anyone

lived in a pretty how town Cummings

Meaning: What is the poem
about? What are the key
themes?


Imagery: What are the
powerful images in the
poem? What effect do they
have?
Language: What language
techniques have been used?
What is their effect? How do
they relate to the message of
the poem?

Emotions: What is the

mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling? How
does the reader feel?

Structure: What does the

poem look like on the page?
Is there a clear rhyme
scheme? What is the pace of
the poem? How does the
structure reflect the meaning
of the poem?

Key points

Key quotes

-The poem explores the life of an

abstract (possibly a poet) persona
(anyone) and his love (noone)
-The poem addresses concepts of
time and how society imposes a fixed
conformist order on the arbitrary
movement of life.

She laughed his joy and cried his

grief
he sang his didnt and danced his
did/ they sowed their isnt and
reaped their same
(sleep wake hope and then)they said
their nevers they slept their dream

-The poem contrasts traditional

images of linear time with more
imaginative/poetic images of how we
might quantify life
-The bells can symbolize both passing
of time (bells on the hour) or ordering
time through key events and
emotions (marriage or funeral)
-The poem uses abstract, indefinite
personas to make the message of the
poem a universal comment on the
individual in an uncaring society
-The playful language sounds like a
nursery rhyme and relates to the
playful imaginative approach to
language (and life) that the poem
explores.
-The poem confuses tenses and the
traditional linear sentence structure
(Subject verb adverb object) to
explore different ways of
understanding life rather than just a
linear following of time passing
-The mood is both affirming and
somewhat tragic. Anyone and noone
are in love but the people around
them follow an established order and
are oblivious to their different world
view (and their love). However they
seem joyful in their uniqueness and
are compared to children in the
richness of their imaginative life. This
being said anyones lover being
noone suggests that he is hopeless
in the face of societys rules.
-The notion of linear time/narrative is
challenged by the disrupted syntax
and grammatical variation on the
traditional sentence structure.
-The lack of any punctuation (other
than brackets) doesnt determine
where the reader finishes the
sentence which further rejects the
idea of enforced uniformity that the
poem explores. It allows us to
construct our own meanings

Sun moon stars rain/ summer

autumn winter spring


(with up so floating many bells
down)
anyone lived
noone loved him more and more
women and men

laughed their cryings and did their
dance

Busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was all by all
and deep by deep


Wish by spirit and if by yes
women and men cared for anyone
not at all

anyones any was all to her

children guessed (but only a few and
down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)

(and noone stooped to kiss his face
Summer autumn winter spring reaped
their sowing and went their came sun
moon stars rain



all by all and deep by deep and more
by more they dream their sleep noone
and anyone earth by april


Aunt Julia MacCaig


Meaning: What is the poem
about? What are the key
themes?

Key points

Key quotes

-The speaker reminisces on his Aunt

Julia. He remembers what an amazing
woman she was and wishes he had
been able to express
himself/communicate with her better
when she was alive.
-The poem explores the power of
memory and nostalgia and the sharp
contrast between the vibrancy of
death and the silence of life

Imagery: What are the

powerful images in the
poem? What effect do they
have?

-The image of Aunt Julia is of an

unorthodox, independent, unique
woman.
-She is strongly linked to the
landscape and her Scottish/Gaelic
heritage

I could not answer her

I could not understand her

her right hand drew yarn marvelously
out of the air

But I hear her still, welcoming me with
a seagulls voice

with so many questions unanswered
She wore mens boots when she wore
any

Across a hundred yards of peatscapes
and lazybeds

Language: What language

techniques have been used?
What is their effect? How do
they relate to the message of
the poem?


Emotions: What is the
mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling? How
does the reader feel?

-Positive language in his associations

with aunt Julia including metaphors
to symbolize her vivacity and
anthropomorphic personification to
reflect the feeling of comfort in her
home

-This contrasts to the quiet,
whispered sibilance and lifeless
imagery of her death

She was buckets and water flouncing

into them

Hers was the only house listening to
crickets being friendly


she lay silenced in the absolute black
of a sandy grave

-The poem moves between the joy of

the speakers memory of his aunt
(and the childhood she symbolizes)
and the sadness of her passing,
especially as he feels the missed
opportunity of truly connecting with
her

She was brown eggs, black shirts and

a keeper of threepennybits in a teapot


with so many questions unanswered

Structure: What does the

poem look like on the page?
Is there a clear rhyme
scheme? What is the pace of
the poem? How does the
structure reflect the meaning
of the poem?

-The free verse structure represents

the shifting movement of memory.

