1.9. Gedichtbespreking door een scholier 3987 woorden 2 maart keer beoordeeld. Lord Randal

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1 Gedichtbespreking door een scholier 3987 woorden 2 maart keer beoordeeld Vak Engels Lord Randal 1. Ballads often tell a rather simple story, is this true of Lord Randal? Could you summarize the story in one or two lines? This indeed is a simple story; it can be summarized in two lines: When Lord Randall went hunting, he met a woman who gave him poisoned fried eels. He found out they were poisoned because his hawks died of the leavings. 2. What characteristics of the ballad can you find in Lord Randal? It has ballad stanzas. The stanzas consist of four lines, although the iambs not match. The author is unknown (anonymous), and there are different versions of this ballad. It begins abruptly (O where ha you been, Lord Randal, my son?), and tells the story through dialogue. 3. What metre do we find in this ballad? No stress, stress, no stress, stress (U U -). Sir Patrick Spense 1. Write a summary of the poem, using one line for each stanza, do you think the poem provides enough information to reconstruct the whole story or are important questions left unanswered? If so, what questions? The king needs someone to sail one of his ships. His assistant tells him sir Patrick Spense is the best sailor. Then the king writes him a letter. Sir Patrick Spense laughs and feels bad about the letter, he thinks this time of the year is bad for sailing. Sir Patrick thinks they won t get out of the storm without a scratch. The ladies waiting for him and the noble Scots, will never see them back as the ship has sank due to the storm. I think it is a complete story; no important parts of it are missing and you can understand the whole story line with the facts given. 2. The only character that is described in some detail, however indirectly is Sir Patrick Spense himself. Is he portrayed favorably? If so, what are his good qualities and how are they brought out? Yes, he is portrayed favorably as good sailor, loyal to the king and a brave man, as he goes sailing in bad weather because the king told him so. 3. Sir Patrick is described indirectly. Explain what you think that means. That they don t say: he s brave, but just tell he went sailing in a storm, which you must be brave for. They don t say specific things, but by what he says and does you can tell some of the features. 4. How are the Scots lords described? Why, do you think is the reader informed that they were wearing cork-heeled shoon (130) Are there any other words in the poem serving a similar function? It says the Scottish lords were rich: rich people had cork-heeled shoes. Also the hats, the fan and the golden combs Pagina 1 van 9

2 which are described imply they are rich: for rich people those where common things to have. 5. Even before the actual shipwreck is mentioned, there are various hints of impending disaster. Find them. Hints of disaster: To send me out this time o the year. For I feir (fear) a deadlie storme, And I feir, I feir, my deir master, That we will cum to harme. 6. The last line seems to convey a double meaning. Work it out. It shows everybody is dead and that the Scottish lords lay by his feet, but also that the Scottish lords now understand they shouldn t t pushed Patrick to sail in the storm. The Unquiet Grave 1. What characteristics of the ballad can you vind in The Unquiet Grave? Compare this ballad to Sir Patrick Spense, what are the differences? It has ballad stanzas. The stanzas consist of four lines, and 2 and 4 rhyme. The author is unknown (anonymous), and there are different versions of this ballad. It begins abruptly and tells the story through dialogue. The most important difference is that Sir Patrick Spense has more themes than love, and the Unquiet Grave only love. 2. The Unquiet Grave is a dialogue: Who are the speakers and in what are the circumstances like? Assign eacht line or stanza to its proper speaker. The speakers are the dead man, and the alive girl grieving for him. She probably is at his grave. The first and second stanza (from Cold.. to a day ) were said by the alive girl, then the first two sentences from the third stanza weren t said by anyone, probably just a statement. Then, from Why.. to long was said by the dead man, and the last two stanzas were spoken by the alive girl, with the exception of the last two sentences ( When again. ). 3. What are the phrases water from a desert (122), blood from outof a stone (123) and milk from a fair maid s breast (124) supposed to convey? That it s impossible. You can t get water out of the desert, it s too dry. You can t get blood from a stone, as it contains no blood. And you can t get milk from a virgin, as you start to produce milk after you ve got a baby, for which you need to lose your virginity. 4. On what does the poem end, optimistic or pessimistic? Explain your answer. Pessimistic: When leaves fell up a tree, they get brown. They won t become green nor spring up again. 5. Another version of The Unquiet Grave ends as follows: The stalk is withered dry, my love So will our hearts decay, So make yourself content, my love, Till God calls you away. Compare the two endings and comment on them. In addition to other ending, this one is quite optimistic. It says she should fulfill her life until she dies, but it doesn t say they won t meet when that happens. Sonnet 73, Sonnet 18, Sonnet 116, Since There s No Help, To His Love 1. Read the sonnets through carefully. Pagina 2 van 9

