Choose a task Choose a task based on the poem. - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Choose a

task

Choose a task based on the poem.

Activity A

Activity C

Activity E

Activity G

Activity H

Activity F

Activity D

Activity B

Glossary

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

Slide2

Relying only on evidence in the poem, who is ‘speaking’ the poem, and who is it spoken to?

Activity A

1

2

Click here to view next stanzas

Menu

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

So

we must say Goodbye, my darling,

And go, as lovers go, for ever;

Tonight remains, to pack and fix on labels

And make an end of lying down together.

I put a final shilling in the gas,

And watch you slip your dress below your knees

And lie so still I hear your rustling comb

Modulate the autumn in the trees.

And all the countless things I shall remember

Lay mummy-cloths of silence round my head;

I fill the carafe with a drink of water;You say, ‘We paid a guinea for this bed,’ And then, ‘We’ll leave some gas, a little warmthFor the next resident, and these dried flowers,’And turn your face away, afraid to speakThe big word, that Eternity is ours.

Look at stanza 2 and state who each pronoun (

I

and

you

) refers to.Slide3

Relying only on evidence in the poem, who is ‘speaking’ the poem, and who is it spoken to?

2

1

Activity A

Click here to return to the beginning of the poem

Menu

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

Your

kisses close my eyes and yet you stare

As though God struck a child with nameless fears;

Perhaps the water glitters and discloses

Time’s chalice and its limpid useless tears.

Everything we renounce except our selves;

Selfishness is the last of all to go;

Our sighs are exhalations of the earth,

Our footprints leave a track across the snow.

We made the universe to be our home,

Our nostrils took the wind to be our breath,

Our hearts are massive towers of delight,

We stride across the seven seas of death. Yet when all’s done you’ll keep the emeraldI placed upon your finger in the street;And I will keep the patches that you sewedOn my old battledress tonight, my sweet.

Look at stanza 2 and state who each pronoun (

I and

you) refers to.Slide4

On their last night together he refers to packing and fixing labels in stanza 1. Can you think of any reasons why the poem describes mundane, ordinary activities rather than entirely focusing on their love for each other?

Activity B

1

2

Click here to view next stanzas

Could the very fact of mentioning these activities emphasise the contrast between what they would like to do and what they have to do?

Menu

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

So

we must say Goodbye, my darling,

And go, as lovers go, for ever;

Tonight remains, to pack and fix on labels

And make an end of lying down together.

I put a final shilling in the gas,

And watch you slip your dress below your knees

And lie so still I hear your rustling comb

Modulate the autumn in the trees.

And all the countless things I shall remember

Lay mummy-cloths of silence round my head;

I fill the carafe with a drink of water;

You say, ‘We paid a guinea for this bed,’

And then, ‘We’ll leave some gas, a little warmthFor the next resident, and these dried flowers,’And turn your face away, afraid to speakThe big word, that Eternity is ours.Slide5

On their last night together he refers to packing and fixing labels in stanza 1. Can you think of any reasons why the poem describes mundane, ordinary activities rather than entirely focusing on their love for each other?

Activity B

Your kisses close my eyes and yet you stare

As though God struck a child with nameless fears;

Perhaps the water glitters and disclosesTime’s chalice and its limpid useless tears. Everything we renounce except our selves;Selfishness is the last of all to go;Our sighs are exhalations of the earth,

Our footprints leave a track across the snow. We made the universe to be our home,Our nostrils took the wind to be our breath,Our hearts are massive towers of delight,We stride across the seven seas of death. 

Yet when all’s done you’ll keep the emeraldI placed upon your finger in the street;And I will keep the patches that you sewedOn my old battledress tonight, my sweet.

Menu

Goodbye

– by Alun Lewis

–

2

1

Click here to return to the beginning of the poem

Could the very fact of mentioning these activities emphasise the contrast between what they would like to do and what they have to do?Slide6

So

we must say Goodbye, my darling,

And go, as lovers go, for ever;

Tonight remains, to pack and fix on labels

And make an end of lying down together.

