Les Grands Seigneurs

Keywords: Connotation, implicationWALT: 1)

2)

HW: Complete 2 more PEE paragraphs using the quotations you will gather today.

To begin... How do we refer to our partners?

Funny Endearing Old-Fashioned Degrading Annoying

Men were my buttresses, my castellated towers,

the bowers where I took my rest. The best and worst

of times were men: the peacocks and the cockatoos,

the nightingales, the strutting pink flamingos.

Men were my dolphins, my performing seals; my sailing-ships,

the ballast in my hold. They were the rocking-horses

prancing down the promenade, the bandstand

where the music played. My hurdy-gurdy monkey-men.

I was their queen. I sat enthroned before them,

out of reach. We played at courtly love:

the troubadour, the damsel and the peach.

Discuss in pairs and answer in full sentences...

But after I was wedded, bedded, I became

(yes, overnight) a toy, a plaything, little woman,

wife, a bit of fluff. My husband clicked

his fingers, called my bluff.

1) Describe the change in tone in the last verse.

2) What do you notice about the sentence structure?

3) What effect does this have on the tone of the poem?

Portrayals of men? Absurd Romantic Dependable Attractive Patronising

Using a PEE paragraph... How does Molloy show her attitude towards

men in her poem, 'Les Grands Seigneurs'? EXAMPLE ANSWERIn her poem, 'Les Grands Seigneurs', Molly portrays men as absurd creatures who amuse her. She refers to them as:

“My hurdy-gurdy monkey-men.”

Her use of internal rhyme in 'hurdy-gurdy' makes men sound comical. The use of imagery in 'monkey-men' also makes the reader compare men to those mischievous, playful and sometimes aggressive creatures. This description is more effective when we realise at the end of the poem that Molloy is now married and that her attitude towards men has changed.

Using a PEE paragraph...

How does Molloy show her attitude towards men in her poem, 'Les Grands Seigneurs'?

Romantic / Dependable / Attractive / Patronising