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Submarine Demon. What sort of question does this poem suit?. Questions on... Nature Rejecting something A journey A struggle Loneliness?? Turning point Strong emotions. Central tension. Nature vs our (human) world. Poetry reminds us of something we have forgotten.
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What sort of question does this poem suit? • Questions on... • Nature • Rejecting something • A journey • A struggle • Loneliness?? • Turning point • Strong emotions
Central tension • Nature vs our (human) world
Poetry reminds us of something we have forgotten • Reminds us that amidst all our MSN, twitter, Starbucks, Intel Pentium Processors that... • the wonder of nature still exists even if we tend to forget that it does. • Perhaps dwarfs importance of everything we have on the surface (‘tides, tempests the are toys’)
I love it at the bottom of the sea • Rhythm • Starts with two stressed syllables • Highlights depth of feeling • Tense • He has been there before this is somewhere he returns to.
It’s all alive! It’s all alive I tell you! • Punctuation – Great enthusiasm/ energy conveyed by lots of exclamation marks. Reputation of ‘alive’ conveys how much life is there and how amazed the demon is at that life. • Adds to the Demon’s character – he is like a kid at Christmas!!
It’s seriousBelow. • Enjambment – Emphasises both words – links them together and mirrors the descent. Skilful technique as if we are accompanying the demon on his journey.
Above you, shark and whale and whale shark/ Dwindle to points like plankton • Antithesis (opposites of each other) OR • Simile • Emphasised the incredible depths the Demon is descending to – huge creatures looking so tiny. • Whale shark/ plankton = suggests the diversity of the sea • ‘Above you’ – second person helps us imagine we are looking up at the creature – draws the reader into the poem
A pulse but it is not any that ruledMy life or yours, friend • Personification • Giving the Earth a pulse the poet suggests it is a living being (Making us feel guilty for poisoning us with chemicals etc.) This emphasises the narrator’s appreciation/ admiration for Earth. • Word choice • The Demon refers to the reader as friend. We are accompanying him on this journey he is taking us on this journey and trying to make us share his enthusiasm.
Factories of particles • Metaphor • ‘Factories’ suggests a production line and emphasises the scale of what the Demon is seeing. • Double meaning?? • Mirroring the factories on the surface polluting the Earth which has been referred to a living being.
But I don’t sink I drive I fin I power • Enthusiasm arrogance of the demon narrator conveyed by the lack of commas.
Tucks and puckers the skin of the world • Gives the earth a skin, making it seem living and delicate. • Assonance of ‘uh’ sound in tucks and puckers. The sound the Earth is making as the Demon touches it??
I switch on my torch at last, can stumble walk, forward just back But on and on then • Commas • Breaking up the lines conveys the staggering motion of the Demon. Emphasises how difficult and extreme the condiction are, but also the determination of the Demon to explore. • Word Choice • ‘torch’ is incongruous (out of place) emphasises darkness but makes us ask, ‘why does the Demon need a torch?’ makes us question our preconceptions of what a demon is and in turn our preconceptions of the deep as a barren, lifeless place.
I switch on my torch at last, can stumble walk, forward just back But on and on then • ‘On and on’ = assonance. • Shows the Demon is a determined character.
The sun’s not needed...no angels here thank god • Rejection of the two things that make humanity function • Spirituality • Food (no sun = no food)
Structure • One long stanza which give us the impression we are slowly sinking down to the depths with the demon. If the poem was written in more than one stanza this flow would not be so apparent.