The Planners
Author: Boey Kim Cheng
Done by: Mounya Sasso
Author Biography
• Singapore-born Australian poet.
• His own sense of restlessness from his life in Singapore reflected in
his poems.
• Since he was raised in developed in countries, he noticed these
technological changes and the will to make and change history.
• According to him, Singapore’s rapid growth and economical success
came at a cost.
• He felt displaced and disconnected with his past and felt like his
childhood is slowly disappearing.
• Born in 1965, quite old, experienced different environmental
changes
• National Art’s Council’s Young Artists Award
• Highly educated
• Won poetry competition in National University of Singapore
Poem
They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded,
filled with permutations of possibilities.
The buildings are in alignment with the roads which meet at desired
points
linked by bridges all hang
in the grace of mathematics. They build and will not stop. Even the
sea draws back and the skies surrender.
They erase the flaws,
the blemishes of the past, knock off useless blocks with dental
dexterity. All gaps are plugged with gleaming gold.
The country wears perfect rows of shining teeth. Anaesthesia,
amnesia, hypnosis. They have the means. The have it all so it will not
hurt,
so history is new again.
The piling will not stop. The drilling goes right through
the fossils of last century.
But my heart would not bleed
poetry. Not a single drop to stain the blueprint
of our past's tomorrow.
Literary Terms
• Alliteration – “dental dexterity,” “gleaming gold”
• Groups of three – “They plan. The build. All spaces are gridded.”
• Allegory – represents a general idea about life – teaches a life
lesson. E.g. how nature is neglected for technology or perfection.
Stop focusing on being perfect, it doesn’t matter if you make
mistakes it’s how you learn.
• Imagery – “even the sea draws back and the skies surrender.”
• Caesura – sudden pause or break - “They plan. They build. All
spaces are gridded.”
• Oxymoron – “our past’s tomorrow”
• Repetition – The word “they” is used very frequently. I think it’s
used to emphasize and, in a way, blame the “planners” for the
dramatic change they’ve caused.
Structure/ Importance of Poem
• Vivid language
• Writing is directed towards change and is
emphasizing the negative part of change
• First stanza is overview and leads the reader
into the genre and theme
• Second stanza goes into depth of the problem
and there’s an angrier vibe to the poem
Themes
• Most important, and obvious, theme is
change
• Man vs. Nature
• Man vs. Technology
• There’s also the idea of perfection and
uniformity
• Also, there is anger present in some lines
Analysis
• Everything is set up and there’s no room for mistakes.
Mathematics is used therefore, everything is specific and
right. There is no room for creativity.
• Roads are straight - buildings are straight everything is the
same. Mathematics is holding them up, very reliable on
modern day technology to insure everything is always perfect.
• Unstoppable machines – technology, no control.
• Greatest, unstoppable natural things are drawn back from
such a huge project. Larger than the largest. Skyscrapers and
land have taken over seas and skies. Seas draw back from fear
and skies surrender in abandon.
• Getting rid of mistakes. Technological change because humans
can’t erase mistakes but all these machines and construction
machines can easily do so.
• All spaces, mistakes, are blocked with something even better
so that people don’t pay attention or even remember what
was there before. They’re trying to perfect their imperfect
past.
• Reputation being spoken about because teeth are in the
shapes of houses and the houses make up a city or country
and that’s all in the mouth that speaks about the reputation.
Everything is shining and perfect. The country represents a
flamboyant smile.
• Anesthesia – get rid of pain, Amnesia - forget, Hypnosis –
control that’s what change is doing to the people so the past
is completely wiped off.
• They want to make a new and improved history that they can
control. They’ve learnt from their mistakes
• Construction is so emotionally deep that it’s emotionally
breaking through the past and hypothetically ruining or
changing it.
• Words can’t describe feelings – it’s that painful
• To “bleed poetry” is to show or pour out emotion and the
author will not do that to the new and advanced technological
changes that have taken over the country. He doesn’t want
human blood to drop onto the artificial blueprint of the
country. He contradicts himself by saying “our past’s
tomorrow” to indirectly say that the present is not real to him
– everything is fake.
Thank-you!!!