“november” a poem by simon armitage
DESCRIPTION
“November” A Poem by Simon Armitage. English 10 Wessam Kanes. Overview. Poem Summary Annotations Key Literary Features Personal Response Literal Representation Symbolic Representation Tableau. NOVEMBER. We walk to the ward from the badly parked car - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
“November” A Poem by Simon Armitage
English 10 Wessam Kanes
Overview• Poem• Summary• Annotations• Key Literary Features• Personal Response• Literal Representation• Symbolic Representation• Tableau
NOVEMBERWe walk to the ward from the badly parked
car
with your grandma taking four short steps
to our two.
We have brought her here to die and we
know it.
You check her towel, soap and family
trinkets,
pare her nails, parcel her in the rough
blankets
and she sinks down into her incontinence.
You're shattered. You give me the keys and I drive
through the twilight zone, past the famous station
to your house, to numb ourselves with alcohol.
It is time John. In their pasty bloodless smiles,
in their slack breasts, their stunned brains and their
baldness
and in us John: we are almost these monsters.
Inside, we feel the terror of the dusk begin.
Outside we watch the evening, failing again,
and we let it happen. We can say nothing.
Sometimes the sun spangles and we feel alive.
One thing we have to get, John, out of this life.
SUMMARY• Armitage describes his and John’s experience
when taking his grandmother to the ward one last time to die.
• Themes:• Eventually, all of the leaves will fall off the tree. • Everyone’s end will come• Time makes us monsters• Death is inevitable. We have to enjoy life while we
can
Annotations
LITERARY TERMS• Alliteration• Rhyme• Tone• Visual Imagery• Ambiguity• Enjambment• Symbolism
Alliteration
Rhyme
Tone - Diction
One thing we have to get, John, out of
this life.We walk to the ward from the badly
parked car
Outside we watch the evening, failing
again,
Sometimes the sun spangles and we feel
alive.
Tone - StructureStructure 6 Stanzas (5X3) +
CoupletDepressed Tone
Elevated Tone
Change in Tone = Change in Structure
“Sometimes the sun spangles and we feel
alive.One thing we have to get, John, out of this
life.”
Visual Imagery
Visual Imagery
Effects:-Much more interesting to imagine-Aids the readers in conjuring the image the author wanted to convey
AmbiguitySometimes the sun spangles and
we feel alive.
One thing we have to get, John,
out of this life.Punctuation - Death is a natural occurrence. We all have to get out of life and die someday.
We need to enjoy everyday and gain as many good memories ‘sun spangles’ as we can.
Purpose: Used to leave the reader brooding about which perspective they should look at things from.
You're shattered. You give me the keys and I drive
through the twilight zone, past the famous station
to your house, to numb ourselves with alcohol.
Ambiguity
Shattered: - Emotionally shattered rather than physically Twilight Zone: - An old TV thriller show from the 60’s.Twilight: - The light you get when dusk is falling or dawn is rising. John is confused. He is between the dusk or dawn zone. Not knowing if what he did was right? Maybe thinking he could have prevented it in a way.
DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS
Enjambment
You check her towel, soap and family trinkets,
pare her nails, parcel her in the rough blankets
and she sinks down into her incontinence.
We walk to the ward from the badly
parked car
with your grandma taking four short steps
to our two.
We have brought her here to die and we
know it.
SymbolismTitle:
NOVEMBER• Denotation: The month of November is dominated
by the season of fall. Within the fall season, the trees loose their leaves in preparation for winter. In winter the trees stop blooming and growing – ‘die’.
• Connation: This is significant to how the author wrote about the grandmother who was being preparing to die.
Inside, we feel the terror of the dusk begin.
Outside we watch the evening, failing again,
and we let it happen. We can say nothing.
Symbolism
Dusk: Dark hours of night
Symbolizes Death
As time passes by, we feel the terror of death begin.
It is time John. In their pasty bloodless
smiles,
in their slack breasts, their stunned brains
and their baldness
and in us John: we are almost these
monsters.
Symbolism
Time makes us older. Thus, transforming us into the monsters of old age.
Symbolizes Life span (Good and Bad). Causes - transformation to old age
Personal Response
This poem is one of a kind. It advocates the brutal reality of life and makes one think about their own life. Have they lived it wisely? How productive has their life been?
It also emphasizes on the fact that one day we will all go. Although, this is something that people try to avoid thinking about, the author believes that accepting it makes life easier to go about.
Literal Representation
John and his grandmother.
Symbolic Representation
Tableau
Bibliography (Images)• November. Digital image. Http://pixelcurse.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/05/november_field_3.jpg. Web. 13 May 2012.
• Cartoon Gravestone. Digital image. Http://www.halloweenclipart.com/halloween_clipart_images/rip_on_a_gravestone_0521-1010-2321-1007_SMU.jpg. Web. 13 May 2012.
• Grandma. Digital image. Http://familyautopacks.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/products_img/image-47.jpg. Web. 13 May 2012.