Welcome to Understanding Selected

CSEC Poems-
June 2023- January 2027
  SUBJECT
POETRY
MATTER
How should
you Analyse Discover what is the poem
about/why?

a CSEC Activity: Choose one poem and state

the Subject Matter?
Poem?
 Examples of SUBJECT MATTER

Little Boy Crying – Mervyn

The subject matter of the poem is The subject matter of the poem Each stanza of thisMorris
piece is dedicated to one
colonialism. particular part of a young child’s experience.
reflects changes made in social
The first describes his general state of being
The poem talks about colonialism and all behaviours and culture along and his initial reaction to being slapped by
its evil atrocities attached to it, how with innocence.
An Africanbrought
colonialism Thunderstorm- David
sorrow and sadness Once Upon a Time- Gabriel his father. The second turns to the father and
Okara depicts him through the eyes of the child.
to the faces ofRubadiri
innocent women and
children. Colonialism was very He is an“ogre” to him in this moment. The
prominent during the 1950s and final six-line stanza is told closer to the
subsequent years. Colonialism did not father’s perspective and describes how he
affect most African states positively as longs to comfort his child, but must
till date the negative effects it left are maintain his composure to ensure the
still very obvious in some colonized lessons he is trying to teach are not lost.
countries.
 Sum up the Poem’s
Context/Content
 Who wrote it/why?
 When/Where was it written?
 Who/what influenced the poet?
 Who is the persona(speaker/narrator)?
 Is it first (1), second (You) or third (He/She) person?
 THEME

What are the recurring ideas/topics?

-Identify the main issues

-Identify Poems with similar themes
-Compare poems with similar themes
 CSEC POEMS WITH THEMES
An African Thunderstorm David
Rubadiri
Nature Experiences,
Destruction, Fear, Children,
Man vs Nature
Once Upon a Time Gabriel
Okara
Hypocrisy, Dreams, People,
Changes, Maturity,
Adaptation, Childishness,
Innocence, Appearance vs
Reality, Childhood, Western
Values, Regret, Purity,
Deceit, Life and Its
Experiences, Interpersonal
Relationships
Little Boy Crying – Mervyn
Morris
Parent-Child Relationships,
Discipline, Childhood
Experiences, Sadness,
Anger, Appearance vs
Reality, Love, Youth and
Innocence, Vulnerability,
Parenting
 CSEC POEMS AND THEMES
West Indies, U.S.A.- Stewart
Brown
Appearance vs Reality,
Places, Experiences,
Discrimination, Prejudice,
Culture, Oppression,
Economic Contrast,
Expectations, Poverty,
Imperialism, Contrast
(Culture)
Experiences,Season-
Manliness,
Birdshooting Olive
Gender Roles, Aspirations,
Nature, Senior
Identity, Childhood
Appreciation/Admiration (of
Nature), Peacefulness,
Places, Experiences
 CSEC POEMS AND THEMES
The Woman Speaks to the Man
who has Employed Her Son –
Lorna Goodison
Motherhood, Hope, Dreams,
Death, Sadness, Poverty, Crime,
Expectations, Mother’s Love,
Experience, Treatment of Women,
Violence
It is the Constant Image of your A Lesson for this Sunday- Derek
Face – Dennis Brutus Walcott
Love, Patriotism, Internal Conflict,
deep introspection contemplation,
Hopes, Desires, Divided Loyalties,
death and philosophy of human
Romantic vs Patriotic Love,
nature.
Relationships
 CSEC POEMS AND THEMES

A Stone’s Throw – Elma Test Match Sabina Park Stewart My Parents – Stephen Spender
Mitchell Brown

Hypocrisy, Treatment of Women,
Extrajudicial Punishment,
Religion and Gender, Insincere
Morality, Violence, Abuse of
Power
Racial Pride, White Privilege,
Sports, Contrast. Language and
Culture
Parent-Child Relationships, Class
Disparity, Bullying, Oppression,
Love of Parents, Fear, Freedom,
Wishes, Forgiveness, Childhood
Experience
 CSEC POEMS AND THEMES

