Identify the figure of speech in line 13 and explain how it enriches the meaning of the stanza.
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7. Explain what value the conjunction ‘But’ brings at the start of the final stanza.
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8. With the poem in mind, explain how the cartoon below may serve to illustrate the feelings
expressed by the speaker.
http://ift.tt/2uGJ3PH
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54
9. Consider the quotation and the cartoon below. In a short paragraph explain how both can
apply to the speaker in the poem.
“Better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.”
https://www.cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=37945
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55
13. The wind begun to rock the grass by Emily Dickenson
The wind begun to rock the grass
With threatening tunes and low—
He flung a menace at the earth—
A menace at the sky.
1
The leaves unhooked themselves from trees—
And started all abroad;
The dust did scoop itself like hands
And throw away the road.
5
The wagons quickened on the streets,
The thunder hurried slow—
The lightning showed a yellow beak
And then a livid claw.
The birds put up the bars to nests—
The cattle fled to barns—
There came one drop of giant rain
And then as if the hands
That held the dams had parted hold
The waters wrecked the sky,
But overlooked my father's house—
Just quartering a tree—
56
10
15
20
57
Questions
1. Personification is used extensively throughout the poem. What effect does this use of
comparison have on the poem?
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_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. In what way/s does the use of personification impact the meaning of the poem?
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3. Consider the word “wrecked” in line 18. Would you consider this an apt word to describe
how the water impacted the sky? Explain your reasoning.
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4. Considering the meaning of the adjective ‘livid’ in line 12, what is suggested by this
description of the claw?
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5. Consider the extensive use of the dash in the poem. Why would Dickenson use the dash over
a comma, semicolon, or full stop? In your answer, reflect on the functions of end-stopped
lines and enjambment.
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58
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6. Evaluate the following assessment of “The wind begun to rock the grass” and discuss
whether you agree with this interpretation of the poem, drawing on evidence from the text to
substantiate your response.
“In the poem, Dickinson uses the power of nature to represent humanity and its capacity for
destruction.” (Taken from THE COMPLETE IEB POETRY RESOURCE BOOK Ed6_5 Sample Section)
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7. What effect is created by the use of dashes in the final two lines of the poem, and what
impact does this have on its meaning? (Taken from THE COMPLETE IEB POETRY RESOURCE BOOK
Ed6_5 Sample Section)
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59
14. To Althea, From Prison by Richard Lovelace
When Love with unconfinèd wings
Hovers within my Gates,
And my divine Althea brings
To whisper at the Grates;
When I lie tangled in her hair,
And fettered to her eye,
The Gods that wanton in the Air,
Know no such Liberty.
When flowing Cups run swiftly round
With no allaying Thames,
Our careless heads with Roses bound,
Our hearts with Loyal Flames;
When thirsty grief in Wine we steep,
When Healths and draughts go free,
Fishes that tipple in the Deep
Know no such Liberty.
When (like committed linnets) I
With shriller throat shall sing
The sweetness, Mercy, Majesty,
And glories of my King;
When I shall voice aloud how good
He is, how Great should be,
Enlargèd Winds, that curl the Flood,
Know no such Liberty.
Stone Walls do not a Prison make,
Nor Iron bars a Cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an Hermitage.
If I have freedom in my Love,
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone that soar above,
Enjoy such Liberty.
60
5
10
15
20
25
30
61
Questions
1. What do you think is the importance of the repetition of the word “when” in the poem?
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2. Why do you think Lovelace chose the name Althea? Why didn't he give the name of the real
woman he supposedly loved (Lucy)?
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3. Identify words and phrases that proves the poet’s support of the king.
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4. Why is the poem subtle, at times, in its support for the king? Why does the speaker not
flamboyantly mention his loyalty to the king?
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5. What is the importance of the natural world for this speaker?
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6. Explain the phrase “committed linnets”. Suggest a reason why the poet would use this
comparison.
62
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7. Lovelace says it is impossible for his captors to imprison his mind. Is such a freedom of the
mind true for all human beings or are some people prisoners of an idea? Explain your
answer.
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8. Identify and explain the paradox in the poem.
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9. Identify and explain elements of cavalier poetry present in the poem.
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10. What does the word “hermitage” mean? Explain why the poet may have chosen this word?
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63
15. Touch by Hugh Lewin
When I get out
I’m going to ask someone
to touch me
very gently please
and slowly,
I want
to learn again
how life feels.
I’ve not been touched
for seven years
for seven years
I’ve been untouched
out of touch
and I’ve learnt
to know
the meaning of
untouchable.
Untouched-not quite
I can count the things
that have touched me
One: fists
at the beginning
fierce mad fists
beating beating
till I remember
screaming
don’t touch me
please don’t touch me.
Two; paws
The first four years of paws
every day
patting paws, searching
- arms up, shoes off
legs apart prodding paws, systematic
heavy, indifferent
probing away
all privacy.
64
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
I don’t want fists and paws
I want
to want to be touched
again
and to touch
I want to feel alive
again
I want to say
when I get out
here I am
please touch me.
