THE FLY (EXPERINCE)

Question 1

What is the poem about?

Answer 1

• The narrator brushes away a fly.
• This leads him to philosphise on his place in the natural order of things

Question 2

Describe the structure of the poem

Answer 2

• 5 quatrains
• Accentual dimeter
• ABCB rhyme scheme (generally)
• AABA (final stanza)- links I/ FLY/ DIE
• Simple rhyme scheme
• The terseness of the lines may suggest the brevity of life.
• Enjambent (illusion of life going on and on)

accentual dimeter
meter is determined by the number and alternation of its stressed and unstressed syllables

Question 3

What is existentialism?

Answer 3

• A form of philosophical inquiry that explores the the meaning, purpose, and value of human existence.

Question 4

Symbolic interpretation

Answer 4

1. The Fly” explores existential themes such as the: Absurdity of existence, human insignificance/ value, Freedom and responsibility, The search for meaning in the face of mortality
2. Exploration on the transient nature of life and the inevitability of death (how we ratioanlise, and approach this)
3. Exploration of the interconnectedness of all living beings and promotes a sense of empathy and kinship between humans and animals.
4. Explores the significance of thought and existence challenges purely materialistic views of reality

Question 5

The langauge of the poem

Answer 5

• Accentual dimeter- echoes the swatting of the fly
• Emotive language- sense of guily
• Interrogative structure- philosphising
• Syndetic listing- exploration of thought and experience
• Pastoral imagery (summers play)
• Conditional statments (tentative approach)
• Reference to Roman Goddess Fortuna.

Question 6

Roman Goddess Fortuna

Answer 6

• Fortuna could bestow good or bad luck onto people
• .She was sometimes represented veiled and blind.

Question 7

What is materialism?

Answer 7

*According to materialism, everything in the universe (including human thoughts, emotions, consciousness, and mental phenomena) can be explained in terms of physical processes.