2 lit hsc-t1w8-common test-post-mortem1 [compatibility mode]
TRANSCRIPT
Post-mortem: An Unseen Poem
KURONEKOSAN’S Lessons at HSCS.2012 T1W9
Term 1 Week 8Common Test
Secondary Two Literature in English
26/2/2012 1Written by Kuronekosan
The Unseen Poem
Stanza 1
I went to school a day too soonI went to school a day too soon
And couldn’t understand
Why silence hung in the yard like sheets
Nothing to flap or spin, no creaks
Or shocks of voices, only air.
26/2/2012 2Written by Kuronekosan
So the speaker or narrator knows that he or she
has “(come) to school a day too soon”. It is not
the case of him not knowing. What we do not
know is the intention for him doing so. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 3
What he “(cannot) understand” is the “silence”
that is “hung in the yards like sheets” which
have “nothing to flap or spin”. There is no
motion and no excitement at all. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 4
There is “no creaks / Or shocks of voices” suggests that
there is an element of surprise in the narrator’s tone.
He does not find what he is expecting: long loud noises
– “creaks” or simply “shocks of voices”. What he gets is
simply “only air”.26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 5
Stanza 2And the car park empty of teachers’ cars
Only the first September leaves
Dropping like paper. No racks of bikes
No kicking legs, no fights,No kicking legs, no fights,
No voices, laughter, anything.
26/2/2012 6Written by Kuronekosan
He sees the “car park” which is “empty of
teachers’ cars”. Autumn is starting to unfold
lightly before him as he witnesses “the first
September leaves” which are “dropping like
paper”. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 7
“No racks of bikes” suggests that
there are no students in the school.
At least, at the moment, none of
them have yet arrived. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 8
“No kicking legs, no fights” suggests
that the naughty students are
absent from the school scene. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 9
“No voices, laughter, anything”
suggests total absence of student
activities. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 10
The fact that the narrator makes such
detailed observations suggest that the
contrast between today and any normal
school day is quite obvious. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 11
Stanza 3Yet the door was open. My feet
Sucked down the corridor. My reflection
Walked with me past the hall.
My classroom smelt of nothing. And the silenceMy classroom smelt of nothing. And the silence
Rolled like thunder in my ears.
26/2/2012 12Written by Kuronekosan
The connector “yet” suggests a slight surprise
for the narrator. Although it was not a school
day, “the door” to the classroom “was open”.
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 13
The narrator experiences a pull here. He is
being drawn into the school building as “(his)
feet” are being “sucked down the corridor”.
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 14
He is all alone and the only “being” which is
accompanying him is “(his)reflection” which is
“(walking) with (him) past the hall”.
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 15
“(His) classroom smelt of nothing” reaffirms
“the emptiness” or “the quietness” which he is
now experiencing.
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 16
However, the silence and the quiet, ironically,
has gotten the better of him, because it seems
like he is finding the situation unbearable
because “the silence roll(s) like thunder in (his)
ears”. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 17
Stanza 4 At every desk a still child stared at me
Teachers walked through walls and back again
Cupboard doors swung open, and out crept
More silent children, and still more. More silent children, and still more.
26/2/2012 18Written by Kuronekosan
Is this a moment of weakness?
Or panic attack or emotional
longing for the emergence of a
familiar scene?26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 19
In his moment of contemplation, the
narrator probably thinks he sees “at every
desk a still child” is “staring at (him)”.
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 20
Is he frightened? I think not.
He is allowing his imagination to run wild. He
sees his “teachers (walking) through walls and
back again” because teachers are the pillars in
the school and they always hold sway. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 21
The fact that the narrator sees “cupboard doors
swung open, and out crept more silent children”
tells us he may be trying to combat the
emptiness and the silence with images of
children whom he is familiar. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 22
It seems he cannot have enough the “silent
children” and so “still more” emerges from the
“cupboard doors”.
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 23
Stanza 5 They tiptoed round me
Touched me with ice-cold hands
And opened up their mouths with laughter
That was That was
26/2/2012 24Written by Kuronekosan
He imagines “the (many) silent children” “(tiptoeing)
round (him), (touching him) wth ice-cold hands”. This
suggests that he is conscious of the futility of their
touch. He is aware that the scene is unreal.
