How the Poem Makes Its Point
Image after image, all saying one thing
AI Generation Prompt
Watercolour painting — an ultra-wide cinematic banner (16:5). An open page from which written words lift off and transform into small birds, scattered weeds, and showy blossoms drifting away — the poem's images made visible. Dreamlike, glowing against a dark ground. Loose luminous watercolour washes, soft wet-on-wet colour bleeds, granulation and visible paper grain, glowing against the dark ground. No text, no labels.
The poem hammers one idea home by dressing it in image after image. Use the highlighter to find its devices, then work through the appreciation questions.
Identify the poetic device in each and explain what the poet conveys: (i) 'But words, like summer birds, depart' (ii) 'heart, a pilgrim upon earth' (iii) 'words are of as little worth / As just so many weeds' (iv) 'If words could satisfy the chest … Oft satisfy the least!' (v) 'Like plants that make a gaudy show / All blossom to the root / But whose poor nature cannot grow / One particle of fruit!'
(i) Find four sets of rhyming words and state the rhyme scheme. (ii) Which words are repeated, and why? (iii) Stanzas 4, 5, and 6 end with exclamation marks — what emotions do they express?
The poem keeps saying the same thing — words often fail — but in a new image each stanza (birds, weeds, a pilgrim, a feast, a fruitless plant). Why doesn't this repetition feel boring? What does each fresh image add that simply repeating the idea would not?
Take a moment to form your answer before reading further.
Q1.'But words, like summer birds, depart' is an example of:
AI Generation Prompt
Watercolour painting — an ultra-wide cinematic banner (16:5). An open page from which written words lift off and transform into small birds, scattered weeds, and showy blossoms drifting away — the poem's images made visible. Dreamlike, glowing against a dark ground. Loose luminous watercolour washes, soft wet-on-wet colour bleeds, granulation and visible paper grain, glowing against the dark ground. No text, no labels.
The poem hammers one idea home by dressing it in image after image. Use the highlighter to find its devices, then work through the appreciation questions.
Identify the poetic device in each and explain what the poet conveys: (i) 'But words, like summer birds, depart' (ii) 'heart, a pilgrim upon earth' (iii) 'words are of as little worth / As just so many weeds' (iv) 'If words could satisfy the chest … Oft satisfy the least!' (v) 'Like plants that make a gaudy show / All blossom to the root / But whose poor nature cannot grow / One particle of fruit!'
(i) Find four sets of rhyming words and state the rhyme scheme. (ii) Which words are repeated, and why? (iii) Stanzas 4, 5, and 6 end with exclamation marks — what emotions do they express?
The poem keeps saying the same thing — words often fail — but in a new image each stanza (birds, weeds, a pilgrim, a feast, a fruitless plant). Why doesn't this repetition feel boring? What does each fresh image add that simply repeating the idea would not?
Take a moment to form your answer before reading further.
Q1.'But words, like summer birds, depart' is an example of: