IGCSE CIE English Literature Poetry Revision- Songs of Ourselves (4)

This poetry set includes poems of Songs of Ourselves for the 2013 syllabus Part 4 with the 12 following poems : Pied Beauty, Continuum, The Cockroach, Horses, A Birhday, The Woodspurge, Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, Hunting Snake, Pike, The City Planners, The Planners and a Different History.

The part deals with canonical poetry- Pied Beauty, Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, Pike, A Birthday and The Woodspurge that is very likely to come up on the exam.

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Pied Beauty, Gerard Manley Hopkins

  • STRUCTURE-  Curtailed Sonnet, unfinished layout written in Vers Libre. Sestet of abc,abc, a quintet of dbcd, short concluding line. Contrasting assymetrical rhyme in loose iambic pentameter, stressed and unstressed beats. Contracted, Spring rhyme with the rhymes jumbled around the poem with half rhymes. 
  • The sonnet form of the poem expresses the poets intensified love and admiration to all aspects of the natural world. The irregular structure of the poem contrasts to the typical sonnet form of the poets idyllic love of nature in which Hopkins remarks the irregular pattern of the nature itself that he finds the most admirable. 
  • The very simplistic structure of the poem and its casual repetitiveness comments on the very effortless beauty of nature which the poet is greatful for. The spring rhyme with the jumbled words further portrays the assymetry of nature and creates a sense of restlessness and movement within nature, creating vivd, colourful imagery within the poem.          
  • IMAGERY-  Unusual imagery in which he mentions all the diversified aspects of nature that he is greatful for. Various colours that are used to describe quite usual aspects of nature and wildlife. 
  • SOUND DEVICES-  Sensery imagery , creates movement of colours, sounds. 
  • Sibilance, alliteration of sounds. The sibilance of certain words creates a contrasting soothing nature to the poets overall state of awe and amazement where he hushes down the pace to portray his calm state of mind compared to his previous grandeur of emotions. 
  • RELIGION-  On a deeper level the poem touches a religious aspect, with its structuting. 
  • Structure in a circular manner with the beggining praise and an end praise. It is structured in the form of a prayer to god, thanking him for all the diversified features of natures that exist.
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Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, Wordsworth

  • STRUCTURE- Petrarchan sonnet, loose iambic pentameter, ten syllabuls per line with five stressed and unstressed beats. Octave of abba, abba and an octave of cd,cd,cd.
  • Very loose rhythm and a simplistc layout of the poem. Through this the poet shows the very simplistic nature of the beauty of the manmade features, poem very unconstrained with a simple list here and a paranthetical remark there. The layout is very effortless , connects to the very simple beauty of the city that strikes the poet as beautiful.
  • PERSONIFICATION- Poet personifies the sun, river and the city. Personifies the city as having a "garment," personifies the sun and the river as having their own "sweet will," and the calm tranquil state of the "houses."  The poet, by this portrays the beauty and spirit of the city and not just merely a construction of rock and metal.
  • HYPERBOLE- The poet uses exaggerated emotions to portray the wonders of the city in an astounded manner. 
  • Begins with a superlative, creates a sense of grandeur to hsi emotional state, towards the end expresses his spiritual extasy, irrepresible amazement.
  • Uses sound devices, Sibilance to contrast the very amplified feeling, to hush the city down, with the rhythm slowing down to a nar-crawl pace. The poet almost doesnt want to wake the city up as he finds most admirable at this precise moment in the morning.
  • MOOD- awe and amazement at the beginning , and calm and tranquility at the end.
  • At the end, he feels a state of such deep calm that he had never before experienced, had not before felt with such intensity.
  • The slow, spiritual pureness of the poets mood contributes to the beauty of the manmade characterstics of the city's enchanting beauty.
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