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THEME: PERCEPTIONS OF SELF

1. ROBERT FROST: Birches Biography Themes Reality vs Imagination Meaning The motion of swinging and the force of this swinging comes from: a) truth and imagination/ ethereal b) earth and heaven c) control and abandon d) flight into imagination and return into reality Whole thrust of the poem is towards imagination, escape and transcendence: away from heavy truth upward thrust. The downward pull of the poem is: back to reality This poem portrays the desire to live below the difficulties the drudgery of everyday life and to escape into the world of imagination. This act of climbing is not pragmatically but it is a form of play, a transcendent escape eg climbing birches synonymous with imagination. However, the persona is not looking for a complete transcendence or escape. He reinforces his ties to the earth by saying that Earths the right place for love. He escapes to keep his sanity but returns to be recharged. Language Vocabulary and use of rhythms to show the poem the swinging motion between truth and imagination. The swinging action of the birches is also reflected in the length of the lines and the mood swings. He swings from being conversational to friendly to funny to powerful, dream and finally melancholic. There is a yearning for him to be swinging like the boy in the poem. Literary devices: The iambic metre varies in each line, making each line a different line which shows that the poem itself is swinging back and forth between lines lengths just as the boy swings on he birch tree with no definite structure until finally he has to come down to earth to face reality. The technique of the whole poem has the physical effect of the swinging motion of the birches. Onomatopoeia L11 Alliteration s sound sibilant portraying nature to do with nature , the rustling of leaves vivid imagination ice sotorms as the stir cracks and crazes the enemal Assonance within the same line Therefore, a very vivid ideas of the whole picture on a crisp morning. Poem about imagination , so nature imagery is vividly portrayed throughout the whole poem . The reality is portrayed in the last 5 lines by the consonant sounds and climb black branches, dipped its top and set me down again

Personification truth (L1-22) birch trees (L17-20) Similes like girls on hands and knees Contrasting images that portray truth (ice storms bending the tree and imagination (boy swinging the tree) Tone: Conversational Wishful thinking Melancholy - sense of regret that he has to come back Resignation Suggested Activities 1. Look for a picture of a birch tree and compare it with our local trees 2. Narrate students own childhood activities when at play 3. Students relate what/how they seek their own forms of relaxation or escapism from reality Questions to Ponder 1. L1-5 What can cause the birches to bend? 2. How does the persona convey his escapism from reality? 3. Escapism is a means to sanity. How far is this statement portrayed in the poem?

2. John Clare: I Am Biography Themes Feeling of insecurity He hopes that through all his woes, he will be able to get peace and security and ultimately be one with God Language 1st two stanzas very negative language. His feels forsaken, depressed and let down by the people whom he loves most - (S2L5-6) Strong language: dejection scorn shipwreck - negative connotation First two stanza sense of depression, dejection and abandonment. The last stanza is one of longing (longing for peace , serenity and being one with God). He wants to go to a place where there is no emotion Literary devices Rhyme ababcc effect tells you of the unsettlement of his emotions which are very clear cut with the rhyme scheme. The words like shipwreck and sea in 2nd stanza gives a feeling or sense of being lost at sea. The thing that cuts the most is seen in the double dash in lines 10 and 11. It amplifies the emotion of dejection because they are the people dearest to him. These are the people whom he expects to understand him most yet they are not. Usage of the superlative lifes esteems, dearest, beset . It is the shipwreck of these superlative descriptions. The whole thing is like going through a storm and it is sinking. Last stanza is one of peace for peace and serenity. He is hoping to achieve some peace and serenity after the whirlwind. The last stanza Tone Hopelessness to rejection Sense of longing Hope - in the last stanza, the hope to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel Suggested Activities 1. Students look at themselves and at their friends and assess what they think of themselves as well as of each other 2. Discussion on what the ideal place / concept of heaven is for each student

Questions to Ponder 1. Describe how the persona feels in the first stanza. 2. In line 9, explain the significance of this line in relation to the personas emotional state. 3. In Literature, we learn that there is always a calm after the storm / Light at the end of the tunnel. Discuss with close reference to the text