Landscape Painter, Jaimaica- Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred This is the Dark Time, My Love
Vivian Virtue Owen – Martin Carter

Nature, Nostalgia War, Suffering, Expectation vs War, Oppression, Suffering, Fear,

Reality, Criticism, Lies, Negativity, Injustice, Military
Propaganda, Oppression, Colonialism, Death,
Patriotism/Nationalism, Trauma, Cruelty, Pain, People, Conflict
Death
 CSEC POEMS AND THEMES
Ol’Higue – Mirror –
Mark McWatt Sylvia Plath
Myths, Supernatural Phenomena Aging, Youth, Womanhood, Life,
Truth, Time, Appearance vs
Reality, Self-Perception
South
Nature,–Social Unrest, Migration,
The idealism of Childhood, Life,
Kamau Brathwaite
Experiences, Patriotism, Dreams,
Nostalgia
 CSEC POEMS AND THEMES

Death Be not Proud- Dreaming Black Boy –

John Donne James Berry

 Courage and Willpower in the  Race,

Face of Death Wishes/Hopes/Desires/Dreams/A
 spiration, Unfulfilled Dreams,
The Uniqueness of Loving Life
Oppression, Discrimination,
 Childhood versus Adulthood Suffering, Life, Fear
 Poems in which
Common Themes are
Present - NATURE
“An African Thunderstorm”
“Sonnet Composed Upon Westminister
Bridge”
“Ol’ Higue
“This is the Dark Time, My Love”
“South”
A Lesson for This Sunday”
South”
“Landscape Painter, Jamaica”
“Mirror”
“Death, be not proud”
POEMS IN WHICH
COMMON THEMES
ARE PRESENT-
Racism/Discrimination

“Dreaming Black Boy”

“Test Match Sabina Park”
“West Indies, USA”
“My Parents” by Stephen
Spender
POEMS IN WHICH
COMMONS THEMES
ARE PRESENT-
OPPRESSION
“Dreaming Black Boy” ‘
‘This is the Dark Time, My
Love”
A Stone’s Throw”
“Dulce Et Decorum Est”
“Ol’ Higue”
“South”
  Formal
 Informal
 Solemn/Sadness
 Melancholic

TONE 


Frustrated
Morbid
How would you  Regretful
describe the  Reflective
language’s mood?  Sentimental
 Critical
-Select Phrases
showing Attitude Activity> Select Poems and
identify tone
 POETIC DEVICES

What POETIC DEVICES are used?

-Identify and examine Poetic Devices and Usage

 African Thunderstorms by David Rubadiri
Simile:
 “Like a plague of locusts, ” the
storm is coming with a
destructive force
 “Like a madman chasing
nothing.” Show the chaotic
movement of the storm

“Like sinister dark wings;”
showing the harshness and “evil”
of the storm
Imagery:
 “From the west
 Clouds come hurrying with the
wind
 Turning sharply
 “…on their backs Dart about In
and out”.
 “Clothes wave-like tattered flags
Flying off”
 Once Upon A Time-Gabriel Okara

SIMILE REPETITION
 Stanza 4, lines 20-21 emphasizes the constant changes in  Repetition is evident at the beginning and the
the persona’s face. If you think of how often a woman end of the poem. This usually signals the
changes her dress, then that is how often the persona beginning of a fairy tale. Therefore, it is
adjusts his/her personality to suit an audience. The list of implied that the persona is nostalgic about the
faces that follow this line emphasizes this point. past.
 Stanza 4, lines 23-24 compares people’s faces to smiles
in a portrait. If you think about a portrait, it is usually very
formal and stiff, even uncomfortable. Therefore, the
implication is that the smiles are actually fake and stiff.
They are conforming or trying to fit, into a preconceived
mould that is set up by societal expectations.
 Stanza 6, lines 38-40 compares the persona’s laugh to a
snakes. When you think of a snake, words such as sneaky
and deceitful come to mind. Therefore, the implication is
that the persona is fake, just like the people he/she
despises.
 Little Boy Crying – Mervyn Morris