65
40
45
66
Questions
1. What are the implications of equating ‘touch’ with ‘how life feels’?
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2. Discuss the contrast between the diction used to describe ‘touch’ in lines 4 and 5 and the
diction used to describe ‘touch’ in lines 24 and 37. What does the choice of words in both
instances tell us about the relationship between the person being touched and the person
doing the touching?
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3. Discuss the similarities and/or differences between ‘I’ve not been touched’ and ‘I’ve been
touched’ (lines 10 and 13). Provide clear reasoning for your response.
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4. Why does the speaker call himself ‘untouchable’ (line 18)?
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5. What punctuation mark is used in line 19, and what is its effect in this context?
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67
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6. What effect does the ‘list’ the speaker starts writing in lines 22 to 30 have on the poem?
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7. What possible connotations are associated with the word ‘paws’ in line 31, and how does this
influence our interpretation of this part of the poem?
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8. Why does the speaker say, ‘I want to/ want to be touched’ (lines 41-42) instead of ‘I want to
be touched’? Substantiate your answer.
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9. Offer one effective example of alliteration and one of onomatopoeia from the poem. Discuss
their effectiveness in context.
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68
10. Look at the apparent contradiction in lines 10 and 19-21: at first the poet says, I’ve not been
touched’, then he says ‘Untouched – not quite/ I can count the things/ that have touched me’.
Explain why the speaker phrases his experiences and desires this way.
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11. What punctuation mark is used in line 22, and what is its function?
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12. Identify the figure of speech in line 24 and explain what impact this poetic technique and the
lack of punctuation have on the meaning in this section of the poem.
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13. Discuss the effect the lack of punctuation has on the poem as a whole. Include all relevant
reasoning.
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69
16. Ullyses – Alfred, Lord Tennyson
It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
5
I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees: All times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone, on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
10
Vext the dim sea: I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honour'd of them all;
15
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
20
For ever and forever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life! Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
25
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
70
30
This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle,—
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil
35
This labour, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro' soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
40
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
45
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me—
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads—you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;
50
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
55
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
60
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
65
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
71
70
72
Questions
1. Comment on the metre and how it affects the mood in the first stanza.
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2. With reference to the choice of words, explain Ulysses’ opinion of his own people.
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3. Explain the metaphor Ulysses uses in lines 6-7 to describe himself.
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3.1 Determine the function of the colon in line 7.
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3.2 The colon is followed by an example of antithesis. Explain the antithesis and why it has been
used.
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73
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4. What are Ulysses’ reasons for describing himself as “idle”?
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5. Why would the description “savage race” be ironic?
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6. Explain in your words what Ulysses wants to do.
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7. How does the description of the life Ulysses yearns for reveal his personality?
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8. Describe Ulysses relationship with his son.
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9. Comment on the use of the following sound devices:
9.1 the alliteration in “drunk delight of battle” and
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9.2 the onomatopoeia in “ringing plains of windy Troy”.
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10. Of what figure of speech is ‘eternal silence’ an example? Why does he use this expression
instead of simply saying “death”?
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11. Comment on the use of the following adjectives found in lines 28-31: vile, grey and sinking.
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12. What is Ulysses’ relationship with his mariners? Substantiate your answer.
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13. Explain, in your own words, what Ulysses means when he says, “Old age hath yet his honour
and his toil;” line 50.
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14. How does Ulysses see the prospect of death. Support your answer with close reference to the
text.
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15. What does the line “Not becoming men that strove with Gods” tell us about the kind of life
and adventures that Ulysses has experienced?
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16. Discuss the rhythm in the lines “The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep/ Moans
the round with many voices”. Consider what techniques Tennyson uses to achieve this rhythm.
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17. Summarise Ulysses’ purpose as expressed in lines 59-61.
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17. To the Night by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Swiftly walk over the western wave,
Spirit of Night!
Out of the misty eastern cave
Where, all the long and lone daylight,
Thou wovest dreams of joy and fear
Which make thee terrible and dear,—
Swift be thy flight!
Wrap thy form in a mantle gray,
Star-inwrought;
Blind with thine hair the eyes of Day,
Kiss her until she be wearied out:
Then wander o'er city and sea and land,
Touching all with thine opiate wand—
Come, long-sought!
When I arose and saw the dawn,
I sigh'd for thee;
When light rode high, and the dew was gone,
And noon lay heavy on flower and tree,
And the weary Day turn'd to his rest
Lingering like an unloved guest,
I sigh'd for thee.
Thy brother Death came, and cried,
"Wouldst thou me?"
Thy sweet child Sleep, the filmy-eyed,
Murmur'd like a noontide bee,
"Shall I nestle near thy side?
Wouldst thou me?"—And I replied,
"No, not thee!"
Death will come when thou art dead,
Soon, too soon;
Sleep will come when thou art fled:
Of neither would I ask the boon
I ask of thee, belovèd Night—
Swift be thine approaching flight,
Come soon, soon!
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Questions
1. What does the form of the title of the poem reflect about its content? (How would it be
different if it were ‘To the night’?)
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2. Identify and explain the Figure of Speech in line 4.
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3. Explain the effect the use of exclamation marks have throughout the poem.
