Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by Mary O’Neill
11. Suggest two things that are red from the poem.
It shows bravery.
Your face turn red.
strawberry.
It bleeds.
Yes, because they represent important things in our lives.
sunburn and brick
because it is a bright colour.
Life is colourful.
It will be boring.
Colours are fun.
Stay positive and seek for help when needed.
Literature: What is Red? by Mary O’Neill
Interpretation:
Line no. Line RED is the colour of…
1 Red is sunset Hot and bright sun
11 Red is a brick
Loud and high pitch sound of a musical band
18 Fire-flicker red –
19 And when you’re angry
Red runs through your
20 head. Your head feels hot with anger (hot temper)
21 Red is an Indian, Reference to the native American tribe
Romantic love
22 A Valentine heart.
23 The trimmings on
24 A circus cart. The bright red decorations on a circus cart
The colour of lipstick that women love to wear
25 Red is a lipstick
Loud call or cry (to show a strong emotion)
26 Red is a shout
27 Red is a signal
A warning of danger (to be on the look-out / to be
28 That says: “Watch out!” alert)
29 Red is a great big A big rubber ball
(small children are always attracted to a red ball)
30 Rubber ball.
31 Red is the giantest Red is the most widely seen colour around us / the
colour that we will notice immediately around us
(‘giant’ already means very big. ‘giantest’ is just to
make it sound extremely big)
32 Colour of all.
33 Red is a show-off, Obviously easy to see/notice/display
(Some people use red simply to attract attention –
maybe for personal reasons)
34 No doubt about it –
35 But can you imagine The question emphasizes the fact that our life
would be dull and boring without red as a colour in
36 Living without it? the world.
Positive and Negative Traits of Red: violent
Positive keywords include: ………………………………………..
action THEMES:
energy and speed Courage
attention-getting Red is the warmest of all colours.
assertive and confident Positive versus Negative
energizing Prosperity
stimulating Life and vitality
exciting MORAL VALUES:
powerful Bravery/Courage
passionate Determination
stimulating Love
courageous and strong Positive attitude
spontaneous Confidence
determined MORAL LESSONS:
adventure We should have a positive attitude
Negative keywords include: in our daily life
aggressive Have self confidence in doing
domineering everything and anything
tiring Be brave/courageous in facing the
angry challenges in life
quick-tempered We must try to control our anger or
cruel temper
fearful We should not be hateful towards
intolerant others
rebellious We must try to change our bad
hateful behaviour form 2