Contrast
 Stanza 1 uses contrast to show
the changes in the little boy’s
body language before and after
the slap. For example, before
being slapped he was laughing
but it changed to howling.
Metaphor
 (Easy tears can scald him with),
 Irony (The little boy thinks his
father is unfeeling but here it is
clear that he is struggles between
wanting to comfort his son and
ensuring that he disciplines him.)
 West Indies, U.S.A. Stewart Brown
ALLUSION
 Line 5: Dallas is an oil-rich state in America.
Therefore, many of its inhabitants are wealthy,
and the state itself is wealthy. By stating that
San Juan is the Dallas of the West Indies, it
implies that it is a wealthy island in the West
Indies.
 Lines 5-7: An allusion is being made to the
well-known cliche; ‘every cloud has a silver
lining’. It means that behind everything that is
seemingly bad, there is good. In the context of
this poem, it means that the good, the silver
lining, has a mark, or stamp, that authenticates
its good quality; it is hallmarked. This implies
that it will always have its silver lining
showing.
SARCASM
 Line 20: This statement means the exact
opposite of what is stated. The persona is
disgusted that Uncle Sam (America) would
have such a regulation. This regulation bars
anyone from stepping a toe on Puerto Rican
soil, if it is not your intended destination. You
just have to remain in the aircraft, no matter the
waiting period, until it is time for takeoff. The
persona believes that the Americans are being
blatantly discriminatory, and are attempting to
camouflage it through the use of regulations.
He does not believe that they have achieved
their goal of subtlety.
 Line 20: The statement, ‘give me your poor…’
is particularly sarcastic because it is a direct
quote from the New Colossus, which rests on a
plaque on the statue of liberty, and signifies that
the disenfranchised of the world are welcome.
The persona, as a member of the
‘disenfranchised’ masses, clearly feels unwelcomed.
 Sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge –
William Wordsworth
SIMILE
 The persona compares the manner in
which the beauty of the morning settles
over the city, to that of a garment on a
body. This emphasizes the perfection of
the beauty of the morning, just as a
garment flows smoothly over a body.
PERSONIFICATION
 Lines 9-10: The sun is referred to as
a male who rises sharply and
beautifully. This emphasizes the
beauty of the city in the morning.
The use of this personification also
helps the reader to personalize this
beauty.
 Line 12: Like the sun, the river is
personalized as well. This allows the
reader to see the river as real, instead
of a thing. It comes alive and we can
visualize its movement, gliding, as
beautiful.
 BIRD SHOOTING SEASON-OLIVE SENIOR
Metaphor –
 Examples: “Men make marriages to
their guns” not literal marriage but
shows the close, needed, and the
relation the men had with their guns
now that it is bird shooting season,
you need your gun to shoot so the
gun was held in high importance.
Imagery-
 Examples: “in darkness shouldering
their packs, the guns they leave” we
can imagine the scene of the men
cloaked in darkness with guns in
hand and their sacks on their backs
leaving in the night to go hunt.
 “We stand quietly on the doorstep
shivering” again another image
where we can picture the young
children standing feeling the cold air,
shivering as they watch the men
leave.
The Woman Speaks to the Man who has Employed Her Son
– Lorna Goodison
SIMILE
 Lines 1-2: The persona emphasizes that
the mother placed all her hopes in her son.
When you are poor, generally, you have
no prospects, you only dream and hope.
Therefore, the persona uses this metaphor
to emphasize the mother’s dependence on
her son’s success.
 Line 17: The employer is being compared
to a father figure. This implies that this
person fills a gap in the son’s life
ALLUSION (biblical)
 Lines 28-29: This line alludes to a
particular verse in the Christian
Bible, Luke 11 vs 11. The verse
questions what the actions of a good
father should be.
 Lines 38-39: Psalms is a particular
chapter in the Christian Bible. In this
chapter there are verses for
protection, the mother uses those for
her son, as well as verses for
retribution and rebuking. It is
implied that the mother chooses
those for the employer.
 It is the Constant Image of your Face –
Dennis Brutus

