2 lit hsc-t1w8-common test-post-mortem1 [compatibility mode]

Post-mortem: An Unseen Poem

KURONEKOSAN’S Lessons at HSCS.2012 T1W9

Term 1 Week 8Common Test

Secondary Two Literature in English

26/2/2012 1Written by Kuronekosan

The Unseen Poem

Stanza 1

I went to school a day too soonI went to school a day too soon

And couldn’t understand

Why silence hung in the yard like sheets

Nothing to flap or spin, no creaks

Or shocks of voices, only air.


So the speaker or narrator knows that he or she

has “(come) to school a day too soon”. It is not

the case of him not knowing. What we do not

know is the intention for him doing so. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 3

What he “(cannot) understand” is the “silence”

that is “hung in the yards like sheets” which

have “nothing to flap or spin”. There is no

motion and no excitement at all. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 4

There is “no creaks / Or shocks of voices” suggests that

there is an element of surprise in the narrator’s tone.

He does not find what he is expecting: long loud noises

– “creaks” or simply “shocks of voices”. What he gets is

simply “only air”.26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 5

Stanza 2And the car park empty of teachers’ cars

Only the first September leaves

Dropping like paper. No racks of bikes

No kicking legs, no fights,No kicking legs, no fights,

No voices, laughter, anything.


He sees the “car park” which is “empty of

teachers’ cars”. Autumn is starting to unfold

lightly before him as he witnesses “the first

September leaves” which are “dropping like

paper”. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 7

“No racks of bikes” suggests that

there are no students in the school.

At least, at the moment, none of

them have yet arrived. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 8

“No kicking legs, no fights” suggests

that the naughty students are

absent from the school scene. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 9

“No voices, laughter, anything”

suggests total absence of student

activities. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 10

The fact that the narrator makes such

detailed observations suggest that the

contrast between today and any normal

school day is quite obvious. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 11

Stanza 3Yet the door was open. My feet

Sucked down the corridor. My reflection

Walked with me past the hall.

My classroom smelt of nothing. And the silenceMy classroom smelt of nothing. And the silence

Rolled like thunder in my ears.


The connector “yet” suggests a slight surprise

for the narrator. Although it was not a school

day, “the door” to the classroom “was open”.

26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 13

The narrator experiences a pull here. He is

being drawn into the school building as “(his)

feet” are being “sucked down the corridor”.


He is all alone and the only “being” which is

accompanying him is “(his)reflection” which is

“(walking) with (him) past the hall”.


“(His) classroom smelt of nothing” reaffirms

“the emptiness” or “the quietness” which he is

now experiencing.


However, the silence and the quiet, ironically,

has gotten the better of him, because it seems

like he is finding the situation unbearable

because “the silence roll(s) like thunder in (his)

ears”. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 17

Stanza 4 At every desk a still child stared at me

Teachers walked through walls and back again

Cupboard doors swung open, and out crept

More silent children, and still more. More silent children, and still more.


Is this a moment of weakness?

Or panic attack or emotional

longing for the emergence of a

familiar scene?26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 19

In his moment of contemplation, the

narrator probably thinks he sees “at every

desk a still child” is “staring at (him)”.


Is he frightened? I think not.

He is allowing his imagination to run wild. He

sees his “teachers (walking) through walls and

back again” because teachers are the pillars in

the school and they always hold sway. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 21

The fact that the narrator sees “cupboard doors

swung open, and out crept more silent children”

tells us he may be trying to combat the

emptiness and the silence with images of

children whom he is familiar. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 22

It seems he cannot have enough the “silent

children” and so “still more” emerges from the

“cupboard doors”.


Stanza 5 They tiptoed round me

Touched me with ice-cold hands

And opened up their mouths with laughter

That was That was


He imagines “the (many) silent children” “(tiptoeing)

round (him), (touching him) wth ice-cold hands”. This

suggests that he is conscious of the futility of their

touch. He is aware that the scene is unreal.


He knows his imagination has its limits because the

“laughter” when they “opened up their mouths” is

“quieter than snow”. Silence (and quietness) is now

joined by the creeping in of coldness in the

atmosphere. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 26

Stanza 6Quieter than snow.

What is the impact of these three words?


There seems to be an element of finality here. The irony is: “Quieter thanSnow” which is supposed to exude a feeling of lightness now seems to weigh down heavily in the mind of the narrator.

The actual title of the poem:

Quieter than

snow

Written by

Berlie Doherty


WRITING CLINIC

Writing about the poem we’ve read.

the short story we’ve read.

the novel we’ve read.

the song we’ve heard.

or even the motion picture we’ve seen. or even the motion picture we’ve seen.

…writing is an ACQUIRED skill based on

UNDERSTANDING what we have

learnt. 26/2/2012 Written by Kuronekosan 29

Question 1

Write down a suitable title

which you may use for the

poem. Provide an poem. Provide an

explanation for your

choice.


To attempt Question 1I went to school a day too soon





And the car park empty of teachers’ cars



No kicking legs, no fights,


They tiptoed round me

Touched me with ice-cold hands

And opened up their mouths with laughter

That was Quieter than snow.

We read


Yet the door was open. My feet



My classroom smelt of nothing. And the silence


At every desk a still child stared at me

Teachers walked through walls and back again

Cupboard doors swung open, and out crept

More silent children, and still more.

We read the whole poem for main ideafrom the given text.

