POETRY GRADE 12

FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

 Voice of the Land
(Poetry Anthology)
By
B. Walter
1
The POEM
On the grasshopper and the cricket
 The Poetry of earth is never dead:
 When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
 And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
 From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
 That is the Grasshopper’s—he takes the lead
 In summer luxury,—he has never done
 With his delights; for when tired out with fun
 He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
 The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
 On a lone winter evening, when the frost
 Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
 The Cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever,
 And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
 The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.
AUTHOR
 John Keats, born 31 October 1795
and died 23 February 1821) was a
John Keats (1795-1821) Romantic English poet who
accentuated extreme emotion
through natural imagery.
 He served as an apprentice to a
surgeon before registering as a
medical student.
 He later quit to devote his life to
poetry.
 He died of tuberculosis, which had
previously killed his mother and his
younger brother.
Summary
 The poem ‘On the grasshopper and cricket’ is a Petrarchan
Sonnet Keats uses to celebrate the beauty of nature. He
pays particular attention to the grasshopper and the cricket
by praising them for producing the music of nature.
 The octave focuses on the grasshopper as an agent of
summer while the sestet looks into the role played by the
cricket.
 Both these insects survive the harshest weather to fly
around producing their buzzing sounds.
 Both the octave and the sestet open with a declaration that
poetry of the earth is not dead.
Words to know

Word Basic meaning

Faint Feeling weak and/or dizzy

Mead Meadow, a piece of grassland

Delights Pleasure, joy

Wrought Bring about, guide, produce

shrills Sharp and penetrating sounds

Type and Form

 The poem ‘On the grasshopper and

cricket’ has 14 lines and is known as a
Sonnet.
 This sonnet has two parts, i.e the octave
(8 lines) and the sestet (6 lines).
 This makes it an Italian/Petrarchan
sonnet.
 The rhyme scheme is abba abba cde cde.
Analysis
 With this sonnet, the speaker celebrates the
continuous beauty of nature.
 As a Romantic poet, Keats praises nature and its
capacity to bring joy to people.
 He believes that love and nature are
interconnected.
 He feels that nature offers love and joy, and so
humans must be receptive of that.
Octave (the first 8 lines)
 The poetry of earth is never dead: a
 When all the birds are faint with the hot sun, b
 And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run b
 From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead; a
 That is the Grasshopper’s — he takes the lead a
 In summer luxury,— he has never done b
 With his delights; for when tired out with fun b
 He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed. a
Line 1
 By poetry of earth, the speaker refers to the sounds made by nature
(i.e. vegetation and creatures). These sounds are always alive. Even in
the most terrible weather they do not die. The first line is
metaphoric.
Lines 2-8
 In summer, when the sun is too hot, the birds find it difficult to keep their
routine (line 2) and will find comfort in shelter of the trees (line 3). The
grasshopper flies from one place to another (lines 3-4) and one continuously
hears a buzzing sound from all over the meadow (line 4). The grasshopper
will not stop singing. When the grasshopper is satisfied (‘when tired out with
fun’), he rests at ease under the weeds.
 Ind
ica
tiv
e
of
su
m
me
r

Luxury
Sestet (the last six lines)

 The poetry of earth is ceasing never: c

 On a lone winter evening, when the frost d
 Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills e
 The Cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever, c
 And seems to one in drowsiness half lost, d
 The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills. e

 The poet uses poetic license in line 9 (‘The poetry of
earth is ceasing never’) to reinforce line1 (The poetry of
earth is not death).
 When winter comes with frost and snow, and when
animals hide in their homes, the cricket sounds will not be
suspended.
 So, instead of growing quiet because of the cold
temperatures, the cricket will find a corner in some warm
kitchen near a stove and sing its song (‘from the stove
there shrills/ A Cricket’s song’).
 The artificial warmth of a small room will make people
feel drowsy, thus making the sound of the cricket seem
like that of a grasshopper (lines 12- 13).
 In summary, the grasshopper and the cricket will
survive the harshest of weather, even when the
other animals succumb to it. When the other
animals feel ‘faint’, the grasshoppers will not. For
the grasshopper, summer is a time of joy. In
summer, animals are excited and outgoing. The
grasshopper will sing to provide music to nature.
When winter comes and animals are hiding, the
cricket will take over from the grasshopper and
sing to the world. So these two animals keep the
poetry of earth alive.
Theme
Beauty of nature and presence of God.
 This sonnet describes the physical world and its natural beauty. It is
about the communication animals have with nature. The natural sounds
are the voices of nature, and nature speaks to us through them.
Hope
 This sonnet is about hope. The poetry of earth symbolises beauty and
endurance. Like the poetry of the earth, hope does not die. Conditions
may be harsh, but they can be overcome.
Immortality
 One of the themes of this sonnet is the eternal delight of the beauty of
nature. The sonnet’s message is that beauty of nature, endurance of
life and love of poetry will never die.
Diction and figurative Language
The sonnet has run-on lines that show interconnectedness between
animals and nature. These lines also symbolise continuity in nature.
Repetition
‘The Poetry of earth is never dead:’ (Line 1) ‘The poetry of earth is
ceasing never:’ (Line 9)
The poet uses a declaration in the first line. This declaration that
‘the poetry of earth is forever and never ending’ is repeated in line 6.
Imagery
‘The Poetry of earth’ (Line 1)
Nature makes sounds. So, the earth is made up of different sounds.
These sounds come from calls of the birds and the buzz of insects.
These sounds are the voice of the earth, which is represented as the
poetry of the earth.
Diction and figurative Language
Personification
‘the frost has wrought a silence’ (Line 10 and 11) Frost is personified as a
person who brings silence.
Contrast
The cricket’s song is linked to that of the grasshopper. Both songs (that of the
cricket and the one of the grasshopper) are parts of nature’s persistent and
loving force.
Alliteration
‘New-mown mead’ (Line 4) Repetition of the m sound.
Metaphor
In the octave the sound of the grasshopper represents summer, while the
sound of the cricket in the sestet represents winter.
Tone and Mood

 Joyful/merry: the sounds made from

the calls of the birds and the buzz of
insects create a celebratory mood.
2
 Sonnet 73
by
William Shakespeare
The poem
Sonnet 73

1. That time of year thou mayst in me behold

2. When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
3. Upon those boughs which shake against cold,
4. Bare ruined choirs where late the sweet birds sang.
5. In me thou seest the twilight of such day
6. As after sunset fadeth in the west,
7. Which by and by black night doth take away,
8. Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.
9. In me thou seest the glowing of such fire
10. That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
11. As deathbed whereon it must expire,
12. Consumed with that which it was nourished by.
13. This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
14. To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
 Author

