[Matthew150]

Hi all,

My first post and thread.

Thought it might be a good idea if everyone shares their ideas on poems and tips for tomorrow in one place. Here.

So if people wanna share what they've got, that'd be great.

Matthew

[Matthew150]

What sort of links and comparisons did people get?

[ArtisticFlair]

Both Rossetti and Scannell use language which evokes a feeling of outrage and anger towards another person or object. The last line of Sister Maude is ‘Bide you with death and sin’, which runs with an iambic trimeter; the stress on the words ‘you’, ‘death’ and ‘sin’ allows the speaker to successfully confirm the certainty of Maude’s fate, which is almost satisfying for the reader, who has witnessed the speaker’s victory over the evil Maude in a matter of good and evil. The plosive ‘b’ in ‘Bide’ is almost spat when read by the reader, which enables Rossetti to effectively convey the speaker’s feelings of pure hatred and fury at her snide sister. This last line is particularly effective for the reader as it sums up the theme of the poem: the speaker is so offended and frustrated by her sister that the matter escalates into a matter of good and evil whereby she almost banishes Maude to hell. Although this may be shocking for some readers, it only increases the wickedness of Maude’s character. Similarly, Scannell also adapts an iambic tetrameter in the line ‘I took the hook and honed the blade’, which adds a sense of determination to his actions of cutting down the bed of nettles which hurt his son. The assonance of the ‘oo’ sound in ‘took’, ‘hook’ and ‘honed’ has an accumulative effect which allows Scannell to portray the speaker’s rising feelings of anger as he prepares to kill the nettles which hurt his son. Unlike Rossetti, this line lacks any plosive or ‘hissing’ language, but this successfully enables Scannell to subtly reveal that his anger is so intense that he cannot put it into words; this may have the opposite effect on the reader, who are fearfully anticipating what the speaker will do next, contrary to the speaker in Sister Maude who simply relies on the consequences of sin to portray Maude’s fate which is perhaps a tepid threat for a modern reader (although this would have been more frightening for a reader in its Victorian period of publication when religion was taken literally and seriously).

[Matthew150]

Thanks for that Artistic. Really useful!

[ArtisticFlair]

Also, as there is a choice of two questions, is it acceptable for me to not study one poem (Manhunt), but be completely confident with the rest?

[Matthew150]

Probably, but it'd be worth having a look at it just in case the other question is really really horrible. (I'll take your word for it that there's a choice of questions, not too familiar with the exam structure myself)

[Matthew150]

If you want I could give you my notes on Manhunt?

[ArtisticFlair]

(Original post by Matthew150)
If you want I could give you my notes on Manhunt?

Ooh, yes please! I was in South Africa when we had that lesson - and I never did get the notes from my teacher.

[Zahirajavaid]

Anyone got any info on Benjamain Zephaniah poems?



This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[Matthew150]

(Better warn you my notes aren't as good as yours!)

Lines 1/2: This couplet I feel suggests that she found there were many different phases and her husband's mood changed a lot throughout.
Lines 3/4: "Only then" gets repeated a lot throughout the poem, meaning that he did not let his wife touch his scarred body parts at first, it was a slow and gradual process. The term "frozen river" could mean that it is insensitive to feeling and hard. Perhaps represents his mental state too.
Line 5/6: Again, another reference to the time taken. There word "let" shows the reluctance.
Lines 7/8: Handle and Hold could reflect a wedding ceremony - "to have and hold from thie day forward; for better, for worse... in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part". Porcelain portrays delicacy.

-Will do rest in a sec-

[Matthew150]

Lines 9/10: "Mind and attend" shows how she cared for him. "rudder" - used to steer boats, could reflect his sudden loss of direction.
Lines 11/12: Term "Parachute" shows delicacy (as mentioned above)
Lines 13/14: "bind" to fix, and "climb the rungs" could mean climbing back up the relationship, to be close to him again.
Lines 15/16: To understand his pain, and "heart" to explain the fact it looks like he'd lost the ability to love.
Lines 17/18: Scan could be linked to the Ultrasound scan a pregnant mother has, shows the growth of the bullet and consequent pain.
Lines 19/20: Links to previous 2, Foetus and scan.
Lines 21/22: She looks back for the true sources and traces back the problems.
Lines 23/24: She finds the real problem is the psycological impacts.
Lines 25/26: Only then does she think she is close to the problem and understanding.