3 2. Write down where the author uses personifications. Sonnet 73: those boughs which shake against, sunset fadeth, take away, it was nourish d by. Sonnet 18: Rough winds do shake, hot eye of heaven shines, Death brag out thou, and this gives life Sonnet 116: when it alteration finds, bends with the remover to remove, his bending sickle s compas come, his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out Since There s No Help: last gasp of love s latest breath., When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death, And innocence is closing up his eyes To His Love: waves and washed it away, made my pains his prey, heavans write your glorious name., Death shall all the world subdue 3. Write down where metaphors are used. Sonnet 73: the twilight of such day, by black night, Death s second self, glowing of such fire Sonnet 18: Thou art more lovely and more temperate, By chance or nature s changing course untrimm d, eternal summer Sonnet 116: the marriage of true minds, It is the star to every wandering bark, though rosy lips and cheeks Since There s No Help: his pulse failing, passion speechless lies To His Love: A mortal things so to immortalize, To die in dust, but you shall live by fame 4. Choose two sonnets and write a comparative textual analysis in which you compare two sonnets of at least 300 words. Sonnet 18 is written by W. Shakespeare. The sonnet is about the love for someone. To His Love is written by Edmund Spenser, sonnet LXXV from Amoretti. This sonnet is about eternal love to. The themes of both sonnets are the same, but the thome is very different. In Sonnet 18, the tone is very romantic and like a fairy tale. But in To His Love, the sonnet begins with a hard time: every time the author revealed his love, it was washed away. It was really hurting the narrator inside. Sonnet 18 contains much more personifications and metaphors. Shakespeare also created a lot images in his poem. While Edmund Spenser used a lot less personifications and metaphors, a certain movie is displayed in your head to. The sonnet To His Love, is more literally. Sonnet 18 has more lines you must think about, some passages have a figurative meaning. The body of rhyme is also different, where Shakespeare uses the rhyme scheme abab, cdcd, etc., Spenser uses abab, bcbc, cdcd, etc. To conclude, the content of both texts are made up very different, but the two sonnets share the same subject: their eternal love for someone special. Daffodils 1. What is the poet doing in stanza 1? He describes the surprise he experiences as he sees the sea of daffodils. 2. What quality of the daffodils is stressed in stanza 2? That, no matter with how much they are, all the goblets move in a sort of dance, which is probably caused by the wind. Pagina 3 van 9

4 3. What quality of the daffodils is stressed in stanza 3? That the view of the daffodils is so pretty that it can easily compete with that of the waves at the sunny lake. 4. What is the function of the final stanza? The daffodils become memory, at which can be thought of in lonely, hard times. The image of the daffodils will brighten you up. 5. Comment on the rhyme scheme and metre in this poem. The rhyme scheme is ababcc, and the metre is no stress-stress-no stress-stress ( -U U ). To Autumn 1. Is autumn personified as a man or a woman? Or does the author leave the matter undecided? I think the matter is quite undecided, but if I d have to choose, I d choose a man. More precisely, a wise, old man. As winter mostly implies death, someone in their autumn is quite old. And old people are wise. 2. In each stanza the first line states a thought which is worked out in the following lines. Discuss. In the first stanza, the thought is Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness, in which he aims at the ripe fruits harvested in autumn. In the following lines, he describes the fruitfulness of autumn more. In the second stanza, the thought is Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?, in which he aims at the last fruitful days of autumn. He describes that later clearly by Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours. In the third stanza, the thought is Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?. He then describes autumn has beautiful songs too, its own music, as you can see in Think not of them, thou hast thy music too. The rest of the stanza he describes the song autumn has. 3. What is the poet s final attitude towards Autumn? Accepting, he doesn t dislike nor like autumn, he just accepted it is there. But I do think he must feel some sympathy for the season, as he wants to make other accept autumn with his poem. 4. What is the theme of the poem? Is it just about the season? Explain your answer in detail. It s an ode to Autumn, and it s not only about the season. With his poem, he wants others to accept autumn too, with telling Autumn is brave, waiting for his death (winter), and describing the songs of autumn and the harvest it gives. My Last Duchess 1. Comment on the way the duke describes his wife in the opening lines of the poem? Very positive and admiring, but he talks about her in the past. He calls the piece a wonder, probably not only the painting, but his wife itself too. 2. What concrete situation is the reader introduced to at the beginning of the poem? That she had died. He talks about her in the past, while looking to one of her paintings. 3. What is the effect of such an introduction? It implies affection for her, and makes the reader feel sad for the grieving husband. 4. Comment on lines nine and ten. (since none..but I). Pagina 4 van 9

