Hyena by Edwin Morgan
Poetry
Learning Intention
• I will revise poetic techniques and
consider their effect on the reader.
Simile
• To compare one thing to another using
the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
• E.g.
• The snow was as white as the clouds.
• His eyes were as black as coal.
Metaphor
• A comparison which says something is
another, not using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
E.g.
• I am a cloud waiting to shed its
raindrops.
• He is a ray of light on my bad days.
Onomatopoeia
• Words that sound like the noise they
make.
• E.g.
• He hissed as he swivelled through the
corridors.
• As she cleaned the kitchen, the pots
clattered and banged to the ground.
Alliteration
• The repetition of a sound at the
beginning of 2 or more words.
• E.g.
• Carol caught Craig carrying cats in a
bag.
• Sarah smoothly slid along the path
oozing elegance.
Task
1. Write down 2 examples of each
technique we have learned about.
Leave room to annotate each one.
2. Analyse your examples to show what
their effect is.
3. Be ready to discuss your examples as a
class.
Learning Intention
• I will contextualise the poem, ‘Hyena’.
Hyenas
• The Three of the four species of hyena are restricted to
sub-Saharan Africa, where they live in drier environments
such as savannah, bushland and desert. The fourth species,
the Striped Hyena, is found in northern and eastern Africa
as well as in Asia from the Middle East to India.
• Except for the aardwolf, all living hyena species are hunters
and scavengers. They have extremely strong jaws in
relation to their body size and have a very powerful
digestive system with highly acidic fluids, making them
capable of eating and digesting their entire prey, including
skin, teeth, horns and bones. Hair and hooves are usually
regurgitated. Because their digestive system deals very well
with bacteria, they have no aversion to and readily eat
carrion.
• The Spotted Hyena is primarily a predator, unlike some of
its cousins. Spotted Hyenas are successful pack hunters of
small to large sized ungulates, and are the most abundant
carnivores in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Because the aardwolf is a specialized feeder of termites, it
• Many cultures have historically viewed the hyena in
a bad light. Negative associations have generally
stemmed from hyenas' tendency to scavenge
graves for food. They are one of the few creatures
naturally suited for this, due to their ability to
devour and digest every part of a carcass, including
bone. As such, many associate hyenas with
gluttony, uncleanliness and cowardice.
• The haunting laughter-like calls of the Spotted
Hyena inspired the idea in local cultures that they
could imitate human voices and call their victims by
name. Hyenas are also associated with divination
and sometimes thought of as tools of demons and
witches. In African folklore, witches and sorcerers
are thought to ride hyenas or even turn into them.
Task
• Read the poem and take notes on the
following features:
• Narrator (Person who is telling the
story)
• Plot (what happens)
• Setting (where and when)
• Mood (How the reader is supposed to
feel)
Narrator
• Describe the
narrator’s:
• Strengths
• Appearance
• Surroundings
• Sound
• Food
Setting
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Describe the setting’s:
Appearance
Resources
Comfort
Heat
Inhabitants
Learning Intention
• I will annotate ‘Hyena’ to gain a full
understanding of the text.
Annotate
1. Highlight, circle or underline effective techniques
used by the poet:
• Similes
• Metaphors
• Alliteration
• Onomatopoeia
• Sentence structure
• Word choice
2. Then write down the effect:
• What is suggests to the reader about the
characters, plot etc
• Connotations
• How it makes the reader feel.
I am waiting for you.
I have been travelling all morning through the bush
And not eaten.
I am lying at the edge of the bush
On a dusty path that leads from the burnt-out kraal.
I am panting, it is midday, I found no water-hole.
I am very fierce without food and although my eyes
Are screwed to slits against the sun
You must believe I am prepared to spring.
What do you think of me?
I have a rough coat like Africa.
I am crafty with dark spots
Like the bush-tufted plains of Africa.
I sprawl as a shaggy bundle of gathered energy
Like Africa sprawling in its waters.