 Shakespeare is an English
playwright, poet and
actor. He is widely
regarded as the greatest
writer in the English
language and the world’s
greatest dramatist.
Shakespeare was born in
William Shakespeare
1564 in Stratford-upon-
Avon, a small town in
England.
Summary of the poem
 In the first quatrain, the speaker compares aging to late autumn when
the leaves have fallen off the trees and the weather is cold. The
church buildings (metaphor for bare branches) where the choirs once
sang are now in ruins and the birds no longer sing.
 The speaker, in the second quatrain compares aging to the dusk when
the sun has set in the west and introduces the darkness of night-time.
Night-time is compared to death’s second self. In the third quatrain
the speaker compares aging to the coals of a fire that is about to die.
He compares how the coals cannot burn without the ashes, to old age
that cannot exist without the figments of the youth.
 In the couplet, the speaker advises that these things must be
seen/noted/perceived so that love can be strengthened by the
knowledge that when life is extinguished, we depart from our loved
ones.
Words to know
Word Basic meaning
Bough a branch of a tree

Ruined reduced to a state of collapse

The period just before it becomes

Twilight completely dark in the evening.

A tight and perfect closure

Seals

Ere before (a specified time)

Type and Form
 This is a Shakespearean sonnet, also known
as an Elizabethan sonnet.
 Like all sonnets, it has fourteen lines.
 It is divided into 3 quatrains (units of four
lines) and has a rhyming couplet (a unit of
two lines).
 The rhythm is in iambic pentameter. The
rhyme scheme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg.
Analysis
In each quatrain the speaker uses a different
image to show the progression of life from
youthfulness to old age and death.
The following images have been used:
 In quatrain 1 the tree,
 quatrain 2 the sunset
 quatrain 3 the glowing fire
Quatrain 1
 In the first quatrain, the speaker compares his current
state to Autumn, a season when the leaves fall from the
branches.
 The branches shake because of the cold wind.
 This means that he is getting older and losing his youth
just like the trees that lose their green leaves.
 The church building where the birds once sat on and sang
is now in ruins.
 The quietness that is caused by the absence of birds is
paralleled to how his life is.
 There is quietness that comes with getting old, when the
youthful exuberance no longer exists.
Quatrain 2

 In this quatrain the speaker compares

his progress towards death as moving
from dusk, (after the sun had set) to
the night time.
 The change in comparison from a
season to a day shows the speed with
which aging affects the body.
Quatrain 3
 The third quatrain makes the end that the
speaker talks about very clear, it represents
the death that the speaker has been leading
to.
 In this quatrain the speaker’s life is compared
to a fire that will soon be extinguished.
 He refers to both literal death and the
figurative death which signifies the end of his
youth.
The Couplet

 The speaker introduces the reader to the

importance of love.
 He wants the reader to see how life is so
that they value their time together.
 He reminds us that we need to love well
because we will have to leave (die)
before long.
Themes
Aging
In the poem, the speaker explores how it feels like to get older and face the
reality that death is imminent. The effects of time on one’s physical health
and the mental fear associated with moving further from youth and closer to
death. Part of growing old is having longing for the years gone by. Aging is
also associated a sense of peace and calm as life begins to slow down.
Comparing the speaker to a tree in late autumn reveals the speaker’s
advancing age, however, the yellow falling leaves that shake from the cold
are clear signs that the tree is not ready yet for winter. The comparison of
the bare branches where the birds no longer sing to ruined churches where
the choir no longer sing, reveals how the speaker mourns the loss of his
youthful appearance. The absence of birds implies the peace and quietness
that comes with old age.
Themes
Death
The speaker seems to be haunted by the inevitable truth that all living beings are
subject to death. The poem has metaphors for death. In the second quatrain the
moving image of twilight that is fading as the sun sets in the west and turns into
darkness. This symbolizes the last moments the speaker has. The image of fire that is
extinguishing and turning into ashes, in the third quatrain, represents a youthful life
that is well lived. The ashes represent a beautiful life that has come to an end. In the
couplet, the speaker tells the reader that death helps people love and cherish each
other more while they are still on earth.
Love
In line 13 the speaker introduces the theme of love. Although love can triumph over
many obstacles, it still is limited by mortality and nature. In the poem, love is
discussed from the point of view of the life cycle. The speaker wants the reader to
understand that life is not too long, and it may be too late to enjoy this light feeling of
love. The speaker, therefore, advises the reader to fall in love as much as possible and
to love when people have a chance.
Diction and Figurative Language
Assonance
Line 2: ‘When yellow leaves…’
Alliteration
Line 8: Death’s second self that seals up all in
rest.
Metaphor
Line 4: Bare ruined
Line 10: ashes of youth
Diction and Figurative Language
Metonymy
This is a figure of speech that replaces the name of things with something else with
which it is closely associated
‘Bare ruined choirs’ (line 4) substitutes the bare branches that are stripped of their
leaves.
Simile
Line 5-6: The speaker compares his life to daytime when twilight is replaced by sunset.
Personification
Line 7-8 – death personified as human to have a second self.
Symbolism
The speaker uses sunset and night to symbolise the end or death.
Imagery
The use of imagery makes the speaker’s feelings and emotions clear. In this sonnet the
speaker has used the following images:
Diction and Figurative Language
Images of Autumn
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against
cold ’

Images of Death:
‘black night’
‘sunset fadeth’
Alliteration
sweet birds sang (line 4)
by and by black night (line 7)
Death’s second self that seals up all in rest (line 8)
To love that well which thou must leave ere long (line 14)

Apostrophe
Line 13: ‘This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong’
Tone and Mood
In the quatrains the tone is:
 pensive and mournful as the speaker perceives his
proximity to death.
 melancholic as the speaker explains that he is aging.
 Tender

The mood is:

 sentimental
 sorrowful
3
Reciprocities
by
Cathal Lagan
The Poem
Reciprocities
for my mother

She gave me skeins of wool

To hold out (like a priest at Mass),
With stern rubrics not to fidget, while she
Wound it into a ball, unwinding me,
Unravelling my hands and arms, checking
My lapses with a gentle tug
When I wandered off through images
Her chat had made, for though
She kept the line between us taut
She kept my heart at ease with all her talk.

.
The Poem
And when her ball compacted grew,
And my few strands fell limp away,
I knew there was no loss, for she
Would knit it back again to fit me perfectly.