-The repetition of she and I
emphasise the link between the
speaker and his aunt but also the gap
between them (across a hundred
yards)

she was buckets

And water flouncing into them.
She was winds pouring wetly
Round house-ends.


By the time I had learned a little, she
lay silenced

 Autobiography MacNiece

Key points

Key quotes

Meaning: What is the

poem about? What
are the key themes?

The poem is a self reflective exploration of the poets

childhood focusing on the tragic event of his mothers
death and the profound impact it had on him-
bringing him to maturity prematurely.

The poem also explores the nature of memory and
the experience of returning to painful events in the
past
The poem contrasts the simplistic positive colour
imagery of his life before the trauma with the
nightmarish dark imagery associated with after the
event

The final image is one of light but robbed of any
warmth as the speaker is now alone
The simplistic, childlike register of the poem reflects
the speakers younger self and his ability to fully deal
with the terrible tragedy.
Memory is presented as something uncertain and
ambiguous due to the lack of clarity in some of the
language- it is deceptively simple where in fact each
couplet can be interpreted in a variety of ways
Past tense emphasises sense of an ending of
childhood

When I was five the black dreams

came; nothing after was quite the
same

Saw me walk away alone

come back early or never come

Imagery: What are the

powerful images in
the poem? What
effect do they have?
Language: What
language techniques
have been used?
What is their effect?
How do they relate to
the message of the
poem?
Emotions: What is the
mood/atmosphere of
the poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling?
How does the reader
feel?
Structure: What does
the poem look like on
the page? Is there a
clear rhyme scheme?
What is the pace of
the poem? How does
the structure reflect
the meaning of the
poem?

The intense sadness and isolation of the child is felt

as well as his inability to communicate it


Resignation at the end as the child reaches the next
stage of maturity.
The couplets create a childlike tone but also reflect
the circularity of a memory that he keeps returning
to.
The refrain is ambiguous. Is it addressed to the
reader explaining the importance of remembering? Is
it a plea from the speaker to his dead mother? Is it
the ghost of the mother asking him to remember? Is
it an acknowledgement that once things are lost they
cannot be regained?
The turning point of the poem is the event of his
mothers death the poem is equally balanced before
and after. The caesura in the last couplet also signals
a turning point
Although initially the poem suggests a linear narrative
structure the order of events is confused by the
ambiguity of the lines. This could link to the murky
uncertainty of childhood remembrance (particularly
of a traumatic event)

trees were green mother wore a

yellow dress
the dark was talking to the dead; the
lamp was dark beside my bed

the chilly sun saw me walk away
alone
there was plenty to be seen the
black dreams came; nothing after
was quite the same silent terror
cried

My father made the walls resound,
he wore his collar the wrong way
round

In my childhood trees were green
nobody, nobody was there

Silent terror cried

I got up

greenseen
camesame


come back early or never come



nothing after was quite the same

I got up; the chilly sun




my father made the walls resound

Baby Song Gunn

Meaning: What is the poem
about? What are the key
themes?


Imagery: What are the
powerful images in the
poem? What effect do they
have?

Key points

Key quotes

-The poem is from the point of view

of a new born baby. The baby is afraid
of the world and craves the security
of the womb.
-The poem explores the idea of the
fall of man and the shift from the
innocence of childhood to the
experience of sin in the world,
however it also acknowledges that
this is inevitable and it is nave to fight
against time/growth.
-Light and dark imagery reflects
innocence and experience, purity and
sin, but also knowledge and ignorance

-The idea that the womb represents
stasis and security whereas the world
reflects experience and time passing

From the private ease of Mothers

womb
I fall into the lighted room

But one thing follows on another.
Things were different inside Mother.

A rain of blood poured round her
womb,
But all time roars outside his room
I fall into the lighted room where it
is warm and wet and black


A rain of blood poured round her
womb,
But all time roars outside his room
Where it is warm and wet and black
I lie there raging, small and red
(soft w alliteration vs. harsh r
alliteration)

Why dont they simply put me back

Language: What language

techniques have been used?
What is their effect? How do
they relate to the message of
the poem?

-The baby speakers language reflects

the perceived comfort of the womb
and the negative feeling of entering
the world

-The nave, juvenile language,
however shows how hopeless this
desire to return is.

Emotions: What is the

mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling? How
does the reader feel?
Structure: What does the
poem look like on the page?
Is there a clear rhyme
scheme? What is the pace of
the poem? How does the
structure reflect the meaning
of the poem?