PERSONIFICATION OXYMORON
 Lines 4, 6-7: The love interest’s eyes  The term heart’s-treachery implies
constantly accuses and convicts the that the heart, something so vital and
persona. This device highlights the indicative of love, has committed a
extent to which the persona has hurt terrible crime. It highlights the
this person. heartbreak that the persona has
 caused his love interest.
Lines 18-20: The persona hopes that
his country, his other dearest love,
will forgive him for the treasonous
act of loving another. This highlights
the patriotism that defines the
persona’s relationship to his country.
 A Lesson for this Sunday- Derek Walcott

Simile- Frail as a flower in this blue August air.

Simile- Frowning like a serious lepidopterist.
Simile- Crouched on plump haunches as a mantis prays.
Metaphor- With its frail kites of butterflies.
Imagery- The growing idleness of summer grass.
Imagery- Of two small children hunting yellow wings.
Hyperbole- In scansion gentler than my hammock swings
 A Stone’s Throw – Elma Mitchell
CONTRAST
 Lines 13-15: These lines show that
the men who were ‘holding stones’
believe they are more morally
upright than the other men with
whom the woman associates.
IRONY
 One would think that men with
‘virtuous’ hands would have only
pure thoughts, but these men intend
to stone the woman , who seems
utterly defenseless. Also, images of
cruelty are used, such as ‘bruised’,
‘kisses of stone’, ‘battery’ and ‘frigid
rape’.
 Test Match Sabina Park- Stewart Brown

RHETORICAL QUESTION SARCASM

 
Stanza 2, lines 6-7: This question
reveals that, despite the fact that
cricket is a popular sport in England,
the venues for the matches are not
crowded. This question could also
point to the fact that Sabina Park was
very crowded.
 Stanza 3, line 10: This question
represents the general frustration of
the West Indians in the crowd. They
are annoyed that the cricket match is
progressing so slowly.
To ‘boycott’ is to abstain from, or to
stop, doing something. Therefore, the
persona is being sarcastic because
excitement is a good thing. People
usually boycott for something
negative, therefore the persona is,
again, highlighting the slow and
boring pace of the cricket match.
 My Parents – Stephen Spender
Simile :
 “Who threw words like stones” the
words the boys use where harsh and
hurt when they would say them.
 “muscles like iron” they boys were
strong and Spence may have not
been strong enough to fight them off
so to him they were much stronger
than him and it would hurt to be hit
by them.
Metaphor:
 “the salt coarse pointing of those
boys” salt is rough and salt in
wounds sting. The pointing by the
boys would point and it would hurt
emotionally for spencer.
Allusion:

“While I looked the other way” an
allusion to Jesus turning the other
cheek as a form of forgiveness, like
Spencer wanting to forgive the boys.
 Landscape Painter, Jaimaica- Vivian Virtue

Imagery: Personification :
 “On corner of the Twisted  “ the mountains pose for him”
climbing mountain track”  “The little Hills fidgeting”
 “dips, darts, now here, now there”  “sprawl grandchildren about the
 “…Puzzles of pigment bloom in knees”
the pallets wild small garden”
Metaphor :
 “ tireless hummingbird, his
brush”
 Dulce et Decorum Est- Wilfred Owen
SIMILE
Stanza 1, line 1: This simile introduces the
exhaustion of the soldiers.

Stanza 1, line 2: This emphasizes not
only the tiredness of the soldiers but
the fact that they might be sick as well.

