Jonathan- We Live Here

We Live Here

We live here.

On the eleventh floor of the hundredth twenty-fifth block,

behind the first black door next to the second grey lift.

The one marked with the crucifix, jesus and the dust,

a little thing we salvaged from our old place

as a counter to the neighbours’ talismans.

One, nailed to their door like ours and

the rest loose on their money plant,

flutters for attention, trying to convert the wind.

Like everyone else, we’ve never introduced ourselves,

or touched hands, or come closer to saying anything than

the slightest hint of our most reluctant smile,

but imagine that the joss they burn on the altar outside,

to their furious God, bearded and well-armed,

with an equal coat of dust

will one day burn us all down.

By Eric Low Soon Liang

QLRS Vol. 3 No. 4 Jul 2004

Level/ Stream: Secondary 2 Express

Objective:  Students are to identify the tone and analyse the writer’s portrayal of HDB living in Singapore

1. What do you think the poem is about?

It is the initial stage where i want the students to be able to pick up the overall idea. In this case, the writer is describing the place he lives in. This poem is picked as it is easy for students to identify with the setting and the issues being raised through the poem. 

2. Why does the author title the poem "We Live Here"?

The teacher can  get the students to think about other titles that they see appropriate for the poem. On one level, the poem is titled "We Live Here" as the poem describes where the persona lives at. On the other hand, it is presented in the tone of irony that the residents doesn't seem to know one another who stay at the same place.

3.How are the neighbours and religious items described? Use the poem as evidence to support your answer.

Students should be able to pick up the hostility amongst neighbours, as well as the fear that one neighbour has of the other neighbour's belief. From the poet's description, it would allow the teacher to go into the tone and the effect which the tone would have on the reader.

4. Why do you think the persona described his corridor in such a manner? Is it true for you too?

Students would be able to think about the tone of irony and the reason why the writer describes the corridor in such a manner. It is ironic that the nieghbours live so closely to one another but little interaction takes place for them to know one another and thus become fearful of one another's belief. Students would also be able to relate and consider if it is true for them. 

Vergissmeinnicht by Keith Douglas - Bernice's Post

Three weeks gone and the combatants gone
returning over the nightmare ground
we found the place again, and found
the soldier sprawling in the sun.


The frowning barrel of his gun
overshadowing. As we came on
that day, he hit my tank with one
like the entry of a demon.


Look. Here in the gunpit spoil
the dishonoured picture of his girl
who has put: Steffi. Vergissmeinnicht
in a copybook gothic script.


We see him almost with content,
abased, and seeming to have paid
and mocked at by his own equipment
that's hard and good when he's decayed.


But she would weep to see today
how on his skin the swart flies move;
the dust upon the paper eye
and the burst stomach like a cave.


For here the lover and killer are mingled
who had one body and one heart.
And death who had the soldier singled
has done the lover mortal hurt.

Level/ Stream: Sec2 Express

Objective:  Students are to identify the imagery used and describe how the writer’s portrayal of war is depicted through them.

First, I would let the students run through the poem on their own before playing the reading by the poet (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6b3a8_keith-douglas-vergissmeinnicht-forg_music) himself before checking their answers for question one to see if they have gotten the correct reading of it.

1. What is this poem about?

This question aims to see how well students have understood the poem on the surface level:

Students are to briefly describe what they think the poem is about – the persona is a soldier who survived the war and has returned to the battlefield. He sees an enemy soldier dead and the objects found with him; a photo of his lover together with her name and a forget-me-not flower. The persona then describes the state of the corpse which is rather grotesque

2. Pick out evidence from the poem for the following questions:

- How is the dead soldier being described?

- What is being brought into the poem that seems to be not related to war?

3. What do you think the poet is trying to imply when he contrasts these imagery?

This question aims to guide students to see how the poet enables the reader to see war through a more micro view in contrast to how it is usually depicted through the macro lens - an affair that involves politics, killings and armies of soldier.

In contrasting the images, the students should be able to come up with ideas that war is not just about the soldiers, but about those they have left behind and the futures that have died along with them. By using answers in the second question, I would also guide students to see the connotations that come with the imagery and from here, lead them to uncover the underlying meaning of the poem.

4. Why do you think this poem is titled Vergissmeinnicht? Use the following questions as guidelines to answering qn 4)

-          How is the term used in the poem?

