I'll be taking Eng. Lit. for SPM(M'sian form 5 exam) next month. So I was wondering if some nice people here would help me with some poems.. =) First poem I'll give is A Figure Forgotten In Hours Not-of-Need by Kee Thuan Chye. -------------------------------------------------------- You are not the purest of women but you toiled for your children, throwing morals coyly to the wind. [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] How else could we have grown up [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] with cushioned settees to sit on [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] and hot cuisine to nourish our hungry souls? [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] I’m reminded of a time[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] when I refused to talk to you [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] and miserably moped to the floor [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] my tale of spite. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] You took me by the hand, [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] said how little I knew of hardship, [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]and we cried. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] Now, in helpless moments, [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] I think of you, [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]a figure forgotten [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] in hours not-of-need, [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] but a comforter of the past [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] who caught cockroaches with bare hands. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] Sons grew from your breasts [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] to yearn for the breasts of others [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] and daughter, when married, belongs to the in-laws; [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] but behind your tears of loss [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] lies the meaning of resilience. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] And though it’s a sin to grow old [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] and to lose your dearest treasures, [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] you stoutly go your humdrum way [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] while I curse the drudgery of life. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]I’m still afraid of cockroaches. [/FONT] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]But when I think [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]how little love I’ve shown you in return, [/FONT] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]I sometimes cry. ----------------------------------------------------------- Can anyone identify literary devices such as metaphors and onomatopoeia? Is 'humdrum' considered an onomatopoeia? And I can't seem to find any metaphors.. perhaps 'to lose your dearest treaures', but that doesn't seem much like a metaphor. Any other literary devices identified would be appreciated. I've already identified a few alliteration and assonance elements, but do post them anyway. The poem's language is rather simple as compared to western poems, but I feel that it has its own kind of beauty. [/FONT] I really hope I get replies for this.. why do I get the feeling I won't?
^^Just my 25 cents..^^ ..I seem to notice also some bit of metaphors in your poem, although still trying to figure out what it is, myself..I also see a bit of realism, being depicted in your poem, and to an extent in/thru your metaphors..It's very interesting though.. As for replies, don't you worry, i'm sure our wilfredlgf and one of Gollum and perhaps robin7, will probably sneak in here and chime in on your poem.. *Your blog is an interesting read, as well..
Mind picking out the metaphors for me? I'm really not too sure which are metaphors in this poem.. Hehe, I hope they do 'sneak in here'. This poem has me slightly confused, and I can't seem to find any notes/guides on it online. My blog? Only certain 'fiery' posts I supposed.
As someone with an interest in poetry I feel a little dismayed! Poetry is like taking a bath...you immerse yourself in the words, let them wash over you and enjoy the experience. You shouldn't have people telling you what kind of bath salts etc have been used. Rather allow yourself time to think and when that moment comes when you get a hint of an aroma and can work out for yourself what bath salts etc have been used...well, there's nothing quite like it. There's an easy to read book by Stephen Fry called "The Ode Less Travelled" on poetry analysis. Personally, I think the starting point for you should be to ask yourself whether you are clear in your mind about the meaning of terms such as metaphor, simile, juxtaposition, oxymoron, onomatopoeia, asonance, alliteration etc. Once you are clear about what these terms mean the rest will slowly become clear as you lower yourself into the bath of poetry!
She asked and frankly my answers were mostly filled with, "What do you mean?", "What literary devices?", "I don't get it?". She could've asked me something simpler like O Levels additional mathematics or something, but poetry is really not my cup of tea.
Yes, I hate to do this to literature too, but I've run out of time to 'immerse myself slowly in the bath'. With my exam less than a month away and 11 other subjects to prepare for, I really need some help with the poems. I'm afraid 'the moment' may come a mite too late. Yep, I'm pretty much clear on the literary devices. But I just can't seem to find them in A Figure Forgotten in Hours Not-of-Need. Come on.. help me out here.. sounds like you can help me a lot.. No, not definitions of the terms, but to identify its usage in the poem.. Sorry if I confused you. Maybe you'll be of some help when I ask about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet someday. Additional Mathematics=easier?? At least I can understand English Literature.. can't say the same for Math, much less Add Math.
6 hours, actually. Hehehe I slept at 5.45am and woke up at 12noon. I'm usually a nocturnal creature during exam seasons, nights are so much more peaceful.. better studying environment. Don't hijack my thread! Poem poem! Perhaps you'll like to share about the 'visual' structure of the poem?
