Select Poems
N.B. These “notes” are by no means exhaustive and should not be used independent of your own reading and study of the poems. (NATE & W.B.S)
NOTES ON PRESCRIBED POEMS FOR CSEC LITERATURE
Preamble: Please be mindful of the fact that poetry makes up a third of this syllabus and that for the Paper II (the essay-writing paper) students are required to demonstrate their understanding of how the poets’ techniques are used to convey and shape meaning (including the tone and mood) in the respective poems. For every poem on the list you should be able to describe the literal situation, discuss the thematic importance and show how various poetic techniques including verse form and structure, diction and imagery, are used to convey meaning.
1. “A Contemplation Upon Flowers” - Henry King (Britain 1592-1669)
This poem written in the early 17th Century utilizes an apostrophe and is written in the form of an ode, that is, a very formal poem addressed to someone or something. The poem is structured into 3 regular stanzas, making it an Horatian ode and is addressed to the ‘brave flowers’ which are personified throughout the poem.
The poet conveys and admiringand enviable attitude towards flowers for qualities he perceives in them which he feels is absent from mankind in general and himself in particular.
The six-line stanzas have the rhyme scheme ababcc. Please note that ‘you’ and ‘show’ in lines 1 and 3 would have rhymed perfectly in 17th century speech. In each stanza the final couplet seems to sum up the idea presented in the first four.
Words explained
The title Contemplation - meditation; thinking about what one can learn from something
l.1 gallant it- be charming and stylish (like chivalrous men impressing ladies
1.2 as little vain- as little conceited; in other words, as modest
1.3 abroad- out into the open
1.4 to your beds- go back to
1.5 your birth - your origins; where you come from
1.7 months and times- the natural order
NOTES ON PRESCRIBED POEMS FOR CSEC LITERATURE
Preamble: Please be mindful of the fact that poetry makes up a third of this syllabus and that for the Paper II (the essay-writing paper) students are required to demonstrate their understanding of how the poets’ techniques are used to convey and shape meaning (including the tone and mood) in the respective poems. For every poem on the list you should be able to describe the literal situation, discuss the thematic importance and show how various poetic techniques including verse form and structure, diction and imagery, are used to convey meaning.
1. “A Contemplation Upon Flowers” - Henry King (Britain 1592-1669)
This poem written in the early 17th Century utilizes an apostrophe and is written in the form of an ode, that is, a very formal poem addressed to someone or something. The poem is structured into 3 regular stanzas, making it an Horatian ode and is addressed to the ‘brave flowers’ which are personified throughout the poem.
The poet conveys and admiringand enviable attitude towards flowers for qualities he perceives in them which he feels is absent from mankind in general and himself in particular.
The six-line stanzas have the rhyme scheme ababcc. Please note that ‘you’ and ‘show’ in lines 1 and 3 would have rhymed perfectly in 17th century speech. In each stanza the final couplet seems to sum up the idea presented in the first four.
Words explained
The title Contemplation - meditation; thinking about what one can learn from something
l.1 gallant it- be charming and stylish (like chivalrous men impressing ladies
1.2 as little vain- as little conceited; in other words, as modest
1.3 abroad- out into the open
1.4 to your beds- go back to
1.5 your birth - your origins; where you come from
1.7 months and times- the natural order