5 The duke says there he has the power over her, as he is the only one who can draw the curtain. 5. Find words and phrases in the poem which reveal the duke s character and comment. My gift of a nine-hundread-years-old name -> Very proud of himself, maybe a little to proud. even had you skill in speech (Which I have not)- to make your will quite clear to such a one -> he is speaking quite modest in this case. The title, My last Duchess, clarifies the fact that he has had more women, with whom he could not cope. He also was a jealous man, who could not deal with the fact that his wife smiled to more men than only him. To summarize, he is a proud, jealous, greedy and cruel man. 6. What becomes clear about the duchess character? That she is very open to everybody, also other men, and that she is always happy with anything. But in his eyes, she is too flirty and hasn t got enough respect for his and his title. 7. Comment on the phrase I gave commands in line 45. It is rather ambiguous, what is the effect? Comment. He means he gave commentary on her smiling, but probably also commands to have her killed. The effect is that the reader knows you shouldn t make fun of this man. 8. Who is the visitor, and what part does he play in the poem? The visitor probably is a representative of a count, maybe to see him for a fair daughter which the duke wants to married now? The Count your masters. He plays the part of the listener, he listens to the monologue. 9. What phrases in the poem tell you how the duke s next wife will be treated? Explain your answer. Is ample warrant that no just pretense Of mine for dowry will be disallowed; He won t allow his next wife to be so open. Notice Neptune, though, Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity, He will tame his next wife. I might even say he will kill his next wife when she is not good enough. 10. Where, in the poem, do we find symbolism? Explain its meaning. The curtain in front of the drawing of the duchess symbolizes the dukes character, he wanted to control her very much. And in the last sentence, the statue of Neptune taming a seahorse symbolizes the way he will treat his next wife. Tulips 1. Identify the speaker in this poem. It is the I-person, the author 2. What becomes clear about her situation in the opening stanza? She is in hospital. 3. Why are the tulips too excitable? The colors of them are in great contras to their white surroundings in the hospital. Their colors are screaming and Pagina 5 van 9

6 disturbing and therefore too excitable. 4. What other striking term does she use regarding the tulips in the first stanza? I have nothing to do with explosions refers to the tulips. 5. Comment on the comparison between the nurse and seagulls in the second stanza. They all look alike, have the same color (white) and it is impossible to distinguish them. 6. What feelings are expressed in the third stanza? She feels very calm and peaceful, but she also lost herself and feel tired of all that has happened to her. 7. Comment on the use of metaphors and their effect in this stanza. It makes it sound very peaceful while she actually cannot really react to the things that nurses do to her. 8. How does stanza four connect to stanza three? What continuing images are used? and the water went over my head in the 4 th stanza-> just like the metaphor water in the 3th stanza. 9. Describe what happens in stanza five. She explains why she wants te be dead, she wants to be free. 10. What quality of the tulips seems to upset her most in stanza six? Explain. The fact that they are red. This is in contrast with the white environment and it corresponds with her wounds she sais. 11. Explain how her feelings about the tulips evolve in the second part of the poem. The tulips point to the sun to trap the most light, but since she lies underneath a window she feels watched by the tulips. This is sickening to her. 12. Explain the final two lines of the poem. She is crying (warm and salt, like the sea). In the last line she describes that from a country far away as health which means that it will take a lot of time or struggle to feel good again, which she might not reach as well. Punishment Nothing s Changed By Tatamkhulu Afrika 1. The poet is recalling a past experience, yet he uses the present tense: what is the effect? The effect is that we get the feeling that we are experiencing it. That we are right in the middle of the event. 2. Comment also on the point of view: what effect does that have on our reading of the poem? It is written from the I-perspective of the poet. You get the feeling that you are standing in the shoes of the poet, you are living his life. 3. The first stanza describes District 6 as it is now. What is it like? Pick out some words from the poem to back up your description. District 6 is described as a place with grass, flowers and trees, but at the same time it is described as a very poor place, it is hard to live there. 4. In the second stanza the poem describes his feelings when he returns to District 6. How does he feel? How do you Pagina 6 van 9

