SAMPL EQUESTIONS

• Ignoranceand poverty are hindering blocks to society's progress Referring to the play

“ThisTime tomorrow, show the truth of this statement. 2 “Many conflicts occur as the result of selfish tendencies of some members of the society”. Discuss the statement with reference to the play “This Time Tomorrow”

• Referring tothe play “This Time Tomorrow, explain how drama can be used to entertain

the readers and atthe same time criticizing the society.

• “Sacrifice is one of the key factors for any social changes”. Use the play “This Time

Tomorrow” to verfy the staternent.

• ‘Show the relevance of the play “This Time Tomorrow” to your society.

Poetry Analysis

The Form in Poetry

Analyse the Form in Poetry Poctry can be defined as writing that formulates a concentrated, imaginative awareness of experience chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through its meaning, sound andshythm.

Unlike other forms of creative writing, Poetry concentrates, sharpens and condenses what it has to say.

KINDS OF POETRY

• Narrative Poetry: This is a kind of poetry that narrates a story: For example.in the poem

“Always a suspect” the poet is telling us the story of a black young boy in South AVica who was suspected to be a thief for his appearance and had to show documents to prove that he is innocent

• Didactic Poetry: This is the type of poetry whose aim is instructional to the reader rather

than an appeal to his imaginative understanding. They have explicit political or social messages x poverty, development, diseases

• Lyrical Poetry: These are poems which express the thoughts and particularly the feelings

of the writer. For example, Love poems are Lyrical e g “love my Gentle one”

THE USE OF MUSIC.

Poetry is the produet of oral traditions and songs The musical elements of poetry are an important part of attraction.

• Rythm:A pattern of stress in speech. Rhythm is used to add to both the meaning and

music, Important words in the poem are given stress. For example, from the poem, “If we must die"the wordin vainis given a stress

• ‘The repetition of sounds: Poems have repetition of sounds in certain parts. The

repetition of the same or similar sounds at the end of lines of poem. For example, in the poem” EAT MORE" the words, ‘say’ and ‘pay’, “bread” and ‘wed" rhyme the same,

EAT MORE

“Eat more fruit,the slogan say, More fish, more beef,more bread! But i'm on unemployment pay My third year now and wed”

• Alfteration:Repetition of the same sound at the beginning of wordse g TheGirlsGiggled

like aGaggle ofGeese

• Refrain: The words or lines repeated at the end of each stanza, It can be very long or

very short. For example, in the poem “Atieno Yo"

ATIENO YO

“Breaking stones Carrying stones Breaking stones Carrying stones In the sun In the rain Breaking stones” ‘The repetition here shows the monotony of the work

THE USE OF LANGUAGE

• Imagery:Language is full of imagery. Imagery means the creation of pictures with words

€ snow, lion, jewel ee

• Simite:This is the comparison of two dissimilar things using the words “like” or “as”. In

the poem “An Abandoned Bundle” simile is used

AN ABANDONED BUNDLE

“the morning mist And chimney smoke Of white city Jabavu Flowed thick yellow as pus oozing From a gigantic sore”

• Metaphor:This is a comparison of two dissimilar things but without using the words

“Tike” or “as” e.g He was a lion in bale

• Personification:Giving human qualities to something which is not human. For

example.in the poem "The Vultures” the terms civilization and holy water are given human

«qualities to act as humans

• Symbol:The word or an image that represents other or more meaning than what it

represents in common, For example the word “Piano” can represent westem culture and “Drums” can represent Affiean culture

• Understatement’ Is the tendeney whereby the poet deliberately avoids stressing his

points too much, even when talking about something which one has to be serious,

OTHER COMMON TERMS IN POETRY

• Persona: The use of the pronoun “I” in the poem refers to the poet who writes the poem
• Verse:A single line ina poem The combination of verses form a stanza.
• Poetic Licenee:This is the ability given to the poet to use broken English to fulfil hisiher

needs of conveying a message to the audience ¢ g “Your lost” instead of “You are lost

FORM OF THE POEM

• Type of the poem:'rce verselopen form type of a poem.
• Strueture: The poem has four stanzas. The first stanza has seven verses, the second

stanza has eight verses, the thd stanza has five lines, and the last stanza has one verse