Stanza 2, line 19: This device gives a
visual image of how the soldier
physically reacted to the gas.
Floundering implies flopping about,
therefore, the soldier was flopping
about violently. We know it was violent
because fire and lime illicit
excruciating pain.
ALLITERATION
 Stanza 1, line 7: This device points to
the level of fatigue that the soldiers
were undergoing.
 Stanza 1, lines 7-9: This highlights not
only the fatigue that the soldiers were
feeling but the fact that they were
injured as well.
 Stanza 4, lines 29-30: This device
highlights a visually graphic death
mask. The soldier is in the throes of
impending death.
This is the Dark Time, My Love – Martin Carter
REPETITION
 Stanza 1, line 1 & stanza 2, line 7: The
repetition of this phrase highlights that
there is something seriously amiss. The
persona is telling his ‘love’ that this is a
sad and terrible time.
 ALLITERATION
This device literally draws the reader’s’
visual attention to the sentence. The
sentence implies that everything that is
good and positive is hidden away, or
gone. This alliteration sets a sad tone at
the very beginning of this poem.
RHETORICAL QUESTION
 Stanza 3, line 13: This device informs
the reader/ audience that a threat exists
and that it comes in the dark of night.
 Stanza 3, lines 14 – 15: It is implied
that the threat is a soldier through the
term ‘boot of steel’. The ‘slender grass’
is the innocent youth who is cut down
and trampled by these ‘boots of steel’.
The fact that we are given this
information through the use of
rhetorical question adds mystery and
intrigue to the poem.
 Ol’Higue – Mark McWatt
RHETORICAL QUESTION
 •Stanza 1,line 4: This rhetorical question
highlights the scant regard that the Higue has
for the average person. She is thoroughly
annoyed that she has to literally waste her
energy on them.
 •Stanza 1, line 5: This highlights the fact that,
again, she is annoyed that she has to expend so
much energy to obtain a few drops of baby
blood.
 •Stanza 1, lines 6-8: The Ol’ Higue is
emphasizing the fact that regular people ingest
blood too, just in a more palatable manner. She
would not mind if she could ingest it in the
same manner as well.
SIMILE
 Cane-fire has a very distinct quality. It burns
very quickly and its presence is felt through it’s
pungent smell. Therefore, when the Ol’ Higue
compares herself to cane fire in her fireball
state, it implies that she uses a lot of energy
quickly, and is very visible.
REPETITION
 The repetition of the word ‘soft’ emphasizes the
fact that the call of the child’s blood has
captured and beguiled the Ol’ Higue’. She
implies that she cannot resist that call.
 ALLITERATION
 This device emphasizes the Ol’ Higue’s
dependence, even addiction, to the sweet blood
of the baby.
 Mirror – Sylvia Plath
Metaphor:
 “In me she has drowned a young girl,”-
the woman, she has been looking at the
mirror since she was a young woman now
her youth has passed and she is now old
 “I think it is part of my heart”- the mirror
has been reflecting the wall for so long is
has become a standard part of its
existence as it always there
Personification :
 “Now I am a lake”-
 “I am silver and exact. I have no
preconceptions.” – the mirror is
personified throughout the poem as it is
the narrator it now gives itself more
human qualities and referring to itself as a
being.
Imagery:
 “It is pink, with speckles.”- the
description of the wall allowing us to
imagine the wall
 “But it flickers.
 South –Kamau Brathwaite
ALLITERATION
 
•Stanza 1, lines 1-2: The sound that the
alliteration elicits, when spoken, is a
positive one. This is the case because
the alliteration forces the reader to
sound cheerful, thereby facilitating the
interpretation that the persona is happy
to be home.
 •Stanza 1, lines 4-5: This alliteration,
again, draws the reader through the
sound that it elicits. One can almost
hear the sound that the sea makes
through the repetition of the ‘s’ sound.
It emphasizes the joy that the persona
feels to be home.
PERSONIFICATION
•Stanza 1, lines 6-7: This device gives a
beautiful impression of the effect that the
island had on the persona. He felt whole
when he was there, at peace.
 •Stanza 2, lines 16-17: The shadows, in
this context, represents his past life and
experiences on the island. The memories
of his island elicits feelings of sadness,
even homesickness. These memories cast
an oppressive shadow over his life in the
north.
 Death be Not Proud-John Donne