But richer still,

I see today these lines are drawn out from me
To knit through this faltering verse
A thread of memory
Time has pulled away from consciousness.
Author
Cathal Lagan was born in Northern
Ireland in 1937.
He served as a priest in Port Elizabeth,
Alice and King William’s Town before
teaching English Literature at the
University of Fort Hare.
Summary
 In this narrative free verse, the speaker reflects on how he
used to help his mother during her knitting sessions.
 He thinks about how his mother would make him hold the
skeins of wool so she could roll it into a ball.
 He is also reminded of the relationship they had.
 He is now a writer and his writing process reminds him of
those childhood years. So, he compares his writing to his
mother's knitting.
 His mother benefitted from him just like he benefitted
from his mother’s experience, commitment, talks and skill.
Words to know

Word Basic meaning

skeins length of thread loosely coiled or knotted

rubrics Instructions on how a church service should be conducted.

lapse brief/temporary loss of concentration

taut tight

compacted compressed/ firmly packed together

strand a thin length of thread

faltering imperfect
Type and Form
 The poem ‘Reciprocities’ is a narrative
poem with a free verse.
 It does not follow a specific set of rules.
 The first stanza comprises 10 lines, the
second stanza has 4 lines and stanza 3
comprises 5 lines
Analysis
 The speaker remembers how he helped his mother by holding the skeins of
wool to wind it into a small ball so she could do her knitting. He details the
process focusing on her mother’s precision and attention to detail. He then
compares that whole process to that of him writing his poetry.

 Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines reciprocity as a state of mutual

dependence. So, this poem is about mutual benefits. The mother would be
assisted by the boy when knitting. The boy has now grown up to be a man,
and he now writes poetry. He now compares his writing to his mother’s
knitting.
Stanza 1
 In stanza one, the speaker looks at the process of winding/spinning the wool
into a ball. His mother would give him skeins to hold with two hands held up
and wide apart. Holding his hands like that would make him look like a priest
at a mass (line 2). He would be given instructions to follow just like a priest
would follow instructions from the rubrics (line 3). He would be told not to
move or twitch (‘not to fidget’ in line 3). As the process goes on his head
would spin, resulting to his confusion and wandering. He would drop his
hands. She would check his concentration by pulling the strands harder (‘…
checking/ My lapses with a gentle tug’ in lines 5 and 6). If he loses
concentration and starts to wander and form images in his head, his mother
would put him at ease by talking to him.
Stanza 2

 When the ball of firm, strong wool

grew bigger and bigger (line 11) it is a
sign that there was no loss and they
had enough for his mother to knit him
something.
Stanza 3
 Looking back, he now realises that his imperfect
poems that he creates are not as perfect as his
mother’s knitting.
 His writing is a like a thread that connects him to
his mother.
 Writing poetry always prompts his thoughts about
his mother’s knitting.
 “But’ (line 15) is used to show transition or to link
his childhood to adulthood
Theme
Nostalgia
 The poem refers to specific events that
happened in the past
Mutual dependence
 The mother benefits from the boy who
holds the skeins of cotton for her. The
boy also benefits from his mother’s
knitting.
Diction and Figurative Language
This poem is a free-verse and it uses a language that is visually descriptive.
Simile
‘To hold out (like a priest at Mass),’ (Line 2)
The poet is ordered to lift his hands up just like a priest would lift his hands up
during a sermon.

Personification
‘A thread of memory/Time has pulled away’ (Lines 18-19)
Time is personified as a person who has pulled a thread of memory away from
consciousness.
Contrast
‘But’ (Line 15) links the past to present (childhood to adulthood).
Tone and Mood

Appreciative: The speaker appreciates

the lessons he leans from his mother.
Nostalgic and sentimental: The
speaker feels nostalgic and
sentimental when he writes poetry.
4
What life is really like
by
Beverly Rycroft
Beverly Rycroft
 Beverly Rycroft was born in the Eastern Cape. She qualified
as a teacher at the University of Cape Town and furthered her
studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. After teaching
for a number of years, she turned to writing. As a qualified
teacher, she taught widely at various schools before she
focused on writing full-time. Her debut poetry collection,
missing, won the 2012 Ingrid Jonker award. In 2013, she was
awarded the Thomas Pringle Prize for best poem in a journal.
In 1997 Beverly Rycroft was diagnosed with stage three breast
cancer. The themes of the poems in her debut collection,
missing relate to the experience of facing mortality, illness
and the hope of recovery.
What life is really like
1 You need to toughen up
2 my father would complain
3 when I was small
4 I ought to take you to see
5 chickens having their head
6 chopped off.
7 That’d teach you
8 what life is really like.
 ……….
9 He’d seek me out 17 wire or beak.
10 when one of his pigeons 18 I was the one made to
11 - crazed for home or 19 clench my palms round
12 mad with terror from a 20 its pumping chest,
13 roaming hawk – 21 to keep it still while
14 would tumble into 22 my father’s hairy fingers
15 the loft stitched
16 mutilated by 23 its garotted throat
24 angrily to rights again
…….

25 You see life is a fight for survival 30 i waited and waited for
26 he’d shout, forgetting the bitter

27 he was not lecturing his 31 roughness to spy me and

students circle
28 or giving his inaugural address 32 in to land
29 You gotta roll with the punches. 33 years and years
34 of flinching anticipation
until
35 the day i came home
from hospital
…….
36 and my father dressed my 42 Life’s a bastard
wound.
43 Toughen up!

37 Easing with practiced

hands
38 the drip from my
bulldozed chest
39 he renewed the plaster in
breathing
40 never speaking never
41 once saying
Type and Form
 The poem ‘What life is really like’ is a
lyrical poem written in free verse.

 Thepoem consists of 43 lines of unequal

length and it has 8 stanzas.
Stanza 1
 The poem starts with and instruction from a
father to his young daughter, ‘You need to
toughen up’, but the girl experiences it as if
he is complaining about her innocence.
 The father is implying that the child needs to
get used to the real experiences in life in
line 8 (‘what life is really like’) which implies
that she does not yet understand the
intricacies of life.
Stanza 2, 3 and 4
 In these three stanzas the child explains how the
father uses another reallife situation to teach her
about the cruelty of life by forcing her to assist
when he stitches up an injured pigeon.
 The father uses anecdotes like ‘life is a fight for
survival’ (line 25) and ‘you gotta roll with the
punches’ to get his message across. His child
experiences his tone as harsh and angry.
 She feels her father forgets she is his child and not
one of his students at university.
 Stanza 5

 Thisstanza ‘I’ is now reduced to ‘i’ (lower

case). This corresponds with the mood of
vulnerability she experiences due to the
expectation she had for ‘years and years’ (line
33) that harm will come her way one day.
 This expectation is finally met when she
returns from hospital.
Stanza 6 & 7
 This stand-alone line must be read in conjunction with
lines 34 and 35. It is effective that the father, who used to
warn her to toughen up, is the one to dress her wounds.
 The poet describes the way her father dresses her
wounds.
 It is significant because he does it in silence which
contrasts with his conduct during her childhood when he
was described as loud and insensitive.
Stanza 8
 These lines are effectively isolated from
the previous stanza. The poet tells us that
her father is now a changed man.