A dead metaphor is one in which the sense of a transferred image is not present. Example: "to grasp a concept" or "to gather you've understood." Both of these phrases use a physical action as a metaphor for understanding (itself a metaphor), but in none of these cases do most speakers of English actually visualize the physical action. Dead metaphors, by definition, normally go unnoticed. Some people make a distinction between a "dead metaphor" whose origin most speakers are entirely unaware of (such as "to understand" meaning to get underneath a concept), and a dormant metaphor, whose metaphorical character people are aware of but rarely think about (such as "to break the ice"). Others, however, use dead metaphor for both of these concepts, and use it more generally as a way of describing metaphorical cliché. (taken from wikipedia) from the poem i see three possible dead metaphors (i might be wrong. i just thought i would give it a go. glad my SPM days are over though ) : 1. throwing morals coyly to the wind. [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]2. and hot cuisine to nourish our hungry souls? [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]3. but a comforter of the past [/FONT] i am not at all good at poetry, but i like it even if i dont understand it sometimes. and i think i like this poem too. i wonder though why the peom started with "you are not the purest of women". is it because the mother in this poem is a woman of the night? meaning a woman who does whatever it takes to raise her children even when it means selling her soul and body. and the cockroach representing how low she would have gone for her children. not afraid of being seen as dirty and doing a job most others will baulked at. thus the child's proclaimation of "while I curse the drudgery of life. [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]I’m still afraid of cockroaches." which i think means that he/she are reluctant to go that low even when he/she are faced with hardship. i could be so wrong here but i believe we all see a poem differently. all our experience and all our emotions will make us see the poem differently. this is how i see it. i know it will not help you much but maybe it will trigger something in your mind and hopefully you would see the poem too. [/FONT][/FONT]
Wow, dead metaphors! I really never knew they existed, as a matter of fact, it's rarely found in websites/books that list out literary devices. Yes, I think you've identified the 3 correctly as dead metaphors. Yes, most people interpret the 1st line to mean that the mother could have been a prostitute, or holds some other less-than-ethical job. I thought so about the catching cockroaches part too. She is willing to do anything and everything considered unclean for the well-being of her children. The persona feels that he cannot stoop that low, despite 'the drudgery of life'. Yes, it did help me a lot, esp. the dead metaphors part. Will do further research into it. Thanks. Any idea if the line, "and to lose your dearest treasures" is a metaphor? "And though it's a sin to grow old", could it possibly be a hyperbole? Is growing old really a sin? Or I shouldn't take the meaning literally?
i think the "and to lose your dearest treasures" line could be a metaphor since treasures in this case means her children.
on the "and though it's a sin to grow old" line, i am not sure it is a hyperbole since it does not sound like an exaggeration. i think....maybe.....i dont know.....did i mentioned i am glad my SPM days are over yet?
Yeah.. perhaps. I don't like this poem after all. The other poems have so many literary devices it's easy to find. Yes, you emphasised that fact. Twice, in fact. But hey, my time is coming too. Dec. 3rd 2007!!! Aiks, too many emoticons used. Nvm, they were suitably used. Hehehe.
hehehe.....i always think that all this desecting of a poem are not useful. a poem is seldom facts and answers like maths. a poem is more an expression of emotion and you cant count or put a value on that. i always judge a poem by how it makes me feel. if i understand what it is trying to say of if it is similar to something that happened in my own life then i would probably like it. dont worry too much about SPM though i have a feeling you wont be having much trouble with it. plus, it is just an exam . it does not put value on your self worth. geniuses have been school dropouts before. hahahahahahaha.
Haha.. but in an exam, we have to. Especially in the M'sian education system. Hahaha... I have to worry.. am targeting a specific scholarship.. if I don't get that scholarship than it's form 6 for me. Form 6 isn't half that bad, but securing that scholarship is better than taking another gamble in yet another public exam(and hoping for YET ANOTHER scholarship). With public exams, you never know if your paper got messed up big time by an examiner.. hence I use the word 'gamble'. Plus I have an elder brother that scored 13A1s in SPM. Lol! I've already told my family not to expect such remarkable results from me.. look at me, still going for a badminton tournament next Sunday. Anyway, just allow this thread to die off.. it did get better response than I expected..
yeah, exam sucks. but i hope your pass with flying colours of the rainbow and i know how hard it is being compared to another sibling who sets high standards. i am no good at exams too but i think it is ok nonetheless. i am happy as it is. just enjoy what you do. meaning if you love badminton enjoy it too. good luck!
