Exercise 3

Assalamualaikum to all my Muslims comrades and hi there! This time, I would like to provide you guys with two practices on the poem, In the Midst of Hardship. If you guys want to answer it successfully, you can refer to the previous entry, just click here.

Practice 1

1. At what time of the day did the family return home?

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2. Which lines in stanza 1 tell you that the family accept the hardship calmly?

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3. Explain the line they had to brave the horrendous flood.

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4. What was the family looking for in the flood waters?

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5. In your opinion, why did the family not complain about the hardships they had to face?

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Practice 2

1. Where is the setting of the poem?

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2. In your opinion, why did the family go towards the stove as soon as they returned home?

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3. Why do you think the people braved the floods to look for the albino buffalo?

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4. How did the family unwind after a hard day work?

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p/s-as usual, kindly email your answer to rabiatul.adawiyah20@yahoo.co.uk

Exercise 2

This is the exercise for the poem, 'The River' by Valerie Bloom. I guess all of you could answer this exercise easily since it is an objective format. All the best ! =)

1. How many stanzas are there in ‘The River’?

a) 5

b) 6

c) 7

d) 8

2. Pastoral people who move from place to place in search of food and water are called

a) Campers

b) Nomads

c) Caravan people

d) Vagrants

3. To be ‘vexed’ means to be

a) worried

b) angry

c) irritated

d) haunted

4. What is the most likely reason a river ‘twists and turns’?

a) river waters move in torrents

b) river water moves in currents

c) water moves from left to right

d) it cannot cut through hard rocks

5. To ‘gobbled’ means to

a) eat in slow motion

b) eat noisily and quickly

c) eat slowly in small mouthfuls

d) eat in an easy relaxed manner

6. When water goes down our throats, it may

a) gurgle

b) gargle

c) gobble

d) garble

7. ‘The River’ uses plenty of metaphors. Which is the following is not a metaphor?

a) baby

b) winder

c) singer

d) treasures

8. ‘The River’ is personified with a

a) female gender

b) male gender

c) neutral gender

d) no gender

9. The poet describes ‘The River’ as if it is a

a) monster

b) person

c) baby

d) wanderer

10. An angry river becomes a monster and

a) swallows

b) destroys

c) gobbles

d) crushed

p/s-Simply email your answer to rabiatul.adawiyah20@yahoo.co.uk

Exercise 1

This is an exercise for those who are into Literature, (especially my students), which is provided to enhance your understanding on the poem, He Had Such Quiet Eyes.

Practice 1

1. What does the phrase quiet eyes refer to?

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2. Explain the phrase layered with thinnest eyes.

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3. What emotion is expressed in lines 9 and 10?

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4. In stanza 3, what is the persona's advice before getting into a relationship?

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Practice 2

1. What does the phrase two pools of lies refers to?

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2. Explain the phrase to render him paradise.

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3. How did man deceive the persona at first?

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4. Give one possible message of the poem.

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p/s-Please email your answer to rabiatul.adawiyah20@yahoo.co.uk

Poem: Mr Nobody

I know a funny little man,
As quiet as a mouse,
Who does the mischief that is done
In everybody's house!
There's no one ever sees his face,
And yet we all agree
That every plate we break was cracked
By Mr. Nobody

`Tis he who always tears our books,
Who leaves the door ajar,
He pulls the buttons from our shirts,
And scatters pine afar;
That squeaking door will always squeak,
For, prithee, don't you see,
We leave the oiling to be done
By Mr. Nobody

The finger marked upon the door
By none of us are made;
We never leave the blind unclosed,
To let the curtains fade.
The ink we never spill; the boots
That lying round you. See
Are not our boots they all belong
To Mr. Nobody.

(Author Unknown)

Poem: In The Midst of Hardship

SYNOPSIS (OVERALL)

This poem is about a family who faces hardship whereby their son’s albino buffalo is nowhere to be found. A flood occurs and they go out to find the buffalo. They reach home early in the morning without the buffalo and yet there is no sign of despair in them. Meanwhile, they can still crack jokes and roll the cigarettes.