-The child is bitter about having to

enter the world and longs for the
womb

From the private ease of Mothers

womb I fall into the lighted room
Padded and jolly I would ride The
perfect comfort of her inside
raging, small and red
But all time roars outside this room

-Rhyming couplets show the childs

fear of progression- the rhyme
reflects the desire to return to its
original state in the womb. The rhyme
scheme is also ironic as it gives the
poem the feel of a nursery
rhyme/lullaby whereas the content is
anything but.
-The monologue form gives us the
childs perspective but reveals it as
blinkered
-End stopped couplets reflect the
desire for stasis rather than change
Long vowel sounds create an echo to
mimic the emptiness of life outside
the womb

wombroom


room.
regret.
inside.

The Ballad of Rudolph Reed Brooks

Key points
Key quotes
for were they not firm in s
Meaning: What is the poem Poem explores the desire for independence
and identity for a black family. They dream of a home of their own?
about? What are the key
home of their own.

However this dream is unachievable in the face where every room of many
themes?
of unyielding prejudice and racism.
rooms will be full of room


with a yawning eye that

Imagery: What are the
powerful images in the
poem? What effect do they
have?

Language: What language

techniques have been
used? What is their effect?
How do they relate to the
message of the poem?


Emotions: What is the
mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling? How
does the reader feel?
Structure: What does the
poem look like on the
page? Is there a clear
rhyme scheme? What is the
pace of the poem? How
does the structure reflect
the meaning of the poem?

squeezed into a slit

Rudolph and his family are described as oaken. For Rudolph Reed was
The layers of meaning refer to his race (oak) is a oakener than others in the
dark wood and his personality (oak is strong,
nation
tough and unyielding, endures hardship) as well
as having symbolic significance (the positive
His two good girls and his
connotations of a natural substance (in contrast good little man oakened as
to corroded and bitter whites) and as the
they grew
national tree of America (ironic as Reed is
denied the rights outlined in the constitution.
Poverty personified in the old house
hear the plaster stir as if in

pain
-Positive image of Rudolphs family contrasts to two good girls and his good
negative image of white racism
little man/with a yawing eye

that squeezed into a slit
-Rudolphs resolution reflected in use of
a street of bitter white
fricative alliteration (again in contrast to the
corroded to a grin
white agents sibilant, snake like tones)
not hungry for bread. I am not
hungry for berries. But hungry
hungry for a house/
the agents steep and steady
stare
Rudolph resolution is displayed in the opening And fight for it when I find it
stanzas

We then see his endurance and dignity in the
But the Rudolph Reeds and
face of oppression. Eventually he is pushed too the children three were too
far and breaks (even a mighty oak or a pliant
joyous to notice it
reed eventually breaks) and we are left with

tragedy.
patience ached to endure
he ran like a mad thing
Ballad-tragic story. Traditional folk tale (creates
a sense of continuity as well as subversion by
adopting an established poetic form) This could
also emphasise the long history of oppression.
The rhyme scheme and ballad form give it a
lyrical quality that links to African American
musical heritage while also adding poignancy to
the tale.
Ballad traditionally ends with a moral, so has a
didactic function- the poet is hoping we learn
something (but is this a tragic message?)

Her oak-eyed mother did no
thing, but change the bloody
gauze

Death in Leamington Betjeman

Meaning: What is the poem
about? What are the key
themes?

Imagery: What are the
powerful images in the
poem? What effect do they
have?

Key points

Key quotes

The poem describes the death of an

elderly lady in the suburban town of
Leamington spa.
The poem deals with the everyday
mundanity of death and the gradual
decay caused by the passing of time.

She died in the upstairs bedroom

At the gray, decaying face
As the calm of a Leamington evning
Drifted into place

The habitual tasks performed by

the maid reflect how little impact
the ladys death has. It also re-
emphasise the everyday
domesticity of the scene. The
harsh alliteration of bs, cs and ms
help to emphasise the ruthless,
uncaring attitude of the world
around

She bolted the big round window,

She let the blinds unroll, She set a
match to the mantle, She covered the
fire with coal

Language: What language

techniques have been used?
What is their effect? How do
they relate to the message of
the poem?

Personification of her belongings is

juxtaposed against her own
lifelessness. It also emphasises the
lack of difference between the
existence of the inanimate objects
and the humans in the poem, adding
to the feeling of the insignificance of
life.

The description of the house reflects
the decay of the dead woman, once
appealing it is now run-down and
dilapidated.

Beside her the lonely crochet

Lay patiently unstirred,
But the fingers that would have workd
it, Were dead as the spoken word

Emotions: What is the

mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling? How
does the reader feel?

