Poetry comprehension

practice
 How do I write about my personal response to a poem?

When you are asked about how you respond to a poem, you can either choose to write about
an intellectual response or an emotional response.

Writing about responses to poetry is the same as writing about your responses to films and
novels.

Discuss with a peer below what you remember about the definitions of a:

An intellectual response is:

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An emotional response is

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How do I know which type of response I have?

I like to think of it as either a ‘heart’ or ‘head’ response. A ‘heart response’ is when you feel a
particular emotion. A ‘head’ response is when a part of your thinking has been challenged or
reinforced.

Overleaf is some vocabulary you can used when explaining how you are positioned to
respond.
Responses
sad
unhappy / sorrowful / dejected / regretful / depressed / downcast / miserable / downhearted / down /
despondent / despairing / disconsolate

happy
contented / content / cheerful / merry / joyful / delighted / blessed / light-hearted / thrilled / exuberant /
elated / exhilarated / overjoyed / fortunate / lucky

Respond – react. Use specific adjective here, depending on how you respond to
characters/setting/situations. Examples include delighted, joyful, thrilled, ecstatic, optimistic, hopeful,
outraged, disgusted, annoyed, displeased, astonished, dismayed, offended, appalled, upset, distressed,
disturbed.

Word bank for analysis

Possible words for analysis:

 Argue (the author argues that...)
 Suggest (the author suggests that…)
 Reject (the author rejects the view that…)
 Praise (the author praises the idea that… / the author praises person X,
who…)
 Emphasise (the author emphasises that…)
 Support (the author supports this notion/his argument by…)
 Use (the author uses >technique/phrase<…)
 Portray (the author portrays >something involved< as…)
 Persuade, positive (the author encourages the audience to…)
 Evoke (to evoke a… responses / to evoke a sense of…)

Reader Response:
 Shock (the author shocks the reader…)
 'encouraging readers to...'
 'engendering readers'...'
 'compelling readers to...'
 'prompting readers to...'
 'coaxing readers to...'
 'positioning readers to...'
 'pressuring readers to...'
 'urging readers to...'

Activity: Identify which one is an emotional or intellectual response below.

I am positioned to recognise that Indigenous people have a strong connection with the land.

I am positioned to feel uplifted by the representation of the Australian landscape.

I am positioned to feel grateful that I have freedom and rights in the country that I live in.

I am positioned to reconsider the impact that humans have on the natural environment.

I was surprised at the way that Indigenous people were treated in the past.

Sample ‘intellectual’ response to the poem:

In “Death of the tree” I am positioned to reconsider how much harm man inflicts on nature. I am
positioned to have this response because Davis describing the cruel and brutal ways in which the
tree is cut down, and ponder if it is worth it for the resources, we get from cutting down the trees.

What poetic techniques help shape my response to the poem?

Example Explain how this technique shapes my response to

the poem:

Personification “The power saw In this instance, personifying the power saw by
screamed” suggesting it is screaming suggests it is extremely
violent and about to inflict pain upon something. It
suggests a brutal and powerful action is about to
occur. I am positioned to think about the ethics
with deforestation and if the way in which we harm
nature is the right thing to do.

Personification “She leaned forward, Davis also personifies the tree by suggesting: “…
fell.” she leaned forward…fell”. By assigning the gender
to the tree it is depicted as being soft, gentle, and
innocent, thus positioning me to feel distraught
that it is being cut down. By assigning this
innocence to the tree and depicting the power saw
as inflicting pain upon it, I am forced to rethink how
humans are acting towards and treating nature.

Sample “emotional” response:

In “Death of a tree” I am positioned to respond with shock and outrage at the action of man
cutting down trees. This is because of the way the tree is personified as a human who is
eventually killed, and the brutal way in which the machinery is described as destroying it.

What poetic techniques help shape my response to the poem?

Poetic Example Explain how this technique shapes my

technique response to the poem:

Metaphor “Main is pain” In this instance, the comparison between

mankind and pain suggests that humans are
inherently selfish and do not think about the
harm they cause others. Comparing humans to
pain is suggestive that humans are having a
detrimental impact on the environment and
that they are continuing to harm the planet. As
a result, I am positioned to feel outraged at the
action of the cutting down of the tree, as I
realise that it is for the selfish gain of mankind.

The following poem is titled “Let it go” and was written by First Nation’s author, Jack Davis.
 Let go of my hand

Let me be what I want to be

Let go of my hand

The sands of time Are trickling before me

I have not yet Achieved

what I want to be

Let go of my hand

I want to stand alone

In a sea of words

Pluck out the phrases

Soar like a bird

I want to stand on a mountain

Wait for the dawn

Yet be aware of

The approaching storm

I want to fashion a rainbow

That arcs through the sky

And iron out the dilemmas

Between you & I

Jack Davis

Task: Do you have more of an emotional or intellectual response to the poem?

If emotional fill out below:

1. What do you FEEL about reading the poem? What emotions do you feel and
why?

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If intellectual fill out below:

2. What do you THINK after reading the poem?

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Fill out the table below, selecting three poetic techniques and explain how they shape
your intellectual/ emotional response.

