Post by missmcgrory on Sept 1, 2011 13:07:40 GMT
In the Snack Bar by Edwin Morgan
What examples of imagery have you found?
Simile:
Like a monstrous animal caught in a tent in some story
This suggests the size of the man and shows how badly deformed he is as his disability has made him seem animal rather than human. Comparing his gabardine coat to a tent shows it is ill-fitting and looks wrong on him.
hands like wet leaves
Task 1: Write your own analysis for this simile explaining the image it creates of the man’s hands. Write your own sentence starting with: ‘The simile ‘hands like wet leaves’ suggests…..’
The simile ‘hands like wet leaves’ suggests the man’s hands are weak and feeble and have no power in them. This shows how badly the man is affected by his disability as without power in his hands he must find it difficult to carry out simple tasks.
Task 2: There’s another simile at the start of the second verse. Find it, and write your own explanation of it as above.
‘a few yards of floor are like a landscape to be negotiated’ is a simile that suggests the distance the man has to travel is like an epic, dangerous terrain and his journey is fraught and perilous because he is so old and infirm and finds it very difficult to walk.
Personification
A cup capsizes […] slithering with a dull clatter – the word ‘slithering’ has connotations of snakes. Snakes are associated with danger. This gives the impression that the snack bar is a hostile environment, riddled with potential danger for the old man. The poet is highlighting how fraught, difficult and dangerous every day life is for people like the old man, who have to rely on strangers to help them do basic things.
‘The bus […] shudders’ We shudder at something if we are disgusted or repulsed by it. The image of the bus ‘shuddering’ as the man gets on emphasises the picture of the world as a hostile environment for this man. Everywhere he goes he is treated with revulsion and fear.
Onomatopoeia?
‘hiss of the coffee machine’ – the word ‘hiss’ has connotations of snakes or aggressive human behaviour e.g. people ‘hiss’ to show displeasure or anger. This again links to the idea that the world (symbolised by the Snack Bar) is an unfriendly and unwelcoming environment for the old man.
What examples of imagery have you found?
Simile:
Like a monstrous animal caught in a tent in some story
This suggests the size of the man and shows how badly deformed he is as his disability has made him seem animal rather than human. Comparing his gabardine coat to a tent shows it is ill-fitting and looks wrong on him.
hands like wet leaves
Task 1: Write your own analysis for this simile explaining the image it creates of the man’s hands. Write your own sentence starting with: ‘The simile ‘hands like wet leaves’ suggests…..’
The simile ‘hands like wet leaves’ suggests the man’s hands are weak and feeble and have no power in them. This shows how badly the man is affected by his disability as without power in his hands he must find it difficult to carry out simple tasks.
Task 2: There’s another simile at the start of the second verse. Find it, and write your own explanation of it as above.
‘a few yards of floor are like a landscape to be negotiated’ is a simile that suggests the distance the man has to travel is like an epic, dangerous terrain and his journey is fraught and perilous because he is so old and infirm and finds it very difficult to walk.
Personification
A cup capsizes […] slithering with a dull clatter – the word ‘slithering’ has connotations of snakes. Snakes are associated with danger. This gives the impression that the snack bar is a hostile environment, riddled with potential danger for the old man. The poet is highlighting how fraught, difficult and dangerous every day life is for people like the old man, who have to rely on strangers to help them do basic things.
‘The bus […] shudders’ We shudder at something if we are disgusted or repulsed by it. The image of the bus ‘shuddering’ as the man gets on emphasises the picture of the world as a hostile environment for this man. Everywhere he goes he is treated with revulsion and fear.
Onomatopoeia?
‘hiss of the coffee machine’ – the word ‘hiss’ has connotations of snakes or aggressive human behaviour e.g. people ‘hiss’ to show displeasure or anger. This again links to the idea that the world (symbolised by the Snack Bar) is an unfriendly and unwelcoming environment for the old man.