LO: To complete some
SC: 1) I will be able to explain what the poem is about. 2) I can
close analysis of the poemarticulate what view the speaker has. 3) I can analyse some key poetic
techniques.
Cousin Kate
(P29)
“…you were so good and pure.”
Make annotations in SMALL writing on the poem:
1) What connotations does the word “good” have? (what does it
make you think of?)
2) And “pure”?
LO: To complete some
close analysis using the
SPIRIT template.
SC: 1) I will be able to explain what the poem is about. 2) I can
articulate what view the speaker has. 3) I can analyse some key poetic
techniques.
Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December
1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English
poet who wrote a variety of romantic,
devotional, and children's poems. Many
scholars have identified feminist themes in
her poetry. She was opposed to slavery,
cruelty to animals and the exploitation of
girls in under-age prostitution
LO: To complete some
close analysis using the
SPIRIT template.
SC: 1) I will be able to explain what the poem is about. 2) I can
articulate what view the speaker has. 3) I can analyse some key poetic
techniques.
Poetic Devices
1) From what
perspective is the
poem told? What
does this tell us
about the power
that the speaker
has if she is
nameless?
Structure
4) What does the
repetition of the
question mark tell
us about the
narrator?
Poetic Devices
2) “Cottage maiden”
is juxtaposed with
“great lord,” why?
I was a cottage maiden
Hardened by sun and air
Contented with my cottage mates,
Not mindful I was fair.
Why did a great lord find me out,
And praise my flaxen hair?
Why did a great lord find me out,
To fill my heart with care?
Imagery
3) Look at
“contented” and
“not mindful”. Is the
language active or
passive? What does
this tell us about the
power held by
women in Victorian
England?
LO: To complete some
close analysis using the
SPIRIT template.
SC: 1) I will be able to explain what the poem is about. 2) I can
articulate what view the speaker has. 3) I can analyse some key poetic
techniques.
Imagery
Poetic Devices
1) What does the
word “lured” tell us
about the lord?
3) Why has the poet used the
oxymoron “shameless
shameful life” to describe the
narrator?
Imagery
2) Annotate
the 2 similes in
this stanza.
What do they
tell us about
the lord?
He lured me to his palace home Woe's me for joy thereofTo lead a shameless shameful life,
His plaything and his love.
He wore me like a silken knot,
He changed me like a glove;
So now I moan, an unclean thing,
Who might have been a dove.
Imagery
4) What is “unclean thing” a
reference to?
LO: To complete some
close analysis using the
SPIRIT template.
SC: 1) I will be able to explain what the poem is about. 2) I can
articulate what view the speaker has. 3) I can analyse some key poetic
techniques.
Imagery
4) This poem is full of
contrasts – label two in this
stanza and explain why the
poet uses so many.
Imagery
1)How would
you describe the
language in this
stanza (and the
rest of the
poem)? Simple,
complex? How
many syllables
do lots of the
words contain?
What effect is
created by the
language?
O Lady Kate, my cousin Kate,
You grew more fair than I:
He saw you at your father's gate,
Chose you, and cast me by.
He watched your steps along the lane,
Your work among the rye;
He lifted you from mean estate
To sit with him on high.
Imagery
2) How do the
underlined phrases
make the lord sound?
A
B
A
B
C
B
A
B
Rhyme
3) Label the
rhyme scheme in
this stanza. Is it
regular or
irregular in the
poem? What
effect does this
create?
LO: To complete some
close analysis using the
SPIRIT template.
Poetic Devices
1) Why is the
underlined
phrase
repeated? What
does it highlight
about the
narrator’s
feelings?
SC: 1) I will be able to explain what the poem is about. 2) I can
articulate what view the speaker has. 3) I can analyse some key poetic
techniques.
Because you were so good and pure
He bound you with his ring:
The neighbors call you good and pure,
Call me an outcast thing.
Even so I sit and howl in dust,
You sit in gold and sing:
Now which of us has tenderer heart?
You had the stronger wing
Imagery
2) a) In contrast, what do “the
neighbours” call the narrator? b) What
connotations do these two words
contain? c) What does this tell us about
Victorian attitudes to love and marriage?
Imagery
3) “howl in dust” is an
example of vivid
imagery; annotate the
two words on your
poem. We will discuss
connotations
afterwards.
Ideas
4) What themes and
ideas does Rossetti
convey in this poem?
LO: To complete some
close analysis using the
SPIRIT template.
SC: 1) I will be able to explain what the poem is about. 2) I can
articulate what view the speaker has. 3) I can analyse some key poetic
techniques.
Tone / Voice
1) Who is the
narrator
addressing for
much of the
poem? How would
you describe her
tone of voice?
O cousin Kate, my love was true,
Your love was writ in sand:
If he had fooled not me but you,
If you stood where I stand,
He'd not have won me with his love
Nor bought me with his land;
I would have spit into his face
And not have taken his hand.
NOTE: The lord in this poem is not
reproached for the way he
behaves, whilst the narrator is.
Imagery
2) This is a vivid
image. What does
it tell you about
the way the
narrator feels?
Poetic Devices
3) What tense is the
underlined quotation written
in? What does this tell you
about the power available to
women in Victorian society?
LO: To complete some
close analysis using the
SPIRIT template.
SC: 1) I will be able to explain what the poem is about. 2) I can
articulate what view the speaker has. 3) I can analyse some key poetic
techniques.
Imagery
1) What is “gift” a
metaphor for?
Tone / Voice
2) This stanza
symbolises a shift
in tone and mood
for the narrator –
how is this
reflected in the
line “I’ve little
doubt you fret”?
Yet I've a gift you have not got,
And seem not like to get:
For all your clothes and wedding-ring
I've little doubt you fret.
My fair-haired son, my shame, my pride,
Cling closer, closer yet:
Your father would give his lands for one
To wear his coronet
Poetic Devices
3) What does the
alliteration tell us
about the speaker?
LO: To complete some
close analysis using the
SPIRIT template.
Area of analysis
Structure
Poetic devices
Imagery
Rhythm/rhyme
Ideas
Tone/voice
SC: 1) I will be able to explain what the poem is about. 2) I can
articulate what view the speaker has. 3) I can analyse some key poetic
techniques.
Techniques within this area
Layout, stanza shape,
punctuation
Repetition, personification,
onomatopoeia, alliteration,
assonance, any non-standard
English
Similes, metaphors, language
choice.
Rhyme scheme, rhythm,
assonance, alliteration
Themes and messages.
The character of the persona (the
person speaking in the poem,
NOT the poet)
Overall tone or mood and how
this is conveyed.
You now have 10 minutes to do
the following:
1. Use 1 piece of A4 lined paper
and create a SPIRIT grid.
2. Put the letter in the margin
3. Add notes what of you have
observed about the poem to
each column
Tips! Use your annotations from
your anthology to help you.
Don’t write in full paragraphs –
the point is to get quick,
important notes down
By the end of this term you will
be able to do this in 5 minutes!