analysing as level poetry-a survey by william stafford

Analysing Poetry:: 

Analysing Poetry: A Survey by William Stafford

William Stafford: 

William Stafford -Born in Kansas on January 17 th 1914/ Died: 1993 -1933: Graduated from Highschool -1937: Graduated from the University Of Kansas -1939: Enrolled at the University of Wisconsin to begin graduate studies in Economics -1940: Returned to Kansas to earn his Master’s in English, but was drafted during WW11 before it could be obtained As a Pacifist, Stafford worked in roles varying from fire fighting to building roads 1944 Stafford met and married Dorothy Franz 1947 Finished his Master’s at Kansas His thesis about time spent during the war as a conscientious objector ‘Down in my Heart’ was published 1948 Stafford began work at Lewis & Clark college, Portland 1954 Gained a P.H.D in creative writing from University Of Iowa 1963 his collection of poems ‘Travelling Through the Dark’ won the National Book Award for Poetry

Structure: 

Structure A Ballad- story telling 5 stanzas Voices/Tense 3 rd Person A feeling of Us/Them Present (1 st )/Past (2 nd , 3 rd )/Present (4 th ,5 th ) Language Naturalistic Sophisticated Use of Fricatives- delicacy, placid, hushed Rhythm Half Rhyme, full Rhyme then no Rhyme Regular structured stanzas Constant metre

A Survey: 

A Survey What can we learn from the title? Generally an observation of something…is it nature or man? The use of ‘A’ rather than ‘The’ suggests that there have been many surveys taken A survey is usually taken to gain a better understanding of something

Slide 5: 

Down in the Frantic Mountains they say a canyon winds crammed with hysterical water hushed by placid sands . Stanza One- Present Tense Almost sounds like a story telling wise person- makes the reader question who ‘they’ are… Sibilance in the stanza mimics the sound of the water Half rhyme Capital letter implies that it is the name of the mountains, however it could suggest knowledge of the area

Stanza Two- Past Tense: 

Stanza Two- Past Tense They tried to map that country, sent out a field boot crew , but the river surged at night and ripped the map in two . ‘They tried’ suggests a failed attempt This stanza is the only one that features a full rhyme this may as a result of the men’s arrival, which disturbs and forces nature to conform The idea that nature is working against man is expressed in the negative diction choice of- ‘surged/ripped’

Stanza Three- Present Tense: 

Stanza Three- Present Tense So they sent out wildcats, printed with intricate lines of fur , to put their paws with such finesse the ground was unaware . Setting nature against itself Related to a survey The sophisticated and tame qualities of nature- ‘intricate lines’ could have a double meaning as it also relates to data collection e.g. survey Half rhyme , the arrival of the wildcats has taken back possession of the land

Stanza Four-Present Tense: 

Stanza Four-Present Tense Now only the wildcats know it, patting a tentative paw, soothing the hackles of ridges, pouring past rocks and away. These words contrast strongly with those of stanza two and show how nature has its own balance The idea that nature is more complex than it appears Assonance The idea of the canyon ridges looking like the fur of the wildcats- synchronization of nature

Stanza Five- Present Tense: 

Stanza Five- Present Tense The sun rakes that land each morning; the mountains buck and scream . By the night the wildcats pad by gazing it quiet again . Continuing cycle of nature Personification of the mountains Balance of nature- Mountains scream= Wildcats gaze them quiet No real rhyme by the end of the poem

Main Themes: 

Main Themes Man’s underestimation of nature The hidden complexity of nature The continuity of nature So really it’s all about NATURE!

Slide 11: 

This presentation was created by poetryhelp101 with the main aim of aiding students taking AS level English Literature.