 Hebelieves she has received her share of

toughening up by the invasive surgery she
experienced.
Themes
Cruelty
 The father believes life is hard and he endeavours to alert
his child to the hardness of life by exposing her to
occurrences that are seen as harsh.
Fate
 Fate is part of life and human beings cannot act in any
way to change the outcome of what is planned.
Psychology of growing up
 The father presents his child with many examples of how
‘Life’s a bastard’ and ‘Toughen up’ and he repeats these
to enforce the idea that his daughter has to develop
resilience.
Figurative Language

Metaphor
Stanza 7
 The way she describes to effects of the surgery
(breast removal) is indirectly compared to the
state of the soil which is churned up by a
bulldozer.
 The silence of the father is depicted as a
breathing person to effectively emphasise how
quiet the normally vocal father is now.
Personification
Stanza 2

 In lines 10-12 ‘when one of his pigeons/-

crazed for home or/mad with terror’
 The pigeon is described like a crazy or mad
person. It is effective because the poet
successfully emphasizes how unsettled the
pigeon was.
Stanza 5

 The kill describes the toughness expected

by her father as a ‘bitter roughness’ and
personifies it as a bird of prey spying on her
and circling above her ready to pounce at
any moment.
Contrast
Stanza 7

 There is a contrast between the

actions of the father at the
beginning of the poem and his
silence after the surgery.
5
You laughed and laughed
and laughed
by
Gabriel Okara
Poem
You laughed and laughed and laughed
In your ears my song
is motor car misfiring
stopping with a choking cough;
and you laughed and laughed and laughed.

In your eyes my ante-

natal walk was inhuman, passing
your ‘omnivorous understanding’
and you laughed and laughed and laughed.
You laughed at my song,
you laughed at my walk.
Then I danced my magic dance
to the rhythm of talking drums pleading,
but you shut your eyes
and laughed and laughed and laughed.

And then I opened my mystic

inside wide like
the sky, instead you entered your
car and laughed and laughed and laughed

You laughed at my dance,

you laughed at my inside.
 You laughed and laughed and laughed,
But your laughter was ice-block
laughter and it froze your inside froze
your voice froze your ears
froze your eyes and froze your tongue.

And now it’s my turn to laugh;

but my laughter is not
ice-block laughter. For I
know not cars, know not ice-blocks.

My laughter is the fire
of the eye of the sky, the fire
of the earth, the fire of the air,
the fire of the seas and the
rivers fishes animals trees
and it thawed your inside,
thawed your voice, thawed your
ears, thawed your eyes and
thawed your tongue.
So a meek wonder held
your shadow and you whispered;
‘Why so?’
And I answered:
‘Because my fathers and I
are owned by the living
warmth of the earth
through our naked feet.’
Words to know

Word Basic meaning

before birth, relating to
ante-natal pregnancy
understanding everything
Omnivorous understanding indiscriminately

mystic wide space

thawed soften, melt

meek quiet, gentle, shy, patient

Type and Form
 The poem ‘You laughed and laughed and
laughed’ consists of 10 stanzas, that are
not equal in length, it has no defined
meter, no consistent rhyme scheme, and no
specified length or formal requirements.
 The only consistent form it takes is that of
repetition of the title at the end of the first
four stanzas and again in stanza 7.
Analysis
Stanza 1
 In this stanza, the speaker portrays the attitude of white people
towards African songs.
 The sound of their song is harsh and loud, the whites do not
understand it, as a result it sounds to them like a ‘motor car
misfiring’, making an awkward noise He says white people do not
value African culture, instead they laugh and laugh and laugh.
 The repetition of ‘laughed and laughed and laughed’… adds to the
beauty of the poem as the words emphasise the racial discrimination
that black people experience.
Stanza 2
 The Africans are not as stylish and modern as the
white people. They have a clumsy walk, ‘ante
natal walk’ (image of a pregnant woman) which is
considered ‘inhuman’ (not like a human) and they
are mocked.

Stanza 3
 These two lines summarise and put emphasis on
how white people mock Africans for their song and
walk.
Stanza 4
 Africans are mocked for their ‘magical’(cultural) dance by the speaker
who describes the reaction of white people who close their eyes to avoid
looking at it. They dance to their music, and to the ‘rhythm of talking
drums pleading’, (the image the talking drums pleading represents the
beat of the drums).

Stanza 5
 The speaker invites the whites to experience the beauty of his world
(mystic/wide space). Instead of the whites enjoying that space (the
African sky) they preferred their materialistic world as represented by
their cars.

Stanza 6
 The whites laughed at everything that mattered most to the Africans:
their culture and dance.
Stanza 7
 The speaker describes the continuous laugher of the whites
as icy-cold. Mocking freezes their ability to empathise with
Africans and the sense of understanding of the African
culture. Furthermore, the laughter closed up all the senses
of the whites (hearing, seeing and tasting), preventing
them from relating to the Africans.

Stanza 8
 In this stanza, the speaker uses ‘And now’ to indicate a
change. It is now the turn of Africans to laugh, but their
laughter is not mocking like the laughter of the whites.
Africans are not materialistic and they are naturally warm-
natured unlike the whites, therefore they do not mock the
white people.
Stanza 9
 The intensity of the African laughter is portrayed through
the use of fire, sun, water (natural elements). The
speaker describes the African’s laughter as the fire of the
sun (eye of the sky). The intensity of the hotness of the
sun is emphasised. The speaker uses fine elements of the
earth (animate and inanimate objects) to intensify how
fire can melt (thaw) their frozen hearts.
Stanza 10
 This stanza concludes the poem. It is at this point that the
white man realises that despite all the humiliation the
Africans endured, they are still warm-hearted people.
They are very close to Nature.
Themes
Racism
 The issue of racism is depicted strongly throughout the
poem. The speaker raises the disgrace of racial intolerance
with special reference to how the white people mock
African people for their music, dance.
Culture
 African culture is mocked and ridiculed by white people
who misunderstand their songs and dance. White people
show no empathy with the culture of Africans and
misunderstand the connectivity that Africans have with
Nature.
Diction and Figurative Language
Repetition
 The constant repetition of the title, ‘you laughed and laughed and laughed’
emphasises the humiliation black people suffered at the hands of the
colonials.
Metaphor
 Stanza 7 to 9: The laughter of whites is compared to ice-blocks and in stanza
9 the poet compares his laughter with fire.
Contrast
 The poet uses contrast between the black indigenous African culture and the
white colonialist tradition.
Images
 Images to capture beauty and energy:
 The poet uses natural elements (water, the sky and fire
Tone and Mood
 The tone of the poem is humiliating
and offensive.
 The mood is strength and resilience.
6
THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREE
by
William Butler Yeats
Author
 The poem is written by William Butler Yeast who was born in
1865 and died in 1939. Yeast was a key figure in the Irish
literary revival, through his poet and plays.
 He worked hard to define himself as an Irish person.
 This poem travels in imagination to an ideal calm and
peaceful place.
 The theme highlights the difference between the real and
imagined.
 The place that the poet longs for n this poem is a small island
in the lake called Innisfree near the poet’s home country.
The lake isle of Innisfree
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings:
There midnight’s all a glimmer, , and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore:
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
Summary
 The Lake Isle of Innisfree describes the
speaker's longing for a life on an Island in
order to live a simple life away from the
traffic and noise made by the people in
busy towns.
 The speaker is longing for peace (on his
own) living alone in the natural
environment in a small cabin.
Type and form

