Poetry: Possibility and Determination Flashcards
What is the literal meaning?
“The skin cracks like a pod. / There never is enough water.”
There is a continuous drought
What is implied about the speaker’s attitude to possibility or determination?
“The skin cracks like a pod. / There never is enough water.”
The speaker uses a disappointed tone, showing they have lost hope and there is no determination or possibility for water.
How does the poet create the speaker’s view that belief has been lost for the drought to end?
“The skin cracks like a pod. / There never is enough water.”
(key words)
The punctuated short break between ‘The skin cracks like a pod.’ and ‘There is never enough water.’ highlights the length of time the drought has been going on for and creates a sense of discouragement as it highlights the writers frustration that drought will never end.
The simile “The skin cracks like a pod” reflects how the earth is damaged and yet within the verb “cracks” there is the suggestion that the damage is there, but can be fixed because it is only on the surface.
Why does the poet create a sense that the speaker is faced with frustration?
“The skin cracks like a pod. / There never is enough water.”
The sense of frustration is created to highlight how misfortune is not a choice particularly emphasised in the declarative sentence “There never is enough water.”
What does the phrase “Misfortune is not a choice” compare to If by Rudyard Kipling
Remember the ideas must be exact comparisons. ie; encouragement and discouragement
The ideas must link to a specific word in the quote
ie: Imposter - discourage
Kindly- Encouragement
Keep using different parts of the quote and poem. Drain the quote of information and find something new and make a connection.
In IF by Rudyard Kipling the determination not to be discouraged by failure is very prevalent in the personification of “disaster” as an “Imposter” . Whilst in blessing, there is an encouragement to treat disasters with more faith, because although there is never enough water even the drip of it is personified as a Kindly God .The adverb kindly creates a sense of involvement and suggests that with more believe the drought will end.
