ASSIGNMENT #1
Assignment #1 is due. This assignment will account for 10% of your overall mark.
Instructions: Read the following poem and answer all the questions that follow.
“Absence”
I visited the place where we last met.
Nothing was changed, the gardens were well-tended,
The fountains sprayed their usual steady jet;
There was no sign that anything had ended
And nothing to instruct me to forget.
The thoughtless birds that shook out of the trees,
Singing an ecstasy I could not share,
Played cunning in my thoughts. Surely in these
Pleasures there could not be a pain to bear
Or any discord shake the level breeze.
It was because the place was just the same
That made your absence seem a savage force,
For under all the gentleness there came
An earthquake tremor: Fountain, birds and grass
Were shaken by my thinking of your name.
Questions
- In a single word or short phrase, state what you consider to be the most dominant subject or idea that the poem communicates. (1 mark)
- In a single sentence, state the theme or statement that the poem makes (implies) about the subject you selected. (2 marks)
- Identify and list three effective techniques or devices that help to convey this statement. For each device you identified, write a brief statement (one sentence) explaining its effectiveness (what it contributes to the poem, its function). (6 marks)
- Taking into consideration your responses thus far, formulate a working thesis you could use to guide your analysis of this poem. (5 marks)
- Using between 80 and 100 words, present the introductory paragraph (which of course must include your thesis) of the critical analysis essay you would write. (6 marks)
Total: 20÷2=10