end of year poems Flashcards
(69 cards)
Analyse the quote “At first, he seemed quite satisfied to trace”
“A path between the wainscot and the door,”
‘satisfied to pace’ is an example of personification and evokes a tone of stability and calmness.
refers to a period of early adulthood where a sense of confidence and contentment is established.
The path that this cockroach follows symbolises the secure paths people take and that the persona took in life, regarding careers or certain life choices.
Analyse the quote “jog in crooked rings,”
“rusty table leg”
‘crooked rings’ evokes connotations of spiraling and confusion and portrays the cockroach’s erratic movements.
symbolises a time in the persona’s life where they faced hardships and challenges from which emerged uncertainty and purposelessness.
‘rusty table leg’ enhances this underlying narrative as it not only suggests instability in life but also has the effect of characterizing the persona and the life they are currently living
Analyse the quote “Was this due payment for some vicious crime
A former life had led to? “
Here the writer alludes to the religious notion of reincarnation and the persona suggests that the cockroach feels guilt for his ‘vicious crimes’ as well as a sense of resentment for the life that he’s led.
common experience of existential uncertainty.
Analyse the quote “he climbed an open shelf “
“He looked uncertain where to go. “
movement up to the shelf can be interpreted as the moments up to death where the shelf resembles death and the cockroach’s ‘uncertainty’ symbolising a fear of death.
could also resemble the period in life where the persona progressed and overcame the hardships and obstacles they faced.
Analyse the quote “A little black thing among the snow”
black thing against the white snow-Suggestion that the child has lost his innocence, purity.
Subtle repetition of ‘l’ (consonance) and soft sounds (phonological)1 suggests that the child is still vulnerable and naive as the softness mimics the way children are treated or nursery rhymes perhaps.
Thing-This vague description has a kind of distancing and dehumanizing effect, showing the way that the boy has been made literally and metaphorically unidentifiable
Analyse the quote “They are both gone up to the church to pray.”
William Blake uses metonymy by having “the church” represent not just a physical place, but the broader institution of religion. In this context, there is a sense of irony and hypocrisy of the child’s parents neglecting the child in pain as they go to church where they preach compassion, love etc.
Analyse the quote “Who make up a heaven of our misery.”
juxtaposition of the blissful and divine notion of heaven and the realities of misery. Oxymoron
Two interpretations:
Whole of the high-ranking structures exploit workers and manipulate them for their own benefit, creating a ‘heaven’ for themselves out of the ‘misery’ of lower classes
Religion is used to manipulate people into believing in delusions of happiness and become blind to the realities of misery and hardship.
whats the device used in the chimney sweeper in the line ‘weep weep’
epizeuxis
what period in life does ‘flipping over itrs wings’ in the cockroach represnt
a mid-life crisis
what does the cockroach represent in the poem
It’s actions metaphorically and anthropomorphically and reflect on the persona’s life experiences
Three language devices in ‘a married state’
Contrast (Juxtaposition)
Irony/humour
imagery
What does the direct address to the reader in the closing lines of married state do
serves as a bold and subversive call to reject societal norms and embrace independence.
Analyse the line “This in wifes Carefull faces you may spell”
“spell”- diction - work out, figure out
careful faces- metaphor- Conveys the concealed dissatisfaction in the women’s faces.
Analyse the line “A virgin state is crown’d with much content”
Marks a change in subject matter
‘crown’d’- Personification In society at the time, the concept of virginity is turned into a king or queen.
In society at the time, the concept of virginity was valued and praised by men in marriage
Analyse the line “No pangs of child birth to extort your tears, “
Extort- diction- implies that the tears are forced or unwillingly drawn out and the act of childbirth wasn’t entirely voluntary.
It acknowledges the very real suffering associated with childbirth, a suffering that was often romanticized or minimized in patriarchal societies.
Analyse the line “Few worldly crosses to distract your prayers”
“Worldly crosses”- alluding to the Christian concept of bearing one’s cross- is a metaphor for the burdens , troubles, and tribulations associated with life, particularly within the context of marriage.
If you don’t bear that burden of marriage, it allows for more prayer and spirituality
A call for freedom disguised in religious connotations due to time period and environment.
Analyse the line “Attend on matrymony and a husband too “
Attend on” - diction and personification- signifies service, obedience, and constant care. It suggests a hierarchical relationship where the wife is expected to cater to the needs of both the institution of marriage and her husband.
Analyse the line “Turn, turn apostate to love’s Levity. “
Metaphor: ‘turn apostate’ - religious connotations turns love into a religion in itself that we must reject. Reject the delusions of the happiness and joys that love supposedly brings
Analyse the line “There’s no such thing as leading Apes in hell”
Allusion to a proverb- The proverb “lead apes in hell” is an old English slang term that refers to the punishment of a spinster who failed to procreate after death.
This line is particularly striking and revolutionary as she is doubting and rejecting a proverb and more broadly the widely believed notion of Christianity and hell at the time and the emphasis it placed on marriage and the patriarchal values.
“For the green turtle with her pulsing burden”
The phrase “green turtle” evokes a vivid image of a natural, peaceful creature
pulsing burden- metaphor representing the urgency of the turtle laying her eggs-also represents the cycle of life and the weight of nurturing future generations.
The line immediately introduces the poem’s focus on the fragility of life, both human and non-human.
Analyse the line “For her eggs laid in their nest of sickness”
‘Nest’ - a place of safety and nurturing is juxtaposed with “sickness” emphasizes the perversion of nature’s natural order, where what should be a sanctuary has become a site of harm.
The line vividly portrays the consequences of pollution and human interference in nature.
By focusing on the eggs, which represent future generations, the line underscores the loss of potential and hope.
Analyse the line “For the cormorant in his funeral silk”
Funeral silk- metaphor- It suggests something dark, glossy, and somber, evoking the cormorant’s oil-slicked feathers
Could also be interpreted as portrayal of the beauty of the bird (black feathers- connoted by funeral silk)
The choice of diction in “funeral” also connotes the death and mourning caused by environmental disasters, such as oil spills.
Analyse the line “shadow on the sea”
Creates a vivid visual image of a shadow cast over the sea, suggesting something dark, ominous, and foreboding.
Shadow- symbolises pollution and oil spills
Sibilance implies the sinister destruction of oil, leaving dead animals floating in the sea and the oil covering
Analyse the line “For the ocean’s lap with its mortal stain”
The phrase creates a vivid visual image of the ocean’s surface marred by a “mortal stain,” likely referring to oil spills or pollution.
Personification- ocean’s lap
The contrast between the ocean’s natural purity and the unnatural “stain” evokes a sense of violation and loss.
The “mortal stain” - metaphor serves as a stark reminder of the irreversible damage
