Hedge School Flashcards
How does Sheers show his Welsh heritage?
TS Elliot also began his most famous poem ‘The Waste Land’ with a quote from Chaucer.
Describe Sheers’ use of quote.
The quote is from the prologue to The Pardoner’s Tale. This is a story about men who go out with the intention of killing Death, who they blame for their friend’s passing. They end up killing each other in the end as a result of their own greed and so have found ‘death’.
Why is ‘another lesson perhaps’ significant?
This links to learning but from nature - not school and books (links to ‘History’)
What does the use of ‘cupped’ relate to?
A mixture of delicacy of touch and evil of intention - reflects idea in The Farrier.
What does Sheers do with the blackberries?
He crushes the blackberries in his palm and feels immediate guilt, or at least a loss of innocence at becoming aware of his ability for nihilistic destruction.
Describe the link between ‘hoarding’ and the upper class in this poem.
- When he hoards the blackberries, they become ‘caviar’, ‘the bubbles of just poured wine’ and a ‘coiled black pearl necklace’.
- Rich people are hoarders who hang on to far more than they need?
- His hoarding of the blackberries shows that there is an innate upper-class instinct in him, and perhaps everyone in the West. We see this idea developed fully in ‘Stitch in Time’ later on.
Describe the form of the poem.
Dramatic monologue - allows us to have insight on Sheers’ thinking process and the development of his moral conscience.