The poet describes the event in a

neutral tone showing the lack of
emotion that attends the death,
however there is a tragic undertone
suffused with loneliness and isolation

There is even an element of
irony/sarcasm suggesting a criticism
of both humanitys desire to see
death as significant, and the
mundanity of everyday life as seen in
the nurses actions.

she died upstairs in the bedroom

By the light of the evning star




Oh chintzy, chintzy cheeriness
Half dead and half alive!

Structure: What does the

poem look like on the page?
Is there a clear rhyme
scheme? What is the pace of
the poem? How does the
structure reflect the meaning
of the poem?

ABCB rhyme scheme

Fixed structure of 8 quatrains

Gives a chintzy cheeriness to the

poem which jars with the content
creating an ironic mocking tone.

Lack of impact of her death, life goes
on regardless as does the fixed stanza
structure

But Nurse was alone with her own

little soul,
And the things were alone with theirs

From those yellow Italianate arches
Do you hear the plaster drop?

The House of Hospitalities Hardy

Meaning: What is the poem
about? What are the key
themes?


Imagery: What are the
powerful images in the
poem? What effect do they
have?
Language: What language
techniques have been used?
What is their effect? How do
they relate to the message of
the poem?


Emotions: What is the
mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling? How
does the reader feel?
Structure: What does the
poem look like on the page?
Is there a clear rhyme
scheme? What is the pace of
the poem? How does the
structure reflect the meaning
of the poem?

Key points

Key quotes

The speaker describes visiting the

dilapidated shell of a house that he
used to visit at Christmas
The poem contrasts the vibrancy of
past memories with the death and
decay caused by the passing of time
however at the end the speaker is
comforted by the strength of these
memories that give the house
warmth even in its decayed state.
The juxtaposition of life and death is
effectively expressed by the rotting
musical instrument and the memory
of the music it created. However the
instrument itself is merely the
physical object and the music is what
the speaker values which can still be
conjured in the memory
Christmas as a symbolic time of
friendship and happiness.
Togetherness emphasised.
Fire as image of warmth, friendship
(was already fading even then)
Soft sibilance and positive association
of music.
Personification of spiders gives even a
traditionally negative creature
positive/homely associations.

Time has tired me since we met here

When the folk now dead were young

Yet at midnight if here walking I see
forms of old time talking, Who smile on
me

When Now Yet

The poem is highly nostalgic but while

it mourns the passing of time the
present seems to be given life and
meaning by the memory of the past
despite the inevitable decay that
comes with age/time

Yet at midnight if here walking I see

forms of old times talking who smile on
me

Now no Christmas brings in neighbours
and the new year comes unlit

Poem moves from past to present

mirroring the passing of time, but has
a conditional yet in the final stanza
to emphasise the positivity of holding
on to memories
ABAB rhyme scheme reflects speakers
oscillation between past and present,
also reinforces the idea that even as
time passes we can return to things

HereNowYet





WalkingTree
TalkingMe

And the worm has bored the viol

That used to lead the tune
Rust eaten out the dial
That struck nights noon

Here we broached the Christmas barrel,

Pushed up the charred log ends

quaint songs sung

Spiders knit


It Was All Very Tidy Graves



Meaning: What is the
poem about? What are
the key themes?


Imagery: What are the
powerful images in the
poem? What effect do
they have?
Language: What language
techniques have been
used? What is their
effect? How do they relate
to the message of the
poem?
Emotions: What is the
mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling?
How does the reader feel?
Structure: What does the
poem look like on the
page? Is there a clear
rhyme scheme? What is
the pace of the poem?
How does the structure
reflect the meaning of the
poem?

Key points

Key quotes

The poem describes attending a funeral. The

speaker is struck by how ordered and tidy
everything is and longs to disrupt the faade of
manners and show some genuine emotion.
The poem explores societys desire to sanatise
death in the face of the speakers desire for
something real and emotionally relevant to the
life that has passed.
The imagery of order and cleanliness is very
manner of fact, lacking any emotional response
(mimicking the response of the other people)

There is no sign of life and even the sun lacks
warmth and time passes irrespective of death-
there is a pervasive lack of feeling.
Death is described as a mathematical function
or an act of balancing the books- all emotional
connection or sense of a living person has been
removed. The speaker wishes he could act but
is trapped by social convention.

it was all very tidy

I could not bring myself to
laugh I consented frozenly

The lack of emotion in the opening stanzas

reflects the way death has been sanatised and
given order.

The speaker shows his desire for something
different but eventually, to his own
disappointment follows the rest of the crowd

There was no dust on his shoe

Everyone nodded


they asked did I not think it
was all very tidy?

