Swansea High School
Stage 4 English
Responding to Poetry unit
Stage 4 Outcomes
1. A student responds to and composes texts for understanding, interpretation, critical analysis and pleasure.
2. A student uses a range of processes for responding to and composing texts.
4. A student uses and describes language forms and features, and structures of texts appropriate to different purposes,
audiences and contexts.
5. A student makes informed language choices to shape meaning with accuracy, clarity and coherence.
6. A student draws on experience, information and ideas to imaginatively and interpretively respond to and compose texts.
7. A student thinks critically and interpretively about information, ideas and arguments to respond to and compose texts.
1. A student demonstrates understanding that texts express views of their broadening world and their relationships within it.
11. A student uses, reflects on and assesses individual and collaborative skills for learning.
Note: The main outcomes on which this unit focuses are in bold but acknowledgement is made to other outcomes that would influence
the work being undertaken.
Rationale
Students:
 review aspects of poetry
 become confident in using poetic techniques in their own writing
 become confident in identifying poetic techniques and their meanings
 become confident in interpreting meaning in poetry.
Students develop skills in writing:
 creatively
 analytically
 for a variety of audiences.
Students develop an understanding of how we learn by developing their own teaching strategies.
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Syllabus content
Students learn to:
1.1
Students learn about:
respond to imaginative, factual and critical texts, including the
required range of texts, through wide and close listening,
reading and viewing
respond to and compose texts intended to inform, persuade
and entertain, including humorous texts
compose imaginative, factual and critical texts for different
purposes, audiences and contexts
1.11
the ideas, information, perspectives and points of view
presented in imaginative, factual and critical texts
1.14
1.5
interpret, question and challenge information and ideas in texts
through close study
1.18
1.7
1.9
respond to and compose texts beyond the literal level
demonstrate understanding of the complexity of meaning in
texts
describe and explain qualities of language in their own and
others’ texts that contribute to the enjoyment that can be
experienced in responding and composing
use and adapt the processes of planning, drafting, rehearsing,
responding to feedback, editing, and publishing to compose
texts over time
use processes of planning, including investigating, interviewing,
selecting, recording and organising ideas, images and
information for specific purposes in composing
edit through reading aloud and peer editing, checking accuracy,
paragraphing, cohesion, grammar, spelling and punctuation
respond to their own and others’ compositions by considering
ideas, images, information, linguistic and visual forms and
features, tone, style, and type and structure of text, with
reference to their appropriateness for the text’s purpose,
audience and context
discuss and explain the processes of responding and
composing, and identify the personal pleasures and difficulties
experienced
express considered points of view in speech or writing,
accurately and coherently and with confidence and fluency in
1.20
2.9
their emerging sense of personal style and taste in composition
and response
the forms and features of language, the structures of texts and
the nature of content that enables categorisation by content,
composer and genre
inference, figurative language and alternative readings as
strategies for responding to and composing texts beyond the
literal level
the complexity of meaning in texts
techniques for planning and rehearsing including brainstorming,
mindmapping, storyboarding, role-play and improvisation
processes for the drafting of single drafts, multiple drafts and
collaborative texts
1.2
1.3
1.10
2.2
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
5.1
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1.15
2.10
2.12
explicit criteria for judging the effectiveness of a text for its
purpose, audience and context
2.13
alternative ways of expressing ideas
2.14
the importance of originality and inventiveness
4.7
the effectiveness of specific language forms and features and
structures of texts for different purposes, audiences and contexts
and for specific modes and mediums
4.13
the metalanguage of subject English used to describe, discuss
and differentiate texts and their language forms, features and
structures
ways to engage an audience and sustain their interest and
involvement
5.12
