ENGLISH MODULE

LITERATURE COMPONENT
POEM
FORM 4:
1. LIVING PHOTOGRAPH
2. CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE

FORM 5
1. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO LULU
2. POISON TREE

CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE

 The Charge of the Light Brigade

BY LORD ALFRED TENNYSON

I
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,

All in the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.
Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns! he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
II
Forward, the Light Brigade!
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
III
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred

Answer all questions:

1. Which war was The Charge Of The Light Brigade about? Which countries involved in
the war?

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2. According to the first stanza, how many armies rode into the battle?

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3. In stanza one, what does the phrase The Valley of Death refer to?

They were surrounded on all sides by cannons. The enemies were fully prepared for the
attack and expected them to come into the valley.
4. Why do you think the poet refers the valley as The Valley of Death?

Because they were attacked by cannon balls fired from the right, left and infront.

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5. Why did the soldiers ride to their death?

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6. In stanza 1, what was the light brigade ordered to do?

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7. What kind of weapon did the Light Brigade use?

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8. What weapon did their opponents/enemies have?

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9. In stanza 2, what does the word dismayed suggest?

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10. Did the light brigade armies feel discouraged? Why?

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11. In stanza 2, what does the line someone had blundered suggests?

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12. Write the meanings of the following lines:

i) Theirs not to reply

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ii) Theirs not to reason why

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iii) Theirs but to do and die

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13. Who won the battle?

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14. Give 2 qualities to describe the six hundred men.

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15. If you were in the army and your commander told you to fight in a battle where you
most likely die, what would you do? Why?

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16. Do you believe that war is sometimes necessary?Why?

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17. Is it noble to follow orders without asking questions? Why?

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18. Which word in stanza 1 means attack?

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19. In stanza 3, which word means an explosive sound?

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20. How far did the soldiers have to ride?

21. Why does the poet use the expression do and die?

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22. Why is the valley described as jaws of death or mouth of hell?

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LIVING PHOTOGRAPH
 My small grandmother is tall there,
straight-back, white broderie anglaise shirt,
pleated skirt, flat shoes, grey bun,
a kind, old smile round her eyes.
Her big hand holds mine,
white hand in black hand.
Her sharp blue eyes look her own death in the eye.
It was true after all; that look.
My tall grandmother became small.
Her back round and hunched.
Her soup forgot to boil.
She went to the awful place grandmothers go.
Somewhere unknown, unthinkable.
But there she is still,
in the photo with me at three,
the crinkled smile is still living, breathing.

Answer all questions:

1. Which line tells us that the persona was close to her grandmother?

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2. In stanza 2, which word means something unacceptable and terrible?

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3. Which word means a bent back

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4. Which word in stanza 1 refers to the posture of the person?

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5. Which phrase shows that the grandmother is not afraid to die?

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6. In stanza 3, which word means creased

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7. Which line tells us that the persona and her grandmother are of different race?

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8. What is the main theme of the poem?

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9. Which word in stanza 1 refers to a hairstyle usually sported by old ladies.

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10. With whom did the persona take the photo?

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11. How old was the persona when the photograph was taken?

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12. Describe the grandmothers apperance as stated in stanza 2.

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13. Why do you think the grandmother forgot to boil the soup?

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14. The crinckled smile is still leaving and breathing

i) why do you think the smile is crinckled?

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ii) Why is the smile described as still living and braething?

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15. Why do you think the grandmother wore flat shoes?

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16. Describe the grandmothers skirt and shoes.

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17. Describe what grandmother was wearing in stanza 1.

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18. In stanza 1, what words or phrases sow that grandmother is still young?

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19. Why do you think the persona says her grandmother is still living?

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WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO LULU

1. Based on the poem, who is the persona.

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2. What is the situation in the home of the persona?

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3. In stanza 3, what does the personas mother do to show her feelings?

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4. From stanza 1, what can be seen on Lulus bed?

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5. Whose voices do you think the persona heard?

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6. Give textual evidence to show that Lulu most probably left in a hurry.
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7. Give two pieces of evidence which indicate that Lulu has disappeared.

