The Tables Turned

The Tables Turned - A Poem by William Wordsworth

The Tables Turned
(An Evening Scene on the Same Subject)

Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you'll grow double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?

The sun, above the mountain's head,
A freshening lustre mellow
Through all the long green fields has spread,
His first sweet evening yellow.

Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.

And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your Teacher.

She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:
We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.

SPECS AND SLIMS

Subject matter

The subject matter of this poem is that Wordsworth is trying to convince either a split personality or a friend to go outside and experience the beauty of nature. His friend/personality is clearly someone who lives in books stated by “Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;” but Wordsworth is trying to convince him to put them down.

Purpose

The purpose of this poem is that Wordsworth is trying to convince his friend to go out and see the beauty of nature. I believe that this friend symbolises the human race and how they are destroying the earth with the industrial revolution.

Emotion

- excitement as he is trying to make going outside seem fun to his friend

- awe and amazement at the beauty of nature

Craftsmanship

- Structure

…

- Language

Rhyming and the use of unusual words to create a sense of mystery and excitement. Almost mystical in his language choice. Refers to ‘Nature’ with a capital because he is referring to it as a deity.

- Imagery

Strong, lots of metaphors and lots of unusual adjectives. Such as “Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health, Truth breathed by cheerfulness.”

- Movement

Rhyming helps the flow. It flows well.

- Sound

Little assonance, every second line rhymes.

Summary

….

Setting the Scene through Language Choices

Tonight's homework is fairly simple, in that it requires you to go back to the Prologue of Alice Pung's Unpolished Gem and write a paragraph that discusses how the author utilises language choices to construct the colourful atmosphere of the market and the interaction between Alice's father, the stall holders and other customers. In your paragraph, you should aim to explore how Pung positions the audience to view the market place and its customers though her use of language. Your paragraph needs to be proof-read and edited before you place it on your blog and the task must be completed by tomorrow's lesson.

The prologue for Unpolished Gem utilises many different language choices to construct the colourful atmosphere of the market. She uses descriptive language, metaphors, similes and many more. Her descriptive language is interesting though; her word choices are not normally the kind of works you would use to describe something. By doing this she has created a very convincing picture of a foreigner in a new land. “When they haggle over the price of trotters, there is much hand gesticulating and furrowing of brow because the parties do not spick da Ingish velly good.” The significance of this quote is that it is showing us the strange but successful way Pung has used slang to help set the scene of a foreigner in a new land.

Journey Through Memory

I don’t know how this memory started. It seems to only have a middle and an end. All of a sudden I’m in the middle of the pathway walking down a dimly lit street with trees lining the right side. I vaguely remember my friends are walking in front of me but I don’t know who they are, only that they are my friends. It is raining and I’m wearing a black party dress and dominatrix style heels. My feet are killing me and I’m cold. It smells like rain on hot concrete which is strange because its night and very cold. Even though it’s dimly lit I can make out the holes in the pathway and the little green weeds sprouting through. The street lights are orange and only occasionally a car goes by. I heard a rustling and as I turn around my dress flaps around my knees. There is no one there. “The wind”, I say to convince myself. I hear the noise again and this time I see a dark figure hop into the trees. I hurry to catch up to my friends but they seem so far away. I run but the pathway stretches out in front of me and all of a sudden the figure is in front of me. He is wearing all black clothes and he’s quite tall. He is looking down and his hood is up so I can’t see his face. He slowly looks up and as his purple eyes meet mine. The world goes black and I crumple to the ground.

My Journey

I wake up, something is different. It takes me awhile to pin-point what it is but when I do I realise it’s raining outside. I get up and stretch to the sound of water gently trickling out of the drain beside my window. It is relaxing, it makes me want to go back to sleep but sadly I cannot I am on a tight schedule. I look around my room, everything is grey and blurry I haven’t got my contacts in yet. I slowly make my way to the bathroom crashing into door-nobs along the way. It is in there I experience my first colours. I steadily put my contacts in feeling the soft edges blanket my iris. I blink and a world of colour is refocused in front of me. I wash my face, realising I should of put my contacts in later as I get soap in my eye. I drowsily make my way back to my room. I put my uniform on deciding whether to grab a jumper or not. I do anyway realising its better to be safe than sorry. I grab my already packed bag and drag myself into the kitchen to make coffee. It tastes bitter, sweet, strong, just how I like it. I feel energised and ready after my first cup. I say goodbye to the supervisor and make my way downstairs. The door is on green, yes, I made it in time. I open the door to the sweet smell of rain. It is dripping from the roof and from the leaves as I make my way across Boarder’s Quad. I enter the day school. I look around me, I see a peppy blonde girl talking to her friends. I cross paths with a sullen girl listening to her iPod trying to drown out her thoughts. I walk past a small girl reading under the balcony, she looks up at me with sad eyes. I run into my friends, they have new gossip, new news. I listen patiently with wide eyes and a wider smile. Waiting to tell my own stories my own jokes, but I run out of time as the bell rings. I run up the stairs two at a time so I am not late for form, entering my room just as my name is called out for the roll. I sit down in my chair and school begins.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening – Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sounds the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

1. List all the things that Frost sees. Rank them in the order that you would find them attractive.

From most attractive to least attractive.

- Frozen lake

- Dark evening

- Woods

- Little Horse

- Village

- House

- Harness bells

2. What are the images and ideas that Frost reflects upon when he has stopped?

He is reflecting upon the thoughts of his horse, and he is giving his horse thoughts and feelings it wouldn’t usually have. About how his horse “must think it queer”.

3. Imagine that you are Frost. Write what you would say to your wife when you returned home from your journey.

Do not understand.

4. Is there a deeper meaning to the poem? What do you think it is?

I believe there is a deeper meaning to this poem. The last two paragraphs are referring to how he wants to be alone but he simply can’t because “But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep”. I also believe this poem is about the desire to explore the unknown “To stop without a farmhouse near between the woods and frozen lake, the darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake to ask if there is some mistake.”

5. Comment on the use of three poetic devices in the poem. (Especially the use of rhyming and repetition in the last line).

The three poetic devices used in this poem are rhyming, repetition and imagery. The use of rhyming helps with the flow and makes it easier for the reader. The use of repetition in the last two lines is helping the reader understand how important that statement is. Frost uses imagery in this poem to help understand what is going on and to help the reader picture everything.

6. The poem draws attention to two conflicting desires: the desire to be alone and to explore mysterious, challenging or even dangerous places, thoughts or objects, and the desire to a sociable person who responds to the company of others. Trace these ideas through the poem.

The desire to be alone and to explore is evident through “He will not see me stopping here” the significance of this is that Frost is talking about a mysterious ‘he’ and how Frost is trying to get away and explore. “To stop without a farmhouse near” is signifying his need to be near others and his desire to be social.

7. What aspects of the journey are being emphasised?

When he stops and starts his journey again.

8. Explain why this poem does or does not appeal to you. Justify your answer with quotes from the poem.

This poem appeals to me as I can relate to the author needing to be social but also wanting to explore the unknown. “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep” signifying his need to explore but also his need to be social and be on his way.