The class. (original poem)

The class is quirky

The class is conventional

The class is a place of solitude

The class is where everyone is

The class is asdfghjkl

The class is ABCDEFG

The class was white

Then colours filled in

Then orange stood out the most, from within.

The witty, the charming

That’s how they were.

Then what about the other colours???

That I’m not very sure.

The waters are dangerous with

The spirit of the soul

The calm swaying of the leaves went against

The science.

The math.

The way they should be.

The sun stopped them

The rules of it, clear.

They try and try, with a goal in mind.

They succeed or fail, we always wonder but

These are what, painted up the class.

The class being

Our very own.

Class.



by literature group two 

Poem analysis (point form)

The class is quirky

·  Quirky à almost everything & also corresponds to our theme

·  Something that had a wide variety and difference

The class is conventional

·  Conventional à opposite of ‘Quirky’

·  Ironic à we’re talking about the same class so how can this very class be quirky but at the same time not

- We are very different from other classes because we’re the only sec 3 class that takes literature but at the same time we’re the same because we also take similar subjects to other classes

- The thing that distinct us from the others is our immense bond with each other and the uniqueness of each individual

The class is a place of solitude

·   Ironic/Contradicting à class isn’t associated with solitude

- A class would be made up of a lot of people

-  It’s not possible to be ‘in solitude’ with so many people

-  Our class have moments whereby we desire time to be alone; too much of doing everything together takes away our personal time or space

The class is where everyone is

·  Contradicting/Ironic à it goes against the previous line

- The phrase can be interpreted as the class having so many diverse personalities and types of people that it seems like the class was like the world

- We want the world to eventually be reeled in, to listen to what we have to say and we have so many types of students here, the love for literature will be spread throughout

The class is asdfghjkl

·   Disorganized/Unpredictable à we like to be creative and think out of the box à results in many random ideas or ways of doing things

·  We are very spontaneous and do things as they come along instead of following a specific order

The class is ABCDEFG

·   Ironic à Even though we’re disorganized, we’re also organized

-  We have a timetable that we follow

- Even doing literature essays, we have to follow a certain format

-We follow the path of society (eg. Education)

The class was white

•     White like an untouched canvas à we were all new to each other and everything at the beginning of the year

  - The canvas was waiting to be painted à we had the potential to grow and eventually express our ideas freely, making a name for ourselves

Then colours filled in

·   We eventually began to grow

·  We became more open with each other à our personalities were eventually revealed à we were more comfortable with each other and now we are slowly moving forward as a class through our Sec 3 year

Then orange stood out the most, from within.

The witty, the charming

That’s how they were.

· With reference to the personality quiz/test à they were the most outgoing people out of the other colours

·  Some of our classmates personalities corresponded with this colour

·   From being awkward and quiet like the rest at the beginning of the year, they slowly began to stand out because of their outspokenness

Then what about the other colours???

That I’m not very sure.

·   The other students were not so outspoken like the ‘orange’ people

·  They were often more subtle (most anyways)

The waters are dangerous with

The spirit of the soul

·   Waters à the colour blue

·  Dangerous; spirit of the soul à ‘blue’ people were generally very idealistic and spiritual people so because they were so spirited, it was almost considered overwhelming/fatal/infectious

- Some of our classmates are very enthusiastic about everything

The calm swaying of the leaves went against

·   Leaves à the colour green & biology

·  Calm à a personality trait of ‘green’ people

·   The motion is can relax the mind

 - Several classmates don’t really like to be too abstract; like to stick to the books; tend to see the more logical side of literature?

The science.

·   Science à Chemistry? (eg. Photosynthesis)

·  Green is perceived as a logical and collected person but relaxing the mind à makes us lower our defenses à no longer collected but rather casual and open

·  When doing science, the brain has to think à green must think a lot so relaxing contradicts this

The math.

·   Math à Physics?

·  When doing math, the brain has to think à green must think a lot so relaxing contradicts this

The way they should be.

·  Green is also seen to be perfectionists à how can someone who is relaxed be a perfectionist? à wouldn’t said person be working hard to achieve that perfection?

The sun stopped them

·  Sun à golden & only one à rarity & ‘gold’ people

- They are caring and concerned people and only a few of our classmates are ‘gold’

- They often take the lead

- People often look up to them

The rules of it, clear.

·  ‘Gold’ people are very clear cut about their choices just like how our ‘gold’ classmates are

They try and try, with a goal in mind.

·  Pun à ‘Gold’ and ‘goal’ sound the same

·         They often have an aim, making them organized

They succeed or fail, we always wonder but

These are what, painted up the class.

·  What make the class so colourful and interesting à intriguing & different

The class being

Our very own.