The poem consists of 12 lines

which is divided into 3 rhyming
quatrains.
The rhyme is abab cdcd efef.
 ANALYSIS
STANZA 1
 The speaker has the desire to go to Innisfree,
this is emphasized by the word ‘go’ in the
poem.
 He plans to build a cabin and stay alone
without any disturbance.
 Ironically he prefers the noise of the bees but
he wants to stay alone.
STANZA 2
 Repetition of peace emphasises that staying
alone will give him peace as it is his main
idea.
 He narrates peace to morning dew dropping
from the leaves to the ground.
 He also describes the day times and their
qualities (the imagery ‘calls up sequences’
that further emphasizes the importance of
the day dream).
STANZA 3
 In this stanza the speaker shifts from his day
dream and address the real world, he still
states that he is going to leave for the Isle.
 The speaker’s dream about the island is clear,
which makes him to hear the sound of the
water clearly in the real world.
 In the last two lines it shows that the speaker
is on the roadway standing still on the grey
pavement, listening to his heart.
 THEME
 Peace of nature
The speaker wants the readers to view the
natural environment without human
involvement. It is a place to find peace and
connect with the world on a deeper,
spiritual level.
SETTING

In a city
 TONE and MOOD

 The tone is calm the word peace is

repeated on several occasions in the
poem which creates a sense of
calmness.
 The mood is joyful, the speaker is
looking forward to leaving the city.
DICTION AND FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
ALLITERATION
 It is found in line 2 and 3 “ I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by
the shore’. The repeated ‘I” recreates the sound made by the waves in
the imagination of the poet.
REPETITION
 The speaker repeatedly uses the word ‘go’ in line 1 to emphasise his
intention to leave the city and go to a quite/peaceful Isle.
 The speaker also regularly repeats the words ‘dropping and peace’ in
line 5-6 to emphasise longing for silence and calmness in his life.
 ‘I will arise and go’ is also repeatedly used to emphasise the mindset of
the poet that is set on a journey to a peaceful place.
IMAGERY
Imagery is one of the most important
techniques in this poem. The speaker uses
visual and auditory words to capture the
readers attention for example ‘bee-loud’,
‘cricket sings’, ‘water lapping’, and with
these words he arouses different senses,
encouraging the reader to feel, hear and
see the scene.
7
THE SLAVE DEALER
Thomas Pringle (1784 - 1834)
THE POETS BACKGROUND INFORMATION
 The poem, “The Slave Dealer” was written by a Scottish man
named Thomas Pringle.
 Pringle was born on the 5th January 1789. He moved to South
Africa with his family in 1820 where he began writing poems.
 Pringle’s poems were known for the way in which they describe
the South African landscapes, people and social conditions.
 He lived in South Africa for 6 years but was unable to make it as a
writer so moved back to London in 1826 where he worked for the
abolition of slavery.
 He died from tuberculosis on the 4th of December 1834 in London.
 The Slave Dealer (Poem) - Thomas Pringle
13.And if, at times, a gleam more mild
1. From ocean's wave a Wanderer came, 14. Would o'er his features stray,
2. With visage tanned and dun: 15. When knelt the Widow near her Child,
3. His Mother, when he told his name, 16. And he tried with her to pray,
4. Scarce knew her long-lost son; 17. It lasted not for visions wild
5. So altered was his face and frame 18. Still scared good thoughts away.
6. By the ill course he had run.
19. "There's blood upon my hands!" he said,
7. There was hot fever in his blood, 20. "Which water cannot wash;
8. And dark thoughts in his brain; 21. It was not shed where warriors bled
9. And oh! to turn his heart to good 22. It dropped from the gory lash,
10. That Mother strove in vain, 23. As I whirled it o'er and o'er my head,
11. For fierce and fearful was his mood, 24. And with each stroke left a gash.
12. Racked by remorse and pain.
 The Slave Dealer (Poem) - Thomas Pringle
25. "With every stroke I left a gash, 37. "Now, Christ from frenzy keep my son!"
26. While Negro blood sprang high; 38. The woeful Widow cried;
27. And now all ocean cannot wash 39. "Such murder foul thou ne'er hast done
28. My soul from murder's dye; 40. Some fiend thy soul belied!"
29. Nor e'en thy prayer, dear Mother, quash 41. " Nay, Mother! the Avenging One
30. That Woman's wild death-cry! 42. Was witness when she died!

31. "Her cry is ever in my ear, 43. "The writhing wretch with furious heel
32. And it will not let me pray; 44. I crushed no mortal nigh;
33. Her look I see her voice I hear 45. But that same hour her dread appeal
34. As when in death she lay, 46. Was registered on high;
35. And said, 'With me thou must appear 47. And now with God I have to deal,
36. On God's great Judgment-day!’” 48. And dare not meet His eye!"
 TYPE OF POEM

This poem is a ballad

(retells the story of a son The poem has 8 stanzas
who returns home to his with 6 lines each (each
mother after being away stanza has its rhyme
for a long-time doing scheme).
slave trade).
 The slave dealer
A person who deals with the sale of
people from poverty stricken
backgrounds to the upper class,
forcefully removing and transporting
people from their families to other
countries or continents.
 THEMES
 Cruelty of slavery (a person who is forced to work
for and obey another and considered to be their
property; an enslaved person.)
 Torment (severe physical or mental suffering.)
 Remorsefulness (a feeling of responsibility for
wrongdoing he was gnawed by an unrelenting
remorsefulness for the pain that he had caused
people. Synonyms & Similar Words. Relevance.
remorse. guilt.)
 FOCUS ON THE CRUELTY OF SLAVERY

Slavery brought pains in people’s lives.

