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A Stone's Throw (n)

The document analyzes a poem titled 'A Stone's Throw,' which explores themes of harsh judgment and collective aggression against a woman, drawing on biblical allusions and dramatic monologue form. It discusses the poem's structure, tone, and various literary devices such as irony, metaphor, and imagery that highlight the moral hypocrisy of the mob. The poem is divided into three sections, depicting the mob's excitement, their justifications for violence, and a moment of reflection prompted by an external figure.

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5 views16 pages

A Stone's Throw (n)

The document analyzes a poem titled 'A Stone's Throw,' which explores themes of harsh judgment and collective aggression against a woman, drawing on biblical allusions and dramatic monologue form. It discusses the poem's structure, tone, and various literary devices such as irony, metaphor, and imagery that highlight the moral hypocrisy of the mob. The poem is divided into three sections, depicting the mob's excitement, their justifications for violence, and a moment of reflection prompted by an external figure.

Uploaded by

ipadforkailin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Presented By : T.

Thomas
Content Provided by: Ms. S. Brown

A STONE’S
THROW
Mt Alvernia High| 2024
2
OUTLINE
• Title
• Overview of the
Poem
• Form
• Perspective
• Tone Devices
1
THE TITLE
In the poem, the title symbolizes harsh judgment or criticism
directed towards a woman.
Stoning was "presumably" the standard form of capital
punishment in ancient Israel. It is attested in the Old Testament
as a punishment for blasphemy, idolatry and other crimes, in
which the entire community pelted the offender with stones
outside a city.
FORM: DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE 3

1 a single speaker
2. a focused theme or situation
3. an implicit audience that
influences the speaker's tone and
perspective This is a poem in the form of a speech or narrative by an imagined
person, in which the speaker inadvertently reveals aspects of their
character while describing a particular situation or series of events.
4
FORM: FREE VERSE
Free verse is characterized by
Effectiveness

the absence of a regular rhyme The poem captures a moment of


or meter, allowing for a more collective aggression and
judgment. The absence of a fixed
natural flow of language. In this
form in the poem adds to the
case, the lack of a strict
chaos, reflecting the emotions and
structure emphasizes the raw actions of the mob
and unfiltered nature of the
speaker's thoughts and
emotions.
THE POEM CAN BE DIVIDED INTO THREE DISTINCT SECTIONS
5

The first section, with stanzas 1 and 2, describes the scene as the woman is caught by
1 an angry mob and the result of a physical assault on her body described.

The second section, with stanzas 3 and 4, outlines the justification the speaker and
2 the angry mob seem to have for their treatment of the woman.

The third section, with stanzas 5 and 6, marks a turn in the poem. The excitement is
3 interrupted by the “guru” who forced the mob to reflect. This frustrates and angers
them, but they must accept temporary defeat. They walk away, not remorseful, but
with stones in hand to use another day.
9
THE PERSPECTIVE
Effectiveness The poem uses the FIRST PERSON
By adopting the perspective of
as the speaker is one of the
the individuals involved in the
act of stoning, the poem offers a angry mob who has clearly
direct insight into their condemned the woman.
thoughts, motivations, and
emotions, thereby showing how
Effectiveness
self righteous they are.
The woman is presented as a
target of collective aggression,
objectification, and judgment by
the speaker and the group
7
TONE AND MOOD
Mood
Tone The speaker is at first excited

• Aggressive about having caught the

• disgust adulteress and is eager to exact

• condemnation justice.

• frustration
• moral superiority His mood shifts to frustration

• disappointment when he is interrupted by the

• glee “Preacher”.
DEVICES
BIBLICAL ALLUSION 4

The content of the poem alludes to


Effect
the story of Mary Magdalene in the ● Contrast between virtue and
Christian Bible. See John 8 judgment

Effect
Irony and Critique: The poem
critiques the self-righteousness
and hypocrisy of the crowd by
drawing a parallel with the biblical
story.
IRONY 8
"BUT OURS WERE VIRTUOUS, OF COURSE.

This is ironic because the person claims to be


morally good while touching the woman
inappropriately, just like the people he
criticizes. So, his strong belief in his own
goodness is ironic because he's actually the
same as the people he condemns.
13
METAPHOR
the hail of kisses of stone
This emphasizes the force of the stones that will be thrown at her
compared to kisses she once received.

“the last assault and battery, frigid rape”


It suggests that the violent execution of 'justice' would be pleasurable.
The act of stoning is paralleled to sexual assault.
9
SARCASM
Effect A decent-looking woman, you’d
The use of the device is effective
have said” (ln. 6)
in highlighting the differences in
appearance versus reality. The
speaker describes the physical The speaker is being sarcastic by
beauty of the woman as implying that though the
misleading as the acts she has
woman looks decent, she is not.
committed and is being publicly
shamed for are morally
reprehensible, hence, her lack of
decency.
9
OXYMORON
Effect “love-bites”
The oxymoron is effective in
emphasizing the moral line that
the men have drawn between
themselves and the woman. The
love-bites suggest her willing
participation in the act of
adultery which will leave bite
marks/ bruises on her body. She
pleasure she gets is short-lived
as she now faces the wrath of the
men who accuse her.
EUPHEMISM 4
Effect
The device is effective in
– we roughed her up / A little,
highlighting that the speaker
nothing much” (lns. 9 – 10) knows that what they are doing is
cruel and harsh and so he tries to
downplay the pain they have
inflicted on the woman.

However, what he feels is neither


guilt nor remorse. Instead, it is an
attempt to justify the hurt and
pain they have inflicted on the
woman as well-deserving
1
IMAGERY
• “shuddering skin”
• “love-bites”
• “hail of kisses of stone”
• “writing in the dust”
• “we walked away / Still holding stones”

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