·   Basically means we are talking about 3H

  - Just when you begin to get the rhyme and feel of the poem, this sentence ruins the rhyme and you’re lost again à we are unpredictable like that

·  Poem supposedly ends

 Class.

·  But, the previous line doesn’t rhyme with ‘class’ so there is no sense of disclosure so with this, it rhymes

·  We might be unexpected but that doesn’t mean we don’t finish what we start. J

Additional notes:

-     The poem starts off simple before it starts to make no sense à the beginning of Sec 3 was easy but it’s getting tougher and tougher à adding our ‘uniqueness’ to the mix, it starts to almost lose its sense of logic and relevance

-       The lines start with the letter ‘T’ except for the last two so that it draws back the reader’s attention à the two lines is important so it has to be pretty significant

-          The punctuation is random à it is like our thought process; sometimes we stop to think but sometimes we end up rambling on

-          There’s a lot of irony and contradictions because we are very complex and difficult to break down and understand

-          The rhyme scheme is random à we have our own ideas that it just doesn’t mix together

-          The lines about colours tend to rhyme à even with different ideas, we can still correspond with each other in one way or another so we’re still a class

oPoem analysis (short essay - structure)  

    This poem is about the class 3H. There are many ways this poem is structured, the punctuations are used randomly, this shows how we as a class are like, our thinking process sometimes stops but we still end up rambling on. Another structure of the poem is that every sentence starts off with the letter "T" except for the last two sentences which starts with other letters. This will cause the audience to be drawn back and pay more attention to the poem.

    The poem starts off with the sentence "the class is quirky, the class is conventional" quirky is our theme that our group chose for this project and also it shows how 3H is as a class, a wide variety, full of difference. The word conventional used is the opposite meaning of quirky, but what is the reason behind this? "The class is a place of solitude" Classes are not associated with solitude because there is bound to be noise and not 100 percent quiet as it is made up of so many people. Then the next line contradicts the class being said as a solitude, "the class is where everyone is". This sentence shows the diverse personalities we have in 3H that made it seem like the 'world', also we want the world to eventually be reeled in, to listen to what we have to say and we have so many types of students here, the love for literature will be spread throughout. Lastly, 'where everyone is' is the opposite of 'solitude' place because one is noisy and one is dead quiet, what is the reason behind doing this? "The class is asdfghjkl" shows that we are very disorganised and have random ways of doing things or we are a very spontaneous class. However the next sentence says, "the class is ABCDEFG" this shows how organised we are how we follow the path of society and the mainstream. This a opposite to the previous sentence, what is the ultimate reason behind using words that contradict the previous sentence ?? All these are to create a sense of irony in the readers to show the uniqueness of our class, we are very complex and difficult to break down and understand.

The ten stars

In the motion of the universe,
The rotation of planets,
The conjuction of the wind,
There my sight witnesses,
The opposition of stars
Rare but wonderfully made

I count the stars and make my wish,
My summit shall i reach,
With her in poverty i'm rich
Im a happy man,
I saw ten stars

Star number one,
Besides you let there be none,
Star number two,
To love you more, never a few,
Star number three,
My love unto you for free
Star number four,
The love we built to never fall,
Star number five,
How wonderful are they, ten stars

In this lonely night my heart beats faster,
I make wishes, but they are not my master,
I point the stars and make wishes,
How beautiful are they, ten stars

Star number six,
So shall our foes fall by the axe
Star number seven,
Against all odds we remain even
Star number eight,
We shall so grow above heights,
Star number nine,
Of course, , to remain mine
Star number ten
I wish to make hundred wishes per day
How beautiful are they, ten stars

Gaylord Munemo

Poem Analysis  In this poem, the poet uses different words and symbols to further emphasize as well as express the message he is trying to bring across to his readers.

The poet uses stars as a symbol for one wish. For each wish, he wishes for something to happen between him and someone he knows. The poet also repeatedly describes the stars as 'beautiful' and 'wonderful' which carries a positive connotation and that suggests that the poet treasures the wishes extremely much and is in awe of them. The poet also wishes for love related things, which explains why he chose stars as symbols. Stars are magical and mystical and they give on a romantic vibe which appeals to the reader's emotions and will help the reader understand the kind of love the poet is wishing for. By using stars to symbolize his wishes, the poet is further signifying the importance of his wishes and giving them deeper meanings than their literal ones.

The phrase 'With her in poverty i'm rich' suggests that the poet feels like the wishes are able to provide with things that he is not able to achieve by himself.

A dog has died

My dog has died.
I buried him in the garden
next to a rusted old machine.

Some day I'll join him right there,
but now he's gone with his shaggy coat,
his bad manners and his cold nose,
and I, the materialist, who never believed
in any promised heaven in the sky
for any human being,
I believe in a heaven I'll never enter.
Yes, I believe in a heaven for all dogdom
where my dog waits for my arrival
waving his fan-like tail in friendship.

