At Home Poems

At Home

When looking at the poems you need to be aware of three areas:

1. Content
– What is the poem about?
–  Themes – and development of themes.
– Why those themes were introduced?

2. Structure
- How the poem is laid out
- Structure of words e.g. amount of syllables in each line etc.
- Stanzas – which can be any different length, or free verse. (Generally use Stanza if unsure)
- Verses – repeated structure, all the same length.
- The overall structure of the poem e.g. the link between content, development and rhyme. Note rhyme can also be internal e.g. a rhyme occuring in a line, for example. ‘Now we had arranged, through notes exchanged’ – Kipling’s Pink Domino.
- Rhythm – regular, irregular?
- Metre – repeated pattern of rhythm consisting in syllables (U = unstressed, - = stressed) imagine you are reading out allowed, where would the emphasis from each syllable fall?
- Note an Iambic rhythm is a series of unstressed and then stressed syllables e.g. U – U – U – U – U – this is common in poetry, and gives a pushing type feel. Most common = iambic pentameter consisting of five unstressed/stressed syllables. Iambic rhythms often have variations in poetry.
- Iambic pentameter contains a form of poetry known as ‘blank verse’ which is unrhymed.
- Punctuation – long sentances, short sentances, use of caesura – sudden pause in middle of line of a metrical verse, ellipses. 

3. Language
- Lexis is the choice of vocabulary used, rather than the grammar or syntax. Lexis focuses on the choice of metaphors and similes etc.
- Colour of the language – full of colour, drained of colour?
- Voice
- Use of tense

At Home – the underlying theme for all 17 of the poems studied is Home.

Title / Author    ‘The New House’ by Edward Thomas
Context    Edward Thomas was an English poet who lived between 1878 – 1917. Many of his poems are based on the theme of nature.
Content    - Moving into a new house and anticipating all the bad things to come. This suprises the reader and challenged conventions associated with moving as moving into a new house is usually seen in a positive light.
- First thing he hears is the wind ‘and the wind began to moan’. The wind is personified which intensifies the feeling of loneliness, as the wind appears to be his only companion. Which suggests he is on his own.
- The use of ‘suddenly old’ has a proleptic quality, and also depicts the way the voice is feeling.
- ‘Suddenly old’ also illustrates, what will happen during the time of living in the house, and gives the poem a sense of haunting.
- Poem is anticipating pain and suffering that has not happened, gived the poem a pessimistic feel.
- Could also be suggesting, that optimism is pointless, as everything is inevitable (future perfect tense).
- Lack of ‘we’ in…