I could not bring myself to
laugh I consented frozenly
it was all very tidy



The
The

The gradually shortening stanzas show how

restrictive the ordered attitude to life is.

Lines starting with the and it reflect lack of
feeling- neutral, boring language. It also
means the sentences follow a very similar
structure, emphasizing the order but also
monotony of the scene

The repetition of the final line represents order
and monotony as well as the stasis of the
scene.

the grass was smooth,

The wind was delicate The
pictures straight on the wall

Music was not playing The sun
shone blandly, The clock
ticked
He was cancelling out the last
row of figures there was no
dust on his shoe

to whistle or sing or make
disturbance. I consented,
frozenly


John Mouldy De La Mare

Key points

Key quotes

Meaning: What is the poem

about? What are the key
themes?

The speaker describes John Mouldy a solitary

figure who lives in a damp cellar avoiding the
world. Mouldy represents stasis and rejects the
experience of the world. Despite his surroundings
Mouldy sits smiling- Is this because he doesnt
worry about worldly things and is thus content, or
is this the smile of death which is the only
constant in an ever changing world?
Mouldy shows no interest in worldly experiences
(knowledge, enlightenment) which are transient.
He simply exists.
The imagery of the plague rat and the dog-star (a
comet that was historically seen to foretell death)
represent the ominous influence of death
throughout history.
Mouldys enigmatic smile can be interpreted in
many ways. Is it the sinister smile of ever-present
death or is it the contentment that comes from a
monastic rejection of worldly cares?
Negative language and s and w alliteration creates
a sinister, ghostly tone

Mouldys name represents the decay of physical
things.
The setting of dusk the death of the day,
symbolizing the passing of time. The cellar as a
place for forgotten or neglected things also fits
with Mouldys presentation.
Archaic forms create a sense of a sinister nursery
rhyme

The speaker presents a negative view of Mouldy
but doesnt give any comment he simply describes
what he observes so his judgment is ambiguous.

John Mouldy is seen as happy despite his
surroundings but it is unclear what this signifies.

I spied John Mouldy in his cellar

He read no book, he snuffed no
candle

In the dusk he sat a-smiling, smiling
there alone

The repetition of words and sentence forms

creates the effect of stasis and stagnation. This is
reinforced by the overall circular structure of the
poem. No progression has been made.

The ABCB rhyme scheme mimics a ballad form
while also suggesting that while things change
(the A and C rhymes) some things do not (the B
rhymes) like Mouldy himself.

I saw I saw
he read no book, he snuffed no
candle
the rats ran in, the rats ran out
I spied I spied

cellar stone a-smiling alone

Imagery: What are the

powerful images in the poem?
What effect do they have?

Language: What language

techniques have been used?
What is their effect? How do
they relate to the message of
the poem?


Emotions: What is the
mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the poet/speaker
feeling? How does the reader
feel?
Structure: What does the poem
look like on the page? Is there a
clear rhyme scheme? What is
the pace of the poem? How
does the structure reflect the
meaning of the poem?

He read no book, he snuffed no

candle

I saw the Dog-star bleak and grim, I
saw a slim brown rat of Norway
creep over him


He sat a-smiling, Smiling there
alone
went whispring
steps of stonedusk he sat a-
smiling
creep

deep down twenty steps of stone;
in the dusk

a-smiling whispring a-falling

I spied

I saw

smiling there alone


Lollocks Graves

Key points

Key quotes

Meaning: What is the poem

about? What are the key
themes?

Lollocks outlines the invented mythology

of a house sprite which creates a feeling
of inertia and unwillingness to work.
Graves has realised a general sensation of
stasis and sloth in the form of a malicious
gremlin. Lollocks represent the feelings
that disrupt the imposed (supposedly
natural) order of routine and society.

Imagery: What are the

powerful images in the
poem? What effect do they
have?

The Lollocks are born in the back of

cupboards. The imagery is of unused or
redundant items, which links to the
Lollocks impulse towards waste and
inaction.

The imagery of the Lollocks contrasting
interactions with men and women show
how they subvert the (male) direct active
impulse and are in tune with the
(feminine) passive impulse.
The harsh impact of the Lollocks is
reflected in their cruel actions.

The impulse of laziness is reflected in the
alliteration of l sounds (even the name
Lollocks) and s sounds.

