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SS1: LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH - 2ND TERM

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  1. African Prose

    African Prose: Second Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta | Week 1
    5 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  2. Themes in Second Class Citizen | Week 2
    3 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  3. Characterization and Narrative Techniques in Second Class Citizen | Week 3
    2 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  4. Non-African Prose
    Non-African Prose: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison | Week 4
    4 Topics
  5. Themes in Invisible Man | Week 5
    3 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  6. Characterization and Narrative Technique in Invisible Man | Week 6
    2 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  7. African Poetry
    “Black Woman” by Leopold Sedar Senghor | Week 7
    6 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  8. Themes and Poetic Devices in “Black Woman” | Week 8
    2 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  9. Non-African Poetry
    "Bat" by D.H. Lawrence | Week 9
    5 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  10. Themes and Poetic Devices in "Bat" by D.H. Lawrence | Week 10
    2 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
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Topic Content:

  • Poetic Devices | "Bat" by D.H. Lawrence

1. Personification:

“When the tired flower of Florence is in gloom…”

The personification in the above example can be seen in the speaker’s description of the city of Florence as “tired”. The effect of the poetic device is that it shows the time setting of the activities that the speaker talks about. The “tired flower of Florence” refers to the time of the evening when the city bustles have died down.

“Swallows with spools of dark thread sewing the shadows”.

Here the swallows are personified. Their rhythmic and regular movements in the dusky skies are compared to the act of sewing. The effect of this personification is that it reflects the speaker’s particular admiration of the swallows. When he later realizes that the swallows are gone and their place has been taken over by the bats, his attitude changes.

2. Metaphor:

“When the tired flower of Florence is in gloom…”

Here, the speaker compares the city of Florence to a flower. Like a flower, the city of Florence appears buoyant and full of life in the morning but gets “tired” and dull later in the twilight and evening. This metaphor reflects the 

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Question 1

Question:

Discuss the poet’s attitude towards bats in the poem.

Answer:

The theme of strong hatred and repulsion for bats is portrayed in the poet’s attitude in the poem. The poet in the poem “Bat” shows a positive and negative attitude towards the swallows and the bats respectively. He enjoys the sight of the swallows over the Arno River. As darkness falls over the river, he sees other “things flying”. However, he is not able to immediately notice the difference between the creatures he initially sees and those that appear on the scene later. This is because, like the swallows, the bats are able to do “a circle swoop and a quick parabola under the bridge arches”. After careful consideration, the persona comes to terms with the reality of things. When the persona thinks of the late timing of the flight of the animals, he begins to reconsider what he thinks about the true identity of the “things flying”. He now discovers that “the things flying” are “never swallows” but “bats”. This discovery changes the speaker’s attitude towards the creatures flying above “under the arches of Ponte Vecchio”.

Once the poet persona realizes that the creatures are bats, he begins to express his dislike for them. He compares the bats to a “black glove” and describes them as “wildly vindictive” and later as “rows of disgusting old rags”. The foregoing comparison and descriptions express the poet’s repulsion of the bats. The persona admits that his attitude towards the bats differs sharply from that of the Chinese.

At the end of the poem, the poet’s persona reminds readers that, “in China, the bat is a symbol of happiness”. This means that a Chinese would most probably relate to the bats differently. After stating the positive symbolism of bats to Chinese people, he reiterates his dislike for the bats; “not for me”. At the end of the poem, the poet’s persona maintains his negative attitude towards bats.

Question 2

Question:

Diction and imagery are powerful tools in poetry. How effective is their deployment in “Bat”?

Answer:

Diction in poetry refers to the choice of words of a poet, especially with regard to correctness, clearness or effectiveness. It is simply the words the poet chooses to convey a particular meaning, while imagery in poetry refers to the sensory and figurative language used by the poet.

Through the effective use of diction and imagery, the poet portrays the theme of the beauty of the co-habitation between human beings and the natural environment in the poem “Bats”.

The imagery in D.H. Lawrence’s “Bat” is mostly visual and auditory. Through the use of diction, he paints a picture of the beautiful scenery of the swallows and bats flying over the river Arno.

The poet’s persona describes the topography used in the poem, which appeals to the visual senses of the readers. The poem begins with “at evening”, which creates the imagery of the time “between the day and the night”, and creates the image of twilight; the period of the day when the sun has not set completely, but is no longer daytime.

The movement of the birds in the sky as they form circles of portrayed in “A circle swoop, and a quick parabola under the bridge arches”.

However, when the poet persona realizes that the birds are bats, he shifts the description of the negative and disorderliness, unlike the swallows that fly in “a quick parabola” very easily, the bats are “dark air-life/looping/yet missing the pure loop…” He says the bats are “creatures that hang themselves up like an old rag to sleep;/And disgustingly upside down”. What an ugly and offensive imagery created by bats.

One imagines the bats “hanging upside down” through the poet’s description of the bats’ sleeping posture.

Again, the auditory imagery is seen in the poet’s use of onomatopoeic words such as “twitch” and “twitter”. This gives the readers a sense of the sound the bats make while they fly over the river Arno. Later, the persona describes the sound the bats make like a “black piper on an infinitesimal pipe”.

Here, the bats are black, or evil, pipers that screech endlessly. These animals are eerie, sickly “lumps” invading Florence with their vindictive cries.

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