Poetry

Read the excerpt below from John Pepper Clark's prescribed African poem *The Casualties*:

'The casualties are not only those who are dead;
They are well out of it, because they do not hear the shriek of shrapnel
In the night of their burial...'

In the context of the poem's thematic exploration of the Nigerian Civil War, which of the following best expresses the primary significance of the speaker's assertion about 'the casualties'?

Match each poetic excerpt with the specific auditory sound device or musical element it predominantly illustrates.

Match each fixed poetic stanza form on the left with its defining structural description on the right.

Read the following poetic lines:

"The silent tide glides by the pines,
And bright lights shine in solemn lines."

Which sound device is predominantly exemplified in the lines above?

Complete the statement below by filling in the correct poetic structural term.

Read the following lines of poetry:

'Deep groan the old oak boughs in cold December,
As low winds moan through the frozen hollow.'

Which sound device is predominantly used across these lines to enhance their auditory musicality?

Match each prescribed Non-African poem on the left with its corresponding author on the right.

Read the structural description below:

A fourteen-line poem is divided into an eight-line stanza (octave) with a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA, followed by a six-line stanza (sestet) rhyming CDECDE. The octave presents a complex emotional dilemma, while the sestet introduces a marked thematic shift (volta) that delivers a philosophical resolution.

Which poetic form and subgenre is uniquely characterized by this structure?

In George Herbert's prescribed non-African poem 'The Pulley', what primary reason does God give for withholding the final gift of 'rest' from man?

Match each poetic stanzaic unit on the left with its correct structural description on the right.

Read the line of poetry below and complete the analysis statement by identifying the correct figure of speech.

Read the stanza below:

'The horseman rode through dark of night,
Across the stormy sea,
"Oh, open wide your door, my love,
And fly away with me!"'

Which poetic genre is represented by the excerpt above?

Match each term related to poetic syntax and diction on the left with its correct definition on the right.

Read the excerpt below from Gabriel Okara's prescribed African poem *Piano and Drums*:

"Then I hear a wailing piano
solo speaking of complex ways
in tear-furrowed lands of lost rhythm..."

How does the poet's choice of diction and figurative language in this excerpt contribute to the overall tone and thematic tension of the poem?

Read the poetic lines below carefully:

"Grated grimy gears grind and crash,
Black iron clanks against the brass."

Which sound device is predominantly employed in these lines to produce a harsh, jarring auditory effect?

Read the excerpt below from Léopold Sédar Senghor's prescribed African poem *Black Woman*:

"Naked woman, black woman
Clothed in your colour which is life, in your form which is beauty!"

Which figure of speech is primarily exemplified in the expression "your colour which is life"?

Read the following poem carefully:

When shadows length upon the quiet plain,
And twilight folds the weary wings of day,
I seek the silence to soothe my pain,
And watch the golden light fade slow away.
The world recedes into a misty sleep,
Where solemn thoughts in mournful order move;
No lingering vows of distant joy I keep,
Nor recall the promises of youthful love.
Yet in this gloom a sudden radiance springs,
A quiet hope that whispers through the dark;
The heart unburdened mounts on buoyant wings,
Leaving behind the shadow and the spark.
For grace abides where mortal sorrow ends,
And peace eternal on the soul descends.

Based on its rhyme pattern and structural division, which of the following best classifies the form of this poem?

Read the following lines from a poem:

"We built our thrones on sands of borrowed grace,
And crowned the shadow of a tyrant's name;
Now silently we sweep the marketplace,
And burn our medals in the public flame."

Which of the following best describes the tone of the speaker persona in the passage?

Read the poetic extract below:

'Down through the shadowed vale the river glides,
No murmur breaks the stillness of the night;
Yet beneath the calm current fiercely hides
A torrent surging toward the distant light.'

Which of the following best describes the syntactic device used in 'Yet beneath the calm current fiercely hides' and its effect on the passage?

Read the extract below from William Shakespeare's prescribed non-African poem "Sonnet 18":

"Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;"

Which literary device is primarily employed in the phrase "the eye of heaven" to represent the sun?