-          Is the poem simply about war? What else is it about?

'The Planners' by Boey Kim Cheng - Elson

They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded,

filled with permutations of possibilities.

The buildings are in alignment with the roads

which meet at desired points
linked by bridges all hang
in
 the grace of mathematics.

They build and will not stop.

Even the sea draws back
and the skies surrender.



They erase the flaws,
the blemishes of the past, knock off

useless blocks with dental dexterity.

All gaps are plugged

with gleaming gold.
The country wears perfect rows

of shining teeth.

Anaesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis.

They have the means.

The have it all so it will not hurt,
so history is new again.
The piling will not stop.

The drilling goes right through
the fossils of last century.


But my heart would not bleed
poetry. Not a single drop
to stain the blueprint
of our past's tomorrow.

Level: Sec 4 Express/ Sec 5 Normal academic

'The Planners' by Boey Kim Cheng can be used to teach students about imagery and to identify the different type of imagery. It is about how city planners map, design, and change a city's landscape so efficiently for the state's progress that they remove useless relics of the past to make way for modernization.

I feel that this poem should be taught to students who are more aware of the social and modern progress that are happening around them, and how this act of progress has done away with our historical and cultural relics. Therefore, I feel that the older and (hopefully) more mature students will be able to relate to this better.


1) What do you think is the poem about. Why do you think so?

This question is asked to first check the students' understand of the poem, for them to see if their interpretations differ from one another, and to find out why are the interpretations different (cultural schema).

This question will also help them identify the theme in the poem.

2) What are the kind of imagery used in this poem?

Students should not only be able to identify what imagery is, but also to learn how to categories the group of imagery used.

"permutations", "gridded". "alignment" - mathematical imagery
"gaps are plugged", "erase the flaws", "the blemish" - dental imagery

This skill will be useful for them when they write their essays.

3) What do you think is the tone/voice in the poem? How do you know?

The tone in the poem is very important because it allows readers to identify the poet's stand of the issues mentioned/concealed in the poem. Yet, very often, students are unable to identify the tone of the poem. Therefore, by asking this question, not only can the teacher check if students are able to identify tone, students can also learn from others who are able to identify tone, and to give valid evidence to support their claims.

4) "Anaesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis". What do these terms mean? What do you think the poet is trying to suggest here?


This question is asked to give an example to help students learn how to identify the tone in the poem. It highlight just how much the city planners will do to push for the city's advancement. The fact that the phrase suggests numbing and brain-washing also helps students to see what the persona/poet's feels about the process of physical change, thus contributing to the tone of the persona/poet.

"The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke - Robiah

The Soldier

If I should die, think only this of me:

That there’s some corner of a foreign field

That is forever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,

A body of England’s, breathing English air,

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter learnt of friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

                                                Rupert Brooke

LEVEL: Sec 2 Express
Theme: War Poetry

I will either use this poem alone, or compare it with Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et decorum est”. I will get students to discuss the concept of patriotism during World War 1. Students will get to explore the different portrayals of war through in-depth analysis of the tone and mood utilised in the poems. I will use a youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rix-LsinsoE) to allow students to hear an oral reading of the poem. This will help students get a better idea of the tone and mood and how these factors contribute to the themes of patriotism in the poem.

1.     After reading Rupert Brooke’s “The Soldier”, are you able to identify the setting of the poem? How did you manage to identify the setting? Describe the setting.

This question aids in allowing students to first be able to establish the poem’s setting by picking out on specific keywords and hints before they go more in-depth into the themes surfaced in the poem. By ensuring that students are clear with regards to the time in which this poem is set in (World War 1) and the place it is referring to (England) , students will  be able to get a more comprehensive understanding of the poem.

2.     (Based on question 1)  What impression of England does Brooke give?

Here, students have to look at the poem in a more specific manner, picking out words and terms such as “forever England”, “her flowers to love”, “English heaven” to understand how the use of descriptive and figurative language leads to the poet’s positive portrayal of England as a country worth dying for. I will also surface the poet’s use of personification of England as a lady (repeated use of “her”) who is worth protecting and treasuring.

