Saturday, June 11, 2011

Poem: In The Midst Of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin


In the Midst of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin
At dawn they returned home
their soaky clothes torn
and approached the stove
their limbs marked by scratches
their legs full of wounds
but on their brows
there was not a sign of despair
The whole day and night just passed
they had to brave the horrendous flood
in the water all the time
between bloated carcasses
and tiny chips of tree barks
desperately looking for their son’s
albino buffalo that was never found

They were born amidst hardship
and grew up without a sigh or a complaint
now they are in the kitchen, making
jokes while rolling their ciggarete leaves
SYNOPSIS (OVERALL)
In this poem, the poet tells of the situation of a farmer and his family. They come back at dawn after being out in the floodwater for a day and night. They are looking for their albino buffalo. They come back wet and hurt but they do not show any despair. They have been born into a life of hardship and have never complained. Now, they are in the kitchen and they joke and talk while preparing to relax with a smoke.
SYNOPSIS (ACCORDING TO STANZA)
STANZA 1
They returned home at dawn and headed for the stove. Their clothes were soaking wet and tattered. Their bodies were covered with scratches and wounds. Yet, they did not display any signs of being worried.
STANZA 2
They were out in the flood the whole day and night. They were surrounded by dead animals and parts of trees that had been destroyed by the flood. They searched desperately for their son’s albino buffalo but were unable to find it.
STANZA 3
They were born into poverty and difficulty, but they do not complain about their suffer. Instead, they sit in the kitchen, cracking jokes while smoking cigarettes.
SETTING
The setting of the poem is in the house.
THEMES
  • Stoicism in life
  • Family love
  • Acceptance of way of life
MORAL VALUES
  1. We should learn to accept problems in life with a positive outlook.
  2. We must attempt to face and solve problems.
  3. Failure is part of growing up.
  4. Do not despair in the face of failure.
TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE
  • Understanding and sympathetic
  • Dismal
  • Acceptance of situation
POINT OF VIEW
  • Third person point of view.
LANGUAGE & STYLE
  • Language is simple and easy to understand.
  • The style is simple with no rhyming scheme.
POETIC DEVICES
  • Imagery – Gives picture of poet’s thoughts e.g ‘soaky clothes torn’ and ‘legs full of wounds’
  • Alliteration – e.g. ‘but on their brows’
  • Symbols – e.g. ‘horrendous flood’ and ‘bloating carcasses’
  • Diction – e.g. ‘stove’ and ‘brows

Poem: Are You Still Playing Your Flute? by Zurinah Hassan

Are You Still Playing Your Flute? by Zurinah Hassan
Are you still playing your flute?
When there is hardly time for our love
I am feeling guilty
To be longing for your song
The melody concealed in the slim hollow of the bamboo
Uncovered by the breath of an artist
Composed by his fingers
Blown by the wind
To the depth of my heart.

Are you still playing your flute?
In the village so quiet and deserted
Amidst the sick rice fields
While here it has become a luxury
To spend time watching the rain
Gazing at the evening rays
Collecting dew drops
Or enjoying the fragrance of flowers.

Are you still playing your flute?
The more it disturbs my conscience
to be thinking of you
in the hazard of you
my younger brothers unemployed and desperate
my people disunited by politics
my friend slaughtered mercilessly
this world is too old and bleeding.
THEMES
  • Family commitments
  • Priorities in life
  • Neglect of one’s duties
MORAL VALUES
  • We should be aware of our family commitments and carry them out properly.
  • Everyone has priorities in, life and we should know what is important and what is not.
  • Following a hobby is good but there is a time for work and a time for play.
POINT OF VIEW
  • The poem is the first point of view.
  • The person is addressing another person and describing a situation to him.
LANGUAGE AND STLYE
  • Rhetorical question
  • Descriptive and questioning
  • Simple style and no rhyme
TONE, MOOD AND ATMOSPHERE
  • Sombre and regretful
  • Serious atmosphere
POETIC DEVICES
  • Imagery – e.g. ‘blown by the wind’, ‘depth of my heart’
  • Alliteration – e.g. ‘fragrance of flowers’
  • Symbol – e.g. ‘flute’, ‘song’
  • Repetition – e.g. ‘Are you still playing your flute?’
  • Figurative Language – Metaphor e.g. ‘The melody concealed in the slime hollow of bamboo – Personification e.g. ‘sick rice field’

