CAPE Lits in English (Multiple Choice Activity) Poetry Edition

Instructions: Read the poem below and answer items 1-15 on the basis of what is stated and implied.

         The Castaways

         The vivid grass with visible delight
         Springing triumphant from the pregnant earth,
         The butterflies, and sparrows in brief flight
         Dancing and chirping for the season’s birth,
5       The dandelions and rare daffodils
         That touch the deep-stirred heart with hands of gold,
         The thrushes sending forth their joyous trills,-
         Not these, not these did I at first behold!
         But seated on the benches daubed with green,
10     The castaways of life, a few asleep,
         Some withered women desolate and mean,
         And over all, life's shadows dark and deep.
         Moaning I turned away, for misery
         I have the strength to bear but not to see.

         Claude McKay

NOTE: This poem is in the public domain.

1.     The purpose of lines 1-7 is to
        a. give examples of the flowers that the poet knows.
        b. showcase the splendor of the natural environment.
        c. challenge the reader to visualize what is being described.
        d. provide details of scenes the poet would have preferred to see.

2. The word "thrushes" (line 7) MOST likely means
         a. birds
         b. singers
         c. musicians
         d. musical instruments

3. All of the following lines use personification EXCEPT
        a.  “vivid grass with visible delight” (line 1)
        b.  “pregnant earth” (line 2)
        c.  “that touched the deep-stirred heart with hands of gold” (line 6)
        d.  “But seated on the benches daubed with green” (line 9)

4. The poet repeats the phrase “not these” in line 8 of the poem to
        a.  draw the readers’ attention to these words.
        b.  emphasize his disappointment at not seeing these wonders of nature.
        c.  communicate his disgust at being prohibited from seeing these things.
        d.  pretend that he had not seen any of these sights.

5. The word ‘desolate (line 11) means
        a.  hungry
        b.  lonely
        c.  forsaken
        d.  annoyed

6. The phrase ‘life’s shadow’ (line 12) is an example of
         a.  personification
         b.  metaphor
         c.  contrast
         d.  alliteration

7. In which line of the poem is a contrast first introduced?
        a.  “Springing triumphant from the pregnant earth” (line 2)
        b.  “Not these, not these did I at first behold!” (line 8)
        c.  “But seated on the benches daubed with green” (line 9)
        d.  “Moaning I turned away, for misery…” (line 13)

8. Which types of imagery are most prominent in the poem?
        a.  Auditory and olfactory
        b.  Visual and tactile
        c.  Auditory and visual
        d.  Olfactory and tactile

9. The women are described as the ‘castaways of life’ because
        a.  They are stranded on an island and feel overwhelmed by despair.
        b.  They are lost far from home and nobody wants to offer them any
             transportation.
        c.  They have been ostracized by society because of their unforgivable actions.
        d.  They have been marginalized by society and nobody cares about their
              well-being.

10. The overall theme that the poem explores is
        a.  the magnificence of nature.
        b.  the impact of birds on humans.
        c.  the abandonment of the less fortunate.
        d.  the effects of physical abuse on women.

11. The expression ‘and over all life’s shadow dark and deep’ (line 12) is used to
        a.  indicate that darkness has overshadowed the women’s location.
        b.  suggest that the women are filled with fear by what is in the shadows.
        c.  show how scary the challenges of life have been to these women.
        d.  symbolize that life has been quite difficult and hopeless for these women.

12. The description of the women in lines 10-12 is meant to
        a.  show that life has had a devastating effect on these women.
        b.  criticize the women for neglecting their physical appearance.
        c.  highlight that these women are very old and miserable.
        d.  show how heartless the poet is for turning away.

13. The last two lines of the poem reveal that
        a.  the poet scorns the state of the women.
        b.  the poet is a coward who does not want to be confronted by reality.
        c.  the poet is unable to deal with the emotional trauma of what he sees.
        d.  the poet loses physically weak whenever he sees misery.

14. What is the form of the poem?
         a.  Elegy
         b.  Sonnet
         c.  Dramatic monologue
         d.  Narrative

15. What the poet’s overall tone in lines 8-14?
         a.  Disgusted
         b.  Indifferent
         c.  Fascinated
         d.  Despairing


 Prepared by: M. McKenzie

Email: studyhubforenglish@gmail.com for the answer key.

CAPE Literatures in English - Toolkit for Decoding Drama Extracts (Multiple Choice Edition)

Understanding a drama extract requires an awareness of how meaning is presented through the structure, use of language and literary devices. You should be able to explain and evaluate how extracts are presented.

As you prepare for the CAPE Literatures in English examinations, use the information below as a refresher or encouragement to conduct additional research.

1. Be familiar with the forms, features and elements of drama. You should be able to distinguish plays from other genres. These forms, features and elements below have been sourced from the CAPE Literatures in English syllabus.

