Teaching "ARE YOU STILL PLAYING YOUR FLUTE? "

Here's the easiest and fastest way to teach your students this poem.. Make sure they understand these points..

ARE YOU STILL PLAYING YOUR FLUTE? By Zurinah HassanAre you still playing your flute?When there is hardly time for our loveI am feeling guiltyTo be longing for your songThe melody concealed in the slim hollow of the bambooUncovered by the breath of an artistComposed by his fingersBlown by the windTo the depth of my heart.

Are you still playing the flute?In the village so quiet and desertedAmidst the sick rice fieldWhile here it has become a luxuryTo spend time watching the rainGazing at the evening raysCollecting dew dropsOr enjoying the fragrance of flowers.

Are you still playing your flute?The more it disturbs my

Masihkah kau bermain seruling

walau waktu telah terlewat untuk kita bercintaaku semakin terasa bersalahmelayani godaan iramalagu yang tersimpan pada lorong halus buluhdikeluarkan oleh nafas senimandiukir oleh bibirdiatur oleh jaridilayangkan oleh alun anginmenolak ke dasar rasa.

Masihkah kau bermain serulingketika kampung semakin sunyi

sawah telah uzurwaktu jadi terlalu mahal

untuk memerhatikan hujan turun

merenung jalur senjamengutip manik embunmenghidu harum bunga.

Masihkah kau bermain seruling

ketika aku terasa amat bersalah

conscienceto be thinking of youin the hazard of youmy younger brothers unemployed and desperatemy people disunited by politicsmy friend slaughtered mercilesslythis world is too old and bleeding

untuk melayani rasa rindu padamudi kota yang semakin kusut dan tenatadik-adikku menganggur dan sakit jiwa

bangsaku dipecahkan oleh politiksaudara diserang bom-bom ganas

dunia sudah terlalu tua dan parah.

Di sinilah berakhirnya percintaan kitakerana zaman sedang menuntut para senimanhidup di luar dirinya.~ Zurinah Hassanhttp://zurinahhassan.blogspot.com

Questions :1.       What is the persona feeling guilty of?2.       Where does the persona live? What about the flutist/ her boyfriend?3.       What is considered a luxury by the persona ?4.       Why is the village so quiet and deserted?5.       Why is the rice field sick?6.       What are the problems/hardships mentioned ?

       1)The village is quiet and deserted. The paddy fields looked barren. 

     2)  The ‘luxuries’ here refer to " watching the rain, gazing at the evening rays, collecting dew drops and enjoying the fragrance of the flower"

 

and all these luxuries can be enjoyed in the rural areas and not in the city where everything is so busy, everybody leading a hectic and busy life. 

3)      The persona and her boyfriend, the flutist live in two different "worlds" .. The persona's lifestyle and way of thinking is now different from her boy friend's.      4)     She feels guilty -        when she misses / or longs for the beautiful melody of the bamboo flute played by her beloved long ago      because her conscience tells her that it is not a right thing to do/feel.

 5)     She cannot  accept the fact that while  the village is  under populated and the paddy field in a deplorable state, her lover can still play the flute and not thinking of the situation, or at least feeling bad about not being able to do anything about it..  6)She also feels guilty to be thinking of their love at their difficult times. The hardships portrayed here are unemployed young men, people disunited by politics and a ‘dying’ world.

      Themes/ Moral values 1)Themes

         Adapting to changes. This is inevitable. We need to adapt to all kinds of social, economic and political changes. In this poem, the flutist is aloof to changes happening around him.  

         Love and appreciate the arts.

2)Moral Values         Aware of your family commitment. Everyone needs to take responsibility to the changes that take place in

life and act accordingly. The flutist does not succumb to the changes

around him. He clings on to his roots. He is not aware of his family commitments. The persona, his former lover has progressed in life while he still leads his conventional lifestyle.  

3)        Get your priorities right.Eg: Village nowadays is left quiet and deserted. Rice fields are left

barren, but the flutist continues to play his flute. He needs to realize there is time to play and time to work. Hence, one must get his priorities right.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

the watering hole

let's grow together...

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Nature (by H. D Carberry)

This poem is simply about nature. It talks about the condition, climate and atmosphere in Jamaica. Surprisingly, even figuratively, this poem is actually talking about the natural cycle of nature - the cycle of life. In my opinion, in this poem, the poet is trying to convey the message that in life, there will definitely be bad times and good times no matter where you are. And it can comes in every different forms.

UNDERSTANDING THE POEM

Lines 1 to 10The 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 15In 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 of 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 country Appreciate nature

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’ Personification – ‘buttercups have paved the earth’ … 

buttercups have been personified as having laid tiles

For reference, I’ve included the pictures of some plants (plantation) mentioned in this poem.

This is a sample of the flower, buttercup.

Canefield plantation

 

I stated earlier about how good times and bad times come in differrent forms. I think we can definitely say that for those living in the places with the four seasons, the best seasons are usually spring and summer, and most of the time, people dread the Autumn and Winter's climate. As for Jamaicans, and may I say, Malaysians, we have our preference to and in the poem, the best days are the days when the mango and the logwood blossom, bushes full with the sound of bee with the scent of honey, with slight wind, and the buttercup blooms all over the plains.

Do also note that the poem ends with the line " and beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone". This is also another big resemblance to our life, as it has been our experience that after bad times, good times will follow and sometimes ever so abrubtly. This reminds me to a piece of a lyrics that can roughly be translated as below:

"Adversity is a gift,So, brave through it with patience,

Soon the light will come, As the cloud will not be there forever,

But the light will be brighter than ever."