These dusty featured Lollocks have their

nativity in all disordered backs of
cupboard drawers

dreams of vexation suddenly recalled

Sovereign against Lollocks to well
brush the shoe and to pay every debt
when it is due
In all disordered backs of cupboard
drawers
empty medicine bottles and letters from
abroad that will never be answered

Men cannot see them Men cannot hear
them
Do not believe in them- But suffer the
more
Watching them in mischief allowing
them to lick honey-sticky fingers
Are nasty together in the beds
shadows
They plague little children

By sloth on sorrow fathered
Slily allowing them to lick honey-sticky
fingers.

Language: What language

techniques have been used?
What is their effect? How do
they relate to the message
of the poem?
Emotions: What is the
mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling? How
does the reader feel?

The Lollocks are described as mischievous O those naughty wives

and predominately negatively however
mischief
there is affection for their playful
lollocks come skipping
subversion of routine and order.

Structure: What does the

poem look like on the page?
Is there a clear rhyme
scheme? What is the pace of
the poem? How does the
structure reflect the
meaning of the poem?

Lack of order and consistent rhyme

reflects the disruptive nature of the
Lollocks. The only stanza with a rhyming
order is the final stanza which ironically
explains how the fight the Lollocks.

shoedebtdue

Mouses Nest Clare

Key points

Key quotes

Meaning: What is the poem

about? What are the key
themes?

The speaker describes a walk in the country and

inadvertently disturbing a mouses nest before
continuing on his way. The mouse can be seen as man
trying to survive in a harsh world. The speaker can be
seen as nature/ fate/society which is indifferent to the
struggles of the individual. The poem can also be read
as social commentary with the mouse being the
working classes and the speaker the ruling classes who
act and make decisions that hugely affect the life of the
working man with no real sympathy or understanding
for them.
The image portrayed of the mouse is a negative one
suggesting the speakers lack of sympathy.

Nature is portrayed as having both positive and
negative elements linking to the indifference or
impartiality of the poem. Both good and bad are simply
the realities of life.

Language: What language

techniques have been used?
What is their effect? How do
they relate to the message
of the poem?

The negative language used to describe the mouse

suggests the hardship of life for the vulnerable mouse
(man) and the lack of sympathy from the speaker
(society)

The indifference/ lack of understanding of the speaker
is reflected in the verbs used to describe his actions.

and as I went away she

found her nest again
among the hay

with all her young ones
hanging at her teats

She looked so odd and
grotesque to me, I ran and
wondered what the thing
could be
hanging at her teats
odd and grotesque
craking
squeaked

and broad old cesspools
glittered in the sun

hanging at her teats
odd and grotesque
craking
squeaked

progged fancied
wondered went away

Emotions: What is the

mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling? How
does the reader feel?

The speaker is unaffected by the act of destruction he

has caused. For him it is insignificant but for the mouse
it is everything (her home has been destroyed). We feel
sympathy for the mouse and are shocked by the lack of
feeling from the speaker.

and as I went away she

found her nest again
among the hay

ball of grassNest

Structure: What does the

poem look like on the page?
Is there a clear rhyme
scheme? What is the pace of
the poem? How does the
structure reflect the
meaning of the poem?

Clare uses a sonnet form traditionally used for love-

poems. The form is used ironically as the poem reflects
a distinct lack of feeling. The final couplet that usually
sums up the message of the poem is completely
detached further emphasizing the indifference of the
speaker for the mouses experience.

The repetition suggests time passing and events
occurring irrespective of the mouses existence. The
world is unchanged by its hardship. This is further
emphasised by the long opening sentence which
creates the effect of an emotionless list.

the water oer the pebbles

scarce could run, And
broad old cesspools
glittered in the sun


andAndand

went awaywent away

I found the craking
brood.

Imagery: What are the

powerful images in the
poem? What effect do they
have?

My Father Played the Melodeon Kavanagh

Key points

Key quotes

Meaning: What is the

poem about? What are the
key themes?

The poem comes from a larger poem called A

Christmas Childhood. The poet nostalgically
remembers Christmas morning. The poem explores
the themes of family and childhood, blending
idealised memories revolving around the family
unit, the rural Irish setting and Roman Catholicism.
The poem also explores how through the lens of
memory simple events can be given a broader
significance.
The speakers father plays the melodeon (a small
folk accordion). The music permeates the poem and
creates a symphony of sound with the other sounds
of nature and the community. Even discordant
sounds become part of the music.
The poet pictures parts of his home area in terms of
the Christmas story told in the bible. His family
mirrors the Holy family as well as the three points of
the holy trinity.
Nature is portrayed as wild but appealing and the
links to religion give it a universal significance.

The wonder of a Christmas townland

my father played the melodeon my
mother made the music of milking
The winking glitter of a frosty dawn

three whin bushes rode across the
horizon- the Three Wise Kings

Imagery: What are the

powerful images in the
poem? What effect do they
have?

