“First Ice” page 226 Lyric Poetry: a non-narrative poem that expresses the ideas and emotions of the poet. usually shorter). Image: sad female character Problem with a man > dressed up nice (makeup + earrings) > first hurt Altercation > hiding in her coat + smeared lipstick + alone First Ice: metaphor! Literally: first cold spell of year Metaphor: first time she is hurt in a relationship La Belle Dame sans Merci
1. - Someone asks him why he’s sad ; someone comes across this knight alone - I (the narrator) meets a lady in the meadows - She is beautiful > long hair, light foot, wild eyes - I made her a garland, bracelets and perfume. She looks like she loves me. - I put her on my horse, and we rode and she sang all day long - She found me lots of food, and said she loves me. - She took me to her elfin grot where she cried, and I silenced her with kisses. - She lulled me to sleep - I dreamt a dream with lots of dead people (death-pale) who cried “La Belle …hath thee in thrall.” - - I woke up without her on the cold hillside. 3. A quatrain is a four-line stanza in a poem, rhyming alternately. The rhyming pattern is ABCB then DEFE etc. The second line and fourth line’s last words rhyme. This is shown in the first quatrain in the poem. The rhyme between loitering and sing. All other lines don’t rhyme. 4. Imagery: - “The lily on thy brow”: this could possibly mean that she is wearing a newly plucked flower in her hair. The lily has a connotation to love and beauty. - “Fading rose”: This is an image used to describe the woman that the narrator meets. It is to give us the image that her cheeks are light pink like a fading rose. Rose also gives us the connotation to love and beauty. It can also appeal to our sense of smell to heighten our interaction with the poem. - “Death-pale”: an image used to describe the skin color of the warriors. It tells us that their skin looked like dead people’s skin, which is easy to picture in our minds. - These images basically give us a mental picture and give us the theme that life isn’t all that great all the time - Narrative > tells a story. - Purpose: explore your imagination - Everything looks good, but the soldier is sad!? - Woman, relationship, love, dream > death + fighting, then alone. - Without thanks: yes she’s beautiful, but he can’t do anything about it, no promise, no results, futility, she can’t do anything. Caught in a huge catch 22. - Knight: defend + offend for the King, Prince, or a Noble - Theme: Life + Love = often problematic. Often we can’t get what we desire. The knight can’t have her because he must be a knight in order to be with her and he cannot be an effective knight when he is in love. Chance Encounter - Moose + calf : could be anything. Sets up the mood of the story. Different thoughts, makes it nighttime. - Lights scare calf. - Wants it to conquer it’s fear. - Light: obstacle that child must overcome between mom and child. Could be a disagreement that must be resolved, or the child may never speak to the mother again. - By breaking up the lines of the poem, it show the author’s broken thought process. This is to make the poem true to how he experienced it. Fifty Below - Light hearted tone with an important meaning - Seemingly insignificant poem because of the light, comical tone - Theme: People tend to change themselves based upon other people’s perceptions - Evidence: Boy begins to lift his feet after the girls tease him. - We are left with a light, comical feeling after reading this poem, as opposed to Africville. Africville - In the early 1800’s many runaway slaves migrated to Nova Scotia; Halifax - Founded 1840 ; was a separate and segregated town within the city limits of Halifax. - Becomes a rundown eyesore for the city. Building over the community with an industrial area. - Pride + community - Has become theirs - The humans bring life to the community. - Without the physical town, the people will never forget because Africville will live on in people’s hearts and minds. - It’s important not to forget. - At the end, the poem leaves us with no sense of joy, but of a serious nature. Without Hands - Theme: People often take important things for granted ex. hands - Metaphor for hands: - 1. Conjunction: linking > grammar + hands link us to the outside world ex. handshake + develops the idea that hands are important - 2. Translator: create music, sign language, communication!! - Imagery: - Dad carrying off to bed - Plums turn sweet to sticky - Roses after rain - Grandma plucking chickens + brushing hair - Mom hanging clothes + reading books + teaching to tie shoes - Music stops - Machines stopping - Bread rising - Father building house 4 wrens - Hounds sniffing May be categorized: 1. Family: also important not to take for granted 2. Action: “ ” 3. Natural world: can’t take of advantage of it. 4. Non-human elements 5. Birds: represent freedom + have no hands.Breaking up lines important! Paint a picture Change the mood. From calm to chaotic. Reed it fast, then slow. Makes you work to reed it, keeps you interested. There’s going to be chaos without hands. Going back to family, don’t take for granted. On Test: 1. Read poem 2. Think of theme 3. Go to poetic images to get more ideas of theme. Look for repetition, symbols, metaphors, similes. Poetic images back up your theme. Also choice phrases that have impact, are separated or repeated.
