Yesterday we began our study of poetry with Thomas Hardy's "The Voice", in which the poet imagines that he hears the voice of his dead love (actually his wife of many years). The rhythm is very important here - it bounces along at first as if the poet is hurrying excitedly to catch sight of the woman, but then gradually slows as he begins to doubt what he hears. Then it changes completely to an irregular beat in the final verse, which mirrors his stumbling to a halt, discouraged - before the last line, when he seems to hear her again.There's also a lot of alliteration and asssonance in this poem - choose an example and tell us the effect, as you see it. We also noticed the feminine rhymes, which give an echoing, rather chanting effect.
At the beginning of chapter 9 of "A Patchwork Planet" there's an abrupt turning point in Barnaby's fortunes when Sophia's aunt accuses him of theft.
He's terrified when a policeman comes to interview him - he presumably thinks that his past record may count against him.We noticed his childish reactions to this unfair accusation - what does he do? - give an example in a comment.
However, Martine persuades him to come out to work (what does she say, exactly?) and tells him her plan that he should sell the Corvette and buy Everett's truck with her.
And then, apparently to Barnaby's surprise, they start kissing and end up in bed together. Afterwards, Barnaby remembers an occasion when he was married to Natalie and she was angry at him for being late home when - for once - it wasn't his fault. His attitude then was, "If you think I'm such a villain, just watch: I'll act worse than you ever dreamed of." What is the relevance to his current situation?The chapter ends wonderfully well, with Mrs Dibble telling him that all his clients support him and that she wants him to buy the business off her when she retires. He then contacts Sophia to apologise for... not returning her calls. At the end of the chapter, rather like at the end of the previous one, he feels that "I really might have moved on in my life". So this turning point in the structure seems to have been reversed and he's on course again.
3 comments:
i'm not sure about the poem but i will comment on the noval, Barnaby hides him self away almost as if hes guilty.
he finds him self in a situation where hes accused of steeling though he never did it so behaves quite badly like he did when he was younger.
"listlessness" - repetition of the "ess" gives it a flowing, breathy feel, much like the wind.
In response to Mrs Glynn's accusation, he says "I hate that woman". He quite liked her before, but he now instantly loathes her as soon as she turns on him.
Martine denounces Mrs Glynn as "crazy", stating "everyone knows that".
He is accused of being a criminal and untrustworthy, so he starts regressing to his rebellious teenage ways. He deliberately acts the way he has been accused of to make what he has (or in this case, has not) done pale in comparison to what he is capable of.
-Chris
I have read it!!
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