Poem: He Had Such Quiet Eyes by Bibsy Soenharjo


He Had Such Quiet Eyes by Bibsy Soenharjo

He had such quiet eyes
She did not realise
They were two pools of lies
Layered with thinnest ice
To her, those wuiet eyes
Were breathing desolate sighs
Imploring her to be nice
And to render him paradise
If only she’d been wise
And had listened to the advice
Never to compromise
With pleasure-seeking guys
She’d be free from ‘the hows and whys’
Now here’s a bit of advice
Be sure that nice really nice
Then you’ll never be losing at dice
Though you lose your heart once or twice
THEME
  • Betrayal of love
  • Personal experiences
  • Relationships that are meaningful
MORAL VALUES
  • Don’t be naive and believe everything we are told especially in matters of the heart.
  • We must be careful when choosing friends.
  • Falling in love is normal but one should be careful.
  • We must learn from the experience of other people.
TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE
  • Refelective
  • Sad and happy
  • Sympathetic
POINT OF VIEW
  • Second and third person points of view
LANGUAGE & STYLE
  • Simple and easy to understand
  • Simple style with rhyming scheme
POETIC DEVICES
  • Imagery – e.g. ‘pools of lies’, ‘layered in thinnest ice’
  • Symbol – e.g ‘quiet eyes’, ‘dice’
  • Alliteration – e.g ‘lies layered’
  • Personafication – e.g The eyes were ‘breathing the desolate sighs’ as though he was talking charmingly to her.

Poem: Nature by H.D.Carberry

Nature by H.D Carberry

Nature by H.D. Carberry
We have neither Summer nor Winter
Neither Autumn nor Spring.
We have instead the days
When the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields-
Magnificently.
The days when the rain beats like bullet on the roofs
And there is no sound but thee swish of water in the gullies
And trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.
Also there are the days when leaves fade from off guango trees’
And the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.
But best of all there are the days when the mango and the logwood blossom
When bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey,
When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air,
When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars
And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.
SYNOPSIS
The poem tells of the weather conditions in Jamaica although it does not have the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. The weather conditions of golden sunny days and wet rainy days are just as good and are almost equivalent to the four seasons.
UNDERSTANDING THE POEM
Lines 1 to 10
The poet tells about his homeland , Jamaica and rejoices the beauty of this island. Jamaica has no seasonal changes. It has a tropical climate which is hot and wet throughout the year. The days of golden sunshine are glorious and magnificent. The are many canefields in Jamaica as sugar is one of the main exports in this country.
Lines 11 to 15
In the ending of the poem, the poet tells us his favourite time – days when the flowers of mango trees and logwood blossom. He uses imagery of sound and smell to illustrate abundant life and activity in the bushes when the ‘sound of bees and the scent of honey’ add to the charm and beauty if Jamaica. He describes the fields filled with lovely yellow buttercups. All this happens when the rains have stopped and the beauty if nature emerges once again.
THEMES
  • Beauty of nature
  • Appreciation of one own’s country
  • Differences in appearances but similar in effects
MORAL VALUES
  • We should appreciate what we have in our own country
  • We should not long for what we do not have.
  • We should appreciate our homeland.
  • We should appreciate the beauty of nature.
TONE,MOOD, ATMOSPHERE
  • Appreciative and happy
  • Carefree and light-hearted
  • Sense of beauty
POINT OF VIEW
  • Third person point of view
LANGUAGE AND STYLE
  • Simple and easy to understand the language
  • Clear and descriptive
  • Simple style with no rhyming scheme
POETIC DEVICES
  • Imagery – e.g. ‘gold sun’, ‘lush green fields’, ‘trees struggling’
  • Alliteration – e.g. ‘sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air’
  • Symbols – e.g. ‘gold sun’ – symbol of summer, ‘rains’ – symbol of winter
  • Contrast – e.g. ‘beauty’ or summer is compared with ‘rains’ or winter
  • Figurative Language  – Simile – ‘rain beats like bullets’
  • Metaphor – e.g. ‘the buttercups paved the earth with yellow stars’
  • Personafication – ‘buttercups have paved the earth’ …  buttercups have been personified as having laid tiles