Questions on "One or two things" by Mary Oliver

1. In stanza 2 of the poem, the flight of a butterfly is described. Comment on the significance of this in the poem as a whole.

2. What is the effect created by lines 18-20, "dog voice / crow voice / frog voice." What is it telling use about the god of dirt?

3. Discuss the meaning of the the first stanza "don't bother me / I've just / been born"

4. What is the message that the poetic voice is trying to convey in the poem?

5. Pick one aspect of the poem (punctuation, metaphors, assonance, rhythm, etc) that you find to be particularly interesting and explain why that is so.

Questions on "Ice" by Mary Oliver

1. What is the overall tone of the poem, and how is this established?
2. What is the relationship between the poetic voice and other members of her family and how is this communicated?
3. What is the effect of the two-line stanzas and how does this affect the reading of the poem?
4. What connotations does 'black ice' have in the thirteenth stanza?
   
5. Why does the poetic voice ask her mother to 'please save everything' in the last stanza?
   

Questions on Mary Oliver's Sleeping In The Forest

1. Explain the plot of the poem.
2. What is the tone of the poem?
3. Comment on the structure of the poem.
4. What are the poetic voice's actions referring to? What is the effect?
5. List the literary devices used in the construction of this poem. What are each of their purpose?

Questions on Dream

1. What is the effect of the rhymes in the last three lines of stanza 3?
2. What does the rain represent in the poem?
3. What is the significance of the foliage referred to in stanza 2?
4. What does the diction use in the first 2 lines of stanza 2 suggest?
5. What does the poetic voice mean by "before they turn some corner and became two graves under the leaves"?

Questions: New York Is a Subway Stop - 1969

1. What is the tone of the poem?

2. How is New York personified in the poem? What is the effect of this?

3. What does the imagery of "odd" lovers add to the poem?

4. What is the poetic voice saying about New York?

5. What do the last three lines of the poem suggest about New York? Is this different to the previous image that has been created in the poem?

Sunrise Questions

1. What is the tone of the poem?

2. What/who is the poetic voice in the poem?

3. What is the effect of starting the poem with the idea of death?

4. What does it mean to "enter fire" in the last stanza?

Lorna Goodison's 'On Houses' - Questions

1. Who is the speaker in the poem? Who is the speaker referring to as 'you'?

2. What does the fifth and sixth line mean?

3. Comment on the shift in tone between the first and last three stanzas in the poem. What is the effect?

4. What is "careful money" referring to?

5. What is the effect of the 7th stanza containing merely one line?

Acid by Mary Oliver Questions

1. How is the boy in the poem described? What effect does this have on the persona's feelings for the moment?
2. What connotations does 'a bead of acid' have?
3. How is pain and suffering conveyed through the language used?
4. What is the phrase 'the great movers' referring to?
5. What are the main themes of the poem?

Ode to A Nightingale

Link for more information on the inspiration behind Keats' poem:

http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/odetoanightingale.html

Ode to Psyche- "soft conched ear"

In Ode to Psyche by Keats, the poestic voice refers to Psyche's "soft-conched ear" in line 4.

A conch shell looks like this (see above)

Notice the pinkish skin colour of the inside of the conch and how it does have the shape of a human ear.

Just thought it would be nice to post up the picture so everyone can picture the imagery in the poem more clearly :)

The Sweatshop Child

They click their clocks to clogged hearts
Force clobbered, cracked bones craft
Such senseless acts will reinact
As we will tempt it back

You'll beat for blood branded oaths
To back yourselves in beauty clothes
Must every store and every isle?
Steal life from every child?

Might children croon for little cradle
The corporate cost, such craze a fable
Will tell their tale like timed task
To tempt their tampered moral mask

The Blind Man

I asked a blind man, once, if he
Wished for a second chance to see
The world again with clear new eyes
And lose himself in clear blue skies.

“But how?” he asked, “For they are grey
And underneath, nought but decay.
The tender grass, the timid blooms
All crippled by our noxious fumes.

The heavens pierced by gleaming towers.
Their cruel sores bleed corroding showers;
And all the while the ocean grows
As if to binge away her woes.

So with my new unclouded eyes
I’d only see dark clouded skies.
You think you’re privileged to see;
In fact, you are as blind as me.”