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8. What does the shortened name of Lulu in line 2 suggest?

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9. Refer to stanza 2 in the poem:

a) How old do you think Lulu is? Give reasons.

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b) Is her age important?

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POEM 1 : THE LIVING PHOTOGRAPH (by Jackie Kay)

Stanza 1
Line
1 My small grandmother is tall there,
2 straight-back, white broderie anglaise shirt ,
3 pleated skirt, flat shoes, grey bun,
4 a kind, old smile round her eyes.
5 Her big hand holds mine,
6 white hand in black hand.
7 Her sharp blue eyes look her death in the
eye.
Stanza 2
Line
8 It was true after all; that look.
9 My tall grandmother became small.
Meaning
The personas grandmother looks tall in the
photograph.
She is standing with good posture, wearing an
embroidered lace blouse.
She wears the blouse with a pleated skirt, non-
heeled shoes and her hair in a bun.
She is smiling kindly.
Her big hand is holding the personas hand.
The contrast of their skin colours can clearly be
seen in their linked hands.
Her grandmothers blue eyes suggests that her
death is near.
Meaning
The personas reference of death came true.
The grandmother became thinner and more
fragile.
10 Her back round and hunched. Her back became hunched.
11 Her soup forgot to boil. She became forgetful.
12 She went to the awful place grandmothers
Soon, she passed away.
go.
Upon her death, she went to a place that no
13 Somewhere unknown, unthinkable.
one knows.
Stanza 3
Line Meaning
However, in the photograph, her grandmother
14 But there she is still,
will always be alive.
The persona was there years old in the
15 in the photo with me at three,
photograph with her grandmother.
Her grandmothers smile is still so alive and
16 the crinkled smile is still living, breathing.
real.
Moral Value
1 We must treasure our loved ones when they are alive.
We must spend as much time as we can with our loved ones while they are still
living
When they pass away, all that will be left are the memories, as is illustrated in the
poem.
2 It is difficult to lose a family member.
It is always difficult to deal with the death of a loved one.
The persona loses her grandmother when she was younger but she will always
remember her.
3 We must never forget the importance of family relationship.
We should not forget to love and care for our family, especially our grandparents
who are the pillars of a family.
When they are old and sick, we must continue to take care of them.
Summary of Stanza 1
The persona is looking at an old photograph of her grandmother and herself. She
describes the photograph her grandmother is standing tall and straight, dressed in a
white embroidered lace blouse with a pleated skirt, and flat shoes. Her grey hair is pulled
neatly into a bun. She is smiling kindly while holding the personas hand in hers, giving
her the security and comfort. As the persona describes their linked hands white hand in
black hand it is clear that they come from a mixed race family. The last line seems to
suggest that the persona knows that her grandmothers death will come soon.
Summary of Stanza 2
While the first describes the photograph, in the second stanza, the persona is
remembering her grandmother later, when she is older and has become ill. The persona
recalls how her grandmother soon grows thinner and more fragile. Her back is hunched
and she becomes forgetful as is illustrated in the line, Her soup forgot to boil. Eventually,
she passes away and upon her death, she goes to an unimaginable place.
Summary of Stanza 3
However, in the photograph, the personas grandmother will forever be alive. She is still
there, holding the hand of her three-year-old granddaughter, with her smile looking so
alive and real.
Themes
1 The everlasting quality of
a photograph
A photograph immortalizes a person or a moment. What is captured in a
photograph will remain alive forever.
In the poem, the personas grandmother has already passed away. However,
in the photograph, she will always be healthy and alive.
A photograph also allows us grandmother passes away to reflect on what
happened in the past and relive our memories.
2 Death
Death is a definite outcome for all of us.
 In the poem, the persona recalls how her grandmother was once strong and
healthy but soon grows older and becomes ill.
In the end, the grandmother passes away and the persona is only able to relive
her memories with her grandmother through a photograph.