There were stars in the morning east

and they danced to his music
Across the wild bogs his melodeon
called to Lennons and Callans
the water hen screeched in the bog
the light of her stable-lamp was a star
and the frost of Bethlehem made it
twinkle
wafer-ice
three whin bushes rode across the
horizon- the Three Wise Kings

the water-hen screeched in the bog
crunched the wafer-ice wistfully
twisted the bellows wheel
my child poet picked out the letters on
the grey stone

Language: What language

techniques have been
used? What is their effect?
How do they relate to the
message of the poem?

The sound imagery creates a lyrical quality to the

poem and links with the strong sense of music
produced by his fathers playing the melodeon.
The mundane and everyday is given a nostalgic glow
through the speakers memories and his
reinterpreting the past through the eyes of the
future poet.

Emotions: What is the

mood/ atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling? How
does the reader feel?
Structure: What does the
poem look like on the
page? Is there a clear
rhyme scheme? What is
the pace of the poem?
How does the structure
reflect the meaning of the
poem?

The excitement of Christmas is reflected in the

speakers choice of language.

The poets warm memories of the past give a sense
of nostalgia

I knew some strange thing had

happened

the wonder of a Christmas townland

The repetition shows a circularity of the poet

returning to his fond memories. It also creates a
sense of unity that reflects the completeness that is
reflected in the memories of childhood
The lyrical melodic rhythm follows the musicality of
the poets father in the poem.

The use of half rhyme suggests the poet is trying to
shape events into having an order and significance
that perhaps they didnt originally possess which is
why the rhyme isnt quite complete.

My father played the melodeon

Stonedawn
cows blouse

Piano Lawrence



Meaning: What is the poem
about? What are the key
themes?


Imagery: What are the
powerful images in the
poem? What effect do they
have?

Language: What language

techniques have been used?
What is their effect? How do
they relate to the message of
the poem?


Emotions: What is the
mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling? How
does the reader feel?
Structure: What does the
poem look like on the page?
Is there a clear rhyme
scheme? What is the pace of
the poem? How does the
structure reflect the meaning
of the poem?

Key points

Key quotes

The speaker hears the music of the piano and

allows himself to be transported back to fond
memories of his childhood.
The poem explores the overpowering strength
of memory and whether dwelling on the past
can only cause pain and regret as it can never
be regained

Taking me back down the vista

of years

betrays me back till the heart
of me weeps to belong

in the flood of remembrance, I
weep like a child for the past
Music is used as a symbol of happiness and
the mastery of song betrays
contentment as well as a stimulus to memory. me back


The nostalgic image of home is idealised and

contrasts against the emotionless description
hymns in the cosy parlour, the
of the present which does not stir him in the
tinkling piano as our guide
same way. The technical language describing

the song of the present contrasts to the
great black piano
intimacy of the past
appassionato
The language of memory is initially positive
small poised feet of a mother
with the lyrical nature of the language
who smiles as she sings
(sibilance) reflecting the music of the piano.

However the speaker rails against remembering
as he sees it as weakening him as he is
the insidious mastery of song
overpowered by a desire for a time that no
betrays me back
longer exists. There is a sense that it
my manhood is cast down in
undermines his masculinity and maturity.
the flood of remembrance

The overwhelming sense of emotion associated

with memory

The speaker is conflicted between the joy of
the memory and his frustration of its
hopelessness

flood of remembrance


betrays me back till the heart
of me weeps

The enjambment of the line creates the double

meaning of both his manhood cast (fixed,
unable to return to the days of childhood) and
cast down (broken, smashed or weakened by
the emotional impact of memory)
The lyric, aural almost onomatopoeic nature of
the poem mimics the sound of the piano with
lots of sibilance and a regular rhythm and
meter.

my manhood cast/
down in the flood of
remembrance




A child sitting under the piano,
in the boom of the tingling,
strings


The Self-Unseeing Hardy


Key points
Key quotes
Meaning: What is the poem The poem remembers happy moments of Here is the ancient floor where
the past in a now worn down home,
the dead feet walked in
about? What are the key
focusing specifically on the image of a

content
f
amily.
I
t
e
xplores
t
he
i
dea
t
hat
w
e
Childlike, I danced like a dream
themes?
only appreciate good moments


retrospectively once theyve already
Blessings emblazoned that day
passed.
Yet we were looking away!