7 know? He feels that he is returned again. There is no board to confirm where he is, but his intuation says so. His body recongnises District Th third, fourth and fifth stanzas describe the upmarket Inn that is now District6. What is it like? Who can enter the Inn? How do you know? It is very beautiful and chic. You can know that because the place is expensive, because it is described with roses, curtains, linen falls, gateposts and a flag containint the name. It probably only can be entered by important, rich people. 6. The sixth stanza contrasts the Inn with the working man s café down the road. How is it different? This place isn t only meant for rich people. The people who visit the café are rather asocial and rude. They are the opposite of the chic people who visit the up-market. They spit on the floor and wipe their fingers on their jeans, there is a very big difference between those types of people. 7. In the final stanza the speaker in the poem feels like a boy again. What does he want to do? Why? He feels like a boy again, because everything remained the same. District 6 was divided into two totally different parts. He wants the differences between the groups to be smaller. He wanted District 6 to change. He thinks that he people should live together, no matter if they are poor or rich. Miracles on St. David s Day (Gillian Clarke ( )) 1: Why do you think Clarke refers to the incident in the poem as a miracle? The man that says ''Daffodils'' has not been speaking before in his life. 2: What day is it and why is this significant? (You may need to do some research to help you think about the significance) It is a day in March, which is spring: always linked with things getting renewed and a fresh start. 3: Clarke refers to the afternoon as being yellow and open-mouthed with daffodils. Can you identify the poetic technique being used here? What effect does it have? Open-mouthed with daffodils is both image and object. There are in fact daffodils that afternoon and because it is Spring they are opening their buds. The object instead is the man saying 'daffodils' and opening his mouth (what he hasn't done for forty years). 4: Sum up the tone or mood of the first stanza. How does this change as we read the first line of the second stanza? The tone or mood in the first stanza is written very joyfully describing something good and beautiful, but in the second stanza this doesn't turn out to be. The nice country-house is in fact a madhouse and the guests strolling are insane people. 5: What are the connotations of the word insane and what might Clarke s intentions be in using this word? Can you think of a more politically correct term? To the insane could mean to the extreme or utmost. More politically correct could be mentally disordered. 6 What is the chestnut-haired boy s condition? Clarke emphasizes the boy s youth and beauty. Why do you think Pagina 7 van 9

8 she does this? At first sight the boy just seems to be a nice young boy but he turns out to be a schizophrenic. 7: Why do you think Clarke describes the woman in stanza 3 as sitting in a cage of first March sun? What else do we learn about this woman? She is sitting there but has no other opportunity. The woman is not feeling nor listening, she's being absent. Maybe the woman is unaware relaxed just because of the nice Spring's day. 8: We are first introduced to the labourer in stanza 3. What do we learn about him in stanzas 3 and 4? He is full-grown and mature, but is in fact dumber than a child. 9: What might Clarke mean by saying she reads to their presences, absences? The bodies of the human beings are there, but some of them aren't there with their spirits or thoughts, just because they can't. 10: How does the man react to the poems at first? Why? At first he starts rocking in his chair. He seems to feel the rhythm of the poem. 11: The poet uses used the word big twice and huge once to describe this man. Why does she want to emphasize his size? To show that it is really about a mature man. It makes the contrast way bigger. 12: What is the effect of the simile, Like slow movement of spring water or the first bird of the year in the breaking darkness? It describes the feeling of the poet when she witnessed what was happening. Everybody understands the feeling you get when you see the slow movement of spring water or the first bird of the year in the breaking darkness but not a mentally disordered man speaking for the first time in his life. 13: When the man starts reciting Wordsworth s poem, how does everyone around him react? Everybody reacts shocked and with disbelief. Everybody had given up the hope that the man should ever say a word in his entire life. 14: How does the poet give us the idea that everyone and everything is quiet as the man speaks? The nurses being frozen. The word alert. The patients seem to listen. 15: What might she mean by the dumbness of misery? How is speech described in lines 34-35? I think you could turn the words around and put 'the misery of dumbness' in the sentence. Speech is described as music (this maybe explains the rhythm in the poems). 16: Why do you think the last stanza of the poem has only three lines? What happens in the last stanza? There is an abrupt end of the story, the daffodils are flame. The people realize that plants or flowers can't talk, that the man talks to something that will be silent eternally. The poem is ended so abruptly to make the effect stronger. Pagina 8 van 9

9 17: Why will this be a moment in the poet s life that she will never forget. The man didn't speak for about forty years and now she was one of the people to witness him getting his speech back. That's just so wonderful that it can't be described with words... Pagina 9 van 9