OVERVIEW

The Charge of the Light Brigade was written by Lord Alfred Tennyson. Those who can still
remember the poem Monsoon History would still remember the line Reading Tennyson at
six p.m. . Anyway, this poem was inspired by a true event that happened during the

Battle of Balaclava that occured on 25 October 1854 in the Cremean War between the British
and the Russian. As the name suggests, the Light Brigade was supposed to pursue a retreating
Russion artelliry battery, a task well-suited to a light calvary. However, due to
miscommunication in the chain of command, the Light Brigade was sent on a frontal assault
against the more well-prepared artelliry battery specialised in defensive fire.

A POISON TREE : LITERATURE : FORM 5 POEM

POISON TREE DISCUSSION -

Compliments to owner of
1) enotes.com and
2) leelachakrabarty.wordpress.com
for the use of their notes .
Hopefully this entry will add more to students' understanding.

http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/topic/poison-tree

https://leelachakrabarty.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/the-poem-a-poison-tree/

A discussion on the poem 'A POISON TREE' by William Blake

A Poison Tree

I was angry with my friend:

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I watered it in fears,

Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,

Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine.
And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole

When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

Wiles A trick to deceive

A wile is a cunning trick. Here, it suggests that he may be planning

some sort of a devious scheme for his enemy

Wrath Extreme anger

Foe An enemy

Outstretch Stretch out/ extend/ spread out

Veiled When the night veiled the pole

A concealing cover

pole North pole/ South pole

Watered it he "waters" and "suns" his anger, much like one would water and
in fears and provide sunlight for a tree.
sunned it
with smiles As the poem puts it, he "waters" the anger with his tears, and then
"suns" it with the false smiles he offers his enemy.

The poet means for us to see ourselves in the persona who nurtured
his anger at his enemy by watering it with his "tears" and sunning it
with his deceitful "smiles." If we stuff down our anger, pretend we're
happy, and don't resolve our conflicts, our anger will grow and grow
until it becomes like a poisonous plant that will hurt other people.

Till it bore an
apple bright. Bore : to produce or yield
And my foe Past tense of bear
beheld it ( bear fruits)
shine.

Beheld it shine : see it shining

The narrator explains that the plant (his anger) grew "both day and
night" until it produced fruit. The narrator says that it is an apple, but
it's simply a metaphor for a lure. The speaker uses that apple to lure
his enemy into the garden and be poisoned.

Then he grows angry at an enemy. Rather than communicate with his

enemy and hash the problem out, he holds the anger inside. As the
poem puts it, he "waters" the anger with his tears, and then "suns" it
with the false smiles he offers his enemy.

Eventually, this anger grows and grows until it becomes a tree that
bears a shiny, poisonous apple. The enemy eats the apple and dies.

Metaphor-A growing apple tree is an extended metaphor for the growing anger
and it shows how destructive anger can be. The title A Poison Tree is the
central metaphor. The apple has become poisonous as it has been nurtured
with anger. In other words, the tree grew with negative emotions. When
we stay angry for a long time, we may become A Poison Tree (a
person full of negative emotions).
Setting-The personas garden. The garden where the apple tree grows. The
apple tree that features the apple which lures the enemy.

Symbolism-The apple represents anger. The apple grows large till it ripens.
Similarly, anger grows till it becomes vengeance.

Themes:

Managing Anger: It is not totally wrong to be angry. However, it is rather

important for us to know how to deal with anger. If we nurture our anger, it
might grow and be harmful to us. In this poem, two ways of handling anger
were shown with different outcomes. In the first scenario, the
anger disappeared but in the second the anger grew into something
aggressive and negative.

Importance of Communication: As shown in the poem, if the persona had

communicated with his enemy, his anger would have been controlled. However,
his refusal to communicate has allowed anger to become something that is very
destructive. Therefore it is oftenbetter if we can communicate with people
on the issues that is bugging us. The poet indirectly is trying to persuade his
readers to talk about their anger. We can talk about it not only with our friends
but with our enemies too. If we talk, the anger might just reduce and it might
just ease our troubles. In turn, it will prevent us from causing hurt unto others.