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6.4
7.1
7.2
7.4
11.1
11.3
11.4
11.5
11.7
11.9
11.10
rehearsed, unrehearsed and impromptu situations
use the features and structures of imaginative texts to compose
their own texts and engage their audience
locate, assess, select, synthesise and use information, ideas
and arguments from texts
compose and respond to factual, opinion, argumentative and
persuasive texts
distinguish between relevance and irrelevance and the familiar
and unknown in texts
understand demands of a task and the outcomes and criteria for
assessment being addressed
ask questions, listen and negotiate to clarify an extended group
task with teacher and peers
use the language of the subject when engaging in learning
use speaking and writing as learning processes for sorting and
selecting information and clarifying ideas
identify, plan and prioritise stages of tasks with clear teacher
directions
perform an allocated role responsibly in a group and assess the
success of collaborative processes
reflect on and assess their own and others’ learning against
specific criteria
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5.13
the cleverness and joy of invention
6.8
the ways ‘the real world’ is represented in the imaginary worlds
of texts including literature, film, media and multimedia texts
the variety of genres available to composers of imaginary texts
6.9
6.11
11.12
verbal, aural and visual techniques used to create imaginative
texts, such as imagery, figures of speech, selective choice of
vocabulary, rhythm, sound effects, colour and design
outcomes-based learning
11.13
their own learning strengths and learning needs
11.15
11.16
roles and responsibilities of individuals in groups
ways of structuring and presenting ideas, editing techniques
and referencing
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Focus
Introduction
Revision of
poetic
techniques
Syllabus
content
11.1
11.12
Integrated learning experiences, instruction
and assessment
Teacher introduces unit and learning outcomes of
this unit and how they will be assessed. (Aim of
this unit is explained.)
Feedback
6.11
Reviewing poetic techniques
 What is a simile?
 What is a metaphor?
 What is personification?
 What is onomatopoeia?
 What is rhyme?
 What is rhythm?
 What is reflection?
 What is imagery?
Students give two examples of each of the above
and explain how the technique works to enhance
meaning.
Students answer the following questions:
 What is alliteration?
 Write a sentence alliterating your name.
 What is assonance?
 Write a sentence with your name in it using
assonance.
Students are divided into pairs or groups of three.
Each group focuses on one particular poetic
technique and creates their own poem using their
focus technique.
A suggested starter for students:
Remember a time when you experienced
something that made you respond very strongly. It
might be that you were angry, or frustrated, or
exhausted, or excited. Write a poem, at least 8
Verbal feedback will
Handout 1 - Definitions
occur during discussion
of answers. Students will
correct answers if
necessary.
1.15
Writing
poetry
1.2
1.3
2.2
2.10
11.3
11.5
11.9
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Resources
Spelling list
Teacher revises roles
and responsibilities of
group members and
maintains group work
via encouragement and
by expecting on-task
behaviour.
Focus
Syllabus
content
11.15
Integrated learning experiences, instruction
and assessment
lines long, using as many poetic techniques as
you can, to describe the emotion of that
experience e.g.
Simile
Metaphor
Personification Repetition
Onomatopoeia Alliteration
Assonance Rhyme
Imagery
Feedback
Students read out their poems. Class discussion
(positives only) of techniques used and the
meaning of the poems.
Positive comments
during discussion.
Consolidated 1.14
learning
2.4
2.5
2.9
2.10
2.14
4.13
5.12
5.13
6.4
6.11
11.3
11.4
11.9
11.10
11.15
Students teach poetry through their own poems.
Teacher helps guide
them in the
metalanguage they use
to deliver their lessons.
Teacher helps students
draft their work.
Handout 2 - How to
create lessons
Students test their
lessons on others, judge
whether they are
successful and/or
engaging.
Appendix 1 - Student
work samples
Close
analysis
Teacher chooses two poems related to Aboriginal
perspectives.
Teacher guides student
responses through oral
Municipal Gum and
Colour Bar by
1.10
2.6
11.10
1.1
1.2
Students in their original groups (from the single
technique poetry outcomes) create lessons in
which they teach aspects of poetry to other
students using poems that they have written.
These activities may be done here or after the
essay.
Having fun with poetry:
Students in groups teach their aspect of poetry to
the rest of the class.
