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He Had Such Quiet Eyes

by Bibsy Soenharjo

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He Had Such Quiet Eyes by Bibsy Soenharjo

He had such quiet eyesShe did not realizeThey were two pools of liesLayered with thinnest iceTo her, those quiet eyesWere breathing desolate sighsImploring her to be niceAnd to render him paradiseIf only she’d been wiseAnd had listened to the adviceNever to compromiseWith pleasure-seeking guysShe’d be free from ‘the hows and whys’Now here’s a bit of adviceBe sure that nice really niceThen you’ll never be losing at diceThough you lose your heart once or twice

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He had such quiet eyesShe did not realise

He Had Such Quiet Eyes by Bibsy Soenharjo

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They were two pools of liesLayered with thinnest ice

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To her, those quiet eyesWere breathing desolate sighs

Imploring her to be niceAnd to render him paradise

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If only she’d been wiseAnd had listened to the adviceNever to compromiseWith pleasure-seeking guysShe’d be free from ‘the hows and whys’

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Now here’s a bit of adviceBe sure that nice really niceThen you’ll never be losing at diceThough you lose your heart once or twice

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SYNOPSIS

• This poem is about a girl who falls in love with the wrong boy. She is fascinated with his eyes that seem to lure him to give him paradise. The man has a pair of quiet eyes that she does not realise they are not that quiet. As she is ‘charmed’ by the eyes, she does not listen to the advice given by other people who are concerned with her behaviour. In the end, she realises her mistakes and is broken hearted.

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THEME

• Betrayal of love• Personal experiences• Relationships that are meaningful

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MORAL VALUES

• Don’t be naive and believe everything we are told especially in matters of the heart.

• Be wise when choosing friends.• Falling in love is normal but one should be

careful.• We must learn from the experience of other

people.• We should be very careful not to give in our

principle in order to please other people.3/31/2012

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TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

• Reflective• Sad and happy• Sympathetic

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POINT OF VIEW

• Second and third person points of view

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LANGUAGE & STYLE

Simple and easy to understandSimple style with rhyming scheme

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MEANING OF WORDS• sighs – long, deep audible breaths• eyes – a pair of organs of sight• advice – guidance• desolate – unhappy and uninhabited• pleasure-seeking – looking for a feeling of happy satisfaction• dice – a small cube with each side having a different number ranging

from 1 to 6• layered – arranged in layers• lies – intentional false statements• realise – become aware• compromise – agree• paradise – heaven• render – provide or give help• imploring – begging desperately• wise – having knowledge and good judgment3/31/2012

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Exercise 1a. What does the phrase ‘two pools of lies’ refer to?• ………………………………………………………………………….b. Which lines show that the man is saying “I love you, and if

you love me, prove it!”• ………………………………………………………………………….• ………………………………………………………………………….c. Which stanza shows that there is a sense of regret?• …………………………………………………………………………d. What do you understand by the phrase “the hows and

whys”?• ………………………………………………………………………….• ………………………………………………………………………….3/31/2012

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Exercise 2a. What does the phrase ‘thinnest ice’ imply?• …………………………………………………………………………….• …………………………………………………………………………….b. In this poem, the poet talks about the betrayal of a young girl’s

feelings for a boy. She believes in his sincerity to her as he had pleaded to her to surrender to him. Write the two lines depicting this.

• …………………………………………………………………………….• …………………………………………………………………………….c. What is the main theme in this poem?• ………………………………………………………………………………d. What did you learn from this poem? Explain.• ………………………………………………………………………………• ………………………………………………………………………………

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Answers He Had Such Quiet Eyes

• Exercise 1a. The eyes are compared to deceit.b. Imploring her to be nice And to render him paradise.c. Stanza 2d. The ‘hows and whys’ is compared to a situation where one gets hurt emotionally and tries to solve the problem.

• Exercise 2a. dangerousb. To her, those quiet eyes Were breathing desolate sighs Imploring her to be nicec. Deceitd. We sometimes encounter people who have ill intentions

towards us. We should take precaution against them.3/31/2012

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Form 4 Students, good luck for your 2nd Topical Test

Love Always,Po Po Tun

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