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 25
He knows his imagination has its limits because the
“laughter” when they “opened up their mouths” is
“quieter than snow”. Silence (and quietness) is now
joined by the creeping in of coldness in the
atmosphere. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 26
Stanza 6Quieter than snow.
What is the impact of these three words?
26/2/2012 27Written by Kuronekosan
There seems to be an element of finality here. The irony is: “Quieter thanSnow” which is supposed to exude a feeling of lightness now seems to weigh down heavily in the mind of the narrator.
The actual title of the poem:
Quieter than
snow
Written by
Berlie Doherty
26/2/2012 28Written by Kuronekosan
WRITING CLINIC
Writing about the poem we’ve read.
the short story we’ve read.
the novel we’ve read.
the song we’ve heard.
or even the motion picture we’ve seen. or even the motion picture we’ve seen.
…writing is an ACQUIRED skill based on
UNDERSTANDING what we have
learnt. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 29
Question 1
Write down a suitable title
which you may use for the
poem. Provide an poem. Provide an
explanation for your
choice.
26/2/2012 30Written by Kuronekosan
To attempt Question 1I went to school a day too soon
And couldn’t understand
Why silence hung in the yard like sheets
Nothing to flap or spin, no creaks
Or shocks of voices, only air.
And the car park empty of teachers’ cars
Only the first September leaves
Dropping like paper. No racks of bikes
No kicking legs, no fights,
No voices, laughter, anything.
They tiptoed round me
Touched me with ice-cold hands
And opened up their mouths with laughter
That was Quieter than snow.
We read
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 31
Yet the door was open. My feet
Sucked down the corridor. My reflection
Walked with me past the hall.
My classroom smelt of nothing. And the silence
Rolled like thunder in my ears.
At every desk a still child stared at me
Teachers walked through walls and back again
Cupboard doors swung open, and out crept
More silent children, and still more.
We read the whole poem for main ideafrom the given text.
Make use of the three components of Poetry
to construct your title
SUBJECT
MATTER
MOMENTS OF SILENCE
A QUIET EXPERIENCE AT SCHOOL
ONE DAY TOO EARLY
ONE SILENT DAY
THEME LONELINESS THEME LONELINESS
A PAINFUL SILENCE
SOLITUDE
COLD AUTUMN
MOOD /
TONE
IN THE MOOD FOR SOLITUDE
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 32
How to structure your answer to Question 1?
(Declaration)
I choose the title “…………………………………………”.
(This is follow with an explanation)
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 33
(This is follow with an explanation)
This is because………[support your reasoning with relevant
images/expressions/words from the poem]……………………
………………………………………………………………………….
[Your explanation should cover: Subject Matter
/ Theme (Hidden Message) / Tone and Mood
Personal Response to Question 1
I pick the title, “Imaginative Silence at School”. I am
basically being overwhelmed by the narrator’s sense of
innocence as he or she fails to understand “why silence hung
in the yard like sheets / Nothing to flap or spin, no creaks /
Or shocks of voices, only air” even though he knows that he
goes “to school a day too soon”. The “silence” felt by the goes “to school a day too soon”. The “silence” felt by the
narrator also belongs to his imagination as he goes on to see
other children “staring at him” or “teachers walked through
walls and back again”. He even imagines “silent children”
who “tiptoed round” him and “touched (him) with ice-cold
hands”. I think it is with greatest sense of pleasure when
the narrator tells us that his schoolmates “opened up their
mouths with laughter” and smile back at him.
26/2/2012 34Written by Kuronekosan
Question 2
How does the poet make use of
images, expressions and words
to help you to understand how to help you to understand how
quiet and deserted the school
seems when the student goes
there a day too soon?
26/2/2012 35Written by Kuronekosan
What is “images, expressions and What is “images, expressions and
words”?
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 36
IMAGINATIVE or CREATIVEUSE OF LANGUAGE
…to help you to understand how
quiet and deserted….