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4. In what ways does the use of extended personification strengthen the poem? Give examples
from the poem to support your answer.
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5. Explain why the poet has used a semicolon to end-stop line 16. Remember to anchor your
answer in the text.
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6. Identify the word in line 18 that suggests the speaker’s negative view towards ‘Day’. Explain
your choice.
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7. Identify and explain the Figure of Speech in line 20.
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8. With reference to the text, explain who the speaker is in line 23?
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9. It is said that Shelley creates his own myth in ‘To Night’. Myths personify natural phenomena
to explain their existence and power. In what way is this reflected in this poem?
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In your own words explain what the speaker means by “Death will come when thou art dead”.
Line 29.
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10. By referring to lines 32 and 33, explain how the speaker sees Night.
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18. nobody loses all the time by E Cummings
i had an uncle named
Sol who was a born failure and
nearly everybody said he should have gone
into vaudeville perhaps because my Uncle Sol could
sing McCann He Was A Diver on Xmas Eve like Hell Itself which
may or may not account for the fact that my Uncle
Sol indulged in that possibly most inexcusable
of all to use a highfalootin phrase
luxuries that is or to
wit farming and be
it needlessly
added
my Uncle Sol's farm
failed because the chickens
ate the vegetables so
my Uncle Sol had a
chicken farm till the
skunks ate the chickens when
my Uncle Sol
had a skunk farm but
the skunks caught cold and
died so
my Uncle Sol imitated the
skunks in a subtle manner
or by drowning himself in the watertank
but somebody who'd given my Unde Sol a Victor
Victrola and records while he lived presented to
him upon the auspicious occasion of his decease a
scrumptious not to mention splendiferous funeral with
tall boys in black gloves and flowers and everything and
i remember we all cried like the Missouri
when my Uncle Sol's coffin lurched because
somebody pressed a button
(and down went
my Uncle
Sol
and started a worm farm)
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Questions
1. Why might the title of the poem be perceived as ‘ironic’ in the context of the poem? Quote
from the poem to support your reasoning.
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2. Describe the tone of the poem. Draw on evidence from the poem to substantiate your
response.
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3. What does the use of the word, highfalootin’ (line 9) suggest about the speaker? Give a
reason for your answer.
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4. With reference to the text, explain why this poem could be considered a parody.
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5. Comment on the effect the use of the word ‘subtle’ (line 25) has in the context of the poem.
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6. What connotations are made by using the words ‘and everything’ in line 31? Support your
answer with sound reasoning.
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7. Critically analyse the structure of the poem. Be sure to cover a range of poetic techniques in
your response.
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8. Account for the peculiar ending to the poem. Lines 34-37
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19. My Last Duchess by Robert Browning
That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive. I call
That piece a wonder, now; Fra Pandolf’s hands
Worked busily a day, and there she stands.
Will’t please you sit and look at her? I said
5
“Fra Pandolf” by design, for never read
Strangers like you that pictured countenance,
The depth and passion of its earnest glance,
But to myself they turned (since none puts by
The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)
10
And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst,
How such a glance came there; so, not the first
Are you to turn and ask thus. Sir, ’twas not
Her husband’s presence only, called that spot
Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek; perhaps
15
Fra Pandolf chanced to say, “Her mantle laps
Over my lady’s wrist too much,” or “Paint
Must never hope to reproduce the faint
Half-flush that dies along her throat.” Such stuff
Was courtesy, she thought, and cause enough
20
For calling up that spot of joy. She had
A heart—how shall I say?— too soon made glad,
Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er
She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.
Sir, ’twas all one! My favour at her breast,
25
The dropping of the daylight in the West,
The bough of cherries some officious fool
Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule
She rode with round the terrace—all and each
Would draw from her alike the approving speech,
Or blush, at least. She thanked men—good! but thanked
Somehow—I know not how—as if she ranked
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
With anybody’s gift. Who’d stoop to blame
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This sort of trifling? Even had you skill
35
In speech—which I have not—to make your will
Quite clear to such an one, and say, “Just this
Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss,
Or there exceed the mark”—and if she let
Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set
40
Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse—
E’en then would be some stooping; and I choose
Never to stoop. Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt,
Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without
Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;
45
Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands
As if alive. Will’t please you rise? We’ll meet
The company below, then. I repeat,
The Count your master’s known munificence
Is ample warrant that no just pretense
50
Of mine for dowry will be disallowed;
Though his fair daughter’s self, as I avowed
At starting, is my object. Nay, we’ll go
Together down, sir. Notice Neptune, though,
Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,
Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!
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Questions
1. In Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess," which lines reveal the Duke's arrogance?
Explain why.
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2. How is the poem "My Last Duchess" a dramatic monologue?
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3. What does the poem "My Last Duchess" tell us about the position of women in society in that
day and age? Use references from the text to support your answer.
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4. The Duke alludes to his art and mentions the artists by name. Why would he spend the time
to show off his art? What does this tell us about his character?
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5. What impression of the Duchess is the Duke trying to convey to his listener? Give a reason
for your answer. Lines 13 to 45.
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6. What is insinuated by the phrase “Then all smiles stopped together” in line 46. Substantiate
your answer.
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