SYNOPSIS (ACCORDING TO STANZA)

STANZA 1

They returned home at day break and headed for the stove. Their clothes were soaking wet and tattered. Their bodies were covered with scratches and wounds. Yet, they did not display any signs of being worried.

STANZA 2

They were out in the flood the whole day and night. They were surrounded by dead animals and parts of trees that had been destroyed by the flood. They searched desperately for their son’s albino buffalo but were unable to find it.

STANZA 3

They were born into poverty and difficulty, but they do not complain about their suffer. Instead, they sit in the kitchen, cracking jokes while smoking cigarettes.

SETTING

The setting of the poem is in the house.

THEMES

• Being resilience when facing hardship
• Family love
• Acceptance of way of life

MORAL VALUES

We should learn to accept problems in life with a positive outlook. We must attempt to face and solve problem. Facing hardship is part and parcel of life. If we face a problem, do not feel despair.

TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

• Understanding and sympathetic
• Acceptance of situation

POINT OF VIEW

• Third person point of view.

LANGUAGE & STYLE

• Language is simple and easy to understand.The style is simple with no rhyming scheme.

POETIC DEVICES

• Imagery – Gives picture of poet’s thoughts e.g ‘soaky clothes torn’ and ‘legs full of

wounds’

• Alliteration – e.g. ‘but on their brows’Symbols – e.g. ‘horrendous flood’ and ‘bloating carcasses’

• Diction – e.g. ‘stove’ and ‘brows‘

Poem: The River

picture from: here

The river’s a wanderer,
A nomad, a tramp.

He doesn't choose any one place

To set up his camp.
The river’s a winder,

Through valley and hill

He twists and he turns,

He just cannot be still.
The river’s a hoarder,

And he buries down deep

Those little treasures

That he wants to keep.
The river’s a baby,

He gurgles and hums,

And sounds like he’s happily

Sucking his thumbs.
The river’s a singer,

As he dances along,

The countryside echoes

The notes of his song.
The river’s a monster,

Hungry and vexed,

He’s gobbled up trees

And he’ll swallow you next.

Valerie Bloom

SYNOPSIS

The River is about the many faces of a river.

The River is a wanderer where he moves all over the place.

He does not sit still and is always in motion.

He is also a winder where he twists and turns.

He meanders. He is also a hoarder where he keeps things deep down in his river bed.

Sometimes, he is a baby when he is happily flowing along.

At times, he is a singer as seen through the happy sounds of the water.

Finally, he is also a monster and can devour trees (most probably referring to a flood)

Poem: He Had Such Quiet Eyes

He had such quiet eyes
She did not realise
They were two pools of lies
Layered with thinnest ice
To her, those wuiet eyes
Were breathing desolate sighs
Imploring her to be nice
And to render him paradise

If only she’d been wise
And had listened to the advice
Never to compromise
With pleasure-seeking guys
She’d be free from ‘the hows and whys’

Now here’s a bit of advice
Be sure that nice really nice
Then you’ll never be losing at dice
Though you lose your heart once or twice

1968 Bibsy Soenharjo

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SYNOPSIS

In this poem, the poet talks about the betrayal of a young girl’s feelings for a man. She believes in his sincerity to her as he had pleaded to her to surrender to him. She is taken in by his quiet eyes. If she had listened to advice about men who seek pleasure, she would not be in this situation. The poet advises all young girls to be careful and not be betrayed by men.

MORAL VALUES

Don’t be naive and believe everything we are told especially in matters of the heart. We must be careful when choosing friends.Falling in love is normal but one should be careful. We must learn from the experience of other people.

TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

• Reflective
• Sad and happy
• Sympathetic

POINT OF VIEW

• Second and third person points of view

LANGUAGE & STYLE

• Simple and easy to understand
• Simple style with rhyming scheme

POETIC DEVICES

• Imagery – e.g. ‘pools of lies’, ‘layered in thinnest ice’
• Symbol – e.g ‘quiet eyes’, ‘dice’
• Alliteration – e.g ‘lies layered’
• Personification – e.g The eyes were ‘breathing the desolate sighs’ as though he was talking charmingly to her