3.     What do you think the tone in the poem is? What about the mood of the poem?

As students listen to the reading of the poem in the youtube video, students may have a better idea of the tone in the poem. I will emphasize the importance of tone in a poem and how it has a great impact with regards to conveying a certain meaning or a specific message to the readers. I will also get students to explain the feelings evoked through the use of tone in a poem. In this case, students will have to be able to discuss the tone of pride and joy used in the poem. Linking this to the mood of the poem where the soldier appears to look upon his death as honorable and an occasion for cheer and “laughter” suggests the soldier’s willingness to sacrifice his life for England.

4.      Now that you have looked at and discussed the earlier questions, how do the setting, mood and tone in the poem contribute to the themes in the poem? How does this relate to the poet’s intention of writing the poem?

While students looked only at specific aspects of the poem in the earlier questions, students now have to look at the poem as a whole. By using their knowledge of the setting, tone and mood of the poem,  students now have to establish the poem’s theme which is patriotism and the respectability and honor of dying for a country like England. The way in which the soldier seems to have an intimate and close relationship with England , referring to himself as “a dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware” reaffirms the poet’s positive perspective of patriotism.

After going through the poem in this manner, I will then tell the students about the poet’s background (as someone who never managed to serve as he died from sickness prior to the fighting). Students can then discuss how this has changed their perception of the poem with regards to the credibility of the poem’s message about sacrificing his life for England. Here, we can bring in Owen’s poem for comparison purposes. 

Picnic on the Lawn by Vernon Scannell - Jasmine

Picnic on the Lawn



by Vernon Scannell



Their dresses were splashed on the green

Like big petals; polished spoons shone

And tinkered with cup and saucer.

Three women sat there together.



They were young, but no longer girls.

Above them soft green applause

Of leaves acknowledged their laughter

Their voices moved at a saunter.



Small children were playing nearby;

A swing hung from an apple tree

And there was a sand pit for digging.

Two of the picnicking women



Were mothers. The third was not.

She had once had a husband, but

He had gone to play the lover

With a new lead in a different theatre.



One of the mothers said, ‘Have you

Cherished a dream, a fantasy

You know is impossible, a childish

Longing to do something wildly



‘Out of character? I’ll tell you mine.

I would like to drive alone

In a powerful sports car, wearing

A headscarf and dark glasses, looking



‘Sexy and mysterious and rich.’

The second mother smiled: I wish

I could ride through an autumn morning

On a chestnut mare, cool wind blowing



‘The jet black hair I never had

Like smoke streaming from my head,

In a summer swoop on a switchback sea.

Surf-riding in a black bikini.’



She then turned to the childless one:

‘And you? You’re free to make dreams come true.

You have no need of fantasies

Like us domestic prisoners.’



A pause, and then the answer came:

‘I also have a hopeless dream:

Tea on the lawn in a sunny garden,

Listening to the voices of my children.’



Lesson Objective: How the use of diction in poetry contributes to the overall meaning in a poem.


Class: Secondary Three Express/ Average Ability



1. What is happening in “Picnic on the Lawn”? Who are the main characters in the poem?

In this stage, I want my students to get a general idea of what the text is about – three women at a picnic and having a conversation about their dreams. I also want my students to specifically identify the two groups of women in the poem – two “mothers” and a woman who is “childless” and “once had a husband”.


2. How are the women’s dreams in the poem described? What do these descriptions suggest about the women’s dreams?
I would expect students to pick out dictions such as, “childish”, “impossible”, “out of character” and “hopeless”. The latter question would then enable students to link the dictions and their connotations to the bigger picture of women and their dreams.

3. What is the significance of the phrases, “You’re free” and “Like us domestic prisoners” in the second last stanza of the poem? What do they imply about the how the women perceive themselves and others?

Here I would expect my students to focus on the dictions, “You’re” and “us” and the binary oppositions of “free” and “prisoners to reflect on how they represent the dichotomy between married and unmarried women.


4. How does the final stanza serve as an irony of the women’s dreams?

Résumé by Dorothy Parker (Azizah's Post)

Resume by Dorothy Parker

Razors pain you;

Rivers are damp;

Acids stain you;

And drugs cause cramp.

Guns are lawful;

Nooses give;

Gas smells awful;

You might as well live.

This poem will be used to teach a beginning class of Secondary 1 Express students, and/or Secondary 1 NA students. The reason for the choice is simple; the poem is manageably short, and the offer some of the poetic devices like tone, irony and imagery succinctly. The subject matter is also identifiable, and provides a good teaching moment/point for teenagers to channel their angst about the world into poetry, rather than attempt and be overly indulgent in contemplating suicide.