Moral Value

The poem tells us about the disastrous consequences of ones own failure
to communicate with another person.

Compliments to leelachakrabarty for these info :

https://leelachakrabarty.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/the-poem-a-
poison-tree/

What is the poem about:

"A Poison Tree" examines the effects of unresolved anger.

In the poem, the narrator or persona first gets angry at a friend. He talks to his
friend and that dialogue resolves his problem so that he can forgive his friend.
Then he grows angry at an enemy. Rather than communicate with his enemy and
hash the problem out, he holds the anger inside.

As the poem puts it, he "waters" the anger with his tears, and then "suns" it with
the false smiles he offers his enemy.

Eventually, this anger grows and grows until it becomes a tree that bears a shiny,
poisonous apple. The enemy eats the apple and dies.

Our personal connection to poem:

The poet means for us to see ourselves in the persona who nurtured his anger at
his enemy by watering it with his "tears" and sunning it with his deceitful
"smiles." If we stuff down our anger, pretend we're happy, and don't resolve our
conflicts, our anger will grow and grow until it becomes like a poisonous plant
that will hurt other people. The poet shows us a different and healthier path in
the first stanza, where the persona confronts the friend who makes him angry
and works out the problem. The poem suggests that we have a choice about how
we behave and that resolving our issues with others is far better than letting
them fester.

Sources:

http://www.enotes.com/topics/poison-tree/themes

What is the moral In this Blake poem, an individual who hides and nurses
of the poem "A his anger is contrasted with a person who goes
poison tree?" immediately and tells his "friend" why he is angry.

The person who confesses his anger is able to get over

it and move on.

The person who buries it from his "enemy" pretends

everything is all right. Meanwhile, beneath the surface,
the anger festers.

The man waters his anger with his tears and suns it with
false smiles. By doing this he cultivates his anger so
that it grows bigger and bigger.

Finally, the anger grows into a tree that bears

 poisonous fruit.

The moral of the poem is that we should not nurse

our anger towards another person but confront the
person who hurt us and work out our issues
directly. Otherwise, we become something
poisonous that destroys other people.

In the poem "A Poison In "The Poison Tree," the point of the poem is that the anger we hold
Tree" why did the onto grows into something ugly and poisonous that hurts other
persona's wrath end people.
when he told his friend
about it?
Blake contrasts this to anger we get over.

One good way to overcome anger is to talk about it with the person
who angered you. If you can trust another person enough to confide
in him and her, you can clear up misunderstandings and give the
other person the opportunity to tell his side of the story and explain
what happened. It also offers the other person the chance to
apologize, because often people don't even know they have
offended. With this kind of communication, forgiveness and
reconciliation can occur. Then you can move on with your life.

In contrast, as the poem shows, if you dwell on your wrath without

trying to resolve it, it becomes bigger and bigger and more and more
poisonous--Blake imagines it as a poisonous apple--and becomes
especially poisonous if you pretend to the person who offended you
that nothing is wrong.
 In "The Poison Tree," the persona deals with his anger
How did the while his enemy is still alive by nurturing it.
persona of "A
He does this in two ways. First, as Blake puts it, he
Poison Tree" deal
"water'd it in fears / night and morning with my tears."
with his anger
This means that when the persona wakes up in the
while his enemy
was alive? Give morning and when he goes to bed at night he
two things he did. remembers over and over how he has been hurt by
his enemy. He dwells on his "fears": how his enemy
could hurt him again, and he thinks about his enemy
with "tears" over the original injury.

The persona also pretends that nothing is wrong.

Blake states it this way: "I sunn'd it [his anger] with
smiles / And with soft deceitful wiles." Rather than
confront his enemy or talk it through, the persona
stuffs his anger down and pretends everything is fine.
He smiles at his enemy. He is kind on the surface to
his enemy. Meanwhile, the unresolved anger grows
and grows.