Merciless

Sobbing, sobbing robin
Under leaves so old,
In the plain white snow.
'Why are thou sobbing?'

Merry, merry sparrow
I hear them say that
On the distant hill
Her wings are clipped
And her feet are tied
And her eyes are caged.

I know t'was my fault,
For I did not forgive her
It was my fault,
Because there was no Mercy.

(Inspired by Caged Bird by Maya Angelou; a mirror poem to The Blossom by W. Blake in Songs of Innocence)

The Window

You gaze intently into the crystal pane
Examining the world beyond the barrier
You see a man, one who goes by no name
And the purest of hearts is what he bears

You watch him - his every thought, his every move
You watch slowly slip into anxiety as
You watch them win, you watch him lose
You watch him fall into the clutches of society

You see a fresh man, face devoid of Soul
You see him march the streets, living to conform
You see his faith tainted, his loss of control
You can’t help but see obliteration take form

You squint as rays of light strike the glass
And you hear a piercing scream, so cold
For the window was not of the world
But a window to your dwindling soul

Of physicality.

The human heart is the core of existence,
It is broken and mended repeatedly in the vicious cycle of life.
The human mouth, mated to lies, seek refuge in ignorance,
Its words, as sharp and painful as a knife.

The human eyes are the windows to the soul,
It only sees what the mind is willing to perceive.
The human ears feed the mind false console,
It detects the mirage, what it wants to believe.

The human mind toys with fears, emotions and resistance,
Its vulnerability makes it our weakest and strongest feature.
The human body completes the existence,
It makes up this compelling creature.

Humanity

Seasons come in the cold,

Reluctant to turn the clocks back,

A mere hour of change,

Creeping into the cruel web.

Fingers on plastic keys,

And coffee so black one can taste

the bitterness

Sneaking up and into the snouts

of humanity.

Coffee without white sugar.

Seasons come in the sun,

Reluctant to turn the clocks forward,

A mere hour of progress,

Oozing from the web.

Mass (poetry homework)

One of the themes that Blake deals with in his poems is disillusionment with the Church and authority in general. I had that in mind, and tried to keep it in the quatrain aabb rhyme style.

---------

Mass

What echoes through these hallowed halls

Are desperate, dragging footfalls

Of disillusioned gentlemen,

Who stop to listen now and then.

They doff their caps and bow to Him

Eyes fixed ahead, their smiles so grim

And take their places two-by-two,

Sitting rigid at every pew.

The choir sings and all must rise

Their prayers dispensed to disguise

The Faith and Devotion they lack,

As pious eyes stare down their backs.

They raise their arms to glorify

But in their hearts and souls they lie

These gentlemen are not His men,

Who pretend to listen now and then.

William Blake - The Human Abstract

Capitalisation in the poem:

The capitalisation in The Human Abstract draws attention to the 7 qualities described in the poem, Pity, Mercy, Peace, Cruelty, Humility, Mystery and Deceit. Capitalising these qualities gives them an increased importance in the reader's mind while reading the poem, as it transforms the qualities from being abstract to tangible reality.

Effect of the pronoun "we":

The use of the collective pronoun "we" in the poem is used to include the reader and human society in the poem. For example, the use of "we" in stanza 1 in reference to Pity and Mercy, "If we did not make somebody poor," and "if all were as happy as we" suggests that our actions, the actions of the human race necessitate Pity and Mercy.

In The Divine Image, which is the complementary poem to The Human Abstract in Songs of Innocence, Pity and Mercy are presented to the reader as good, divine qualities that all humans possess. However in this poem, Pity and Mercy arise as a direct result of poverty and unhappiness.

By using the pronoun "we" at the very beginning of the poem, Blake ensures that the reader has themselves and society in mind while reading the rest of the poem, creating links between themselves and the qualities mentioned after stanza 1

Effect of the metaphor tied to the idea of Mystery:

Mystery is described as "[spreading] a dismal shade," creating a contrast between light and dark. That is to say, Mystery is casting shadows, therefore it is spreading uncertainty.

"And the caterpillar and fly / Feed on this Mystery," - caterpillars and flies are insects, pests. This could be a reference to society, and that uncertainty and mystery are nourishment for those who resemble pests, or that Mystery is a negative feeling to spread because it is only fit for insects to feed on.