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Resources
Students write a tally of
the number of each
technique used
effectively in poems.
(Specific criteria)
Focus
Syllabus
content
1.5
1.7
1.11
2.2
2.6
6.8
6.11
11.5
Integrated learning experiences, instruction
and assessment
Descriptive poem is handed out on an A4 sheet
with room for annotation. Students read silently.
Teacher presents a dramatic reading. Students
identify any words they don’t know. Definitions
discussed and meaning discussed in context.
Teacher explains the poem’s meaning. (This will
be used as a model by students in future work.)
In groups or pairs students highlight poetic
techniques, name them and explain how they work
to enhance meaning.
Students write meaning onto poem sheet.
Students re-read the poem silently.
Feedback
Resources
feedback and brief
board notes where
necessary.
Oodgeroo Noonuccal
Class discussion.
Students check they’ve
correctly identified and
change any incorrect
sections.
Class discussion and written reflection – How has
your understanding changed because of the work
we’ve done on this poem?
Emotive poem is handed out on A4 sheet with
room for annotation. Students read silently.
Teacher presents a dramatic reading. Students
identify words they don’t know. Meanings
discussed in context. In groups, students discuss
what they think the meaning of the poem is. Class
discussion of meaning. Students highlight poetic
techniques, and write their meaning and effect
next to the poem.
Looking at
more poems
1.1
1.5
1.2
A variety of other poems are chosen by the
teacher, I suggest three to five. A pattern of
analysis is followed for each poem, assisting the
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Discussion in class at
various stages of the
process.
Focus
Writing an
essay in
response to
poems
Syllabus
content
1.7
1.20
2.6
4.13
6.8
6.9
6.11
Integrated learning experiences, instruction
and assessment
students to become confident in their ability to
identify poetic techniques and understanding
meaning in poems.
Each poem is dealt with as follows:
 students read poem silently
 teacher reads poem aloud
 students highlight and name techniques
used in poem
 students write meanings and effect of each
technique
 students write a paragraph about how
techniques enhance meaning in this poem.
1.18
Using a poem the class has already studied, e.g.
The Surfer by Judith Wright, write an essay
answering the question: How does the poet
express her message in this poem?
2.2
2.7
4.7
4.13
7.1
7.2
7.4
11.5
11.7
11.16
Teacher explains purpose, relevance (effective
organisation of ideas and powerful presentation of
arguments); and structure of essays. Notes on
essay writing. Teacher leads class in writing a
model essay.
Students answer “What is the poet’s message?” in
one sentence.
Identify techniques used by poet.
One paragraph can be used for each technique or
teacher can group techniques into paragraph
groups.
Using students’ plan and suggestions the teacher
writes part of an essay which students write into
their books.
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Feedback
Resources
Continued feedback
during discussion.
Handout 3 - Essay
writing
Students’ understanding
is reinforced by the
teacher using their
suggestions in the
essay.
Students swap work
after highlighting to
check if they have
highlighted correctly.
Focus
Syllabus
content
1.9
1.3
1.5
2.5
2.6
2.10
2.12
2.13
4.7
4.13
5.1
7.1
7.2
7.4
11.1
11.7
11.16
Additional
content
2.2
2.9
3.2
3.7
4.11
Integrated learning experiences, instruction
and assessment
Feedback
Resources
Students (individually or in pairs) write one
additional paragraph. The teacher reminds
students of the elements necessary in an essay
and students highlight and annotate these aspects
in their own paragraphs e.g. body paragraphs
have a topic sentence, a technique which is
explained with a quoted example.
Handout 4 – student
sample essays
Students read sample essays. Highlight, using a
different colour for each element, and annotate the
features used (content, essay structure, topic
sentences, explanations, examples, poetic
techniques)
Using the class’s essay as a model, students write
their own essay. Students choose any poem –
maybe one they’ve studied in class, one they’ve
written or another poem.
Students check their work by highlighting aspects
identified in previous essay-writing activities.
