We are learning to annotate the text and identify the use of poetic techniques Thinking About Silence Think about the different types of silence that you can have What kind of silence do you have when you are happy ID: 678340
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Slide1
Sounds Of The Day - Annotation
We are learning to: annotate the text and identify the use of poetic techniques. Slide2
Thinking About Silence
Think about the different types of silence that you can have.
What kind of silence do you have when you are happy?
What kind of silence do you have when you are upset or lonely?
What power does silence have?
Where else have we looked at silence and the impact that no noise can have on someone?Slide3
First Impressions
Create a
mind map
with a partner about your first impressions of the poem.
What’s it about?
What’s the message/theme?
Any relevant techniques?
And anything else you would like to comment on. Remember, it is how
YOU
interpret it; there are no right or wrong answers in poetry analysis. Slide4
Sounds Of The Day
In Sounds of The Day
MacCaig
begins by describing the sounds that he hears in a still silent environment. It begins in a positive and descriptive manner.
However the sound of a door closing in stanza two signifies the turning point in the poem and
MacCaig
goes on to explore the despair of loss. (again!) Slide5
Structure
This poem is written in free verse made up of four irregular stanzas. The division between each of the stanzas helps to focus the reader on the specific idea that is contained within each one and the poem is organised in a fairly straightforward chronological order.
The poem begins by describing sounds in stanzas one and two and moves onto describing feelings in stanza three and four. The memories evoked by the “sounds of the day” allow
MacCaig
to explore this difficult and emotional experienceSlide6
Stanzas
Stanza One: the speaker describes natural sounds: horses, a bird, waves and a waterfall. On its own, this stanza paints a pleasant picture and indicates the speaker’s delight in nature
Stanza Two: The shut door, described in the second stanza, is the turning point of the
poem. Here
the ideas move from a delight found in a variety of natural sounds to a reflection upon one specific experience
Stanza Three: The personal nature of the poem is apparent in the third stanza as the speaker addresses the person who has
left. We
get the impression of a figure, suddenly alone, faced with the consequences of a separation.
Stanza
Four: Honest
assessment of how deeply he has been affected by the
experience. The
relationship has meant a lot to the speaker and the separation, though painful enough during the moment itself, has left a lasting impressionSlide7
Stanza One
When a clatter came
,
it
was horses crossing the ford.
When
the air creaked, it was
a
lapwing seeing us off the premises
of
its private marsh. A snuffling puff
ten
yards from the boat was the tide blocking and
unblocking
a hole in a rock.
When the black drums rolled, it was water falling sixty feet into itself.
Poem begins by listing the “sounds of the day”
What is most significant is the acuteness and descriptiveness of these distinct sounds in emphasising how alert the speaker is to them.
He can hear it because of the silence that surrounds him – it is an enriching and still environmentSlide8
Stanza One
When a
clatter came
,
it
was horses
crossing the ford.
When
the
air creaked, it was
a
lapwing
seeing us off the premises
of
its private marsh. A
snuffling puff ten
yards from the boat was the tide blocking and unblocking a hole in a rock. When the black drums rolled, it was water
falling sixty feet into itself. Inverted list – it is the sound that comes first.In this instance it is the sound that is most important (as the title suggests) Slide9
Stanza One
When a
clatter
came
,
it
was horses crossing the ford.
When
the air
creaked
, it was
a
lapwing seeing us off the premises
of
its private marsh. A
snuffling puff ten yards from the boat was the tide blocking and unblocking a hole in a rock.
When the black drums rolled, it was water falling sixty feet into itself.
MacCaig uses onomatopoeia and alliteration to imitate these specific soundsThere is a strong sense of the power of nature. Theme of importance of Natural World established.Slide10
Stanza One
When a clatter came
,
it
was horses crossing the ford.
When
the
air creaked
, it was
a
lapwing seeing us off the premises
of
its private marsh.
A snuffling puff
ten
yards from the boat was the tide blocking and
unblocking a hole in a rock. When the black drums rolled, it was water falling sixty feet into itself.
Humorous image – personificationShow how territorial the lapwing is
Air creaked – very detailed description of the sound – emphasises how still and quiet the poet must have beenSlide11
Stanza One
When a clatter came
,
it
was horses crossing the ford.
When
the
air creaked
, it was
a
lapwing seeing us off the premises
of
its private marsh. A snuffling puff
ten
yards from the boat was the tide blo
cking and unblocking a hole in a ro
ck. When the black drums rolled, it was water
falling sixty feet into itself. Stanza finishes with the first hint that the poem may have a darker meaning that the first stanza suggets
CK -
consonance/harsh sounding
words
Black drums rolled – hints at darker undertones (ominous and brooding)
Foreshadowing the mood and tone to comeSlide12
Stanza Two
When the door
scraped
shut, it was the end
of
all the sounds there are.
The silence that allowed him to hear so keenly the sounds of the natural world has returned, yet this silence is oppressive and suffocates the speaker’s aural sense.
Turning Point in the PoemSlide13
Stanza Two
When the
door
scraped
shut
,
it
was the end
of
all the sounds there are.
Door is a metaphor for the end of relationship and suggests a barrier that cannot be crossed.
Hyperbole of final statement – underlines the significance of the moment.
No pleasure in sitting listening to sounds
Scraped –
Same harsh
constonent
sound as at the end of stanza one
Scraped has connotations of pain and hurt
Clear sense of the despair and pain that follows a parting
Idea that nothing will be the same again
(links to Memorial)Slide14
Stanza Three
You left me
beside the quietest fire in the world.
Move away from sounds to feelings and emotions
This single sentence stanza explains the reason for this shift in mood.
The speaker implies the impact of the parting is that he is no longer to hear and take pleasure in sounds – the huge impact of the loss. Slide15
Stanza Three
You left me
beside the
quietest
fire in the world
.
Use of personal pronouns.
Accusing tone (similar technique used in Memorial)
Unambiguous statement
Word choice – again emphasising the lack of sound. Contrast to stanza one.
Use of hyperbole – communicate the extreme pain he is feeling
Suddenness of the silence
Paradox – being alone should make you hear more not less yet this is not the caseSlide16
Stanza Four
I thought I was hurt in my pride only,
forgetting that,
when you plunge your hand in freezing water,
you feel
a bangle of ice round your wrist
before the whole hand goes numb.
Complexity of emotions that comes when there is a parting.
The final verse is utterly bleak
The focus of the poem moves from sound to touchSlide17
Stanza Four
I thought I was hurt in my pride only
,
forgetting that,
when you
plunge
your
hand
in freezing water,
you feel
a bangle of ice
round your wrist
before the whole hand
goes numb.
Initial feeling is on the surface – he thinks it is his feelings are not badly hurt at first
Word Choice – plunge emphasises the
suddeness
of the parting
Paradox – hand is how you normally feel but by plunging it in ice he cannot feel
He conveys the emotional pain that still lies, like the hand, beneath the surface even if he is numb to it at the moment.
Metaphor – raw initial grief of someone leavingSlide18
Themes
The closing door is an important image in the poem and introduces the theme of loss and parting.
For the speaker, the separation is significant and painful. He feels his life has been changed and his senses have been altered forever.
MacCaig
explores how parting affects us in a significant way. He captures both the initial, difficult pain of a break-up but also the lasting effect such experiences can have on us.
Love is usually depicted in poetry positively, yet this love has resulted only in pain and heartbreak, leaving the reader to consider whether this relationship has been worth the pain of parting.