I put a final shilling in the gas,And watch you slip your dress below your knees

And lie so still I hear your rustling comb Modulate the autumn in the trees. And all the countless things I shall rememberLay mummy-cloths of silence round my head;I fill the carafe with a drink of water;You say, ‘We paid a guinea for this bed,’

 And then, ‘We’ll leave some gas, a little warmthFor the next resident, and these dried flowers,’And turn your face away, afraid to speakThe big word, that Eternity is ours.

What sounds does ‘autumn in the trees’ in stanza 2 suggest?

Why do you think there is an emphasis on silence between the two

lovers? How do you think stanzas 3 and 4 continue this theme of silence and finding difficulty in speaking?

Activity C

Can you think of a time when something has been so important to you that you have found difficulty in speaking about it to others?

Menu

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

Look

at the words spoken in the poem and compare them with the thoughts expressed. Suggest reasons for the contrast between what they are talking about and what they are thinking about.Slide7

Why do you think she is talking about the cost of the room, the next resident and dried flowers?

Why

does the word ‘Eternity’ have a capital letter?

Activity D

Think back to the discussion about packaging and labelling the luggage. What is the ‘big word’, and why might she be unwilling to talk about the future?

Menu

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

And then, ‘We’ll leave some gas, a little warmthFor the next resident, and these dried flowers,’And turn your face away, afraid to speak

The big word, that Eternity is ours.Slide8

Track through the poem for all the words that suggest a close relationship between the two people referred to in the poem. Choose one of these to comment on what it suggests about their relationship.

Activity E

1

2

Click here to view next stanzas

Menu

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

So

we must say Goodbye, my darling,

And go, as lovers go, for ever;

Tonight remains, to pack and fix on labels

And make an end of lying down together.

I put a final shilling in the gas,

And watch you slip your dress below your knees

And lie so still I hear your rustling comb

Modulate the autumn in the trees.

And all the countless things I shall remember

Lay mummy-cloths of silence round my head;

I fill the carafe with a drink of water;You say, ‘We paid a guinea for this bed,’ And then, ‘We’ll leave some gas, a little warmthFor the next resident, and these dried flowers,’And turn your face away, afraid to speakThe big word, that Eternity is ours.

Consider the words shaded in yellow. Click to show shading.Slide9

Your kisses close my eyes and yet you stareAs though God struck a child with nameless fears;Perhaps the water glitters and discloses

Time’s chalice and its limpid useless tears. Everything we renounce except our selves;Selfishness is the last of all to go;Our sighs are exhalations of the earth,Our footprints leave a track across the snow. We made the universe to be our home,Our nostrils took the wind to be our breath,Our hearts are massive towers of delight,We stride across the seven seas of death.

 Yet when all’s done you’ll keep the emeraldI placed upon your finger in the street;And I will keep the patches that you sewedOn my old battledress tonight, my sweet.

Track through the poem for all the words that suggest a close relationship between the two people referred to in the poem. Choose one of these to comment on what it suggests about their relationship.

Activity E

Menu

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

2

1

Click here to return to the beginning of the poem

Consider the words shaded in yellow. Click to show shading.Slide10

Track through the poem for all the words that suggest the sadness of the two people referred to in the poem. Choose one of these to comment on what it suggests about their thoughts and feelings at their forced separation.

Activity F

1

2

Click here to view next stanzas

Menu

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

So

we must say Goodbye, my darling,

And go, as lovers go, for ever;

Tonight remains, to pack and fix on labels

And make an end of lying down together.

I put a final shilling in the gas,

And watch you slip your dress below your knees

And lie so still I hear your rustling comb

Modulate the autumn in the trees.

And all the countless things I shall remember

Lay mummy-cloths of silence round my head;

I fill the carafe with a drink of water;You say, ‘We paid a guinea for this bed,’ And then, ‘We’ll leave some gas, a little warmthFor the next resident, and these dried flowers,’And turn your face away, afraid to speakThe big word, that Eternity is ours.