Students swap work and
check before publishing.
Published essays are
formally assessed by
teacher using preagreed critieria
Essays are edited and published.
Rehearsal filming and viewing
Expressive reading of poems. In groups students
read or perform their poems to show meaning.
This may be audio taped or digital video taped.
Students will view the recording immediately after
Recorded performances
can be played to the
class. Class will applaud
performances. Students
may vote on best
Question: How does the poet express his or her
meaning in this poem?
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Digital video camera
Tapes
Tape player
Focus
Syllabus
content
5.3
5.13
11.3
11.9
11.15
11.16
Integrated learning experiences, instruction
and assessment
taping. They can decide whether the quality of
work is good enough and can refilm if they desire
to.
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Feedback
performance. In general,
students receive
feedback from
immediately viewing the
tape after recording.
They discuss delivery
and the quality of the
poem performed.
Resources
Handout 1
Definitions
Simile
A simile describes something by comparing it to something else using the words like, as or
than.
 She eats like a pig.
 Ian Thorpe is faster than a fish.
These are very evident in every day speech, especially insults and clichés.
Metaphor
A metaphor describes something by saying that it is something else. Usually the items being
compared are very different but meaning is enriched by the connotations of the second item.
 There’s daggers in men’s smiles (Shakespeare).
Personification
Personification is a special kind of metaphor in which a non-human thing is given human
qualities.
 The tree grieved its loss of freedom in the newly paved street.
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound, usually for emphasis and / or to link the
words together. Alliteration often creates rhythm too.
 Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness (To Autumn - Keats)
Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound (not necessarily the letter) where the end of the
words are different. It is sometimes called half-rhyme. Assonance links words together and
often creates rhythm through rhyme.
 So twice five miles of fertile ground (Kubla Khan – Coleridge)
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is when the word makes the sound it is describing. It adds to the auditory
qualities of the poem.
 oink; bang; smash.
Rhyme
Rhyme is the repetition of the end sound of words.
 brown – crown
 happy – chappy
Rhythm
The rhythm of a poem is the beat.
Repetition
Repetition is when a word or concept is repeated.
Imagery
Imagery is the creation of a sound, smell or picture created in the reader’s mind by memory,
imagination or a stimulus. Imagery often comes from the figurative language, especially
similes and metaphors, that is used in poetry, plays and other literary works.
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Handout 2
Poetry unit: how to create a lesson
1.
Decide which poetic technique you are going to teach through your poem.
2.
Think about how you can teach this technique through your poem in a fun
way.
3.
Make up the activities to teach your technique poetry.
4.
Test the activities on your group to see if they work.
5.
Write up the activities.
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Appendix 1
Student work samples
Kitchen
Tiles like a chessboard
You’ll lose yourself in the game
Microwave like a bomb
Radioactive
Kettle like a steam train
Whistling endlessly
The fridge big, white and always hungry
Like a polar bear
The kitchen like a circus
A huge hazard.
by Joel, Donna and Racheal
Explanation
This poem is made up of similes. Similes are used to compare one object or thing
with another using like, as or than, e.g. ‘The kitchen like a circus, a huge hazard.’
Questions
1. Explain what you think this poem is about.
2. How many similes are in the poem?
3. What does the simile ‘tiles like a chessboard’ mean? Explain what it describes.
4. How is a ‘kettle like a steam train’? Explain what ‘whistling endlessly ‘ means.
How does this contribute to the poem?
Activities
1. Fill in the gaps using your own words.
a) The kitchen like a ____________________.
b) Microwave like a ____________________.
c) The fridge, __________ like a __________.
d) The cupboard is like a ________________.
2. Write a poem about school. Use as many similes as you can.
3. Try to draw a picture of the kitchen being described in the poem.
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Metaphor
Miss Dunkencof
Miss Dunkencof is a wicked witch,
mean and scary with yellow green
teeth.