• Stanza 4. Lines 22 and 24 “As I whirled it over and over my head, and with each stroke left a
gash”.

• Stanza 5. With every strike I left a gash, while Negro blood sprang high.

• Stanza 6. Line 32 “Her cry is in my ear

- Line 35. “As when in death she lay”.
 FOCUS ON REPERCUSSIONS OF HIS ACTIONS

 Torment (severe mental suffering)

➢ The speaker (Slave dealer) is tormented by feelings of guilt because of
the horrible acts he committed.
Stanza 1. lines 1, 5 and 6 “So altered was his face and frame, by the ill
course he had run”.
Stanza 2. there was hot fever in his blood and dark thoughts in his brain
(the anger harbouring is compared to a fever which makes him hot, the
bad thoughts of what he has done haunts him).
Stanza 4. there is blood upon my hand which water cannot wash.
Stanza 5. “and now all ocean cannot wash my soul from murder’s dye”.
(lines 30-31, “Nor e’en thy prayer, dear Mother, quash That woman’s wild
death-cry”). (line 34, her look I see – her voice I hear).
  Stanza 2. For fierce and fearful was his
FOCUS ON REMOURSEFULNESS mood racked by remorse and pain.
(The theme of remorsefulness  Stanza 4. there is blood upon my hands,
comes up strongly in this he said which water cannot wash.
poem). The slave dealer goes  Stanza 5. And now all ocean cannot
back home after killing a wash my soul from murder’s dye
woman and her face and voice Nor e’en thy prayer, dear mother,
keep playing on his mind. quash,
That woman’s death – cry!
  The tone is remorseful as the
speaker is ashamed of his
TONE AND misdeeds.
MOOD  The Mood is Sombre/Sad/Angry:
The speakers Mood is Sombre as
he experiences the Agony of
being hunted by the dreadful
memories of what he has done
in the past. And then the Hash r
sound shows how these thoughts
rip him apart.
 DICTION AND FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
 METAPHOR
Stanza 1, ‘From the oceans a wave wonderer came,/with visage tanned
and dun’
Stanza 2, ‘there was hot fever in his blood/And dark thoughts in his
brain;’
Stanza 4, ‘there’s blood upon my hands’
 CONTRAST
 ALLITERATION
 PERSONIFICATION
 IMAGERY
8
 INVERSNAID
By
GERARD MANLEY
HOPKINS
 METAPHOR: the BURN – brook/stream in Scottish
colour of the water is
compared to colour of dialect. It is dark and perhaps gloomy,
horse’s back the colour of a “horseback brown”.
This darksome burn, horseback brown, ASSONANCE

ALLITERATION

Structured like the words beat of the hooves

‘handsome’, but meaning dark
The brook is personified in the next lines. (described as a
horse) The speaker refers to it as male, and describes “His
rollrock highroad roaring down”. ASSONANCE
ALLITERATION DICTION: Joins words to describe the stream

His rollrock highroad roaring down,

sound of
METAPHOR: the path of
rocks
tumbling the river is like a highway
in where rocks have been
waterfall rolled.
 the stream’s high and low parts
MMETAPHOR: the
water at the bottom
METAPHOR: Like
of the waterfall is lamb’s wool refers to
held as if in a
basket the foam of the stream
In coop and in comb the fleece of his foam
L3-4 :
enclosure like a comb is free flowing ENJAMBMENT
chicken coop – JOINING
ASSONANCE – gives the THE FOAM
speed of the galloping water, AND WATER
as free and unrestrained as
the horse.
 The foam looks like flutes or lines in the water.

ALLITERATION the sound of the flowing water (lines 3, 5

“f” and 7)

Flutes and low to the lake falls home.

METAPHOR: ASSONANCE “O” - spills over into
The shape of stanza 2,
the water as it just as the water spills over the waterfall.
falls over the
It eventually turns into an “o” shaped
rocks
whirlpool in which Despair is drowned.
 This adjective describes the shape of the froth. It
appears as a woman’s bonnet might if the wind
were to puff it up. METAPHOR: the foam on the
water is like lace on the edge of a bonnet

A windpuff-bonnet of fawn-fróth
L5-6: The foam itself is the colour of a
ENJAMBMENT
– LINES FLOW
fawn’s fur, a light brown. This hints
AS QUICKLY at the nature of the river bed and
AS WATER the materials that are turned up as
the water barrels down its path.
ALLITERATION “t”
– makes the
tripping sound of
refers again to the
the water over the movements of the water.
made-up word
rocks
Turns and twindles over the broth
A soup
This line speaks to the colour, depth,
and atmosphere around a specific pool of
water. It’s dark and has the qualities of
broth.
Links with atmosphere created in
previous line
Of a pool so pitchblack, féll-frowning,
frowning threateningly
fell = hill. Fells, or hills,
around the pool of water,
and how they look down,
casting shadows.
 ALLITERATION “r” ALLITERATION “d”
– the spinning like – heavy “d”
water going down underlines the tone
a drain of hopelessness
It rounds and rounds Despair to drowning.
REPETITION – PERSONIFICATION: Despair is
creates the image drowned in the pool, making the
of the water water the colour of despair
draining down into
the pool, like water
draining from a
bath
 ALLITERATION “d” – sounds like drops of
water falling

Degged with dew, dappled with dew

ASSONANCE “e” –
the slower sound
L9-10: creates a softer
ENJAMBMENT tone
 METAPHOR: comparing
the round shapes of the
rocks around the waterfall
to a vault in a cathedral

Are the groins of the braes that the brook treads

through, The stream has lost its force and is
no longer the “roaring” horse of line
1. The river now “treads”, moving
slowly and carefully through the
thick clumps of heather on the
edges of the banks.
 METAPHOR: little
pieces of fern (think of
the individual leaves
Wiry heathpacks, flitches of fern, HEATHER ASH TREE

METAPHOR: thick
clumps of purple
heather FERNS
And the beadbonny ash that sits over the burn.
METAPHOR: the berries
on the trees are like
beads
 Stanza 4 – repeated
use of “w” – Draws out
L13-14: and slows down the
sounds. Poet focuses
ENJAMBMENT attention on his appeal
by slowing the lines
down.
What would the world be, once bereft
ASSONANCE – the last stanza combines the
“a”, “o” and “e” sounds pulling all the previous
verses into this final stanza.
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
REPETITION –
repeat the
speaker’s plea for
nature to be left in
peace.
O let them be left, wildness and wet;

REPETITION – the
repetition reflects
the depth of his
feelings
 ALLITERATION – the “l”
sounds create a rallying cry

Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.

