Igcse poetry notes english Literature (0427) may/june 2013



IntroductionThese notes are a brief analysis of the selected poems for IGCSE English Literature for the May/June 2013 examinations in the USA. They are intended for high-ability students, to aid discussion among themselves, or with their teachers. Poetry is sometimes difficult to analyse and comment upon, as one person’s interpretation may not be another’s. Please be aware that the notes are my interpretation of each poem, and should be used in conjunction with other materials, resources, and worksheets to have the best results. Nonetheless, these notes can be a useful starting point for students and teachers, and to stimulate discussion for each poem.Poetry selection:From Songs of Ourselves: The University of Cambridge International Examinations Anthology of Poetry in English:130 – Any Soul to Any Body, Cosmo Monkhouse-18167104460For each poem there will be only partial annotations of the poem, as it is assumed that teacher/student discussions may draw out more salient points. This set of study notes is intended to be improved upon, and any feedback for suggested improvements or additions would be welcomed via email at Samantha@00For each poem there will be only partial annotations of the poem, as it is assumed that teacher/student discussions may draw out more salient points. This set of study notes is intended to be improved upon, and any feedback for suggested improvements or additions would be welcomed via email at Samantha@Any Soul to Any Body, by Cosmo MonkhouseBackgroundWilliam Cosmo Monkhouse was not a professional poet but he loved poetry and art. He was born in London in 1840, and died in 1901, having been married twice. He had a humorous style in several poems, and wrote several limericks, including my favourite, There was a Young Lady of Niger.Monkhouse had strong religious beliefs, though this poem about death does not overtly link religion to the parting of body and soul. In spite of the serious topic matter about death, Monkhouse injects a light tone, even self-deprecating humour, into the poem.Structure and languageThis poem has five stanzas, each with eight lines, and with a definite visual structure in each stanza (though this may have been a typesetting issue for the Cambridge anthology book). Only the second, fourth and sixth lines are indented, with the last two lines in each stanza containing a rhyming couplet (two end words rhyme). There is also a rhyme scheme to each stanza, though it is not uniform: stanzas 1, 4 and 5 each have one unrhymed end word, whereas stanzas 2 and 3 are balanced. The rhythm and meter of each stanza is also not as uniform as expected. Stanzas 2 and 4 contain ten syllables in each, though the lines are a mixture of iambic pentameter (stressed and unstressed syllables) and dactylic pentameter (stressed, unstressed and unstressed, for example – For/give me, tis’ not my ex/per/i/ence). For the other three stanzas, there are a few lines of eleven syllables mixed in with lines of ten syllables, though there is a rhythm to the stressed and unstressed syllables. Poets will sometimes use structure to keep poems regular or uniform in an attempt to control the subject matter, for a number of reasons. The somber topic of death and the parting of the body and soul in this poem may have led Monkhouse to keep the fairly uniform rhythm of the poem – perhaps to bring solace to the reader or poet when dealing with imminent death.Monkhouse also uses a conversational style with enjambment (the continuation of the sentence over a line break) and caesura (a pause in the line, using punctuation). The conversational style is also illustrated by the use of personal pronouns, introduced on the first line ‘you and I’ and continued through each stanza.Repetitive sounds are used throughout the poem, as alliteration (similar sounds at the beginning of phrases) like ‘company…clove…close’; ‘whate’er the weather’; ‘tear or two’; or as assonance (similar sounding vowel sounds in words) such as ‘clove to me so close’; ‘leave…beneath’; ‘think…wicked’. Repetitive sounds or repeating words is a common effect used in poetry – to give emphasis, to highlight emotions or underscore thoughts or central themes, or to create sounds (either pleasing or discordant) when reading the poem aloud. How repetition is used and how it is interpreted can be based on the individual’s analysis of a poem.In this poem about the soul and the body, it seems that the repeated words and sounds are intended to soothe and comfort the reader who may be feeling uneasy about the subject matter. In fact, rather than the poem being morose, Monkhouse uses an almost lighthearted conversational tone.This poem both describes the inextricable linking of the soul to the body in life, and the parting of the soul from the body in death, according to Christian theology. The soul is considered immortal, whereas the body’s mortality is seen as it ages, decays and perishes. References to the body’s mortality are made in the fourth stanza, and though such subject matter could become weighty, the poet appears nonchalant. This could be taken, from the soul’s perspective, as a way to gently shed the body that has come to the end of its use for the soul; if the poem had been written from the body’s perspective, would the same tone and language have been suitable?The language used in this poem is meant to be inclusive and comforting, as references to marriage and friendship are found throughout, for example ‘so many pleasant