Ai, I'll not speak of sadness here on earth,
of having lost a companion
who was never servile.
His friendship for me, like that of a porcupine
withholding its authority,
was the friendship of a star, aloof,
with no more intimacy than was called for,
with no exaggerations:
he never climbed all over my clothes
filling me full of his hair or his mange,
he never rubbed up against my knee
like other dogs obsessed with sex.

No, my dog used to gaze at me,
paying me the attention I need,
the attention required
to make a vain person like me understand
that, being a dog, he was wasting time,
but, with those eyes so much purer than mine,
he'd keep on gazing at me
with a look that reserved for me alone
all his sweet and shaggy life,
always near me, never troubling me,
and asking nothing.

Ai, how many times have I envied his tail

as we walked together on the shores of the sea in the lonely winter of Isla Negra
where the wintering birds filled the sky
and my hairy dog was jumping about
full of the voltage of the sea's movement:
my wandering dog, sniffing away
with his golden tail held high,
face to face with the ocean's spray.

Joyful, joyful, joyful,
as only dogs know how to be happy
with only the autonomy
of their shameless spirit.

There are no good-byes for my dog who has died,
and we don't now and never did lie to each other.

So now he's gone and I buried him,
and that's all there is to it.

Pablo Neruda 

Poem analysis (point form)

“My dog has died.
I buried him in the garden
next to a rusted old machine.
Someday I'll join him right there,
but now he's gone with his shaggy coat”

•  Decomposed→ he’s just bones
•  This could mean that it’s been quite a long time since the dog passed on
•  Still thinking about the dog despite the period of time that has passed

“His bad manners* and his cold nose,
and I, the materialist, who never believed"

•      Materialist→need/love for man-made objects à something that is real/can be seen/can be calculated or measure OR proven by science
•           This would further emphasize why he doesn’t believe in God à religion is rather abstract and science & religion is considered very different
• 
  

“in any promised heaven in the sky
for any human being,
I believe in a heaven I'll never enter.”

•           No after life→ does not believe in life after death à typical science type or logical, non-abstract kind of person
•          He doesn’t believe in a heaven à maybe he believes that he will simply die?
• 
  

"Yes, I believe in a heaven for all dogdom”

•         This could mean a dog park?→ usually have toy castles for dogs to enjoy

“where my dog waits for my arrival
waving his fan-like tail in friendship.”

•        Ironic→ he doesn’t believe that his dog passed on even though it has already been proven clinically dead
•           This could mean that the love from his dog has made him more open-minded and changed him to accept abstract ideas like love
•           And perhaps this love he is experiencing now is the reason why he can’t seem to accept the fact that his dog has already died
•           AND he clearly states at the beginning that his dog has died.
•          Maybe he has memories of going to the dog park with his dog→ is it a significant memory à eg. His first time out with the dog?
• 
  

"Ai, I'll not speak of sadness here on earth,”

•         Sadness is a feeling that cannot be measured→some sort of abstract concept? Definitely not science or maths
•           Irony→ he’s actually not an all-round science person as he tries to be→he still has feelings
•          Sounds like he’s trying to hide his feelings/doesn’t want to show them→ is he trying to achieve something?→ trying to keep his feelings locked up because he cannot understand or doesn’t know how to handle them??

“of having lost a companion
who was never servile.”

•         Definition of servile: of or pertaining to a condition of servitude or property ownership in which a person is held as a slave or as partially enslaved→ the dog was never something he could own
•            Something that couldn’t be owned like an estate→ maybe he lacked interaction with people who had feelings like him→didn’t know everything was not black or white
•           The dog had feelings and a soul that was beyond understanding of science
•            So the dog was something he has never encountered before in his life→ that is why it is so SIGNIFICANT→something different
•            This opened up his constricted mind→ the poem increasingly becomes more IRONIC

“His friendship for me, like that of a porcupine”

•         Spikes = shield→the dog protective of his owner? OR
•         Spikes = pain→ perhaps because of their differences, it was hard for them to agree and it must be something that required a huge amount of effort for them to come to terms or at least accept each other

“withholding its authority,
was the friendship of a star, aloof,”

•     But because of the pain and difference in interest (definition of aloof), their friendship was VERY strong→just like how North and South poles of the magnet are always attracted to each other no matter how far you pull them apart
•      Star = everlasting→because of the immense strength of their bond between friends, their friendship would be last forever no matter what

“with no more intimacy than was called for,”

·         Their friendship pure and innocent OR

·         Friendship constricted

“with no exaggerations:
he never climbed all over my clothes*”

•      *how is this ‘bad manners’? Did the dog actually change?

