TOTAL DESTRUCTION (POETRY)

Question 1

poem: sonnet 29 ‘i think of thee!’

“my _______ do _____ and ___”
+ name the device that’s throughout the poem

Answer 1

poem: sonnet 29 ‘i think of thee!’

“my thoughts do twine and bud”
- extended metaphor of him as the tree

Question 2

poem: sonnet 29 ‘i think of thee!’

“burst, ________, __________!”
+ what structure is this?
+ what is she portraying?

Answer 2

poem: sonnet 29 ‘i think of thee!’

“burst, shattered, everywhere!”
- triadic structure, turning point in the poem
- climax of their romantic love together

Question 3

poem: sonnet 29 ‘i think of thee!’

“______ ___ boughs”
+ what imagery is this?
+ what connotations

Answer 3

poem: sonnet 29 ‘i think of thee!’

“rustle thy boughs”
- auditory imagery
- natural connotations imply inevitability of love

Question 4

poem: sonnet 29 ‘i think of thee!’

“O __ ____-____”
+ what type of noun is used here?
+ what does this show
+ what are the connotations of a palm tree?

Answer 4

poem: sonnet 29 ‘i think of thee!’

“O my palm-tree”
- a pronoun
- their dependency on each other
- biblical connotations -> timeless nature in relationship

Question 5

poem: sonnet 29 ‘i think of thee!’

+ what form is this poem?
+ what is the context of this poem?

Answer 5

poem: sonnet 29 ‘i think of thee!’

• a Petrarchan sonnet
• women were not expected to reveal strong emotions (this was released without her permission after her death)

Question 6

poem: winter swans

“the _____ had _____ ____ ___” + “two ____ __ ____ and then _ _____”
+ what two devices are used in this?
+ what does “two” present

Answer 6

poem: winter swans

“the clouds had given their all” + “two days of rain and then a break”
- personification and pathetic fallacy
- presents the feeling of claustrophobia in the relationship as they’re in a caged environment

Question 7

poem: winter swans

“___ waterlogged _____ / _______ for ______ at ___ ____”
+ what metaphor is “waterlogged”?
+ what is “gulping” a symbol of?

Answer 7

poem: winter swans

“the waterlogged earth / gulping for breath at our feet”
- metaphor for their relationship; waterlogged, stuck
- struggling to get out, to free themselves from the problem

Question 8

poem: winter swans

“por______” and “l____”
+ what are both these nouns symbols of?
+ what quote from this poem does this link to?

Answer 8

poem: winter swans

“porcelain” and “light”
- symbols for biblical, soulmates for life
- links with the quote “they mate for life” links: forever, heaven biblical imagery

Question 9

poem: winter swans

“____how / ____ the ________ _______ us”
+ what is this referencing and what does it symbolise?
+ what’s happened to the rain?

Answer 9

poem: winter swans

“somehow / swum the distance between us”
- the swans that “mate for life”, that they’ve put aside any differences and sorted the problems
- it’s left, the suns out, pathetic fallacy “light”

Question 10

poem: winter swans

+ name the form
+ what is some context?

Answer 10

poem: winter swans

• no rhyme scheme or constant syllable line count
• welsh poet + from his collection “Skirrid Hill”

Question 11

poem: eden rock

“her ____, the colour __ _____, takes __ ___ _____”
+ what biblical idea is this?
+ what does the specific colour knowledge tell us?

Answer 11

poem: eden rock

“her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light”
- angelic imagery, idea of death
- this is a very vivid memory, he thinks about this often

Question 12

poem: eden rock

“the sky _______ as if ___ __ _____ ____”
+ what do the three suns represent?
+ what symbol and concept is this?

Answer 12

poem: eden rock

“the sky whitens as if lit by three suns”
- the family triangle; mother, father and speaker
- symbol of purity and concept of the holy trinity

Question 13

poem: eden rock

“I ___ ___ _______ it would __ ____ this”
+ give a structure point
+ what does this structure symbolise?
+ bonus! link it to some context!😋

Answer 13

poem: eden rock

“i had not thought it would be like this”
- separated from the rest of the poem at the end
- symbolises the separation from his parents
- his father died at 7, death loss motif

Question 14

poem: eden rock

+ give the form + rhyme
+ what is the context of his parents?

Answer 14

poem: eden rock

• ode format, half-rhyme (separation)
• father died when he was young, mother died in 71

Question 15

poem: mother, any distance

”s____”, “a____”, “p______”
+ what does this metaphorically demonstrate?

Answer 15

poem: mother, any distance

“span”, “acres”, “prairies”
- the distance getting further away

Question 16

poem: mother, any distance

“reporting ______, __________ back __ ____”
+ what does this metaphorically demonstrate?
+ what is the “spool of tape” representing?

Answer 16

poem: mother, any distance

“reporting metres, centimetres back to base”
- demonstrates that they miss each other so much that armitage is reporting even the smallest of details down to the “centimetres” back to her at “base”
- symbol of the umbilical cord, physical connection as he grew was lost

Question 17

poem: mother, any distance

“A______. K____.”
+ what does this represent symbolically?
+ what device is the full stop and what does it demonstrate

Answer 17

poem: mother, any distance

“Anchor. Kite.”
- contrasting images highlight the confusing feelings of independence and growing up
- caesura, somethings slowing them down from moving on

Question 18

poem: mother, any distance

“to ____ or f__”
+ what does this present is happening in his life?

Answer 18

poem: mother, any distance

“to fall or fly”
- he will either make it successfully in his independent life “fly” or “fall” back down to base

Question 19

poem: mother, any distance

+ what is the structure + form of this poem?
+ what is the context?

Answer 19

poem: mother, any distance

• free verse, he can do whatever he wants in his life
• he moved just a few doors down away from his parents