Advice to a Knight

by T. H. Jones
Figures of speech/ Glossary Wear modest armour; and walk quietly In woods, where any noise is treacherous. Avoid dragons and deceptive maidens. Be polite to other men in armour, Especially the fierce ones, who are often strong. Treat all old men as they might be magicians. So you may come back from your wanderings, Clink proud and stiff into the queens court To doff your helmet and expect her thanks. Onomatopoeia: clink Doff: to take off Personification: noise is treacherous. Alliteration: dragons, deceptive (hard d sound recalls the word danger)

The young queen is amused at your white hair, Notched: something having small cuts in Asks you to show your notched and rusty sword, (e.g. a piece of wood) Mattresses were filled with straw. And orders extra straw for your bedding. Tomorrow put on your oldest clothes, Take a stout stick and set off again, Its safer that way if no more rewarding. Learning about interpreting a poem Poems are special forms of writing because they frequently permit the reader to understand them in the way he or she wants. We call this interpretation. In this poem, for example, one can interpret the poem in at least two ways. These two ways are explained in the next section. Theme (What is the poem about?) The poem takes the form of a monologue (spoken words said by one person). The narrator appears to be an old knight who gives some points of advice to another, probably younger, knight. Knights followed a code of honour. This code of honour stated that they had to go on quests to help people, especially damsels in distress. Knights were also supposed to be humble and helpful towards maidens (at least, those who are not deceptive). The narrator in this poem tells the knight to follow this code of honour by wearing modest armour and ask for straw bedding rather than a comfortable bed. After the queen honours him, the narrator says, the knight should go back to his quests quietly and without fanfare. Alliteration: stout stick

Interpretation 1: One way of interpreting this poem is to think of it as a parable. The poet is not really talking to a knight; he is telling the modern reader that he should be humble and follow his own code of honour. If he does a good deed, he should not be obnoxious and sound his own trumpet. Rather, he should follow the example set by the knights of old and be modest and courteous. The reward of helping someone comes from knowing that you did a good deed, not from the thanks that you get from the person you helped. Interpretation 2: Another possible way of interpreting the poem is to see the narrator as telling the knight to be so careful to avoid unnecessary danger as to be a bit of a coward. He tells him to wear modest armour so that he isnt very conspicuous (visible). He should avoid dragons and other knights. The verse about old men seems to mean that he should even avoid old men, in case they are magicians who could curse him put a spell on him. After getting the thanks of the queen, he should leave as quickly as possible so that she doesnt give him another quest (Its safer that way). Poetic features There is no rhyme scheme in the poem. There are 5 stanzas of 3 verses each for a total of 15 verses. Questions 1. What noise can you make in the woods which could be dangerous? (2 mks)

____________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What would happen if you are not polite to fierce men in armour? (2 mks)

____________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Why does the knight clink loud and walk stiffly into the queens court? (2 mks)

____________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Write two things which seem a bit strange about this knight. (2 mks) a. _________________________________________________________________________________ b. _________________________________________________________________________________ 5. What does the fact that the sword is rusty tell us about the knight? (2 mks)

____________________________________________________________________________________ Total marks: ____ / 10 marks