We are learning to: annotate the text and
identify the use of poetic techniques.
Think about the different types of silence
that you can have.
- What kind of silence do you have when
you are happy?
- What kind of silence do you have when
you are upset or lonely?
- What power does silence have?
- Where else have we looked at silence
and the impact that no noise can have
on someone?
 Create a mind map with a partner about your
first impressions of the poem.
 What’s it about?
 What’s the message/theme?
 Any relevant techniques?
 And anything else you would like to comment
on. Remember, it is how YOU interpret it; there
are no right or wrong answers in poetry
analysis.
In Sounds of The Day MacCaig begins by
describing the sounds that he hears in a still
silent environment. It begins in a positive and
descriptive manner.
However the sound of a door closing in stanza
two signifies the turning point in the poem and
MacCaig goes on to explore the despair of loss.
(again!)
This poem is written in free verse made up of four irregular
stanzas. The division between each of the stanzas helps to focus
the reader on the specific idea that is contained within each one
and the poem is organised in a fairly straightforward chronological
order.
The poem begins by describing sounds in stanzas one and two and
moves onto describing feelings in stanza three and four. The
memories evoked by the “sounds of the day” allow MacCaig to
explore this difficult and emotional experience
Stanza One: the speaker describes natural sounds: horses, a bird, waves and a
waterfall. On its own, this stanza paints a pleasant picture and indicates the speaker’s
delight in nature
Stanza Two: The shut door, described in the second stanza, is the turning point of the
poem. Here the ideas move from a delight found in a variety of natural sounds to a
reflection upon one specific experience
Stanza Three: The personal nature of the poem is apparent in the third stanza as the
speaker addresses the person who has left. We get the impression of a figure,
suddenly alone, faced with the consequences of a separation.
Stanza Four: Honest assessment of how deeply he has been affected by the
experience. The relationship has meant a lot to the speaker and the separation,
though painful enough during the moment itself, has left a lasting impression
Poem begins by listing the “sounds
of the day”
When a clatter came,
it was horses crossing the ford.
When the air creaked, it was
a lapwing seeing us off the premises
of its private marsh. A snuffling puff
ten yards from the boat was the tide blocking and
What is most significant is the
acuteness and descriptiveness of
these distinct sounds in emphasising
how alert the speaker is to them.
unblocking a hole in a rock.
When the black drums rolled, it was water
falling sixty feet into itself.
He can hear it because of the silence
that surrounds him – it is an
enriching and still environment
When a clatter came,
it was horses crossing the ford.
When the air creaked, it was
a lapwing seeing us off the premises
of its private marsh. A snuffling puff
ten yards from the boat was the tide blocking and
unblocking a hole in a rock.
When the black drums rolled, it was water
falling sixty feet into itself.
Inverted list – it is the
sound that comes first.
In this instance it is
the sound that is most
important
(as the title suggests)
When a clatter came,
it was horses crossing the ford.
When the air creaked, it was
a lapwing seeing us off the premises
MacCaig uses
onomatopoeia and
alliteration to imitate
these specific sounds
of its private marsh. A snuffling puff
ten yards from the boat was the tide blocking and
unblocking a hole in a rock.
When the black drums rolled, it was water
falling sixty feet into itself.
There is a strong sense
of the power of nature.
Theme of importance of
Natural World
established.
When a clatter came,
it was horses crossing the ford.
When the air creaked, it was
a lapwing seeing us off the premises
of its private marsh. A snuffling puff
Humorous image –
personification
Show how territorial
the lapwing is
ten yards from the boat was the tide blocking and
unblocking a hole in a rock.
When the black drums rolled, it was water
falling sixty feet into itself.
Air creaked – very
detailed description of
the sound –
emphasises how still
and quiet the poet
must have been
When a clatter came,
it was horses crossing the ford.
Stanza finishes with the first hint that the
poem may have a darker meaning that
the first stanza suggets
When the air creaked, it was
a lapwing seeing us off the premises
of its private marsh. A snuffling puff
ten yards from the boat was the tide blocking and
CK - consonance/harsh
sounding words
unblocking a hole in a rock.
When the black drums rolled, it was water
falling sixty feet into itself.
Black drums rolled – hints
at darker undertones
(ominous and brooding)
Foreshadowing the mood
and tone to come
When the door
scraped shut, it was the end
of all the sounds there are.
The silence that allowed him to hear
so keenly the sounds of the natural
world has returned, yet this silence
is oppressive and suffocates the
speaker’s aural sense.
Turning Point in the Poem
When the door
scraped shut, it was the end
Door is a metaphor for the end of
relationship and suggests a barrier
that cannot be crossed.
of all the sounds there are.
Scraped –
Same harsh constonent sound as at
the end of stanza one
Scraped has connotations of pain
and hurt
Hyperbole of final statement –
underlines the significance of
the moment.
No pleasure in sitting
listening to sounds
Clear sense of the despair and pain
that follows a parting
Idea that nothing will be the same
again
(links to Memorial)
Stanza Three
You left me
beside the quietest fire in the world.
Move away from sounds
to feelings and emotions
This single sentence stanza
explains the reason for this
shift in mood.
The speaker implies the impact of the
parting is that he is no longer to hear and
take pleasure in sounds – the huge impact
of the loss.
Stanza Three
You left me
beside the quietest fire in the world.
Use of personal pronouns.
Accusing tone (similar
technique used in Memorial)
Unambiguous statement
Word choice – again
emphasising the lack of sound.
Contrast to stanza one.
Suddenness of
the silence
Paradox – being alone
should make you hear
more not less yet this
is not the case
Use of hyperbole –
communicate the
extreme pain he is
feeling
I thought I was hurt in my pride only,
forgetting that,
when you plunge your hand in freezing water,
you feel
a bangle of ice round your wrist
before the whole hand goes numb.
Complexity of emotions
that comes when there is a
parting.
The focus of
the poem
moves from
sound to
touch
The final verse is
utterly bleak
Initial feeling is on the surface –
he thinks it is his feelings are not
badly hurt at first
I thought I was hurt in my pride only,
forgetting that,
when you plunge your hand in freezing water,
you feel
a bangle of ice round your wrist
before the whole hand goes numb.
He conveys the
emotional pain that still
lies, like the hand,
beneath the surface even
if he is numb to it at the
moment.
Word Choice –
plunge
emphasises
the suddeness
of the parting
Metaphor – raw initial
grief of someone leaving
Paradox – hand
is how you
normally feel but
by plunging it in
ice he cannot feel
The closing door is an important image in the poem and
introduces the theme of loss and parting.
For the speaker, the separation is significant and painful. He
feels his life has been changed and his senses have been altered
forever.
MacCaig explores how parting affects us in a significant way.
He captures both the initial, difficult pain of a break-up but also
the lasting effect such experiences can have on us.
Love is usually depicted in poetry positively, yet this love has
resulted only in pain and heartbreak, leaving the reader to
consider whether this relationship has been worth the pain of
parting.