REPETITION –
He pleads for nature to be
left alone in a repeated,
build on one
despairing cry. He asks for another as a
all that is natural to be left reminder to the
to grow. He includes all
aspects of nature, even the
reader of this wild
weeds. space.
9
 The night-jar and
Inkosazana Yasezulwini
by
Chris Mann
The poem
The night-jar and Inkosazana Yasezulwini
The princess of the Heavens – Zulu by Chris Mann

The speckled bird as brown as dust

which roosts inside a bush by day,
hiding its head against the glare,
at midnight pecked against the pane,
and gently pecked, until I saw
the starlight glitter through its beak.

On calm and tender summer nights,

when fishes bite the wobbling moon,
and moths rise to silvery fruit,
sprinkling the space among the boughs,
it wakes and glides from sill to sill
across the worn-out, curtained town.

It shook the sandman from my sight,

and when the tar-bound slope had turned
to bush and rocky hill it said,
‘There is a grass-house in the hills,
above the coast where sugar spumes,
and lilies sprout, and no storms fly.
There, the Princess of Heavens,
beside her dark as honey feet,
gathers up the dreams which reach her
and stooping to her woven pots
rinses them in rainbow water,
and stores them with the morning mist.

‘Go, waking sleeper, call to her,

and wading through the icy stream
in which the golden pebbles shine,
ask her if her power is love,
for she is old as she is young,
and without her, no one dreams.’
She leaned against a leafless tree
on which a crown of crimson burned,
and then the hill began to dim,
and standing in the greying rocks,
I heard the nightjar fade, from sill
to sill, across the widowed town.
Author

Chris ‘Zithulele’ Mann

Although what Mann does is often

described as ‘poetry’, much of his work
 Chris ‘Zithulele’ Mann, born in Port can be considered music. The ‘poetry’ in
Elizabeth (South Africa) in 1948, his work, then, should be understood
was a leading South African-English more as a methodology – experimentation
poet, teacher and cultural icon. within systems of signification – than a
His prayerful and joyous poems formal boundary.
offer deep reflections on apartheid
times, nature, God, the cosmos
and inevitability of death. He was
diagnosed with cancer. In 2021, he
died peacefully at his home in
Makhanda, Eastern Cape
Words to know
Word Basic meaning

speckled covered or marked with a large number of small spots or patches

of colour.

glare shine with a strong or dazzling light.

pecked (of a bird) strike or bite something with its beak.

wobbling move or cause to move unsteadily from side to side.

(boughs main branches of a tree

sill a ledge or sill forming the bottom part of a window.

Words to know
a fictional man supposed to make
sandman children sleep by sprinkling sand in
their eyes.
froth or foam, especially that found
spumes on
waves.

sprout (of a plant) put out shoots.

interlaced long threads passing in one
woven direction with others at a right angle to
them.
walk with effort through water or
wading another liquid or viscous substance.
a small stone made smooth and round
pebbles by the action of water or sand

crimson a rich deep red colour

Type and Form

This poem does not have a specific

type as it combines characteristics
of a narrative poem, prose and a
sestina (six stanzas of six line).
Analysis
 Stanza 1
 The speaker introduces the night-jar. In line 1 it is described as a brown bird
that is speckled.
 This is a nocturnal bird because during the day it nests in the bush, hiding
from the brightness of the sun. It comes out of the bush at night and moves
around and sits on window sills. At midnight is visits the speaker’s window and
pecks on the window pane. The reflection of the stars is seen on its beak.

A night-jar
Stanza 2
 In this stanza the speaker gives a clear description of a
calm summer night and what the night jar does. In line 8
the presence of the moon is evident; ‘fishes bite the
wobbling moon’. The moon is said to be wobbling. The
movement of the reflection of the moon in the water is
caused by the movement of the fishes in the pond. In line
9 the fruit looks silvery because of the moonlight. In line
10 the moon shines through the space between the tree
branches.
 The night-jar wakes and flows from one window sill to
the next, across town. The speaker refers to the town as
curtained to indicate that it is at night and curtains in are
drawn.
Stanza 3
 The speaker has insomnia, he cannot fall asleep, and he blames his
lack of sleep on the night-jar. In line 13 the speaker says the bird
‘shook the sandman from my sight’, this means that the sandman who
is supposed to make the speaker drowsy and fall asleep is being
removed by the night- jar. In line 15 and the speaker is receiving
directions to a place where he will get help. Lines 16-18 give a clear
picture of the place the speaker is directed to:
a thatched roofed hut built on a hill
 ina coastal area where ‘sugar spumes’. This refers to the area
that is in the coast of Kwa-Zulu natal with sugar cane
plantations.
 The area where the hut is built is beautiful, there are lilies on
the hill.
 It is a peaceful place (line 18: ‘no storms fly’).

Stanza 4
 The night-jar, in this stanza, informs the speaker of who
can help him get relief from his trouble. The Princess of
Heavens, a being who collects dreams, helps human
beings with bringing them new hope. In lines 21- 23 the
Princess of Heavens receives the dreams, puts them in a
woven pot and cleanses them in rainbow water.
A woven pot
A rainbow is a symbol of hope, promise, peace and new
beginnings. Washing dreams in ‘rainbow water’ means giving
back hope and it is a promise of new beginnings. This idea is
solidified in line 24 when she stores the dreams with the
morning mist, a sign of rebirth.
Stanza 5
 The night-jar instructs the speaker to go to the
Princess of Heavens to seek for help. The walk is
not going to be easy (line 26 – ‘wading through
the icy stream’), but there is great promise and
hope (line 27 – ‘golden pebbles shine’). The
princess of Heavens is ageless, line 29 ‘for she is
old as she is young’. This means that she is
accessible to everyone, and she identifies with
people of all age groups. Her remedy is love (line
28).
Stanza 6
 In line 31 the speaker sees the Princess of Heavens leaning against a leafless
tree. Leafless trees symbolise the end of an era and lack of vitality. In line 32
the tree has bright red flowers, ‘a crown of crimson’. Although the crimson
colour can be associated with danger, it also symbolises excitement, love and
power.
A leafless tree with a crimson crown
 In line 33, the hill begins to fade – it is dawn, the morning mist is appearing,
and is resulting to the hill beginning to dim. In line 34 the speaker is standing
in the greying rocks. The speaker has reached a turning point. He has decided
to take action through using the grey rocking technique. Grey rocking is a
technique used to divert a toxic person’s behaviour by acting unresponsive
when interacting with them. The speaker in this line is taking a decision to
stop being responsive to things that disturbs his peace. As he makes this
decision, the night jar fades away, it has accomplished its mission.