“filling me full of his hair or his mange,
he never rubbed up against my knee
like other dogs obsessed with sex.”

•       From ‘His friendship for me……’ to this line shows how the dog understands his owner → perhaps, the dog has actually been INFLUENCED by the owner’s ways just like how he influence the persona
•       This could contribute the purpose of the poem

“No, my dog used to gaze at me,
paying me the attention I need,
the attention required
to make a vain person like me understand
that, being a dog, he was wasting time,
but, with those eyes so much purer than mine,
he'd keep on gazing at me
with a look that reserved for me alone
all his sweet and shaggy life,
always near me, never troubling me,
and asking nothing.”

•           Even if the dog could help the persona, how can he help?→ because he experiences things that are different from the persona’s, he can only watch
•           Or is he actually helping by staying by his side
•           Perhaps this is a way for people to solve their problems→ most of the time, they just need someone to be by their side and that is enough
•           The dog also asked for nothing à because he knows that the persona also cannot help him but simply be by his side

“Ai, how many times have I envied his tail
as we walked together on the shores of the sea
in the lonely winter of Isla Negra”

•        Does this further emphasize that he has never really interacted with other people before?→ but he has the dog so why is he still lonely?→ is it because the dog differs from him so he lacks the ability to understand what the persona is going through or at least he is unable to relate to him?

“where the wintering birds filled the sky
and my hairy dog was jumping about
full of the voltage of the sea's movement:
my wandering dog, sniffing away
with his golden tail held high,
face to face with the ocean's spray.
Joyful, joyful, joyful,
as only dogs know how to be happy”

•       Is he upset that the dog cannot empathise with him?→what if that is only what he sees?

“with only the autonomy
of their shameless spirit.”

•       This gives off the impression that the persona does not really enjoy living his life right now because he is too free?

“There are no good-byes for my dog who has died,
and we don't now and never did lie to each other.”

•        Why should they lie to each other when both of them do not interest in the same thing?→ does this mean that this is the most honest and purest type of friendship?

“So now he's gone and I buried him,
and that's all there is to it.”

•         The persona has accepted the fact that the dog is gone
•         The last line seems like he is trying to convince himself, rather, that that is how he feels about the death of his dog à is this perhaps a defense mechanism towards the overwhelming feeling of loss and love for his dog?

Poem analysis

     The poem is about a man who is reminiscing about his dog and thinking about how the animal has changed his outlook on life. The man seems to be a very logical and science type of person who only seem to believe in things that can be seen, calculated or measured. He does not believe in abstract ideas such as religion as shown in “I, the materialist, who never believed in any promised heaven in the sky” and this suggests that he does not believe there is a place made by a higher being for the souls who passed on. This is possible because science could not prove where souls went after death. He then said that he “believe in a heaven for all dogdom” which can suggest a dog park – a place where there is toy castles for dogs to have fun in. What he says next is “where my dog waits for my arrival” and this does not make any sense because the dog is already dead. This makes it ironic how the dog is already clinically dead, as clearly stated at the start of the poem by him, however he still believes that his dog was waiting for him. The sentence 'but now he's gone with his shaggy coat, his bad manners and his cold nose' lists out the negative traits and features about the poet's dog but nonetheless, the poet still wishes to join his dog, disregarding the things about his dog that are not positive. This tells the reader that the poet loves his dog extremely much and to the extent where even the negative things about his dog are not an issue to him.

From the sentence 'and I, the materialist, who never believed in any promised heaven in the sky for any human being, I believe in a heaven I'll never enter', the reader can tell that the poet does not believe in a heaven meant for humans to enter when the pass on. However, he believes in a heaven made for dogs. This shows that the poet has such great love for dogs, or specifically, his dog. The poet says so himself that he's a materialist but yet believes in a heaven meant for dogs. This tells us something especially since the poet himself is human and he imagines something good for dogs and not for humans. But at the same time, since the poet refers to the heaven as a place meant only for dogs, then why does he say that his dog will be waiting for him there? Perhaps the poet is trying to suggest that the death of his dog has caused him so much grief that his imagination and thoughts are starting to run wild and thus causing him to believe that he'll be able to enter that particular heaven as well.

In the sentence 'Ai, how many times I have envied his tail as we walked together on the shores of the sea', The tail is a symbol of the dog’s inner emotional self and whilst they are on the beach the dog is happy whatever the circumstances. The poet then implies that the same does not necessarily apply to him. This is suggested in the third line “In the lonely winter of Isla Negra.” The words ‘lonely winter’ sums up Neruda’s feelings about the nature of the place in this season of the year, and that the dog is oblivious to such matters.

Probably the reason why the poet is so caught up with the death of his dog is because his dog has helped him come to realize the little joys in life and that realizing the present happiness is what's most important.