Shows benevolence to the rest of the natural world sign of man and nature being at odds.

. Pun on the phrase rough and ready? Key theme: Mans struggle against nature memento mari (Ozymandias)

Importance of location in may of the C&V poems.

Title is evocative of a prechristian Britain steeped in pagan mythology and superstition.

The River God Of the River Mimram in Hertfordshire

Four adjectives with unattractive connotations.

I may be smelly and I may be old, Rough in my pebbles, reedy in my pools, Voice vindictive, But where my fish float by I bless their swimming And I like the people to bath in me, especially women. takes pleasure in the killing (sadism). But I can drown the fools Who bathe too close to the weir, contrary to rules. Repetition of O shows And they take a long time drowning the erratic/exclamatory Eccentric and As I throw them up now and then in the spirit of clowning. whimsical yet nature of the voice and Hi yih, yippity-yap, merrily I flow, alludes to disruptive and spiteful. O I may be an old foul river but I have plenty of go. Shakespearean Once there was a lady who was too bold soliloquy. Key themes. She bathed in me by the tall black cliff where the water runs cold, The sublime So I brought her down here Allusion to the natures To be my beautiful dear. underworld power. Cliff Oh will she stay with me will she stay and Hades. as symbol for Greek theme This beautiful lady, or will she go away? depression. of Gods falling She lies in my beautiful deep river bed with many a weed in love with To hold her, and many a waving reed. Repetition gives a mortals. Oh who would guess what a beautiful white face lies there sense of desperate, Waiting for me to smoothe and wash away the fear Repetition of beautiful unhinged lonely voice. She looks at me with. Hi yih, do not let her suggests a lack of Go. There is no one on earth who does not forget her eloquence in the speaker. Now. They say I am a foolish old river Deliberate phonic But they do not know of my wide original bed echo of raving. Where they lady waits, with her golden sleepy head. If she wishes to go I will not forgive her. Creates a jolt, indicating a shift in mood, swift Use of question = self-doubt One sentence complete on a and involuntary as a tic and uncertainty. Sense of line the only moment of or hiccup. being underestimated. focus/clarity. Masses of enjambment = our inability to organise and separate internal conflict and bipolar influences (and yesrivers flow...) Structure: single stanza = river shape and stream of consciousness. Keyword: Extended metaphor. The feelings and thoughts of the river are all congruent with Smiths depression and insecurity as well as her fear of mortality. Structure cyclical returns to the start like the water cycle.

Key Language: connotation, imagery, metaphor, simile Structure and form: stanzas, type, patterns, contrast, juxtaposition Poetic methods: alliteration, caesura, assonance, rhythm, rhyme Character and voice: who is speaking and to whom? Tone of voice Links: comparisons to other speakers, methods and themes