Solving the unseen

The aove question has been taken from a CIE question paper

Solving the unseen poem

I first read the question carefully and marked key words. In the question above, for example, I underlined “fascination”, “imagine”, “change”, “develop” and “overall impact”.

Then I read the poem once to know what the poem is.

I read the poem the second time keeping the word “imagine” in my mind. As I was reading it the second time I noticed the words “but into my head” – this showed me that from this point onwards the poetess had started imagining.

So then I carefully looked at where were the “real” and “imaginary” parts. The words “the truth” clearly” focus on reality. Therefore, in the first paragraph itself the first point gets answered, at least to a certain extent.

As I continued reading I keep the second bullet point in mind which is “change” and “develop”. Here I reminded myself that the poet may be talking about changes directly and indirectly. I had to look for the metaphor of the poem to show what the poem was talking about indirectly.

While reading I see “destroyed” and “grow” which are a hint towards the second bullet point.

Hmm.. I was wondering what can be destroyed and yet grow. Our own personalities? The poet had already mentioned “different”. The point now develops in my head.

People who are “different” are “destroyed” be their own kind. While directly the poet is talking about a species of bird which is kind of different from its own kind of species indirectly it is referring to people who are different or “rare” – they may have special qualities. These “rare” people are not allowed to be or survive by human kind. These could be about race or specially-abled people.

The bird “speeds out of the distance” shows that these people grow to higher heights. They achieve. The use of the words “gathers weight” takes this theory forward and shows that the person has acquired skills or qualities to equip itself to do better. The word “darkens” is not negative but positive to show its impact and that it has emboldened.

Now the poem starts showing deeper meaning to me.

It is about people who are different. They have their own qualities and are different from the regular run of the mill people. They have at first “white absence” – they are part of us, part of the crowd. Not visible “in the snow” they are part of it. It could include prejudice, discrimination and racism. It could also be about the poet herself who is restricted by family or society.

In my essay I would explore words such as “lustre”, “gold” which reflect royalty and grandeur. I would look at sight and sound evoking words.

This was to guide students to a start. The rest will depend on how you interpret and the direction you take in finding deeper meaning.