Miss Dunkencof is a velvet black crow,
she screeches and scratches at
everyone
while showing her claws.
Miss Dunkencof is a feral cat
with a rugged furry coat and blood stained claws
who pounces and snaps.
Miss Dunkencof is a foghorn
with a booming loud voice who bellows like thunder
and snarls like a doberman.
by Mattie, Kale, Jess
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Personification
The Tree
Winter has arrived and the cold snow begins to fall
The tree feels naked as it shivers through the season.
Spring has awoken the flowers burst with colour
The tree begins to dance as new life begins.
Summer is here, as the heat begins to rise
The tree bathes in the sunlight as its bark goldens.
Summer has passed and Autumn has begun
The tree starts to weep as its leaves continue to fall.
by Matthew, Melanie and Rachael
Questions
1. What is the definition of personification?
2. Highlight the personification in this poem.
3. Name all the human qualities given to the tree. What do these qualities tell us
about the tree?
4. In groups, act out the qualities given to the tree in this poem.
5. Fill in the missing places with your own human qualities (personification).
Winter has arrived and the cold snow begins to fall. The tree feels ________ as it
__________ through the season. Spring has ________ the flowers burst with
colour. The tree begins to ________ as new life begins. Summer is here, as the
heat begins to rise. The tree _________ in the sunlight as its bark goldens.
Summer has passed and Autumn has begun The tree starts to ____________as
its leaves continue to fall.
6. Write a poem with 4 or more lines using personification at least twice.
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Alliteration
Waves
Big, beautiful, brutal waves
Smashing, crashing, pounding waves
Wet, washing, wonderful waves
Painful, harsh, hot waves
Waves are wonderful, big or small
Wet and washing upon the shore.
Fun waves, crunching waves,
The enjoyment while you’re there.
The sadness when you leave.
Anything else, I don’t care.
by Brett, Mitch and B
Activities
1. Why do we use alliteration in poems?
a) Make them fun
b) Make children fit
c) Make good sound imagery
d) Because we can
2. Alliteration game
Students are given instructions:

Every time you hear “b” alliterated, do a star jump.

Every time you hear “w” alliterated, clap your hands 5 times.

When you hear alliteration of other letters hop twice.
Practice response:

The big brown bear – 3 star jumps

The wobbly wheel fell off – 5 claps, also “f” so 2 hops.

The little elf flew along the lane. – 12 hops for l (L) and 2 hops for “f”.
In groups students write a poem about alliteration.
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The Girl
As the wind blows through the weeping willow
The young girl sits and wonders
Trembling at the thought of our world
Demoralising into nothing but hatred and hostility.
She thinks of famine, fighting and
freedom.
And wishes that the world hadn’t come to this.
She wishes for hope, happiness, truth, freedom, beauty and love.
As the wind blows through the weeping willow.
The young girl sits and wonders ……
by Candice and Elle
Activity
Highlight the alliteration in this poem.
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Alliteration and assonance
The Beach
When Lara goes to the beach
She sees people eating chips
When Lindsay goes to the beach
He sees Bodyboarders Bodyboarding
Brilliantly
When Dane goes to the beach
He sees surfers surf 66 foot tsunarmis
When Lauren goes to the beach she
swims swiftly through
silky surf.
by Dane, Lindsay, Lara and Lauren.
Activities
When a vowel sounds the same in the middle of a word this is called assonance. An
example is book and school: this is assonance of the “oo” sound.
The Assonance game
When we hear the vowel sound “ear”, touch your toes.
When we hear the vowel sound “ei”, stamp your feet.
When we hear the “ai” sound, pat your head and rub your tummy.
When we hear the vowel sound “o”, hop on one leg.
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Repetition and rhyme
Repetition: When you repeat the word, phrase or idea in a poem.
Rhyme: When the ends of two words have the same sound.
Progress
People are like ants, like ants in the scrub.
The scrub becomes sky scrapers, looming above.