1)       What is the rhyme scheme? Describe the form of the poem.

§  To read the poem aloud; the rhyme scheme is ababcdcd. This poem is selected because it the rhyme is easily identifiable, and is a good introductory to poetry at large.

§  The poem itself is very short. Could they be anything to it to suggest that life is short, and it might not worth even contemplating suicide.

2)       What do you think the story is about?

§  The subject matter is about suicide, and the cumbersome problem(s) associated with each suicide method. And this questions whether it is worth the effort to attempt suicide. Teachers can also bring in the moral obligations that complicate and weighs heavily on suicidal people. à Why do people contemplate suicide? What are the problems that afflict them greatly to such an extent to encourage them to end their lives? Teachers will be able to possibly develop and train empathy in students.

§  Teachers can then add on to the discussion of the poem and debate the impact it will have on the family/friends of the people who committed suicide. In addition, for the subsequent lesson, teachers can choose to explore further with poems that deals with death. This will create a sense of coherence and continuity.

3)       What is the tone of the poem?

§  There’s a sense of irony to the poem. Although seemingly whimsical, the subject matter and the extent of the effectiveness of this poem is more than meets the eye.

4)      Highlight the significance/irony of the title.

§  What is the message the poet is trying bring across?

§  Consider what the poem means to you personally?

http://www.essortment.com/analyzing-poetry-64004.html

I found the above website pretty helpful in analyzing the poetry better, and teachers can extrapolate the discussion there to come up with more scaffolding questions.

Izzan's

Morning Train by Alfian Sa'at




Why do you not look at each other's

Faces? Is the scenery that arresting,

One housing estate giving birth

To yet another copy?

Or the advertisements, read and re-read,

As if behind a slogan's promise lay

Hidden promise? Answer me:

Is that consciousness rising in you,

Dissolving your fatigue like a plastic sheet

Warping in heat, or is that simply

Sleep, draining away from you

Down to your soles, to the invisible tracks

Where the dew is dying? Where electricity

Is what pushes you to the borders

Of your own loneliness, against

The vulgar loneliness of crowds


Level- Secondary 3 Express Level

I chose the above poem firstly as a tribute to Singaporean Poetry. The use of local poems has many benefits mainly due to students being able to relate better to the poem and its Singaporean context.

The poem by Alfian Saat serves as a critique of our Singaporean society as one which is always marketed politically and commercially as a social cohesive, multi racial and interacting community which through the poem’s perspective is simply hypocritical in his practice. I feel that the poem here serves many purposes in only allowing students to infer its themes but to allow them to think about the message that the poem is sending with regards to our country.

After reading the poem students will have to answer these few questions?

What is the poem about?

This serves as the basic structure for analyzing poetry. Teachers must take note that this is a primary level of inference and so students should just explain briefly what the poem is about. Alternatively, if the teacher feels that students may digress here too much due to their poem’s overwhelming context, teachers may choose instead to ask

Why does Alfian Saat title the poem “Morning Train”?

It serves to place the context of the poem in a physical aspect which is here inside an MRT train. From there students may be better placed to understand the poem. This is especially useful for lower ability or foreign students whom may not know the Singaporean context and environment as other students do.

What does the use of questions serve in the poem? How does this describe the tone of the poem?

In the poem, tone plays a very crucial role. It serves as the reason why Alfian Saat wrote the poem. Saat’s harsh and sometimes overbearing tone can be seen in his use of questions. The questions asked in the poem are not passive but rather harsh and almost aggressive in its nature. Teachers may point out the use of words such as “vulgar” as evidence to his harsh tone.

What role does this poem play with regards to the Singaporean identity?

This question has two main purposes to it. Firstly it serves as a broad perspective in which the themes of the poems can be covered under it. In order to think of the Singaporean identity, students will use this as scaffolding when inferring and defining the themes of the poem.

Secondly, this question serves a reflective role. By using what instead of a how or a why, it allows students to think about the message that the poem is saying and adopt their own opinions and views with regards to it. Students may question Saat’s themes as they may perhaps mention how through the title morning train, people tend to be more restless in the morning and therefore it does not serve adequately as a proper reason for their behavior.