Clear and Gentle stream

Question 1

When was it written?

Answer 1

c. 1873

Question 2

Who is the poet?

Answer 2

Robert Bridges

Question 3

Language, form and structure:

Answer 3

• 4 stanzas
• Consistent rhyme scheme
• Elegy- poem which laments the dead/ the passing of his childhood
• Regular form and rhythm reflect constancy of stream and also unstoppable and incessant nature of time

Question 4

Direct Adress

Answer 4

‘Clear and gentle stream!’

• Direct address indicates his love for it, as he pays homage to the place where he spent much of his childhood

Question 5

Oxymoron

Answer 5

‘The idle dream’
- Idle implies a dormancy whilst dream is often associated with fantasy and desire, or something you might work hard to achieve

Question 6

Assonance

Answer 6

‘Loved so long’

• Assonances helps convey a sense of yearning, as he is repeatedly dwelling on something

Question 7

Changes in tense

Answer 7

‘Where my old seat was’
- Accentuates powerful nature of time, and shows humans insignificance, as whilst we have changed over time, the stream and his ‘seat’ haven’t

Question 8

Onomatopeia

Answer 8

‘Deep bell hums’
- Ominous and looming, the onomatopeic qualities adding to a sinister atmosphere

Question 9

Refrain

Answer 9

‘Clear and gentle stream!’
- Use of this refrain illustrates close affinity the speaker feels for the stream

Question 10

Quotes:

Answer 10

‘Clear and gentle stream’

‘Where my old seat was / Here again I sit’

‘Known and loved so long’

‘And then evening comes’