The ants bustle about, expanding their rest,
Unjustified, they strive for height
To be on top, to beat the rest
To own the most technologically advanced nest.
Good intentions turn to greed.
Greed and corruption are emotions that feed
The desire for progress
Which never relents.
They know not the damage their actions have caused
They cannot see how their actions have caused
The suffering of trees
The death of the animals
The slow and dolorous demise of mother earth.
By Sarah, Gemma and Ferry
Questions
1. Replace the rhyming words in “Progress” with words of the student’s choice.
(must rhyme).
2. Draw a picture representing each stanza.
3. In a group perform “Progress” the way you feel it should be performed, e.g.
emphasise keywords (read with feeling) and draw on images for each stanza.
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The Classroom
The doors are brown like an old dead tree trunk.
The wafting stench smells like rotten carpet.
The old blackboard hangs like a rickety picture on an old rusted nail.
The dripping, dirty, dusty taps rust away in the corner of the room.
The bubblegum covered desks sit in bundles of five slowly decaying like a group of
dead, rotting corpses in an ugly unpainted, stinky, giant coffin.
by Nick, Kayla and Ryeann
Activity
1. Students read poem.
2. Students draw a picture of the room represented in this poem.
3. Students highlight and main techniques used in this poem.
4. Discuss answers in class.
5. Students write their own poems using one of the techniques in this poem.
6. Poetry game: race. Students are given a poem, told how many of each
techniques are present. First group to find all techniques wins.
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Neglected Nature
As fumes from the tractor’s exhaust rise
The Amazon giants plummet to the dispersed soil.
Until one stands solitary
The destroyers strive.
The golden sky is choked
By the excreted debris.
Flocks of birds flee the scene.
A terrible massacre has just occurred.
Corpses litter the ground.
The chosen are taken and are to be,
Transformed into stationery.
Left stranded and neglected,
A tapir crouches in fear.
He is not alone,
In his former home,
The jaguar still roams.
Activity
Highlight all the techniques you can find using the checklist below.
simile
repetition
rhyme
onomatopoeia
description
metaphor
assonance
noun
imperative
metonymy
oxymoron
juxtaposition
image
alliteration
verb
adverb
exaggeration
personification
Meanings
Oxymoron: two seemingly opposite concepts put together, e.g. dangerously safe.
Juxtaposition: two opposing concepts are put together.
Metonymy: when part of something is used to represent the whole thing.
What is the theme?
The theme of this poem is that to satisfy our needs we hurt others. How is the
message given using techniques? Write a paragraph answer. Write your own poem
expressing a personal opinion then perform it using a puppet show.
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Handout 3
Poetry unit: essay writing
There are many approaches to teaching essay writing. Use the one you are most
comfortable with.
Essays consist of a long answer to a question. Your job in writing an essay is to
create a thesis which answers the question and to support it using arguments and
evidence from the text. A good essay:
a) answers the question
b) refers closely to the text by providing examples and quotations
c) contains a series of well argued points that support the central thesis
d) is clearly expressed.
The essay has three sections. The introduction is one paragraph in which you
answer the question and give an overview of the aspects you will discuss in this
essay.
The second section contains several paragraphs. Each paragraph deals with one
aspect of the answer. It answers the question in the first sentence (a topic sentence).
The middle two or three sentences give an example, name the language technique
used and explain how this answers the question. The final sentence sums up how
your evidence supports your argument and answers the question.
In the final paragraph, the conclusion, the writer makes a statement explaining how
their evidence proves their thesis.
Question
How does the poet, Judith Wright, express her message in the “The Surfer”?
How: what are the poetic techniques used?
Her message: the sea can be dangerous, even though it is fun.
Plan
The sea is fun
alliteration
metonymy
assonance
repetition
The sea can be dangerous
alliteration
metaphor
repetition
rhyme
simile
NSW Department of Education and Training
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
metaphor
simile
onomatopoeia
second person
November 2004
Page 12 of 23
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
Handout 4
Poetry unit work samples
Essay 1
In her poem “Colour Bar” Oodergoo Noonuccal states her firm belief that racism is
extremely wrong and unjust. She achieves this by using visual techniques including
metaphor and description; also by using sound techniques including alliteration,
repetition, assonance and rhyme.