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 37
How to find the “images, expressions and words” to
help you undertand how quiet and deserted the school
seems to be…?
I went to school a day too soon
And couldn’t understand
Why silence hung in the yard like sheets
Nothing to flap or spin, no creaks
Or shocks of voices, only air.
Image 1
Image 2
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 38
Or shocks of voices, only air.
And the car park empty of teachers’ cars
Only the first September leaves
Dropping like paper. No racks of bikes
No kicking legs, no fights,
No voices, laughter, anything.
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
When we scan for textual evidence, we should
do so in a systematic way. We move from stanza
to stanza. You will realise there is no need to
traverse a huge area of the poem.
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 39
Which area of the poem to cover
for relevant textual evidence?
To be able to do this effectively, you
will need to read the given will need to read the given
questions carefully. The “content”
of each question very clearly
specifies WHERE to look for your
evidence.
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 40
How the questions are tied in with
the stanzas in the poem?
Question 1: Write down a suitable title which you may use for the poem. Provide an explanation for your choice.
Question 3: Describe how you think the student feels when he or she enters the school building.
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 41
choice.
Question 2:How does the
poet make use of images,
expressions and words to
help you to understand
how quiet and deserted the
school seems when the
student goes there a day
too soon?
building.
Question 4:What feelings do you have when you read the last nine lines of the poem?
Personal Response to Question 2The school is quiet to the extent that the
narrator “couldn’t understand / why silence
hung in the yard like sheets” and still with
“nothing to flap or spin, no creaks / or shocks of
voices, only air”. There is no motion or voices, only air”. There is no motion or
excitement. The school is also deserted to the
extent that “the car park (is) empty of teachers’
cars” and “only the first September leaves /
dropping like paper” and still with “no racks of
bikes / No kicking legs, no fights, / No voices,
laughter, anything.” 26/2/2012 42Written by Kuronekosan
Question 3
Describe how you think
the student feels when the student feels when
he or she enters the
school building.
26/2/2012 43Written by Kuronekosan
Question 3 and Stanza 3
Describe how you think the student feels when he or she enters
VERY CAREFUL
READING IS
REQUIRED.
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 44
she enters the school building.
Yet the door was open. My feet
Sucked down the corridor. My reflection
Walked with me past the hall.
My classroom smelt of nothing. And the silence
Rolled like thunder in my ears.
Personal Response to Question 3When the student enters the school building, he or she must
be feeling a sense of strangeness. He does not open the door
but “yet the door was open”. He must be feeling helpless and
also becoming increasingly mystified because “(his) feet” was
“sucked down the corridor”. His feeling of “strangeness” and
“helplessness” must have doubled because he sees “(his) “helplessness” must have doubled because he sees “(his)
reflection / walked with (him) past the hall” and can expect
help from nobody else. He may not be very surprised even
though “(His) classroom smelt of nothing” but “the silence /
rolled like thunder in (his) ears”. For the first time, he may
feel an inner sense of pain because he may not be able to
withstand the silence any much longer.
26/2/2012 45Written by Kuronekosan
Question 4
What feelings do you
have when you read have when you read
the last nine lines of
the poem?
26/2/2012 46Written by Kuronekosan
Personal Response to Question 4 I feel both a sense of loneliness and longing. I feel very strongly
that the narrator has now entered a realm of imagination
because “at every desk a still child stared at (him)” and he can
see “teachers walked through walls and back again”. I also feel a
sense of eeriness as he allows his imagination to expand and run
wild as he witnesses “cupboard doors swung open, and out wild as he witnesses “cupboard doors swung open, and out
crept / more silent children, and still more”. Finally, when the
narrator allows them to “tiptoe round him / touch (him) with
ice-cold hands / and open up their mouths with laughter that
was quieter than snow, I cannot help but feel overwhelmed by
mixture of icy-cold and warm feelings. “Ice-cold” touching sends
shivers down my spine but at the same time, there is definitely a
sense of affection and fondness that comes with the narrator’s
imagination. He pines for their touch but knows it is not real. 26/2/2012 47Written by Kuronekosan
26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 48
THE END