3. MARGARET ATWOOD: This is a Photograph of Me Biography Themes Death Self-discovery This poem can be seen in two aspects of interpretation: a) It depicts a picture of the personas realisation that she is dead. She describes the scenery in her mind on past memories which is very different from how it is depicted in the photograph. S1 memory is blurred. S2 the picture is clearer image. It is obvious that she has passed away and is trying to leave for the after-life. b) The 2nd aspect could be that the way we perceive ourselves ids never clear until we have gone through some movement in life such as drownin challenges, journey of life, we get a clearer picture of ourselves. Language Morbid language grey, drowned, smeared Blank verse , no rhyme scheme because persona quite uncertain about herself Run-on lines and of varied length all depict unsure nature, unclear self Line within brackets encapsulates the ides of being locked in , drowned under water. Sense of drowning vividly portrayed and depicted S1 focuses on her uncertainty, a blurred vision S2 the real picture is forming, patches of clarity coming out, a small sense of Could be metaphorical drowning Tone Conversational Narrative Morbid Suggested Activities 1. Students bring a photograph of themselves when they were very young and another taken recently and see the change in themselves Questions to Ponder 1. Based on S5, what is the effect of water on light? 2. Describe the emerging picture as it develops in the photograph. 3. The realisation of oneself can be seen parallel to the development of a photograph. Discuss with reference to the text.

4. HUGO WILLIAMS: Waiting To Go On Biography Themes Individuality / The realisation of the uniqueness of oneself Even if you come from a family of fame, success or good looks, does not mean you have to fall into that mould, but you safeguard you and be what you are Language Image of a child looking at a photo album of past pictures and admiring what good looks entail positive elements : made you laugh, have a tan, speak with conviction, etc. He comes from a world of appearance and so it is important to impress. However, the persona is not deterred. He insists on being himself and will not change to please others or go with the traditions / pressures of family expectations. Literary devices: Not a conventional poem , no rhyme scheme,etc in line with the theme of being unique in himself Tone Reflective and decisiveness (last 2 lines) Suggested Activities 1. Students list down what their parents expect of them and what they expect of themselves. Questions to Ponder 1. What is the main idea suggested in lines 7-9 of the poem? 2. What does the persona reflect on as he turns the pages slowly? 3. In Literature, we learn to see ourselves as being unique / as individuals. Discuss this statement with close reference to the text.

CRAIG ROMKEMA: Daring Tears Biography Themes Never judge people from their physical mannerisms esp those who are autistic Special people also have feelings Language No fixed rhyme scheme/lines Style very simple and reflects the mind of autistic/special people Reflection of simplistic thinking, straight from the heart, no frills, very direct The only literary device you can expound on is the irregularity of the lines that reflect the simplistic thinking Tone Narrative Conversational In narrating, he tries to explain his emotions though he may not be able to do so the way normal people do. Suggested Activities 1. Read up on autism, how autistic people react. Questions to Ponder 1. Based on lines 1-5, how did the persona react to his grandfathers death? 2. How does the mother know that the persona needs to be comforted? 3. Literature gives us an insight into the importance of reaching out to others. How is this reflected in the poem?

MUHAMMAD HAJI SALLEH: the traveller Biography Themes Perceptions of the persona being alienated in a city Preambles the fact that he is a traveller and that he will not be a permanent resident in the city Language Repetition Negativity Blank verse Narrative with quite a bit of negativity There is a strong determination for him to use the negative to describe the city Sense of abandonment conveyed in repeated phrase no home The city didnt make him feel welcome city that took way my love, told me I must go away Hes not comfortable with the city, feels alienated, more comfortable in the outskirts, in the countryside, at night or near dawn In the city you are one of many and nobody notices you - he is lonely in a crowd. Out of the city, he stands out; he can see the sun rise whereas in the city you dont see it Traveller figure of speech. His dislike of the city life is mirrored in negative words like dull hard buildings, cruel streets and accentuated in the 3rd stanza where whole idea of him being rejected is reinforced. The last 2 lines of the 3rd stanza links with the last 2 lines of the 4th stanza here he acknowledges he has to go away go some place where he can go and be recognised as someone. He is a man of nature not of the city Tone Narrative with a tone of dislike and dissatisfaction Suggested Activities 1. Compare the difference between city and country life. 2. How would you feel if you were uprooted and brought to a different environment? Questions to Ponder 1. In Stanza 3 why does the persona feel he has to go away? 2. How does the persona express his feelings for the city in the poem? 3. Home is where the heart is Discuss with close reference to the poem.

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