Consider the words shaded in yellow. Click to show shading.Slide11

Track through the poem for all the words that suggest the sadness of the two people referred to in the poem. Choose one of these to comment on what it suggests about their thoughts and feelings at their forced separation.

Activity F

Menu

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

Your

kisses close my eyes and yet you stareAs though God struck a child with nameless fears;

Perhaps the water glitters and disclosesTime’s chalice and its limpid useless tears. Everything we renounce except our selves;Selfishness is the last of all to go;Our sighs are exhalations of the earth,

Our footprints leave a track across the snow. We made the universe to be our home,Our nostrils took the wind to be our breath,Our hearts are massive towers of delight,We stride across the seven seas of death. 

Yet when all’s done you’ll keep the emeraldI placed upon your finger in the street;And I will keep the patches that you sewedOn my old battledress tonight, my sweet.

2

1

Click here to return to the beginning of the poem

Consider the words shaded in yellow. Click to show shading.Slide12

How would you sum up the mood of stanza 7?

Is

it typical of the poem as a whole?

Activity

G

What level of confidence is implied in ‘We made the universe to be our home’, ‘Our hearts are massive towers of delight’ and ‘We stride across the seven seas of death

’?

Menu

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

We

made the universe to be our home,

Our nostrils took the wind to be our breath,

Our hearts are massive towers of delight,

We stride across the seven seas of death.

The usual expression is ‘sail the seven seas

’.Slide13

We made the universe to be our home,

Our nostrils took the wind to be our breath,

Our hearts are massive towers of delight,

We stride across the seven seas of death.

Yet when all’s done you’ll keep the emerald

I placed upon your finger in the street;And I will keep the patches that you sewedOn my old battledress tonight, my sweet.

In stanza 7 there are references to ‘the universe’, ‘massive towers’ and ‘seven seas’. In stanza 8 the references are to an ‘emerald’ ring and ‘patches’ on army uniform. Why do you think Alun Lewis contrasts the

idealism of love and the reality of what they will both ‘keep’ in this way? How does Alun Lewis indicate the contrast in the language he chooses?

Activity H

Menu

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

Are any of the words more typical of natural speech than others?

Compare words that reflect different scales/different realms of experience

.

Click to show

shading.Slide14

So we must say Goodbye, my darling,And go, as lovers go, for ever;Tonight remains, to pack and fix on labels

And make an end of lying down together. I put a final shilling in the gas,And watch you slip your dress below your kneesAnd lie so still I hear your rustling comb Modulate the autumn in the trees. And all the countless things I shall rememberLay mummy-cloths of silence round my head;I fill the carafe with a drink of water;You say, ‘We paid a guinea for this bed,’

 And then, ‘We’ll leave some gas, a little warmthFor the next resident, and these dried flowers,’And turn your face away, afraid to speakThe big word, that Eternity is ours.

Glossary

1

2

Click here to view next stanzas

Menu

Click on the highlighted words to show their meaning

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

harmonise with

a wide-necked bottle or flask for wine etc.Slide15

Your kisses close my eyes and yet you stareAs though God struck a child with nameless fears;Perhaps the water glitters and discloses

Time’s chalice and its limpid useless tears. Everything we renounce except our selves;Selfishness is the last of all to go;Our sighs are exhalations of the earth,Our footprints leave a track across the snow. We made the universe to be our home,Our nostrils took the wind to be our breath,Our hearts are massive towers of delight,We stride across the seven seas of death.

 Yet when all’s done you’ll keep the emeraldI placed upon your finger in the street;And I will keep the patches that you sewedOn my old battledress tonight, my sweet.

2

1

Glossary

Click here to return to the beginning of the poem

Menu

Goodbye

–

by Alun Lewis

–

reveals; makes something visible

clear, transparent

wine cup,

goblet

give up

out breaths

all the world’s oceans