1 / 8

Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time. Gabriel Okara. And I have learned too To laugh with only my teeth And shake hands without my heart. I have also learned to say, ‘goodbye’, when I mean ‘good-riddance.’ To say ‘Glad to meet you’, Without being glad; and to say ‘It’s been

cana
Download Presentation

Once Upon A Time

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Once Upon A Time Gabriel Okara

  2. And I have learned too To laugh with only my teeth And shake hands without my heart. I have also learned to say, ‘goodbye’, when I mean ‘good-riddance.’ To say ‘Glad to meet you’, Without being glad; and to say ‘It’s been Nice talking to you’, after being bored. But believe me, son. I want to be what I used to be When I was like you. I want to unlearn all these muting things. Most of all, I want to relearn How to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror Shows only my teeth like a snakes bare fangs! So show me, son, How to laugh; show me how I used to laugh and smile Once upon a time when I was like you. Once upon a time son, They used to laugh with their hearts And laugh with their eyes: but now they only laugh with their teeth, While their ice-block cold eyes Search behind my shadow. There was a time indeed They used to shake hands with their hearts: but that’s gone, son. Now they shake hands without hearts While their left hands search My empty pockets. ‘Feel at home’! ‘come again’!: They say and when i come Again and feel At home, once, twice , There will be no thrice— For then I find doors shut on me. So I have learned many things, son. I have learned to wear many faces Like dresses– homeface Officeface, Streetface, Hostface, Cocktailface, with all their conforming smiles Like a fixed portrait smile.

  3. What It’s About • How attitudes and people change • How honest people used to be and how deceitful they are now • How the author wishes he could be like he used to • How adults can learn from innocent children role reversal • How adulthood can change you and how quickly people adapt to the changes • How parenthood can change your views of the world

  4. Imagery • Simile line 20/21 “I have learned to wear many faces like dresses” Makes expressions and emotions seem like they’re disposable, and you can choose how to feel and when to feel it. • Simile line 39 “...laugh in the mirror shows my teeth like a snakes bare fangs!” Shows how poisonous(like a snake)he feels that he’s become. • Metaphor line 5 “ Ice-block cold eyes” • Metaphor line 11/12 “their left hands search my empty pockets”

  5. Structure • Free verse • No rhyme scheme • The structure of the poem makes it seem like he’s actually talking to his child

  6. Mood/ Tone • Serious throughout • End stanza shows hope

  7. Effect • We sympathise with him because he recognises how he’s changed, and because he wants to return to how he was. • We relate to him because we can all understand the feeling of not wanting to be dishonest with ourselves and two faced.

  8. Linked with... • Old Man, Old Man U. A. Fanthorpe • Follower Seamus Heaney • At Grass Phillip Larkin Added by: Zainul Abideen Kodi:H.S.A EnglishVPKMM HSS, Puthur Pallikkal, Malappuram

More Related