We don't know how the enemy injured the persona,

but the poem leads us to believe that whatever it was,
the persona blows it (or grows it) all out of proportion
both by dwelling on it silently and by pretending
publicly that he is happy.
Sources:
http://www.enotes.com/topics/poison-
tree/themes

wrath - extreme anger (kemarahan)

foe - enemy (musuh)
watered - pour or sprinkle water over (siram)
fears - feeling of afraid (ketakutan)
tears - (air mata)
sunned - (mencahayakan)
deceitful - dishonest (menipu)
wiles - lure (umpan/permainan)
bore - carry (bawa)
bright - (terang)
beheld - seeing something impressive
shine - a quality of brightness (berkilat)
stole - past tense for steal (curi)
veiled - cover (tutup)
glad - grateful (bersyukur)
outstretched - stretch out body (badan terlentang)
beneath - under (bawah)

Questions/Exercises:
Stanza 1

1. In stanza 1, which word in the poem means 'anger'?

- Wrath.
2. Whom did the persona remain angry with?
- His Foe/enemy.
3. In stanza 1, give the phrase that says the persona hid his anger
- 'I told it not'.
4. In stanza 1, give a reason why the persona's wrath ended.
- He communicated to his friend and let out his anger.
- He talked about it.
- He didn't keep it to himself.
5. In stanza 1, why do you think the persona's wrath grew?
- He kept it inside.
- He told no one about it.

Stanza 2
1. What is the anger compared to?
- A tree
2. Why do you think the persona was crying?
- He was very angry.
- He was disappointed.
3. ' And with soft deceitful lies.' What does this line tell us about the persona?
- The persona is cunning/deceitful.
4. Why did the persona smile even though he was angry?
- He is pretending.
- He doesn't want anyone to know he is angry.

Stanza 3
1. 'And it grew both day and night.' What is 'it?
- His anger/wrath.
2. What does the apple represent?
- His anger.
3. In your own words, explain the phrase 'soft deceitful wiles'.
- Cunning tricks/ deceitful acts/ to lure

Question 32 is based on the following passage. Choose the best answer to fill in each blank.
 Tanjong Rhu is a simple (i)______ profound story about the relationship between Mr. T.W. Li, a rich
(ii)_________ in the shipping business and his mother (Ah Ma). Mr Li has his office at Shenton Way
and is modern in his ways and ideas. His mother is traditional with strong religious (iii)_______ and
practices ancestor worship religiously. They have a close relationship although Mr Li does not seem to
realize it. The day (iv)_________ Ah Mas funeral, Mr Li recalls the day he (v)_______ his mother
about using binoculars or see-far glasses. While he wants her to have (vi)________ vision with the
binoculars, she however, (vii)_________ to see her husbands shipyard in Tanjung Rhu with the
binoculars. She uses them but does not see anything. (viii)_________, she tells Mr. Li she sees his
childhood days when they enjoyed (ix)________ on Tanjung Rhu beach in her minds eyes. Mr. Li
cannot (x)_________ all these details and wants to ask Ah Ma further. But , she (xi)________ very
sick and is unable to talk much. She manages to (xii)________ the urgency of a hidden key to the altar
(xiii)______ she draws her last (xiv)__________. He promises to (xv)__________ this last wish of
hers. But, he is unable to find the key.

i. A. but vii. A. hoping

B. and B. hope

C. yet C. is hoping

D. or D. hopes

ii. A. businessman viii. A. However

B. fisherman B. Instead
C. apprentice C. Therefore
D. owner D. Thus

iii. A. believe ix. A. walking

B. beliefs B. walked
C. believing C. walks
D. belief D. have walked

iv. A. before x. A. remembered

B. during B. remembers
C. while C. remembering
D. after D. remember

v. A. tell xi. A. becoming

B. told B. becomes
C. has told C. has became
D. was telling D. became

vi. A. better xii. A. convey

B. good B. conveyed
C. best C. is conveying
D. bad D. conveys
xiii. A. before
B. after
 C. during
D. when

xiv. A. wish
B. view
C. breath
D. death

xv. A. convey
B. deliver
C. guide
D. fulfill [15 marks]