An Apple Gathering

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Form

Ballad

- First Person Narrative

- Past Tense: Adds a sense of nostalgia, as if she is looking back, makes if effective and emotional

Allegorical Poem

- Poem with another/double purpose. 

- This has a moral purpose, to perhaps tell as a warning to the reader as shown by the anonymity of the speaker as if the reader could become the Speaker in the society this was written in.

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Stanza 1

The speaker talks about her plucking blossoms and wore them, but now cannot find any apples in season.

"Pink Blossoms" - Blossoms has symbolism of beauty and innocence, this strong symbolism shows that this poem may use the allegorical sense of the poem and not just the literal.

"Evening" - This has a sexual implication as this time of the day is associated with a lack of innocence conveying to the audience that the Speaker has perhaps lost her innocence in some way.

"No apples there" - This perhaps is a metaphor for the no love, and the no richness in her life, this creates a distraught tone and conveys to the audience that she is perhaps not happy and her loss of innocence has something to do it as shown by the lack of a rich life as symbolised by the lack of fruit which carries intense imagery. 

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Stanza 2

The Speaker walks back and comes across her neighbours

"Selfsame track" - This use of sibalance reflects her repetitive nature as a character. The character is used to this agony.

"With dangling baskets" - Not only may this be an innuendo, but it symbolises that perhaps her neighbours are showing off and the persona is a victim to their attacks. 'Dangling' seems to have negative connotations, as if the persona has had a loss of enthusiasm

"Mocked" - This adverb conveys that the persona is a shame in society. She is mocked by everyone around her and this makes us feel pathos for the character. 

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Stanza 3

The persona starts to feel bitter as she sees her neighbours passing her by

"Lilian and Lilias" - This alliteration conveys the exclusiviety of society. They are joined together by the letterof the name, obviously creating the persona as an outcast who has no way of fitting in. Furthermore, this could portray the imagery of beauty and flowers and is a contrast to the persona who 'loitered'

"Teazed me like a jeer" - This simile personifies the baskets of flowers that Lillian and Lilias are carrying. This could emphasise how the persona sees her life, so sad that even inanimate objects are mocking her, showing how desperate she has become as she has nothing and that basket is full.

"Sweet-voiced they sang beneath the sunset sky" - This sibalance creates almost a spitting tone. Although the couple are happy, the persona is seeing this love as something negative reflecting her to be very bitter.

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Stanza 4

The persona becomes envious of Plump Gertrude, wishing for fullfilment. 

"Plump Gertrude" - The adjective used to describe Gertrude could possibly be a bitter one as this adjective isn't a complementary one, it could also allude to her pregnancy which would explain her 'basket full' - this could create envy from the persona, who wants this fullfilment, therefore making her bitter and using lexical choices such as 'Plump'

"More sweet to me than song" - Here we have this repetition of sibalance. Again, creating a bitter and envious spitting tone. This reinforces the persona's need for Gertrude's life. Simply put, she is jealous and has become bitter because of this and is desparing because of it. 

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Stanza 5

The persona starts to lament about her past love

"Ah Willie, Willie" - This exclamation could perhaps signify her suffering. She is going through such pain that she is desparing over even saying her former lover's name.

"Love less worth" - This use of alliteration emphasises her wasted love. The persona puts emphasis upon this, as if it's the only thing that she can think about.

"I counted rosiest apples on the earth of far less worth than love" - This sentence takes over two lines of the stanza, signifying the importance of it to the reader. The persona is cynical about love and questions the loyalty of her lover and creates a scathing personal attack upon Willie. This conveys her bitterness and dispair over her relationshp making the audience feel pathos for the persona.

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Stanza 6

She continues to lament her relationship with Willie

"Stooped" - This could signify that perhaps she/he/society feels that the persona was not worthy of Willie's time and attention. This also has very cynical connotations and indicates a power struggle in the society.

"Laughing and listening" - The alliteration represents her fond outlook upon her past. As if there is a part of her that looks back with happiness of the time despite all of the despair in the present. The happier time of her innocence.

"We shall not walk again!" - This exclamation could convey a number of different aspects of the character. This could signify the persona becoming hysterical at the sense of losing Willie and love. Furthermore, it represents that she has lost her love and now is heartbroken. Unfortunately, showing a sense of finality - something the persona will never get back - her innocence. 

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Stanza 7

We discover that the persona has given up hope and is loitering on her past

"Let" - The idea of letting socirty mock and pass her conveys that the persona has given up all sense of hope and is not even trying to reclaim her pride. She feels she has no choice but to let herself be mocked by the people around her. This conveys that the character is so broken that she cannot function and pick herself back together. 

"ones and twos and groups" - This conveys the character's 'self same track' she is so used to the way her life is, that all of the people around her blur into groups. She is used to being judged by everyone and the audience feel pathos for her because she apparently, is so broken and without hope or pride.

Repetition of 'loitered' - This repetition emphasises how nostalgic the persona is - reinforced as it's past tense. She is constantly thinking of the present and is so bitter that she cannot move on into the present or the future. She simply loiters and is stuck, with no way to redeem herself for her past mistakes.

"Dews" - Not only does this tie together with the natural imagery throughout, this may be metaphorical for the persona crying - the audience feel sympathy for her as very obviously, she is upset due to this whole situtation and it stuck in this cycle of nostalgia and weeping.

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15nlobo

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This is amazing! Thank you so much for this resource! :)

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