Glossary Anseo - here and now in Irish Ledger - a book normally used for book-keeping. Here used as a register. Droll - amusing in an odd or quaint way Ward-of-court - a child placed under the protection of a court After reading Stanza 1 'Anseo' by Paul Muldoon 1. What impression do you get of the primary schooling that is described? 2. What are the typical responses when Joseph's name is called? 3. What do these responses imply about Joseph and the teacher's attitude towards him? Stanza 2 4. What does the teacher do to Joseph when he returns to school? 5. Why do you think he does this? 6. What is Joseph's response to this? 7. What do his actions suggest about a) his character and b) his attitude to discipline? Stanza 3 8. How has the focus changed in this stanza? 9. What is Joe Ward doing at the time of his encounter with the speaker? 10. What did he achieve in the army? 11. What impression are we given of his leadership qualities? 12. How do the final lines take us back to the beginning of the poem? What is the purpose of this? The message of the poem 13. How far do you agree that the poem illustrates the following statements: Childhood experiences shape the lives of adults Suffering and cruelty can make a person stronger A person who is treated cruelly or oppressed will eventually fight back Can you add a statement to this list? 14. Which words would you use to sum up the speaker/ poet's attitude towards Joe Ward: Admiring Sympathetic Curious Mocking 15. What techniques does the poet use in order to create a conversational tone and style in the poem? 2004 www.teachit.co.uk 1567.doc Page 1 of 5
Compare the ways in which the two poets write about the past in these two poems. Poem I Remember, I Remember The Tune the Old Cow Died Of Speaker First person speaker. An adult is reflecting on his own past. Trigger for memories of past A train journey which happens to go through Coventry, the place of the speaker s birth. How past is described The speaker s thoughts show a childhood that was unspent. A series of disappointments and negatives are contrasted with idealised images. Effects of past on speaker/ character A sense of bitterness, disappointment and resentment is shown. In dialogue at the end, speaker seems resigned about the situation. Techniques used to reinforce meaning Poem uses a regular stanza structure, ten syllable lines (using iambic pentameter) which give a formality to the poem. Enjambement is used between lines and stanzas to reflect the speaker s thought process. The last line is deliberately separated from the rest of the poem and sums up the speaker s attitude to the past, Nothing. 2004 www.teachit.co.uk 1567.doc Page 2 of 5
Poem 'You're' 'Babysitting' Generations involved A pregnant woman and her unborn child. What the poem is about The excitement and mystery of the baby as it develops in the womb. Speaker and audience The woman is addressing the child directly. Mood or tone of poem Joy, excitement, anticipation and wonder. Style features Imagery - similes and metaphors to describe the baby. The poem is like a riddle. 'To Edwin, at Eight Months' 'I Remember, I Remember' 'Anseo' 'A Short Film' 'The Tune the Old Cow Died Of' 2004 www.teachit.co.uk 1567.doc Page 3 of 5
Imagery chart Image Technique Effect created Mute as a turnip from the Fourth/ Of July to All Fool's day, Bent-backed Atlas Metaphor The baby is compared to the Greek god Atlas who had to carry the world on his shoulders. This illustrates the shape of the baby in the womb. Jumpy as a Mexican bean As she rises sobbing from the monstrous land Insurrectionary beetle My dangerous hands/ scarper like scoutcubs Now it is a dangerous weapon, a time-bomb The whole mad town/ seemed fit to blow its lid off 2004 www.teachit.co.uk 1567.doc Page 4 of 5
This poem is a sonnet. Sonnets are traditionally written in the following way: 'Poem' by Simon Armitage 14 lines long Lines of 10 syllables in iambic pentameter Three quatrains (sets of four lines) and a couplet which are shown by a rhyme scheme Ideas are generally summed up in the couplet. 1. List all the good things the man did in his life in your own words. 2. List all the bad things the man did in his life in your own words. 3. What is your opinion of this man as a father, husband and son? 4. Who might 'they' be at the end of the poem? When are they rating or judging him? 5. How far does this poem obey the rules of the sonnet form? 6. What sort of language is used in the poem and why might this be? 7. What is the effect of the repetition of 'And' at the start of lines? 8. The poet uses assonance at the end of each line, for example in 'drive', 'side' and 'night.' What other examples of this technique can you find and why do you think they have been used? Exam practice: Compare the ways in which Armitage and Heaney present a man and his relationship with his family in 'Poem' and 'Follower.' 1. Who is speaking in the poem and what experience is she describing? 'The Flowers' by Selima Hill 2. What impression do you get of the relationship between the mother and daughter from the first stanza? 3. How have the daughter's actions been described in stanza two? 4. What do her actions suggest about her relationship with and feelings towards her grandfather? 5. How does the final stanza 'round off' the ideas in the poem? 6. How do the mother and daughter handle the experience of bereavement differently? 7. What is the effect of enjambement used throughout the poem? Exam practice: Compare the ways in which Hill and Harrison present the effects of bereavement in 'Flowers' and 'Long Distance.' 2004 www.teachit.co.uk 1567.doc Page 5 of 5