Literature - Form 2 Poems I Wonder by Jeannie Kirby

A child

curious

wonders of nature

I Wonder asks question s Why? Grass is green Wind cannot be seen Moon is not round Who? Teach birds to make nests Tell trees to rest Light the stars Make lightning flash Paint rainbows Hang clouds

Father

does not answer

He does not know the answers

a) Synopsis of the Poem The persona is a child who is curious about the wonders of nature. The persona admires nature and its beauty, which is all created by God. He wants to know the answers to a lot of questions, like why the grass is green and more. The personas father does not answer his questions. Perhaps his father does not know the answers to the questions he asked. b) Themes and Moral Values

Themes/Messages Wonders of nature Nature and its natural phenomena Belief in God

Moral Values/Lessons We must appreciate nature and its beauty. We must observe the things and happenings around us. We should all be grateful that God has created nature and the natural phenomena that we do not understand.

c) Exercise Answer all the questions based on the poem revised. 1. What natural element in the poem can be felt but not seen? The natural element in the poem that can be felt but not seen is _________________________. 2. Name the persona in the poem. _________________________________________________________________ 3. Why is the persona asking so many questions? The persona is asking so many questions because he _______________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 4. Write down ONE message the poet is trying to convey to his readers. _____________________________________________________________________________ 5. Whom did the persona ask his questions to? The persona asked his questions to __________________________________________ 6. Why do you think there is no answer to his questions? I think there is no answer to his questions because __________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. Write down TWO questions the persona asked in the poem. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Literature - Form 2 Poems Heir Conditioning by M.SHANmughalingam

grandparents

dialogue

grandchild

led a simple life

asks

no pollution no stress no traffic jams

Heir Conditioning

questions

curious about
life in the past

THEN Feared God and Nature

NOW Money is God

no air-cons no fax machine no telephone

Life was hard but happy

People are more materialistic and greedy

no modern equipment

a) Synopsis of the Poem The poem is a dialogue between a grandchild and his grandparent. It shows the different situations in the olden times (1940s-60s) and modern times (1990-2012).It shows the gap between the old and young generation. The grandchild is curious about life in the olden days, of how his grandparents lived without modern inventions, which today are necessities. He thinks life is easier now. The grandparent answered that life then was simple. Without modern inventions like air-cons and telephones, they are happy although life was hard. People feared God and did not destroy nature and their surroundings. They had no environmental problems like pollution and stress. Today people are materialistic and greedy. They are not afraid of God because they are busy working for money. Money is their new God. They have an easier life but they are unhappy and stressed. b) Themes and Moral Values

Themes/Messages Material things do not bring happiness

Moral Values/Lessons Having material things do not necessarily make us happy and fulfilled.

Progress comes with a price We must be aware that as we progress, values and spiritual concerns are diminishing.

c) Exercise Answer all the questions based on the poem revised. 1. How many voices are there in the poem? Who are they? ________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 2. What is the poem about? The poem is about __________________________________________________________ 3. How did the grandparents lived? The grandparents lived _____________________________________________________ 4. What can you learn from the poem? From the poem, I learnt _____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

5. Why do you think the grandparents say that now Money is your new God I think the grandparents said that because ___________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 6. Why do you think the persona asked his grandparents these questions? I think he asked these questions because ___________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. Write down ONE message the poet is trying to convey through the poem. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________