First love.
John Clare
Grade 10
LO1 (Listening and Speaking: listen critically), LO 2 (Reading and viewing – reread, review to promote
understanding, recognise poet’s viewpoint, recognise literary devices, poetry- how word choices, figures of
speech and sound devices affect mood, meaning and theme – also – recognise how lines, stanza forms,
rhyme, rhythm and other repetition techniques and punctuation affect meaning)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
I ne’er was struck before that hour
With love so sudden and so sweet
Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower
And stole my heart away complete.
My face turned pale as deadly pale,
My legs refused to walk away,
And when she looked “what could I ail?”
My life and all seemed turned to clay.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
And then my blood rushed to my face
And took my sight away.
The trees and bushes round the place
Seemed midnight at noonday.
I could not see a single thing,
Words from my eyes did start;
They spoke as chords do from a string
And blood burnt round my heart.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Are flowers the winter’s choice?
Is love’s bed always snow?
She seemed to hear my silent voice
And love’s appeal to know
I never saw so sweet a face
As that I stood before:
My heart has left its dwelling place
And can return no more.
Theme:
Describing the intense emotions of a boy who meets a girl and falls in
love at first sight.
Antithesis: The figure of speech in which phrases are strongly contrasted against
each other.
Notes:
‘turned pale’ – ‘blood rushed’ – antithesis. First he was very pale and then he blushed.
The colours red and white are contrasted with each other.
‘…legs refused …’ – the poet/speaker is almost helpless in the grip of this deep feeling.
The simile describes the deep shock and feeling of being paralysed. Her beauty causes
these feelings.
‘flower’ – a metaphor for her beauty.
‘clay’ – a metaphor for helplessness. It refers to the inability to do something or to think
clearly. Clay is used to describe the earthly or bodily part of a person in contrast to his
soul.
‘midnight at noonday’ – antithesis. The whole scene turns dark/black at midday. This
stresses the poet’s confused mind as if he had a blackout. He is only aware of the girl
and nothing else.
‘heart’ – a metaphor for the centre of a person’s feelings. Here it is used to describe the
sudden, sweet, deep love for this girl. In contrast she does not share the same feelings
towards him.
‘Are flowers the winter’s choice?’ – a tone of bitterness. ‘flowers’ – here the word is used
as a metaphor for rejection.
Winter is the time for snow. ‘love’s bed’ refers to a place in the garden where flowers
are planted. A gardener plants flowers and nurtures them. The poet wonders why his
love is unfulfilled like flowers that start to bloom in winter and die of the cold in their
garden beds of snow.
‘flower’ in stanza 3 refers to love. The flower of love which blooms at the wrong time of
year is compared to the girl who does not share his feelings.
‘hear … silent voices … love’s appeal to know’ – a tone of pathos/sympathy. The look in
the girl’s eyes shows that she understands the situation, but is powerless because she
can’t return his love. They have an unspoken understanding between them.
‘My heart has left its dwelling place
And can return no more.’ – Although she can’t return his love, he has given his heart (his
love) to her and is unable to stop loving her.
Words in context:
1.
struck
2.
so sudden
3.
sweet
4.
sweet flower
5.
bloomed
6.
stole
7.
deadly pale
8.
refused
9.
ail
10.
clay
11.
noonday
12.
midnight
13.
words
-
affected strongly
love at first sight
wonderful, beautiful
very pretty
blushed
fell irrevocably in love
extremely white/deeply emotional
rooted to the spot
what is wrong?
helpless
12:00. Bright sunlight.
0h00. Darkness.
his feelings can be seen in his eyes.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
spoke
dwelling
return
chords
snow
-
19.
string
-
resounding in his ears
position in his chest
unable to do anything about this hopeless emotion.
ringing in his ears
emotionless, too cold to allow growth – seeds can’t
germinate and grow.
string instrument, vibration of the strings cause the sound
to resound in your ears.
Questions:
1.
What type of poem is this?
2.
What is its theme?
Stanza 1
3.
What effect did the girl have on the poet?
4.
What does the word ‘strike’ mean in this context?
5.
What simile is used to describe her face?
6.
What effect does this sudden deep feeling have on:
a.
the poet’s face and
b.
his legs?
7.
How do you interpret line 7?
8.
What is revealed by the image of the poet’s life turning into clay?
Stanza 2
9.
Comment on the antithesis that is depicted in line 1?
10.
What does the image of his ‘blood’ taking his ‘sight’ away mean?
11.
Describe the antithesis depicted in lines 3 and 4.
12.
What does line 6 mean, in your opinion?
13.
What comparison to a musical instrument is made in line 7?
14.
Explain line 8 in your own words.
Stanza 3
15.
In what tone are the questions in line 1 and 2 asked?
16.
What question does he ask?
17.
In what way are they applied to the poet?
18.
In what way is the ‘flower’ image in this Stanza different from the one in Stanza
1?
19.
What does the girl seem to a. ‘hear’ and
b. to ‘know’?
20.
What deeper meanings can be attached to lines 3 and 4?
21.
What comparison does he use to describe the girl’s face?
22.
What effect does she have on his heart?
First Love – Memorandum
1.
Lyric
2.
The intense emotions of a boy who meets and falls in love with a girl at first sight
are described.
3.
His heart is instantly filled with an overpowering love for the girl.
4.
To have a strong effect on.
5.
Her face (beauty) is compared to a beautiful flower.
6.
a)
His face turns very white/pale
b)
He can’t move. His legs are unable to move.
7.
The girl looks at him with the unspoken question to what is the matter.
8.
a)
The poet’s complete helplessness/vulnerability. He is unable to think
clearly.
b)
The poet also refers to ‘clay’ as if his body or life were made of clay that
she can mould.
9.
In stanza 1 his face turned very pale and now there is a sudden flow of blood to
his face. (first white then very red)
10.
He is describing the feeling of suffocation and he doesn’t notice his surroundings
when he sees her.
11.
The trees and bushes around him turn black in the bright sunlight at midday. It
stresses his confused state of mind. He is unaware of anything around him.
12.
His heart is in his eyes. His love is reflected in his eyes, but he can’t express his
feelings orally. He wants to say something, but he can’t.
13.
The unspoken words sound just as loud as chords struck on a stringed
instrument.
14.
The heart is the centre of our feelings. This metaphor describes the poet’s deep,
sweet love for this girl. His heart is warm with intense love for her.
15.
A tone of bitter disappointment.
16.
He asks if winter expects flowers to grow and bloom when it is so bitterly cold
and asks why his love must always be unreturned. Seeds need warmth and
moisture in order to germinate and grow.
17.
Must his love always be unfulfilled like flowers starting to bloom in winter and
dying of cold in these unfavourable circumstances.
18.
In stanza 1 the flower describes the girl’s beauty. In stanza 3 the flower is a
metaphor for the poet’s love that have to grow in unfavourable circumstances.
19.
a)
The words in his heart which he can’t utter.
b)
The unspoken appeal (serious call) for love and understanding is
reflected in his eyes.
20.
She understands the situation, but is unable to return his love. This may also
mean that these two people have an unspoken understanding between them.
Words are probably not necessary.
21.
She has the sweetest, most beautiful face he has ever seen.
22.
His heart is given to her so completely that it can never return to him. He can
never love someone else again.