Forms of Drama
- Comedy
- History
- Tragedy
- Romance
- Tragi-comedy
- Satire
- Theatre of the Absurd
- Farce
- Modern Drama
- Melodrama

Features of Drama
- Monologue
- Dialogue
- Soliloquy
- Aside
- Set
- Stage direction
- Stage conventions (costume, lighting, sound effects, movement, stage position, backdrops and props)
- Stage action
- Chorus
- Dramatic unities (time, place and action)
- disguise

Elements of Drama
- act
- scene
- exposition
- conflict
- complication
- climax
- denouement (resolution)
- peripeteia
- characterization
- protagonist and antagonist
- main plot, sub-plot
- suspense

2. Revise literary devices. You may be asked to identify them or select the reason(s) for their dramatic significance. Remember that playwrights often use language deliberately and this often impacts meaning.

Literary devices

- Imagery
- Motif
- Symbolism
- Dramatic and tragic irony
- Juxtaposition
- And other literary devices

3. Read the extract closely to determine the playwright’s focus. As you read and reflect on the extract, consider these questions: What is the setting? What impact does the setting have on the events or characters? Who are the characters that are involved? What do we learn about the characters? Does the playwright use specific techniques and devices? How are these techniques/devices dramatically significant? How are stage directions used? Does the extract explore specific themes? How do you know this? Does the extract have a particular tone? Do characters have particular tones? How do you know this? What is the mood of extract or in specific parts of the extract? What impact does the extract or specific parts of the extract have or is intended to have on the audience/reader?

4. Pay attention to the nature of the questions. You may be asked questions that focus on the:

- relationships that exist between characters
- ways characters are revealed or what is revealed about specific characters
- attitude of characters towards each other
- setting and its effects on characters, plot or the audience/reader
- stage directions and their dramatic functions at specific parts of the play or the overall play
- themes that are being explored in the extract
- dramatic significance of props, stage directions, lines or characters’ actions
- tone in the overall extract or the tone at specific parts of the play
- presence, use, purpose or impact of irony
- purpose or effect of specific stylistic features in the play such as ellipses or italic
- use of literary devices
- type of drama

Please note that some questions can be pretty straightforward, but others require close attention to unravelling the nuances of meaning. For these questions, your inferential skills are invaluable.

5. Boost your vocabulary by extensive reading. As students of Literatures in English, you will be presented with extracts that require you to recognise inferred meaning. This means that the more you work on building your vocabulary, the more efficient you will be in decoding meaning and selecting the most appropriate response.

Reminder: Success in responding to the questions that are connected to the drama extracts requires you to be attentive to how meaning is impacted or presented by the writer's craft.

Deconstructing Lorna Goodison’s ‘Some of My Worst Wounds'

As an emerging poet, I understand too well the power that permeates poetry. I have written several poems whose words carry the weight of my thoughts and which have articulated more about my feelings on paper than I ever could in speech. Lorna Goodison’s poem, ‘Some of My Worst Wounds’, echoes my sentiments. Though short, the poem lends itself to a lengthy discourse on the fluidity of poetry.

Below, I will share several thought-provoking points about the poem ‘Some of My Worst Wounds’.

1. This poem falls into the category of metapoetry. This is where the poem focuses on the act of writing poetry.
2. Goodison uses this poem to explore the power that lies in writing poetry.
3. Writing poetry has the power to provide poets release from pain, betrayal and disappointment. In the act of selecting words and establishing form or structure, poetry give poets the opportunity to give voice to their personal battles..
4. By voicing their concerns or limitations, they are able to unload their burdens and conquer them. This is why Goodison declares that some of her worst wounds ‘have healed into poems’.
5. In her review of Goodison’s ‘Selected Poems’, Ayme Almendarez highlights that the poet uses the poem to explain ‘the curative properties of her poetry’. It is clear that poetry is more than words skillfully arranged in lines and stanzas. As a genre, poetry is a powerful antidote. In the poem, a ‘few well-placed stabs in the back’ and ‘a carry down’ have led to poems that function as the means to rise above the trauma of these experiences. The poems are deliberately crafted to counter the deliberate attempts to undermine the poet.
6. Another interesting feature of poetry is that it does not only function as a healing agent for poets but for those who come in contact with them. This means that by sharing the words of their poems, poets give their listeners or readers the chance to heal some of their worst wounds as well. In the Gleaner article, ‘Potent Words, Unique Voices’ Dr. Anthea Morrison also affirms the ‘subversive or persuasive [power] of the word’. Poetry has such scribal authority that it gives poets the role of voicing the dilemma of those who would otherwise live in silence. 

Overall, this poem reveals that, though wounded, we can find our healing by penning or reading a few poems. It is an insightful poem that reveals the potency that lies within poetry.

References

Goodison, L. Selected Poems, USA: The University of Michigan Press. (1992).

Almendarez, A. Voices from the Gap (2009). Retrieved from https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/167838/Review%20Selected%20Poems.pdf;sequence=1

Morrison, A. Potent Words, Unique Voices (2017). Retrieved from http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/art-leisure/20171126/potent-words-unique-voices