Continuum

Question 1

Summary

Answer 1

The author writes about his inability to sleep due to his inability to come up with material to write about. Therefore gets up in the dead of night when everyone is asleep and experiences a surreal world as his reality and dreams blend together in one beautiful work of poetry. Ironic how when he finds nothing to write, he writes about his inability to write

Question 2

Literary technique and how it supports the title

Answer 2

• Stream of consciousness => poet is dosing off => thoughts are unclear.
• Made up of multiple enjambments => makes and breaks the fluidity of the poem as well as reinforcing the sensation of poet’s unclear thoughts because it demonstrates the inability to upkeep a coherent train of thought.

Question 3

Structure and how it supports the title

Answer 3

• 3 lines per stanza => short minded-thinking and his inability to study any particular concept in depth.
• No rhyme scheme => indicate a sense of disorganization writer’s thoughts. It also shows how his confusion affects his interpretation of the world at night as something surreal.

Question 4

Word analysis

Answer 4

• “The moon rolls over the roof and falls behind”. The moon is the only thing in the sky = represents the poet’s loneliness. Moon also orbits => never ending cycle => “continuum”. “rolls” = continuous action => supports title
• “the moon does neither of these things” => blurry thoughts => indicate that the writer is aware that he is half asleep
• “It’s not possible to get off to sleep” => insomnia/ proximity of sleep => blurry thoughts like above.
• “Better barefoot” = alliteration demonstrates that he wishes to throw himself out in the open and force himself into a more awake state of mind
• “the other’s an adversary” => affliction and struggle
• ” A long moment stretches” => practically impossible for a moment to be late => a sense of time passes when moon’s out. Or emphasis of the fact his conflicted feelings are lingering => feels like a long time, time holds him back
• Last stanza portray both the failure and a sudden success of the poet. Note that at the last stanza, the ‘author’ part of him becomes another person, thus the lines “on the author” at the beginning of the last stanza. This author part of him “picks up his litter and his tools and paces me (him) back to bed, stealthily in step.”
  a. This could be a sign of his failure of the poet or author to be able to create good material as the author side of him picks up his litter and tools, perhaps a sign of him giving up, wishes to dispose it. Puts the person back to bed stealthily in step => creates an image of the author being ashamed of being unable to produce any good material.
  b. Sign of success or a potential brainwave on the author’s part as he could be picking up his litter to review his drafts again and picking up his tools to use. The fact that he wants to put the person back to bed stealthily in step indicates that the author would not want to make a big news out of it, and perhaps surprise his counterpart in the future, if he manages to create a piece of course. If not, it would forever stay hidden that he had a glimpse of hope in the first place.

Question 5

Tone/Attitude

Answer 5

Dissatisfied, unhappy, annoyed, confused, isolated, alone, discombobulated, detached.