Literature: Critical study

Acitivity 8.4: Discussion "Aedh wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" by William Butler Yeats, 1899.

1) Name three qualities that you liked about this poem.

First of all I liked the complex words this poem haves, it gives the whole poem a different perspective and it makes it look way more artistic. As well I liked the extended metaphor this poem has, the figurative language used is incredible. Another aspect that I enjoyed from this poem was the whole idea of it, the idea of being a gentleman and all is a topic of my appeal.

2) Name three aspects that you did not like or didn't understand abut this poem.

Well first of all I didn't liked the rhyming pattern, it's just way too boring to read as it doesn't make any good combination of sounds; other than that I enjoyed the poem.

3) Think of three questions you would ask the poet if you could speak to him.

I would ask if this poem is dedicated to someone, if the answer is yes, then who is that someone. Another thing I would be interested to know is how he got inspired to write it. And last but not least why he chose such a rhyming pattern.

Activity 8.5: Read the poem 'Beauty' again and choose words from the poem that appeal to each of the senses. Organize the words in columns in  table, like the one below. One word may fit into more than one category. Examples have been included.

Discussion:

Beauty

is a fat black woman

walking the fields

pressing a breezed

hibiscus to her cheek

while the sun lights up

her feet

Beauty

is a fat black woman

riding the waves

drifting the happy oblivion

while the sea turns back

to hug her shape

1) Describe what is literally happening in each line. Try paraphrasing the action that occurs.

The main idea of the first stanza is to describe what beauty is, maybe to contradict the main stereotype of a blue eyed blonde being the image of Beauty. A fat black woman may not be attractive physically but Im guessing that the idea of the author is to say that the beauty it's not only referring to our physical attributes but for the attitude of the person as well.

2) What do you say to the claim that this is a poem about love?

I don't believe that this poem talks about love in any way, Im sure that the main theme of the poem is to talk about the beauty's stigmas and how the society describes and decides what's beautiful and what is not.

3) Comment on the rhyming scheme of the poem. How is it like the sea?

There's a rhyming pattern on the first stanza, but on the second one we're able to see a blank rhyme scheme, I guess this sounds may sound like the sea as the sea makes a noise that can't be repeated, a very particular sound that it's easy to recognise.

Activity 8.6:

For the extracts below state: 

1) Wether they are smilies or metaphors

2) What the literal and figurative terms are

3) What is named and/or what is implied