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Question
Write an appreciation of the sonnet. Refer to the points to be covered for appreciation.
- About the poem/poet/title
- Theme
- Poetic devices, language, style
- Special features/novelties/focusing elements
- Values, message
- Your opinion about the poem
Solution
Appreciation of the poem
'Upon Westminster Bridge'
About the poem/poet/title: "Upon Westminster Bridge" is a Petrarchan sonnet by William Wordsworth and thus is a fourteen-line poem, divided into an octave (observation) and a sestet (conclusion).
Theme: The offers a vivid description of the view of London from Westminster Bridge. It captures the poet's awe at the early morning scene.
Poetic devices, language, style: The poem achieves accessibility through its simple language, making it approachable for a broad audience. Simile, hyperbole, and personification are masterfully employed, elevating the imagery to a rich and evocative level. The simile, notably in "This city now doth, like a garment, wear the beauty of the morning," crafts a potent visual, immersing the reader in the city adorned with the morning's beauty. The poem's use of personification, seen in descriptions like houses that'seem asleep' and the city likened to a'mighty heart,' adds depth and vitality to the portrayal, contributing to the overall effectiveness of the poem.
Special features/novelties/focusing elements: Personification breathes life into the surroundings, endowing inanimate elements with vitality. The river, described as a living entity, flows with its own distinct will, adding dynamism to the scene. Furthermore, the deliberate use of end rhymes imparts a melodic rhythm to the poem, enhancing its auditory appeal and creating a harmonious composition.
Values, message: The main message Beauty of the city in its natural setting before activities begin. This highlights the negative impact of industrialization, which the poet believes will ruin the city.
Your opinion about the poem: The poem effectively visualises the scene, drawing parallels between the city and nature.
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| (2) | The Manager was a grave, calm man. I held my fifty-six dollars clutched in a crumpled ball in my pocket. “Are you the Manager?” I asked. God knows I did not doubt it. “Yes,” he said. “Can I see you …. alone?” I asked. |
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| (4) |
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15
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| (5) | The Manager got up and opened the door. He called to the accountant. “Mr. Montgomery,” he said unkindly loud, “this gentleman is opening an account, he will deposit fifty-six dollars. Good morning.” I rose. A big iron door stood open at the side of the room. “Good morning,” I said, and stepped into the safe. “Come out,” said the Manager coldly and showed me the other way. |
30 |
| (6) | I went up to the accountant’s wicket and poked the ball of money at him with a quick convulsive movement as if I were doing a conjuring trick. My face was ghastly pale. “Here,” I said, “deposit it.” The tone of the words seemed to mean, “Let us do this painful thing while the fit is on us.” He took the money and gave it to another clerk. |
35 |
| (7) | He made me write the sum on a slip and sign my name in a book. I no longer knew what I was doing. The bank swam before my eyes. “Is it deposited?” I asked in a hollow, vibrating voice. “It is,” said the accountant. “Then I want to draw a cheque.” My idea was to draw out six dollars of it for present use. Someone gave me a chequebook through a wicket and someone else began telling me how to write it out. The people in the bank had the impression that I was an invalid millionaire. I wrote something on the cheque and thrust it in at the clerk. He looked at it. |
40
45 |
| (8) | “What! Are you drawing it all out again?” he asked in surprise. Then I realised that I had written fifty-six instead of six. I was too far gone to reason now. I had a feeling that it was impossible to explain the thing. I had burned my boats. All the clerks had stopped writing to look at me. Reckless with misery, I made a plunge. “Yes, the whole thing.” “You withdraw all your money from the bank?” “Every cent of it.” “Are you not going to deposit anymore?” said the clerk, astonished. “Never.” |
50
55 |
| (9) | An idiot hope struck me that they might think something had insulted me while I was writing the cheque and that I had changed my mind. I made a wretched attempt to look like a man with a fearfully quick temper. | |
| (10) | The clerk prepared to pay the money. “How will you have it?” he said. This question came as a bolt from the blue. “What?” “How will you have it?” “Oh!”— I caught his meaning and answered without even trying to think— “in fifties.” He gave me a fifty-dollar bill. “And the six?” he asked dryly. “In sixes,” I said. He gave it to me and I rushed out. As the big door swung behind me. I caught the echo of a roar of laughter that went up to the ceiling of the bank. Since then, I bank no more. I keep my money in cash in my trousers pocket and my savings in silver dollars in a sock. |
60
65
70 |
| Adapted from: My Financial Career By Stephen Leacock |
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- Find a single word from the passage that will exactly replace the underlined word or words in the following sentences. [3]
- The kind stranger went and got back the ball from where it had rolled into the bush.
- I took offence at the expression on his face that was clearly meant to insinuate I was a liar.
- The firm experienced a financial loss when the contract went to a contender who had just entered the business.
- For each of the words given below, choose the correct sentence that uses the same word unchanged in spelling, but with a different meaning from that which it carries in the passage. [3]
- alarm (line 8)
- The silence from the other end set off alarm bells in her head.
- The pallor of his skin alarmed those standing around.
- I set my alarm for six o’clock but slept through it.
- The sound of the approaching jets caused some alarm in the war room.
- wicket (line 44)
- The wicketkeeper was the true saviour of the day for that one match.
- The team wanted to bat while the wicket was still dry.
- The man at the window handed us our tickets through the wicket.
- The quick loss of wickets demoralised the team.
- reason (line 48)
- After the tragedy, his ability to reason is severely diminished.
- They reasoned they could get better seats if they arrived early.
- Recipients of funds were selected without rhyme or reason.
- We have every reason to celebrate.
- alarm (line 8)
- Find a single word from the passage that will exactly replace the underlined word or words in the following sentences. [3]
- Answer the following questions as briefly as possible in your own words.
- With reference to the passage, explain the meaning of the expression of the ‘I had burned my boats?’ [2]
- Cite any two instances of the behaviour of the bank employees that indicate the insignificance of a deposit of fifty-six dollars. [2]
- Why do you think the people in the bank thought of the narrator as an “invalid millionaire?” [2]
- Summarise why the narrator decided ‘to bank no more’ (paragraphs 6 to 10). You are required to write the summary in the form of a connected passage in about 100 words. Failure to keep within the word limit will be penalised. [8]