I trot, I lope, I slaver, I am a ranger.
I hunch my shoulders. I eat the dead.
Do you like my song?
When the moon pours hard and cold on the veldt
I sing, and I am the slave of darkness.
Over the stone walls and the mud walls and the ruined places
And the owls, the moonlight falls.
I sniff a broken drum. I bristle. My pelt is silver.
I howl my song to the moon- up it goes.
Would you meet me there in the waste places?
It is said I am a good match
For a dead lion. I put my muzzle
At his golden flanks, and tear. He
Is my golden supper, but my tastes are easy.
I have a crowd of fangs, and I use them.
Oh and my tongue- do you like me
When it comes lolling out over my jaw
Very long, and I am laughing?
I am not laughing.
But I am not snarling either, only
Panting in the sun, showing you
What I grip
Carrion with.
I am waiting
For the foot to slide,
For the heart to seize,
For the leaping sinews to go slack,
For the fight to the death to be fought to the death,
For a glazing eye and a rumour of blood.
I am crouching in my dry shadows
Till you are ready for me.
My place is to pick you clean
And leave your bones to the wind.
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Stanza 1
Who is the hyena addressing ?
Using quotes to illustrate your answer explain the
condition the hyena is in.
What does the last line tell us, in spite of what we
have already been told in this stanza ?
Stanza 2
How would you answer the question in line 1 ?
Examine the similes in these lines and comment on
how well you think they work.
Interesting sentence structure in the last two
lines. Describe the structure of the sentences and
explain what it achieves.
What is your reaction to the last line?
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Stanza 3
Select quotes from this stanza which describe the
behaviour of the hyena and explain in your own
words what we learn about it.
Again look at the hyena’s questions – how do you
react to them?
Stanza 4
Why is the beginning of this stanza humorous?
In lines 3 to 6 what do we learn of its eating tastes
and method?
The last 8 lines describe the hyena’s appearance
and sound. Which words or phrases caught your
attention and why?
Stanza 5
Explain in your own words what the hyena waits for.
How do you feel about the final 2 lines?
Learning Intention
I will adopt the writing style of the
Hyena in order to show my
understanding of the poem’s narrator.
Writing Style?
• What features of writing does the
narrator use that you could copy?
• Consider sentence structure,
techniques, word choice, description of
the senses etc.
Task
Produce a piece of writing to describe a day in
the life of the narrator. It should be
descriptive, interesting and similar to the
style of the poem. Aim for 800 words.
Remember to:
• Write in 1st person
• Use figures of speech
• Use rhetorical questions
• Describe sounds, sight, smell, touch and
tastes
• Describe the surroundings and the lifestyle
Learning Intention
I will plan my critical essay on ‘Hyena’ by
Edwin Morgan.
Essay Question
How does Edwin Morgan
create an effective narrator
for the poem, ‘Hyena’?
Top Tips!
• Answer the essay question!
• Use critical terminology: themes, narrator,
simile, rhetorical question, effective word
choice, repetition, metaphor etc!
• Analyse in full detail!
Themes…….
Ways in which the poet creates an effective
narrator……
Themes:
• Nature
• Survival
Some of the ways in which the poet creates an
effective narrator:
•Use of 1st person (writing from the narrator’s point
of view)
•Use of rhetorical questions
•Description of setting
•Repetition
•Similes, metaphor, personification
•Description of narrator’s appearance, sound,
actions, strength
•Etc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Essay Plan
1. Introduction
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Name of poem and poet
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Describe the plot, setting, themes and narrator
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Explain the focus of your essay
2,3,4,5. Main Body - STAR
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Statement (refer to the question and explain the focus of
the paragraph)
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Textual evidence (quote to support your statement)
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Analysis (explain how the quote supports your statement)
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Response (explain how the reader is made to feel and
refer back to the question)
6. Conclusion
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Answer the essay question in a few sentences
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Explain your opinion of the poem and how it has affected
you