[Matthew150]

(Original post by Zahirajavaid)
Anyone got any info on Benjamain Zephaniah poems?



This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Sorry I don't.

[Matthew150]

(Original post by ArtisticFlair)
Ooh, yes please! I was in South Africa when we had that lesson - and I never did get the notes from my teacher.

Bit of background too - Armitage was writing the poems for a TV documentary called "Fallen Heroes". Manhunt was written to represent a woman's search for the man she loved, who returned from Bosnia with both physical and Psycological impacts.

[ArtisticFlair]

(Original post by Matthew150)
Bit of background too - Armitage was writing the poems for a TV documentary called "Fallen Heroes". Manhunt was written to represent a woman's search for the man she loved, who returned from Bosnia with both physical and Psycological impacts.

Interesting - but the examiner report says to avoid including context? I'm sure it would be rather sophisticated to discuss it in the introduction or conclusion.

[Matthew150]

(Original post by ArtisticFlair)
Interesting - but the examiner report says to avoid including context? I'm sure it would be rather sophisticated to discuss it in the introduction or conclusion.

Really? I have to admited I haven't read the reports. So you would recommond putting it in still or not?

[Globox]

I'm trying to compare Born Yesterday and Nettles tonight, as Born Yesterday is a very likely poem to appear tomorrow. Anyone got any ideas?

[Lizy]

What does everyone think will come up tommorow in relationships?

[ArtisticFlair]

(Original post by Lizy)
What does everyone think will come up tommorow in relationships?

Regretably, I believe..

Praise Song for my Mother
To His Coy Mistress
Sonnet 116
Ghazal
Farmer's Bride
Born Yesterday

Just make sure you have a detailed plan for a comparison between one of these poems and another one from the cluster...

Also, make sure you're evaluating language/structure/form and explaining the effects on the reader.

[daniya12]

BORN YESTERDAY COMPARES WELL WITH TO HIS COY
-one is obviously a caring tender love he wants happiness for her, while one is lustful, hypothetical love
-there perception of beauty is very different, BY dismisses peoples sentiments
about 'usual stuff' such as 'being beautiful' as inconsequential and rather naive
in to his coy, he threatens is lover that 'beauty shall no more be found' and that her youthful hue is like morning dew, analyse the simile - speakers make it seem love is very important
-lastly, a point about carpe diem(to seize the day) in BY, he says not to worry about the 'usual stuff' implying they are unlikely to happen, importance of simply being happy in life achieved with 'average talents' look at contrast in vocab ('dull' 'flexible' 'vigilant' 'enthralled' etc) and paradoxical idea that dull is extraordinary
in to his coy, he implies life is short, personifies time as a 'winged chariot hurrying near' metaphor aided by enjambment implies life is short, that you need as many 'pleasures' as possible to be happy- to seize the day! whereas BY encourages you to accept life's limits

[daniya12]

other predicted ones for tomorrow:

GHAZAL WHICH COMPARES WELL WITH FARMERS BRIDE:
- ghazal views love as rather powering, in a positive way, look at the metaphors and natural imagery pairing the lover and speaker together, as if they enhance each other. Obviously in FB there is no love, only lust, final stanza (her hair her hair, her eyes etc.etc) the repetition creates an almost psychotic tone as his thoughts are getting jumbled up
-second point: male dominance, in ghazal she places him higher than her, a similar theme is in FB, she is scared of men, and he is very possessive of her (verbs : chased her, caught her, fetched her) views her like a sexual object. But in ghazal, the power is given to the man by the speaker, her love for him borders idolatry almost worshiping him, whereas in FB it is very violent, implying the vulnerable position of women (makes sense as Mew, the poet was a feminist poet)
-lastly, a point would be the fact that in ghazal she wants a relationship with him, she would change herself for him, and there is a sense of desperation, she asks him to be 'lover' 'muse' 'guide' 'shamsuddin'- look at repetition of these clauses, it is a plea. BUT in FB, it is clear he doesnt want to build relationship, hes 'hardly heard her speak at atll' yet she 'happily chats and plays with rabbits and birds' look at the irony, she talks to animals yet not her own husband. She's been reduced to animals, literally. Show it isnt a very loving relationship