Poetic Example Explanation

technique

Activity 1: Poetry techniques revision

1: When several words begin with the same consonant sound it is called?
 hyperbole personification

onomatopoeia hyperbole

simile assonance

alliteration
6: The use of colours or objects that stand
for something else is called?
2: What is it called when you give human
qualities to a non-human object? alliteration

figurative language onomatopoeia

symbolism hyperbole

personification symbolism

imagery imagery

3: The use of exaggeration to make a point 7: The use of descriptive words to make
is called? you imagine something is?

metaphor personification

hyperbole hyperbole

rhyme scheme imagery

alliteration alliteration

figurative language
4: A direct comparison of two very
different things linking them with the
words "like" or "as" is a?
8: When the first line is designated as "A"
and the sound at the end of the second line
is designated as "B" that is a?
imagery

simile hyperbole

theme symbolism

imagery personification

personification rhyme scheme

9: A direct comparison of two very
onomatopoeia
different things is a?

5: Repetition of rhyming vowel sounds is? theme

alliteration onomatopoeia

simile metaphor
 imagery

personification

10: A word which imitates the sound it

refers to is?

hyperbole

onomatopoeia

personification

theme

imagery
Activity 2: Identify the poetic devices in these examples:
For the following examples, outline the poetic device being used in the space provided.

Example Poetic Device Used

Patricia was a perfect poppet.

It was like having a giant sitting on your

chest.

The startled little waves that leap.

Western wind when will thou blow?

My heart is a singing bird.

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks.

The clatter of metal against stone was

unpleasant.

It was raining exclamation marks.

Sudden successive flights of bullets streak the

silence

The answer phone kept screaming.

Produced by A Sprunt
 They Have Cut Down the Pines

They have cut down the pines where they stood;

The wind will miss them – the rain,

When its silver blind is down.

They have stripped the bark from the wood –

The needly branches, and the brown

Knobbly nuts trodden into the ground.

The kind, friendly trees,

Where all day small winds sound,

And all day long the sun

Plays hide and seek with shadows

Till the multiplying shadows turn to one

And night is here.

They have cut down the trees and ended now

The gentle conversation of branch and branch

They are making a fence by the creek,

And have cut down the pines for the posts.

Pale in the sunlight as ghosts

The naked trunks lie.

A bird nested there – it will seek

In vain: they have cut down the pines.

-Mary Lisle

Produced by A Sprunt
Explain your response to the poem above

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Record examples of THREE poetic techniques, write out the example from the poem, and for
each example, explain how they shape your response to the poem.

Poetic Example from the poem (Write it Explain how this example shapes my response:
technique out in full)

Produced by A Sprunt
NO MORE BOOMERANG by Oodgeroo Noonuccal

Context of Production
Oodgeroo Noonuccal was born on the 3rd November 1920. She was born to the name
Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska known more commonly as Kath Walker. She had been a poet,
political activist, artist and educator and was also a strong campaigner for Aboriginal rights.
During the mid-1960s, she became a well-known political activist. She was the Queensland
state secretary of the council for the advancement of the Aboriginal and Torres Straight
islanders. She even taught Prime minister at the time Robert Menzies a lesson in the
experiences of aboriginal life. But due to all the power struggles she left political life in 1971
and instead became an educator, guardian and ambassador for her people. Throughout the
rest of her life she wrote many poems regarding aboriginal rights and wrote many books
about Aboriginal legends designed to target a younger audience. She died on the 16th
September 1992 in her home on Stradbroke Island but will always be remembered for what
she did during her amazing life.

Below is an edited version of “NO MORE BOOMERANG” It was written by Oodgeroo

Noonuccal in 1966

No more boomerang
No more spear;
Now all civilized-
Colour bar and beer.

No more corroboree,
Gay dance and din.
Now we got movies,
And pay to go in.

No more sharing
What the hunter brings.
Now we work for money,
Then pay it back for things.

Now we track bosses

To catch a few bob,
Now we go walkabout
On bus to the job.

Produced by A Sprunt
 No more gunya,
Now bungalow,
Paid by hire purchase
In twenty year or so.

No more firesticks
That made the whites scoff.
Now all electric,
And no better off.

Bunyip he finish,
Now got instead
White fella Bunyip,
Call him Red.

Abstract picture now-

What they coming at?
Cripes, in our caves we
Did better than that.

Black hunted wallaby,

White hunt dollar;
White fella witch-doctor
Wear dog-collar.

No more message-stick;
Lubras and lads
Got television now.
Mostly ads.

Lay down the woomera,

Lay down the waddy.
Now we got atom-bomb,
End everybody.

Glossary:

Corroboree- an Australian Aboriginal dance ceremony which may take the form of a sacred
ritual or an informal gathering.

Gunya- A traditional native home, made from wood or bark.

Bunyip- The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia.

Lubras-Aboriginal girl or woman

Woomera-Spear throwing device

Waddy- An Aboriginal Australian hardwood club or

hunting stick

Produced by A Sprunt
Complete the worksheet below:

(1) What is the subject matter? (What is the poem about?)

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(2) What is the message communicated?
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(3) Record examples of THREE poetic techniques, write out the example from the poem,
and for each example, explain how they assist in communicating the idea:
Poetic Example from the poem (Write it Explain how this example shapes my response:
technique out in full)

Produced by A Sprunt