years together’, ‘my departing friend’, ‘dear body’, ‘a friend more true’. Yet, looking briefly at each stanza will help to highlight an undercurrent of uneasiness and shifts in perspective.The first stanza introduces the soul as the controlling force in the partnership, and though complimentary about the body, is matter-of-fact about the aging body reaching ‘the limit of your tether’. This metaphor symbolizes the inability of the body to stay entwined with the soul, and links to the religious doctrine of death.The second stanza shows the conflict that the soul experiences with ‘they’ – a reference to staunch Christians who consider the body wicked, weak and apt to sin. Monkhouse shows conflict from the soul’s perspective ‘tis not my experience’ and for feeling sadness at leaving the body ‘a clod, a prison’. There is even remorse felt that the soul was kept from shedding tears and instead had to think about being ‘very glad’ at becoming ‘free’.The third stanza is more retrospective than previous stanzas, and more serious. Even though the soul, according to religious ideology, is meant to be pure and strong as contrasted with the weakness and wickedness of the body, there is reference to the body’s strength. The body’s honesty in showing emotions with ‘a blush or stammering tongue’ have kept the soul from ‘unworthy schemes’ and lying. So in this stanza, the soul is giving credit to the body.By the fourth stanza, a lighter tone is used in the first four lines. References to Christianity are found with ‘first design’ either meaning the body as a baby, or as the first body, Adam. The admission that the body is not as handsome as before, partly because of the soul, may be referring to the lack of strength of mind, or bad decisions made that had a physical impact on the body. The tone becomes more somber and dark in the last three lines, as the soul feels pity for the body being placed in a ‘friendless grave’. As Decay is capitalized, it takes on a powerful persona, commanding ‘all the hungry legions’ (soldiers or workers) to work on the body. This is quite a sinister turn to the stanza, but Monkhouse returns to a more detached perspective in the last stanza.There is another reference to the close relationship between soul and body, and between the mother’s and soul’s joy and pride in the body. In this final stanza, Monkhouse also repeats the uneasiness that sometimes surfaces in the stanzas, and the conflict from ‘even they who say the worst about you’. ‘They’ are the Christians who see the wickedness and weakness of the body, and the purity and strength of the Christian soul – but ‘they’ are not sure about life after death, or what will happen to a person’s soul, as ‘what I shall do without you’.ToneIn spite of the seriousness of the subject material, the tone is not as dark as might be expected. There are hints of lightheartedness, almost self-deprecating humour, and yet the undercurrent of uneasiness surfaces from time to time. This poem is meant to be read in a conversational tone, and as casually as one can speak about imminent death. ThemesThough there is an obvious link with religious beliefs of life, death and the afterlife, the religious message is not overplayed in the poem. Death is the more prominent theme in the poem, as each stanza indicates that death is not far away. In keeping with Victorian poetry, the poem covers a serious topic, but in a more practical manner rather than dwelling on the religious perspective associated with life after death. Any Soul to Any BodyCosmo MonkhouseSo we must part, my body, you and IaWho’ve spent so many pleasant years together.b‘Tis sorry work to lose your companycWho clove to me so close, whate’er the weather,bFrom winter unto winter, wet or dry;aBut you have reached the limit of your tether,bAnd I must journey on my way alone,dAnd leave you quietly beneath a stone.dThey say that you are altogether bade(Forgive me, ‘tis not my experience),fAnd think me very wicked to be sadeAt leaving you, a clod, a prison, whencefTo get quite free I should be very glad.ePerhaps I may be so, some few days hence,fBut now, methinks, ‘twere graceless not to spendgA tear or two on my departing friend.gNow our long partnership is near completed,hAnd I look back upon its history;cI greatly fear I have not always treatedhYou with the honesty you showed to me.cAnd I must own that you have oft defeatedhUnworthy schemes by your sincerity,cAnd by a blush or stammering tongue have triediTo make me think again before I lied.i‘Tis true you’re not so handsome as you were,jBut that’s not your fault and is partly mine.kYou might have lasted longer with more care,lAnd still looked something like your first design;kAnd even now, with all your wear and tear,l‘Tis pitiful to think I must resignkYou to the friendless grave, the patient preymOf all the hungry legions of Decay.mBut you must stay, dear body, and I go.nAnd I was once so very proud of you:oYou made my mother’s eyes to overflownWhen first she saw you, wonderful and new.oAnd now, with all your faults, ‘twere hard to findpA slave more willing or a friend more true.oAy – even they who say the worst about youoCan scarcely tell what I shall do without you.oFor further reading:Funeral Blues, W.H.AudenMid-Term Break, Seamus HeaneyNow make your own notes based on annotating this poem, using quotations, and categorizing your notes under headings like: poem summary/overview; structure and poetic devices; language; themes; tone. ................
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