Make use of the three components of Poetry

to construct your title

SUBJECT

MATTER

MOMENTS OF SILENCE

A QUIET EXPERIENCE AT SCHOOL

ONE DAY TOO EARLY

ONE SILENT DAY

THEME LONELINESS THEME LONELINESS

A PAINFUL SILENCE

SOLITUDE

COLD AUTUMN

MOOD /

TONE

IN THE MOOD FOR SOLITUDE


How to structure your answer to Question 1?

(Declaration)

I choose the title “…………………………………………”.

(This is follow with an explanation)


(This is follow with an explanation)

This is because………[support your reasoning with relevant

images/expressions/words from the poem]……………………

………………………………………………………………………….

[Your explanation should cover: Subject Matter

/ Theme (Hidden Message) / Tone and Mood

Personal Response to Question 1

I pick the title, “Imaginative Silence at School”. I am

basically being overwhelmed by the narrator’s sense of

innocence as he or she fails to understand “why silence hung

in the yard like sheets / Nothing to flap or spin, no creaks /

Or shocks of voices, only air” even though he knows that he

goes “to school a day too soon”. The “silence” felt by the goes “to school a day too soon”. The “silence” felt by the

narrator also belongs to his imagination as he goes on to see

other children “staring at him” or “teachers walked through

walls and back again”. He even imagines “silent children”

who “tiptoed round” him and “touched (him) with ice-cold

hands”. I think it is with greatest sense of pleasure when

the narrator tells us that his schoolmates “opened up their

mouths with laughter” and smile back at him.


Question 2

How does the poet make use of

images, expressions and words

to help you to understand how to help you to understand how

quiet and deserted the school

seems when the student goes

there a day too soon?


What is “images, expressions and What is “images, expressions and

words”?


IMAGINATIVE or CREATIVEUSE OF LANGUAGE

…to help you to understand how

quiet and deserted….


How to find the “images, expressions and words” to

help you undertand how quiet and deserted the school

seems to be…?

I went to school a day too soon





Image 1

Image 2



And the car park empty of teachers’ cars



No kicking legs, no fights,


Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Image 6

Image 7

When we scan for textual evidence, we should

do so in a systematic way. We move from stanza

to stanza. You will realise there is no need to

traverse a huge area of the poem.


Which area of the poem to cover

for relevant textual evidence?

To be able to do this effectively, you

will need to read the given will need to read the given

questions carefully. The “content”

of each question very clearly

specifies WHERE to look for your

evidence.


How the questions are tied in with

the stanzas in the poem?

Question 1: Write down a suitable title which you may use for the poem. Provide an explanation for your choice.

Question 3: Describe how you think the student feels when he or she enters the school building.


choice.

Question 2:How does the

poet make use of images,

expressions and words to

help you to understand

how quiet and deserted the

school seems when the

student goes there a day

too soon?

building.

Question 4:What feelings do you have when you read the last nine lines of the poem?

Personal Response to Question 2The school is quiet to the extent that the

narrator “couldn’t understand / why silence

hung in the yard like sheets” and still with

“nothing to flap or spin, no creaks / or shocks of

voices, only air”. There is no motion or voices, only air”. There is no motion or

excitement. The school is also deserted to the

extent that “the car park (is) empty of teachers’

cars” and “only the first September leaves /

dropping like paper” and still with “no racks of

bikes / No kicking legs, no fights, / No voices,

laughter, anything.” 26/2/2012 42Written by Kuronekosan

Question 3

Describe how you think

the student feels when the student feels when

he or she enters the

school building.


Question 3 and Stanza 3

Describe how you think the student feels when he or she enters

VERY CAREFUL

READING IS

REQUIRED.


she enters the school building.

Yet the door was open. My feet



My classroom smelt of nothing. And the silence


Personal Response to Question 3When the student enters the school building, he or she must

be feeling a sense of strangeness. He does not open the door

but “yet the door was open”. He must be feeling helpless and

also becoming increasingly mystified because “(his) feet” was

“sucked down the corridor”. His feeling of “strangeness” and

“helplessness” must have doubled because he sees “(his) “helplessness” must have doubled because he sees “(his)

reflection / walked with (him) past the hall” and can expect

help from nobody else. He may not be very surprised even

though “(His) classroom smelt of nothing” but “the silence /

rolled like thunder in (his) ears”. For the first time, he may

feel an inner sense of pain because he may not be able to

withstand the silence any much longer.


Question 4

What feelings do you

have when you read have when you read

the last nine lines of

the poem?


Personal Response to Question 4 I feel both a sense of loneliness and longing. I feel very strongly

that the narrator has now entered a realm of imagination

because “at every desk a still child stared at (him)” and he can

see “teachers walked through walls and back again”. I also feel a

sense of eeriness as he allows his imagination to expand and run

wild as he witnesses “cupboard doors swung open, and out wild as he witnesses “cupboard doors swung open, and out

crept / more silent children, and still more”. Finally, when the

narrator allows them to “tiptoe round him / touch (him) with

ice-cold hands / and open up their mouths with laughter that

was quieter than snow, I cannot help but feel overwhelmed by

mixture of icy-cold and warm feelings. “Ice-cold” touching sends

shivers down my spine but at the same time, there is definitely a

sense of affection and fondness that comes with the narrator’s

imagination. He pines for their touch but knows it is not real. 26/2/2012 47Written by Kuronekosan


THE END

2 lit hsc-t1w8-common test-post-mortem1 [compatibility mode]

Education

school scene

school building

normal school day

silence rolls

understandwhy silence

creaksor shocks of voices

teachers carsonly

car park