• Dietion:The language used is clear and straight forward.
• Figures of speech:?ersonification ¢ 2"Hollow heads torture me” Irony – ‘The persona

calls his enemies friends (3rd stanza),

• Tone/Voice:The tone is serious because the persona is ready to fight till hislher last

blood

• Mood:The mood of the persona is sad because he’she is oppressed, tortured, harrassed

and confused

By Ralph Bitamazire

love you,my gentle one; My love is the fresh milk in the rubindi Which you drank on the wedding day; My love is the butter we were smeared with To seal fidelity into our hearts. You are the cattle-bird’s egg, For those who saw you are wealthy; You are the papyrus reed of the lake, Which they pull out with both hands.

And sing for you with tears Because you possess my heart; love you,my gentle one. From the poem above, comment on the following: a Mood

• — Diction/language use

Mood 1 The poets apy and sings fr his Lover with happy tears Dictonllanguage use The language used is straight fownd since iti easy o understand, The poet used metaphor ia it wor eg My love she sesh mil inthe Rubiadi” “My love isthe butter we were smeared” What are the possible themes of the poem?

‘The possible themes of the poem ate re love, traitianel mariage, oath Comment on the structure of this poem. The poet has three stars The first stars fas five (5) verses, the sec stanza has our (4) verses, while the shin stanza has thee (3) verses

Content in Poetry

Analyse Content in Poetry

POEM…Is a metrical composition characterized by strong imagination,emotion and appropriate language

THE CONTENT OF A POEM

• Tone-—-—-Feature of a poem which shows the author's attitude: For example.in the

poem Mamparra M’gaiza.the poet uses the word “'stupid’” and “cattle” to wake up the contract workers

• Dietion–.–=Is the choice and arrangement of words in a poem-A poet has to be careful

in selection of words to use in the poem.

• Internal structure——-This means the way the poem is developed,the way the poet

develops his ideas makes us 10 know what he wants to say For example,in the poem"EAT MORE" the poot draws a picture of a person who is encourage to eat balanced diet while he is Jobless and has no money The poet develops the poem by saying that what she/he can afford is to “Eat more bloody grass”

HOW TO ANALYSE A POEM

• Understand well the title of the poem: Understanding the title of the poem makes a reader

to predict the content of the poem For example,the ttle” Your pain” ean be predicted that there is suffering as a focus inthe poem.

• Consider the form and type of the poem—Judge whether the poem is

Lyrie,narrative,ballad ete. You have to state whether the poem is Open free verse) or closed.

• Consider the Tone of the poet——-The attitude or mood of the poot has grvat contribution

10 interpretation of a poem The poet determines whether the poet is angry happy sad or serious

• Consider the musical or sound features of =a poem-——-Comsider

Rhyme,Rhythm alliteration or refrain These features are very important in poetry

• Think about possible themes—–Consider the poets? central idea of discussion In the

poem,there is one or more themes,

• Consider the message of « poem-—-The message refers to what the poet wants the

readers to know or do after reading the poem eg avoid child labor. misuse of power ete

• Consider the relevance of the poem–—–Look at the issues/themes raised in the

poem,Relate what you read in the poem with what happens in your community.

• Consider Language use-——Siudy how the language has been used in moulding the

poem.Consider diction(choice of words) symbols and symbolism and the uses of figures of speech e-g Metaphor Simile, personification ete.

• Comment on success or failure of the poet-—-check the use of language,presentation of

message and themes ete

SAMPLE POEMS

To you dada It’s the days that matter, For we are unable to chat In the language we had. When look at you And see my pay-slip In your eyes, feel empty ‘And sapped Your glance,sister, Is to me the measure Of the heat of the dough In my pocket.

Never are passions cool, To you iam now a tool, And all my wage is now the fare: ride on your throbbing kisses. Its you accuse, Because your love is lost, And you only touch me With the tenderness that asks Where my wallet is.

tis to you dada, That my pen tears the pad, For lonly see your love Focused on my purse, With your passions Chasing my bank account,