Midnight On The Great Western Flashcards
Why does Hardy use the repetition of the word “journeying” throughout the poem ?
To remind the reader that the boy is almost everlastingly travelling.The repetition of this phrase perhaps may echo just how long the boy is travelling.
At the beginning of the poem what do we acknowledge about the boy? Give 2 quotes
He is in the “third class” which implies that he may be poor and not really well off.
“Listless” suggesting the boy is emotionless
Name one structural feature in the poem ? E……..
Enjambment, to create suspense and making the sentences seem endless which almost echoes the endless journey of the boy.
How does Hardy convey the boy’s innocence? Give a word quote
The young “journeying boy” is said to have been “bewrapt” which conveys the innocence of a child and how the boy is oblivious of what is happening around him, but yet he still feels intrigued.
What is the viewpoint of this poem ?
An older person who seems to have wisdom and is looking at the innocence of the young “journeying boy”
How is the key described to us in the poem ?
The key “twinkled”, the fact that it is twinkling may suggest that it may have a life of its own, almost more alive than the young boy is.It is also described as being “sad”, thus having emotions, and is also described as a “living thing”which is opposing the young boy, as he is described as “listless” therefore the fact that the key has more life than the boy, sets the scene that the boy is passionless.
What is the poet thinking at the time ?
The earth is full of sinners the young boy is pure and he is almost sticking out like a sore thumb as he doesn’t fit in with the earthly sinners of the world, which somehow remarks the child’s innocence
What poem does this link to ?
Holy Thursday
What do we learn from the older man watching the young child ?
The older man has sympathy for the child and we are aware that Hardy is concerned with society