With the use of metaphor and description, Kath Walker expresses her opinion that
racism is disgusting behaviour which shows the worst side of people. “The Colour
Bar! It shows the meaner mind of moron kind,” suggests that racist people are
ignorant. Another metaphor, “Justice a cant of hypocrites, content with precedent,”
shows the poet’s opinion that some people who are supposedly ‘Christian’ are
content to overlook racism even though they could do something; they think, that
they have done enough. The extended metaphor, “As long as brothers banned from
brotherhood you still exclude. The Christianity you hold so high is but a lie”, highlights
how wrong and un-Christian racism is. A strong visual image is created by the
language the poet uses in the description, “But when a child comes home in tears
fierce anger sears”, is used. Both this example and the metaphor, “Vile men jeer
because my skin is brown”’ suggest that the author and her family have experienced
racism. Kath Walker has successfully used the visual techniques metaphor and
description to express her opinion that racism is an unacceptable outrage.
Ms Walker achieves the expression of her belief that racism is wrong with the use of
sound imagery, rhyme, alliteration, assonance and repetition. The combination of
rhyme and alliteration in “…meaner mind of moron kind”, highlights the poet’s low
opinion of racist people. The assonance in “fierce”, and “sears”, creates strong visual
images for the reader of the vexation felt by parents when their children come in
contact with racism. The repetition of “all”, emphasises the word and its meaning; it
emphasises the idea that everyone is loved equally by god, no matter what their race
is. In “… brothers banned from brotherhood You still exclude”, the idea of being left
out or discriminated against because of your race is repeated using the words
“banned” and “exclude” which have the same meaning. The poet states her idea that
racism is wrong by using the sound imagery techniques alliteration, rhyme,
assonance and repetition.
Kath Walker effectively communicates to the reader her strong feelings of outrage
and disgust for racism through the poetic techniques she uses in her poem “Colour
Bar”. These techniques include the visual techniques of metaphor and description;
also the sound techniques of repetition, assonance, alliteration and rhyme.
by Gemma
NSW Department of Education and Training
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
November 2004
Page 13 of 23
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au
Essay 2 (extract)
Judith Wright in “The Surfer” tells us that although the sea can be fun, it can also be
very dangerous. Her use of alliteration, rhyme, assonance, onomatopoeia, repetition,
metonymy, simile, imperative and metaphor provides clear images both of the joy
experienced in the surf and its potential danger.
Using alliteration, repetition, rhyme and assonance the poet explains how surfing in
the sea can be exhilarating. In “… and swimming so went out of sight“, the ‘s’ is
alliterated, highlighting the swimmer’s joy. The repetition of “muscle” expresses both
the physical enjoyment of the surfer and his connection with the wave. “sight” and
“delight” are rhymed to emphasise the poet’s opinion that the surfer is having a great
time. The assonance in “those” and “foam” create a sound image for the reader of
the long. Lazy waves and the easy way the surfer catches them. The poet
successfully expresses her opinion that the sea is a source of pleasure through her
use of sound imagery.
Judith Wright also uses similes, metonymy and metaphors to express her opinion
that the sea can be fun. “The gulls went wheeling in air as he in water, with delight” is
a simile used to create an image of the joy felt by the surfer as he glided through the
surf. The surfer’s delight is reinforced in the metaphor “he thrust his joy against the
weight of the sea”; he is so exhilarated that his body has become full of joy. The poet
uses metonymy “muscle or arm…” To express the physical quality of the surfer’s
experience. By using simile, metaphor and metonymy Judith Wright makes clear to
the reader the possibilities for having fun by the sea.
NSW Department of Education and Training
Curriculum K-12 Directorate
November 2004
Page 14 of 23
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au