The connotations of the raven

A raven is a large, black, crow (left) which feeds on carrion - the decaying flesh of other animals. As such, a raven often symbolises darkness, death and evil.

The raven in The Human Abstract has made his nest in Deceit's "thickest shade", implying that it is lurking in the shadows, waiting for death to occur. The image created by placing a pitch-black scavenger bird in thick shadows is one of a predator lying in wait for fresh meat.

This relates to the quality of Deceit, which is about making people the victims of a lie, suggesting that the raven is lying in wait to feed off the victims of deceit.

Why the fruit of Deceit is sweet and the effect this has syntactically and on the meaning conveyed:

The metaphor of Deceit as a fruit that is "Ruddy and sweet to eat,"

relates directly to the duplicitousness of Deceit. Lies seem good on their surface because it is intended that we accept the lie, and they seem "sweet" because they should seem to somehow work in our favour in order for us to ingest them completely, much like how we eat fruits which look appealing, and continue to eat them because their taste agrees with us.

Deceit seems positive when presented as a fruit that is ruddy and sweet, however the intent behind its growth is not. "Ruddy" calls to mind an apple, and the general metaphor of this tree growing in the poem suggests that Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. God told Adam and Eve not to eat the apples from the Tree, however Eve was persuaded, through the deceit of the Serpent to eat the apple, and thus Adam and Eve gained original sin, a taint they then passed down to the human race.

What Humility is and why it "takes root" underneath Cruelty's foot, and what it communicates to the reader:

One interpretation of humility is that it is the lowering of one's own importance. Looking at it this way, we can interpret that Humility taking root at the feet of Cruelty suggests that, as a result of Cruelty, our selves are lowered in status and importance. Or that Cruelty forces people into submission.

Humility can also be viewed positively - we can say that someone has humility if they are modest and humble. Because Humility is the "root" of the tree, perhaps this means that humility is within us all, or is the "base" from which we all stared. However, if "watered" with the tears of Cruelty the way plants may be watered in a garden, out of the Humility grows the shade of Mystery and the fruit of Deceit.

The Chimney Sweeper - Songs of Innocence

The Chimney-Sweeper is a poem that highlights the cruel situation of child labour and the escape that God can offer the children who have been locked up by society.

How does Blake evoke a strong sense of pity for the children in the poem?
Blake evokes a strong sense of pity from the reader for the children in several ways. Firstly, he bombards the reader with a list of things that has happened to the speaker within the first few lines of the poem; "When my mother died, I was very young, / And my father sold me" (lines 1-2). The use of diction "and" and "so" is also repeated throughout the poem, and this adds to the sense that horrible events just continue to pile up on the children, "and" meaning "to make things worse" and "so" meaning "as a result of this".
In line 3, the child "could scarcely cry 'weep weep weep weep'". The auditory imagery highlights the vulnerability of the child, and the fact that the child could "scarcely cry" shows that the children did not have the power to speak or alert others of the horrible situation in which the lived, adding to the sense of helplessness.

How does Blake use imagery for impact?
Blake continues to evoke empathy throughout the poem with the use of imagery to describe/highlight three main points;

1. The innocence and fragility of the children, as well as their youth
   "curled like a lamb's back" (line 6) - young and innocent
   "the soot cannot spoil your white hair" (line 8) "naked and white" (line 17) - angelic/cherub-like presence, highlights purity of the soul
   
2. The conditions in which the children live and how society is responsible for this
   "locked up in coffins of black" (line 12) - the words "locked up" shows that they have been forced unwillingly by society in their situation. "coffins of black" could symbolise chimneys, and the use of the word "coffins" is related to the fact that many chimney-sweepers died working. This imagery places the blame on society, because if there was no demand for chimney-sweepers, then these children would not be in this situation
3. The life that these children should be living
   "down a green plain leaping, laughing they run, / and wash in a river and shine in the sun" - this pastoral imagery is used to show the freedom that these children deserve and how they belong in nature, not in the industrial world
   

How does the last line stand out from the rest of the poem?
The last stanza stands out from the rest of the poem because throughout the poem the speaker appears to be in a dreamlike state, while the last stanza brings the speaker as well as the reader back into reality, which is "if all do their duty, they need not fear harm". This last line shows that these innocent children have been manipulated into believing what others tell them and into following authority, which continues to evoke sympathy from readers. The last line also seems to finalise the fact that there is really no escape; all the children have are their hopes and dreams as a temporary escape from the harsh reality.

