Pls help me find an analysis of these poems

[PleaseBeHonest]

Hi, I’m trying to help DS. He has 3 poems to write about and I can’t find anything online. Can someone help us please? The poems are:

At Rest by Heather French
Everything Becomes Metaphor by Brendan Ryan
Enemies by Wendell Berry.

Thanks so much!

How old is your DS? Is this for primary or secondary school?

He needs to be thinking and writing about them from his own perspective and his own thoughts, he shouldn't really just be copying someone else's analysis from off the internet. I'm presuming this homework is off the back of some poetry analysis in class so he must have done this before?

It’s secondary. We don’t understand what the poems are about.

Why on earth does he need to read other people’s analyses?

Rather than asking MN to find some homework he can copy (which is presumably what you think he should do), maybe sit with him and talk about the poems.

What’s the question he’s been set? Talk about that and the poems and encourage him to do his own analysis.

The important thing is not necessarily the content of the analysis. Right now, it’s the process. The thinking about it, finding evidence, and having some ideas of his own. They don’t have to be deep or impressive (he’s not doing a PhD, I assume); they just have to be his thoughts.

@SudocremOnEverything thats a bit rude. I am not suggesting he copy someone’s homework. I thought it would be useful to find out what the poems are about. I did Eng Lit O Level and we used to read analyses of poetry and novels all the time.

you don’t have to fully ‘understand’ them though.

Talk to him about what he’s confused about. Why?

Poetry is often ambiguous. Focus on bits of the poems if that’s easier. Or just a bit if one if that’s easier. Tell him it’s ok to not understand.

And try to help him find ways to help himself when he doesn’t understand (that aren’t finding someone else who has done the thinking for him).

It's obviously good to have your own interpretation of a poem , but I agree with OP it really helps to read an analysis too, especially if they are difficult to understand .

Hello @PleaseBeHonest ... I'm an English teacher and these aren't poems I'm familiar with, but I'll happily have a look and give you some analysis if you post the poems.

Should your son be doing this by himself? Help him to think for himself and to ask his teacher for help

But if he doesn't know what they are about that's a part of the process.
So "The clouds were scudding/ The universe shivered as the moon fell"
Your DS "?????"
Most people "????"
Your DS thinks - OK the writer is talking about clouds and the moon. (Look up scudding in dictionary)., so he's probably remembering or thinking about a dark windy night. This makes me feel scared/ gloomy/ exhilarated/happy. The poem then says that the universe shivered. Shivering is something we do when we are cold or frightened - so maybe the writer is trying to create/ make us think about being frightened.

The "poem" is just a few random words I made up - the "analysis" isn't good - it's not meant to be. The point is that he looks at the words and the feelings and what it means, or could mean to him.

Help him to think, to tackle something in his own way - not teach him how to ask his mum to get someone else to do it.

How's that gojng to help his teacher assess his understanding?

I'm wondering if the teacher has picked obscure poems ti get the students thinking for themselves as opposed to regurgitating from google

www.matrix.edu.au/beginners-guide-poetry/how-to-analyse-a-poem-in-6-steps/

I've looked at the Berry one, he or you should be able to work out what that one's about surely? Big clue in the title!

@BetterBeCarefulBoysYouJustMightSetTheWorldOnFire Thanks very much. I’d really appreciate that.

I just googled 'analysis of Enemies by Wendell Berry' and there was a paragraph all about the poem. I expect you can google the others. Sometimes it helps to have an overview as a starter when you aren't familiar with writing about poetry.

@titchy well if he has t got a scooby what they're about he can't analyse them at all, can he? My helping here is only a more passive version of what I would do if I was tutoring a kid- essentially give them some ideas to run with.

No problem, post them and I'll help

But the reason here poems will have been chosen is precisely because the internet isn’t full of crap Gradesaver-style ‘analyses’. To make people read and not rely on other people’s crap efforts.

I only know the Wendell Berry poem, but surely a fairly cursory glance will give you a rough idea — ie. it’s about the mental gymnastics you need to perform in order to forgive your enemies.

Extraordinary post.

Will you be going into this boy’s class and telling his actual teacher that you did his homework for him?

They’re quite obscure!

Enemies by Wendell Berry is about the paradox of forgiveness.

Can you post the text of the other two?

Couldn't find the first at all. Second not looked. Third there are comments to be found but agree it is not easy to grasp and I don't think the 'layout' helps, try and read through that iyswim. Try and encourage some understanding e.g. what emotion is the poet feeling. Can he get to a stage where some of the poem talks to him even if he never grasps the whole. I think a valid comment in homework is stating that you found a piece impenetrable as long as you try.

Here they are…

If you read ‘Enemies’ by substituting ‘they’ with ‘your enemies’ it becomes clearer.

I assume you read crit for o level when your teacher provided it.

Here the teacher has not provided it. He'd learn more by thinking independently.