 Themes
Hope
 The night-jar as a messenger and a guide brings hope to humans by pointing
them to a being who can renew their hope and make them dream again.

Human’s physical and spiritual needs

 Human needs of getting inner peace, understanding and acknowledgement

can be attained through spreading love to other human beings. Humans only
reach this point when they start to ignore and stop entertaining people with
toxic behaviour.
Diction and Figurative Language
Simile
 Line 1 ‘as brown as dust’
 Line 20 ‘dark as honey’
Metaphor
 Line 26 ‘wading through the icy stream’
 Line 32 ‘a crown of crimson’
 Line 33 ‘the hill began to dim’
Images
 Images to capture beauty and energy:

 ‘calm and tender summer nights’
 ‘fishes bite the wobbling moon’
 ‘…the coast where sugar spumes, and lilies sprout, and no
storms fly’.

Alliteration
 Line 11 – sill to sill
 Line 31 – crown of crimson
Tone

Tone
 Placid: The night-jar is peaceful in its manner as
it guides the speaker to getting a solution to his
problems.
 Sympathetic: There is a sense of understanding
and being non judgemental that is portrayed by
the night-jar as it assists the speaker.
10
Hard to find
Sinesipo Jojo
About the poet
Title: Hard to find
 Summarising the central theme of the poem, which is the
idea that finding the right words to express one's feelings
can be a difficult and elusive process. The title suggests
that these words are hard to locate or access, as if they
are hiding or avoiding the speaker. The title also creates
a sense of mystery or longing, as if the speaker is
searching for something that is important but elusive.
 Overall, the title serves to set the tone and focus of the
poem, and helps to introduce the idea that finding the
right words is a challenging and central theme of the
work.
Words are everywhere

Words are common

daily
This line establishes that words are a global presence in daily life.
understand and process them.
The simile is used to describe how quickly words fly out
when we are provoked. The comparison being made is
between the speed and abundance of words that are spoken
when someone is provoked to the idea of how quickly and
easily they are spoken.
We read them, and they fly out
like nobody's business when we are
provoked . . . Simile
This process is somewhat mindless or automatic – we do not
think before we speak.
There may be certain situations or stimuli that causes us to
speak without thinking – thus they fly out.
Words fly out
but there's always something hard to
understand . . .
This line introduces the idea that there are some things
that are difficult to understand or express with words.
they are hard to find Personification
The words have a will of their own and can choose when to
be present and when to be absent. Portrayed as elusive or
difficult to grasp, almost as if they have a consciousness and
intention of their own. The use of personification suggests a
sense of frustration or longing on the part of the speaker,
who needs the right words to express their feelings but finds
them elusive when they are most needed

when they are needed by the heart;

The words that are most needed or desired are often the hardest
to find or access.
when the heart feels,
This line further develops the idea that the words we need most
are often hard to find, as if they are hiding or avoiding us.

Personification
.

words hide like they are not part of life.

The phrase "like they are not part of life" could be
interpreted as suggesting that these words are somehow
outside of the normal flow or experience of daily life.
While words are busy playing
some twisted game Personification
Metaphor Words are not always reliable or helpful
The use of the word "twisted" to describe the games suggests a
negative connotation, implying that the words are not being used in
an honest or straightforward way. The word "games" here refers to
the idea that words can be used in various ways, just as players can
make different moves in a game.

Personification
my heart looks sadly through the
glassThewindows Metaphor
heart is not finding what it is looking for
as the raindrops slowly slide
down, gently Personification
The raindrops that "slowly slide down, gently" are personified, as
they are given the human characteristic of sliding down in a slow
and gentle way. This personification adds to the melancholy mood of
.
the poem, as the raindrops seem to reflect the speaker's sadness
and the slow pace of time passing

on a cloudy lifetime,
It is a metaphor that compares a lifetime to a cloudy day
Metaphor The speaker's life is dark, dreary, and difficult to see
through clearly, like a cloudy day.
 hoping that one day,
The speaker's hope that someday the words needed to
express their heart's desires will be found.
Here are some possible themes
 Difficulty in expressing one's feelings: The poem suggests that it can be
difficult to find the right words to express one's feelings, particularly when the
heart is feeling something strongly.
 The relationship between words and emotions: The poem explores the idea
that words and emotions are interconnected, with the speaker's heart feeling a
sense of longing or sadness as it searches for the right words.
 The idea of communication and understanding: The poem touches on the
theme of communication and understanding, as the speaker hopes that their
heart's message will be understood through the use of words.
 The concept of time and change: The image of the raindrops sliding gently
down the windows could be interpreted as a metaphor for the passage of time
or the speaker's emotional state.
 The theme of uncertainty: The phrase "cloudy lifetime" suggests that the
speaker's life is uncertain or difficult, adding to the overall sense of longing or
sadness present in the poem.
 Here are some possible symbols
 Glass windows: The image of the heart looking through
glass windows could symbolize the heart's desire for
clarity or understanding.
 Raindrops: The raindrops sliding gently down the
windows could symbolize the passage of time or the
speaker's emotional state.
 Cloudy lifetime: The phrase "cloudy lifetime" could
symbolize uncertainty or difficulty in the speaker's life.
 Words: The poem suggests that words have a special
relationship with the heart and with emotions, and could
be seen as symbols for the way we communicate and
express ourselves.
 The tone of the poem "Hard to Find" by Sinesipho Jojo can
be described as longing or melancholic. The poem
suggests that finding the right words to express one's
feelings is a difficult and elusive process, and the
speaker's heart is depicted as looking sadly through the
glass windows as the raindrops slide down, as if it is
searching for something that is not easily found. The
phrase "cloudy lifetime" also adds to the sense of
uncertainty or difficulty in the speaker's life,
contributing to the overall melancholic tone of the poem.
The use of personification to describe the way words
hide or play games also adds to the sense of frustration
or disappointment in the poem.
 The structure of the poem "Hard to Find" by Sinesipho Jojo can
be described as free verse, as it does not follow a regular
rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. The poem is divided into a
series of independent lines and stanzas, with no clear pattern of
rhyme or meter.
 The poem does, however, make use of repetition and parallelism
in its structure, with the phrase "They are hard to find / When
they are needed by the heart" repeating the idea that the words
needed most are the hardest to find. The poem also uses a series
of clauses and phrases to build on this idea, creating a sense of
progression and development in the structure.
 Overall, the structure of the poem contributes to its theme of
the difficulty in finding the right words to express one's feelings,
as the irregular and seemingly unpredictable structure mirrors
the speaker's search for the right words.