English Studies

Introduction to Literature (S4/G1)

Pr. El Majdoubi

Have You Ever Seen?

Have you ever seen a sheet on a river bed? A

Or a single hair from a hammer’s head? A
Has the foot of a mountain any toes? B
And is there a pair of garden hose? B

Does the needle ever wink its eye? C

Why doesn’t the wing of a building fly? C
Can you tickle the ribs of a parasol? D
Or open the trunk of a tree at all? D

Are the teeth of a rake ever going to bite? E

Have the hands of a clock any left or right? E
Can the garden plot be deep and dark? F
And what is the sound of a birch’s bark? F

Vocabulary:
- A river bed: the ground which a river flows over.
- A hammer: a tool that consists of a handle and a heavy piece of metal.
- A foot of a mountain: the base; bottom.
- A garden hose: a hosepipe used to water plants in a garden or lawn.
- A hose: old-fashioned socks, a word used especially in a historical context.
- A needle eye: the hole at the top of a needle.
- A wing of the building: a part of it that sticks out from the main part.
- A trunk: American “trunk” is British “boot” only when referring to cars.
- A trunk of a tree: the part that connects the leafy crown with its roots.
- A birch bark: a canoe made with the bark of a birch tree.
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 British poet, memoirist, and novelist Vernon Scannell stated: “The

purpose of poetry is not to inform but to inflame.” This stresses the idea that

when you read poetry, you should read to the beat—or rhythm—of the poem.

“Have You Ever Seen?” is a traditional poem written by an unknown

poet. It is composed of twelve lines and three stanzas. Each stanza is made of

four lines; a four-line stanza of poetry is called a quatrain.

A group of two lines is called a couplet. A three-line stanza is a tercet.

A five-line stanza is a quintet. Two other common lengths are a sestet, six

lines; and an octave, eight lines. A seven-line stanza is known as a septet.

The poem under consideration can be read by both children and adults,

with varying degrees of accessibility and at different levels of awareness. The

poet has made clever use of puns. This stirs the reader’s imagination and

gives the poem a playful and lyrical touch.

Likewise, the poet uses interrogation as a rhetorical mode to get us to

think. The poem is punctuated with questions, which makes it both delightful

and reflective. The questions in the poem serve as riddles to solve. Riddles are

word puzzles that are wittily written. Some are easy to solve; others are hard

and yet fun to work out. Riddles, just like puns, create an intriguing effect.

The poem is rich in words with multiple meanings. Polysemy

contributes to the resonance of poetry and the humor of double entendre.

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 Reading Answer Key: (Please refer to your literature booklet)

In the first stanza, the poet jokes about stockings. The reference to

“pairs” is a cue that is intended to help us distinguish between the watering

tube and the stockings, as both terms mean “a hose.”

In the third stanza, the poet refers to the plot—not as part of a garden—

but as the intricate part of a narrative.

What point is the poet trying to get across? The poet has provided a

diverse palette of words in English that have multiple meanings. He is asking

a series of questions that require accurate answers from the smart reader.

Each line in this poem is inviting us to think about a wide spectrum of

possibilities and figure out the exact meaning. This approach is at once

challenging, thought-provoking, and amusing. It engages the reader both

intellectually and artistically in the same way ancient oracular inquiries did.

Check it Out!

1. The rhyme scheme for this poem is AABB CCDD EEFF. The poet uses

this scheme by rhyming the last words of every two lines. To put it

simply, lines 1-2 of each stanza use the same rhyme, and 3-4 use

another one. Is that right? If not, what is your suggested answer?

2. This poem uses powerful visual imagery. Is this statement true or false?

Explain and give supporting evidence from the text.