 Metaphor  Personification
There are three metaphors in this Donne has personified death
poem. The first is used in the opening throughout the poem, stating it
line “Death, be not proud.” Here should not be proud. Being proud is a
death is compared to a proud man. human quality. Hence, death is given
a human quality of having feelings
The second is used in the ninth line,
and emotions
“Thou art slave to fate.”
In the last line in an extended
metaphor where death is compared to
the non-existent or unrealistic object.
 Dreaming Black Boy-James Berry

ALLUSION: REPETITION:
 Stanza 1, lines 6 and 7, alludes to slavery, the  The constant repetition of the phrase ‘I
state of lacking control over one’s own life and wish’ points to a yearning, a desperation
destiny. The fact that reference is made to this
hints to how the persona feels about his life. He even, for the basic things that life has to
does not feel as if he has control over it. offer. The repetition gives credence to the
idea that the persona might believe that
 Stanza 3, lines 19 to 20, alludes to Paul his wishes are actually dreams that might
Robeson, a black intellectual, who attained not come true.
success despite difficult circumstances. The
persona yearns to be like this person. He wants
room to stretch intellectually.
 Stanza 4, lines 22 to 25, alludes to the klu klux
klan. Burning lights refers to the burning of
crosses and the pyjamas alludes to their white
outfits that look like pyjamas. The persona
wants them to leave him alone, find something
else to do other than make his life difficult by
contributing to his wishes remaining in the
realm of the dreams.
  Formal
 Informal
TONE  Solemn
 Melancholic
How would you
 Frustrated
describe the
language’s mood?  Morbid
 Regretful
 Reflective
-Select Phrases
 Sentimental
showing Attitude
 Critical
  How many stanzas/how long are
they?
 Are there any line breaks/caesural
FORM pauses?
 What do the pauses signify?
Why is the structure of the  Is there a lot of punctuation or
poem? just a few?
 Is there any rhyme? Why? Is it
consistent?
Study Stanzas/Rhyme/Rhythm/
 How does the rhyme affects the
Punctuation poem’s meaning?
 Does this style of poem have a
specific name?
 
FEELING What does the tone say about the
narrator’s feelings?
 What might be the poet’s
What emotions are intentions?
being conveyed?  Who was it targeted at?
 Is it from the poet’s prospective
or someone else’s?
- Note the different  How does it make you feel?
feelings
Approach to Answering CSEC
Poetry Comparative Essays

 ‘My Parents’ and ‘Little Boy Crying’ explore childhood

experiences.”
Write an essay in which you describe the experience of EACH
child. In this essay, you must also discuss how the child in EACH
poem feels about the other persons involved in the experience, and
examine ONE device that is used to present the child’s experience
in EACH poem.
Total 35 marks
 Introducing the Essay.
FOR EXAMPLE,
Introduction
In this essay, I will attempt
to…
 EXPERIENCE OF A CHILD
In “My Parents” the child recounts his
attempts at fitting in with a group of
children who are different…

In “Little Boy Crying” the child has been

punished by the father because he was
playing in the rain…

FEELINGS OF THE CHILD

Development In “My Parents” the child has mixed
feelings about the other boys in “My
Parents”. he fears their physical
strength…

In “Little Boy Crying” the child seems to

hate the father because of the
punishment and sees him as an ogre who
towers over him…
Development -Devices used to present the
experience of the child. (One of
the following)
“My Parents” (Irony,Simile)
“Little Boy Crying”
(Allusion,Metaphor, Irony)

-There MUST BE A
Conclusion Concluding PARAGRAPH
Approach to Answering CSEC Poetry
Comparative Essays

 GROUP ACTIVITY>
From the prescribe list of poems that you have studied, chose TWO that explore the
nature of Prejudice.
Write an Essay in which you describe the situation in which Prejudice is
demonstrated in Each poem. You must compare the response to the Prejudice that is
demonstrated and discuss an effective device use by EACH to highlight the impact
of Prejudice on the speaker or a character in the poem.

Total 35 marks