What ironies does Blake highlight in this poem?
Blake highlights several ironies in this poem. Firstly, the last line of the poem is ironic because their duty is, in fact, very harmful for the children. This reinforces the point that Blake is trying to make concerning the lack of hope. In line 19, "the angel told Tom if he'd be a good boy, / he'd have God for his father and never want joy". This seems like a false promise because these children are pure and they are good, and it is as if the only way they would ever never want joy is if they died. Would these children rather find peace in death or live life as a chimney-sweeper? The third irony highlighted in this poem is in line 23 "though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm". This highlights the nature of children and how they try to be happy by searching for the positive in everything. However, we all know that it is futile, especially as this line is coupled with the last line of the poem, adding to the effect and sense of helplessness.

What are the most evocative elements in this poem? Why?
In my opinion, one of the most evocative elements in this poem is the blatant contrast of the imagery of the innocent children and the situation that they are in, as this evokes a strong sense of pity from the readers. Another evocative element in the poem is the subtle accusatory tone, which is found in several parts of the poem; "so your chimneys I sweep" (line 4), "locked up" (line 12) and "if all do their duty" (line 24). This tone pulls readers in and open their eyes to the reality of the situation these children are locked up in.

Questions on "The Lamb"

Comment on the auditory effects of the poem

The diction Blake uses contributes to the auditorily pleasing effect of the poem. Most of the words in the poem are mono-syllabic, which highlights its simplistic nature which in turn emphasizes the innocence and pureness of the lamb. The endings of each line are usually soft and long and coupled with a pleasing vowel sound reflects upon the lamb's innocence and in addition adds a comforting effect. This for example is illustrated in the lines:
"Gave thee life and bid thee feed / By the stream and o'er the mead"


How does the rhyme scheme add to the reading of the poem?

The rhyme scheme "AABB" gives the poem a sense on continuity; it flows smoothly without any disruptions. which again adds to the pleasant and calming effect. It makes the readers feel soothed and relaxed upon listening to it being read.


What does the imagery suggest about Blake's view of the Lamb?

The visual imagery portrayed in this poem are very pastoral. This highlights the innocence of the lamb as readers get a picture of an idyllic habitat in which it lives in. Blake views the lamb as a creature of innocence but at the same time also vulnerable. This is emphasized through his use of diction such as the word "softest", which is used to describe the lamb's lavish coat of fur. This suggested that the lamb is pampered and provided with the best form of protection for its body. Additionally, the word "tender", which is used to describe its voice depicts an image of a child who has not been exposed to the harsh and real world yet.


What literary devices add to the pleasant effect of the poem?

The use of assonance, the repetition of the 'e' sound is especially emphasized in the second stanza. The sound is akin to the bleating of a lamb, and is also a sound associated with happiness and cheerfulness. Also, the diction used to describe the lamb in the poem makes the lamb appear non-threatening and harmless as there are no negative connotations implied by any of the words in the poem. The use of capitalization in the poem is significant. The capitalization of "Lamb" and "God" suggests that they are both interrelated to each other and are of equal importance. Also, the use of the epithet "Little Lamb" emphasizes the lamb's innocence both physically (how it is young) and mentally (how it is vulnerable)


What is the effect of indentation and the use of rhetorical questions?

The use of indentation is to split the poem into two parts; the first part from lines 1 to 10, and the second from lines 11 to 20. The first part of the poem consists of rhetorical questions while the second part provides answers to the questions that are posted. I think the significance of this is to bring the attention to the readers that there is only one answer for all the questions asked, and it is clearly God. The increased use of punctuation, namely full-stops in the second part of the poem gives a degree of finality to the answer, as though it is not to be questioned further or debated. Rhetorical questions in this poem are used to emphasize the power of God as He is the creator of the lamb and the environment in which the lamb dwells. It is as though the poetic voice is asking the lamb how it came to be and the fact that the lamb is unable to answer highlights how innocent and inexperienced it is.

Identify the tone in the poem

A didactic tone is present in the poem, especially in the second part of the poem. It is as though the poetic voice is educating the Little Lamb about the power of God and His creations. There is also a tranquil and serene tone present which gives off a comforting and soothing effect, as though the readers are being told a story due to the poem's hymn-like nature.