Contrast between the physical emptiness
ancient floor, footworn and
Imagery: What are the
of the house in the present and the
hollowed and thin
powerful images in the
warmth and vibrancy of it in the

memory.(Once
a
gain
m
usic
a
nd
f
ire
a
re
smiling into the fire; he who
poem? What effect do they
symbols of life and happiness)
played
have?
Move from present to Past tense
Here is Where the dead feet
Language: What language
emphasises that these memories are gone walked in She sat
techniques have been used? and can no longer be experienced, only

remembered
f
rom
a

d
istance
s
urrounded

What is their effect? How do
by the decay of time. The use of

they relate to the message of ambiguous pronouns creates a sense of
SheHeIWe
universality-
t
his
i
s
s
omething
t
hat
a
ffects

the poem?
us all.


The warmth of the scene is reflected in the FootwornHollowed
positive language and the open gl
Herefeet

Emotions: What is the

mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling? How
does the reader feel?
Structure: What does the
poem look like on the page?
Is there a clear rhyme
scheme? What is the pace of
the poem? How does the
structure reflect the meaning
of the poem?

alliteration contrasts to the harsher hs

and Fs in the first stanza

The transience of the moment is like a
dream or a fire.
The speaker remembers his past joyously
but is perhaps regretful of his lack of true
appreciation at the time.

glowed with a gleam

in a dream
blessings emblazoned that day
hollowed and thin

dead feet

Blessings emblazoned that day
Yet we were looking away

Contrast between past and present in the

stanzas

ABAB rhyme scheme reflects oscillation
between past and present.

Use of regular stanza length represents
regular passing of time.

Full stop at end of 1st stanza suggests the
finality of death

floorthindoorin




Where the dead feet walked in.


The Wanderer Auden

Key points

Key quotes

Meaning: What is the

poem about? What are the
key themes?

The poem describes a wanderer leaving his home to explore the

harsh world around him. The poem is based on an Anglo-Saxon
poem of the same name. The wanderers journey can be seen as
an allegory for life. The desire of the wanderer to leave home and
forge his own path in the harsh world reflects mans desire for
independence and experience of the world (what we might call
life experience or the desire to see the world)
It can also be read as a religious allegory with home being the
kingdom of heaven. We are isolated from it in the fallen world
and our journey through life is a testing journey back to the
spiritual home of heaven.
The poem opens with a powerful image of nature and spring
which suggests rebirth or new-life (linking to the idea of the
poem as an allegory) However nature on the whole is portrayed
as harsh and unsympathetic to the wanderer, again perhaps
representing the trials of life.
The recurring image of the bird in the poem could be a symbol for
the human soul. With the unquiet bird representing mans
desire for change and experience which cannot fully be satisfied.

that he should leave his

house

A stranger to strangers

an unquiet bird


Bring joy, bring day of his
returning
day-wishing flowers
appearing

suffocating water pot-
holed becks

an unquiet bird bird-
flocks nameless to him
doom is dark

but ever that man goes

Or lonely on fell as chat

that he should leave his
house and dreams of
home

Imagery: What are the

powerful images in the
poem? What effect do they
have?

Language: What language

techniques have been
used? What is their effect?
How do they relate to the
message of the poem?


Emotions: What is the
mood/atmosphere of the
poem? How is the
poet/speaker feeling? How
does the reader feel?
Structure: What does the
poem look like on the
page? Is there a clear
rhyme scheme? What is
the pace of the poem?
How does the structure
reflect the meaning of the
poem?

The poem opens with the idea of doom. Which has negative
connotations however in this context it seems more linked to
destiny or fate- it is our universal fate to feel the need to break
out for ourselves and experience the world
Isolation is emphasised by the contrast between the wanderers
dreams and his reality which is harsh and lonely, particularly in
the description of nature- This does not have to simply mean the
natural world but could represent the isolation of the individual
in society.
The poem also creates a distinction between a house and home
suggesting that what the wanderer is searching for is spiritual
rather than simply physical.
There is a strong sense of isolation in the first 2 stanzas reflecting
the isolation of the individual in society/life.
The poem ends with a sensation of hope at the prospect of the
wanderer finally returning home achieving the security and
happiness associated with this, however this raises the question
why he left in the first place.

Inspired by Old English (Anglo-Saxon) poem uses kennings (two

word descriptive phrases) and alliteration to mirror Anglo-Saxon
style.
The structure of the poem mimics the journey of life from birth
and safety of family (stanza 1) to the long stanza of life alone
(stanza 2) to the prospect of home and security in stanza 3 (old
age/afterlife)

A stranger to strangers

bring day of his returning,
lucky with day approaching,
with leaning dawn

place-keepers
houses for fishes

falls forward, fatigued at
evening