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Title: Take a look at the title before you even read the poem. What could it mean? How does the title provide hints to the poem’s topic, purpose, tone, e.t.c. Sometimes, the title is very straightforward – that tells you a great deal about what to expect from the poem. Often, the title is somewhat cryptic in nature - that should tell you something about what to expect, too Title: The title explains that the reader is going to be informed about the cliffs Of Moher. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paraphrase: Sentence #1) Who created this wonderful land. Is it a God? Sentence #2) Different generations of people lived on this mystical land. Sentence #3) Get information from past ancestors about stories. Sentence #4) The people that go to the cliffs sight glorious views with spirits rising. Sentence #5) Rising above the cool sights at Moher. Sentence #6) Mystical land just full of wonderful views better than words can describe. Sentence #7) The person’s father or spiritual God created the mystical land. Sentence #8) The founding father of the land or God created the environment because he controls earth, sea and air. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Connotations: The devices that are being used in this poem are repetition, personification, and imagery. Repetition occurs as the speaker talks about thinking back to the time of his father, his father, and his father, and so forth. This is to emphasize that the speaker wants us to think back to the beginning of time. . Personification is used as the speaker is comparing his father to the sea, air, and earth in the last line of the poem. He is saying that his oldest ancestor is the land and sea of the Cliffs of Moher Elaborate. Imagery is used as the speaker is describing the landscape of the cliffs. Imagery is being used in the poem when the author is describing how the landscape looks while he or she is on the journey “Rising out of present time and place, above the wet, green grass.” The writer wants you to have a mental image of the cliffs and how beautiful the landscapes are including the grass. - EBW. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Attitude: What is the tone of the writing? If you have trouble determining tone, start by deciding whether the tone is positive or negative, and then become more precise from there. Attitude: The tone of this poem is positive in very mysterious ways,
S Shift: There is a shift of some sort in nearly every writing written. It might be a shift in tone, in subject matter, in meaning, in rhyme scheme, in time period, in point of view – anything. Look for the shift, and then decide why the poet has a shift in that particular place. Shift: There is a shift in point of views and meaning within the poem. for example the first sentence Who is my father in this world, in this house, At the spirit’s base? The character in this story is trying to figure out who his or her father is and what he has done with is life what is his purpose. Near the middle of the story, there is a shift because the characters point of view changes due to experiences for examples My father’s father, his father’s father, his-- Shadows like winds This thought presents that the character has some type of idea on who his or her father is in the spiritual world. Near the end of the poem, the character seems to know his or her father all the way round. This is not landscape, full of the somnambulation Of poetry And the sea. This is my father or, maybe, It is as he was, A likeness, one of the race of fathers: earth And sea and air. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- T Title: Take another look at the title. What does it mean to you now that you’ve analyzed the writing? Why did the author title the writing what he or she did? Title: Its the answer to the first question who is my father? and who am I? What are the wonders and secrets of this mysterious land. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- T Theme: In a paragraph, explain the theme. In other words, what statement about life is the poet making? The previous steps should all culminate into identifying the theme. Your explanation of the theme should be thorough, stating the theme and then providing evidence. Be careful: theme is difficult to nail down, and all too often students put down the subject matter instead of the theme. Theme: The theme in this poem is that nature can be spiritual. Also, it says that nature is a supernatural experience that can purify the soul and people can gain a love for nature. In the poem, the quote “a likeness, one of the race of fathers, earth and sea and air” proves the point that people can gain a love for nature. In addition, the poet says that there are secrets and wonders in the Earth that are very mysterious. This is exemplified by the quote “this is not landscape, full of the somnambulations of poetry and the sea.” This is the theme of the poem. |
The Irish Cliffs of Moher
Who is my father in this world, in this house, At the spirit’s base? My father’s father, his father’s father, his-- Shadows like winds Go back to a parent before thought, before speech, At the head of the past. They go to the cliffs of Moher rising out of the mist, Above the real, Rising out of present time and place, above The wet, green grass. This is not landscape, full of the somnambulations Of poetry And the sea. This is my father or, maybe, It is as he was, A likeness, one of the race of fathers: earth And sea and air. |