The Planners

Question 1

What is the main theme of the poem? (The Planners)

Answer 1

The main theme of the poem is that the meticulous planning takes away creativity and quashes self expression

Question 2

Paragraph 1? (The Planners)

Answer 2

Throughout the poem, Boey powerfully depicts a conflict between humanity and nature

Question 3

Quotes for paragraph 1? (The Planners)

Answer 3

‘grace of mathematics’
‘even the sea draws back and the skies surrender’
‘but my heart would not bleed poetry. not a single drop to stain the blueprint’

Question 4

‘grace of mathematics’

Answer 4

grace –> strong religious connotations but being used to describe uniformity showing that the lines between humanity and nature are blurred and complicated

Question 5

‘even the sea draws back and the skies surrender’

Answer 5

personification of nature displays the fractured relationship between humanity and nature

Question 6

‘but my heart would not bleed poetry. not a single drop to stain the blueprint’

Answer 6

poetry –> natural, expressing human emotion
vs.
blueprint –> mathematical, unnatural
- shows the deep divide between the natural and unnatural

Question 7

Paragraph 2? (The Planners)

Answer 7

Across the second stanza Kim Cheng uses an extended metaphor of cosmetic dentistry to show the desire for perfection and cleanliness

Question 8

Quotes for paragraph 2? (The Planners)

Answer 8

‘they erase the flaws, the blemishes of the past, knock off useless blocks with dental dexterity’
‘all gaps are plugged with gleaming gold’
‘the drilling goes right through the fossils of last century’

Question 9

‘they erase the flaws, the blemishes of the past, knock off useless blocks with dental dexterity’

Answer 9

alliteration of ‘dental dexterity’ draws attention to the metaphor of dentistry, displaying the desire for perfection and cleanliness

Question 10

‘all gaps are plugged with gleaming gold’

Answer 10

alliteration of ‘gleaming gold’ draws attention to the fact that imperfections are plugged with the new and better ideas of the planners

Question 11

‘the drilling goes right through the fossils of last century’

Answer 11

drilling –> metaphor of ruthless dentists
shows that they are disregarding the past which is deemed useless and invaluable, destroying history for a ‘perfect’ future

Question 12

Paragraph 3? (The Planners)

Answer 12

Boey Kim Cheng also shows his fear of the planners and their power by repeatedly showing what they take away

Question 13

Quotes for paragraph 3? (The Planners)

Answer 13

‘anaesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis’
‘they have it all so it will not hurt, so history is new again’
‘but my heart would not bleed poetry’

Question 14

‘anaesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis’

Answer 14

tricolon of things being taken away
anaesthesia = loss of feeling
amnesia = loss of memory
hypnosis = loss of awareness
- losing human things for ‘perfection’

Question 15

‘they have it all so it will not hurt, so history is new again’

Answer 15

brainwashed by ‘perfection’ so they don’t notice the destruction of history

Question 16

‘but my heart would not bleed poetry’

Answer 16

taking away creativity