Sounds Of The Day - Annotation

1. Sounds Of The Day - Annotation We are learning to: annotate the text and identify the use of poetic techniques.

2. Thinking About Silence • Think about the different types of silence that you can have. • What kind of silence do you have when you are happy? • What kind of silence do you have when you are upset or lonely? • What power does silence have? • Where else have we looked at silence and the impact that no noise can have on someone?

3. First Impressions • Create a mind map with a partner about your first impressions of the poem. • What’s it about? • What’s the message/theme? • Any relevant techniques? • And anything else you would like to comment on. Remember, it is how YOU interpret it; there are no right or wrong answers in poetry analysis.

4. Sounds Of The Day In Sounds of The Day MacCaig begins by describing the sounds that he hears in a still silent environment. It begins in a positive and descriptive manner. However the sound of a door closing in stanza two signifies the turning point in the poem and MacCaig goes on to explore the despair of loss. (again!)

5. Structure This poem is written in free verse made up of four irregular stanzas. The division between each of the stanzas helps to focus the reader on the specific idea that is contained within each one and the poem is organised in a fairly straightforward chronological order. The poem begins by describing sounds in stanzas one and two and moves onto describing feelings in stanza three and four. The memories evoked by the “sounds of the day” allow MacCaig to explore this difficult and emotional experience

6. Stanzas Stanza One: the speaker describes natural sounds: horses, a bird, waves and a waterfall. On its own, this stanza paints a pleasant picture and indicates the speaker’s delight in nature Stanza Two: The shut door, described in the second stanza, is the turning point of the poem. Here the ideas move from a delight found in a variety of natural sounds to a reflection upon one specific experience Stanza Three: The personal nature of the poem is apparent in the third stanza as the speaker addresses the person who has left. We get the impression of a figure, suddenly alone, faced with the consequences of a separation. Stanza Four: Honest assessment of how deeply he has been affected by the experience. The relationship has meant a lot to the speaker and the separation, though painful enough during the moment itself, has left a lasting impression

7. Stanza One Poem begins by listing the “sounds of the day” When a clatter came, it was horses crossing the ford. When the air creaked, it was a lapwing seeing us off the premises of its private marsh. A snuffling puff ten yards from the boat was the tide blocking and unblocking a hole in a rock. When the black drums rolled, it was water falling sixty feet into itself. What is most significant is the acuteness and descriptiveness of these distinct sounds in emphasising how alert the speaker is to them. He can hear it because of the silence that surrounds him – it is an enriching and still environment

8. Stanza One Inverted list – it is the sound that comes first. In this instance it is the sound that is most important (as the title suggests) When a clatter came, it was horses crossing the ford. When the air creaked, it was a lapwing seeing us off the premises of its private marsh. A snuffling puff ten yards from the boat was the tide blocking and unblocking a hole in a rock. When the black drums rolled, it was water falling sixty feet into itself.

9. Stanza One MacCaig uses onomatopoeia and alliteration to imitate these specific sounds When a clatter came, it was horses crossing the ford. When the air creaked, it was a lapwing seeing us off the premises of its private marsh. A snuffling puff ten yards from the boat was the tide blocking and unblocking a hole in a rock. When the black drums rolled, it was water falling sixty feet into itself. There is a strong sense of the power of nature. Theme of importance of Natural World established.

10. Stanza One Humorous image – personification Show how territorial the lapwing is When a clatter came, it was horses crossing the ford. When the air creaked, it was a lapwing seeing us off the premises of its private marsh. A snuffling puff ten yards from the boat was the tide blocking and unblocking a hole in a rock. When the black drums rolled, it was water falling sixty feet into itself. Air creaked – very detailed description of the sound – emphasises how still and quiet the poet must have been

11. Stanza One Stanza finishes with the first hint that the poem may have a darker meaning that the first stanza suggets When a clatter came, it was horses crossing the ford. When the air creaked, it was a lapwing seeing us off the premises of its private marsh. A snuffling puff ten yards from the boat was the tide blocking and unblocking a hole in a rock. When the black drums rolled, it was water falling sixty feet into itself. CK - consonance/harsh sounding words Black drums rolled – hints at darker undertones (ominous and brooding) Foreshadowing the mood and tone to come

12. Stanza Two The silence that allowed him to hear so keenly the sounds of the natural world has returned, yet this silence is oppressive and suffocates the speaker’s aural sense. When the door scraped shut, it was the end of all the sounds there are. Turning Point in the Poem

13. Stanza Two Door is a metaphor for the end of relationship and suggests a barrier that cannot be crossed. When the door scrapedshut, it was the end of all the sounds there are. Hyperbole of final statement – underlines the significance of the moment. No pleasure in sitting listening to sounds Scraped – Same harsh constonent sound as at the end of stanza one Scraped has connotations of pain and hurt Clear sense of the despair and pain that follows a parting Idea that nothing will be the same again (links to Memorial)

14. Stanza Three Move away from sounds to feelings and emotions You left me beside the quietest fire in the world. This single sentence stanza explains the reason for this shift in mood. The speaker implies the impact of the parting is that he is no longer to hear and take pleasure in sounds – the huge impact of the loss.

15. Stanza Three Word choice – again emphasising the lack of sound. Contrast to stanza one. You left me beside the quietest fire in the world. Suddenness of the silence Use of hyperbole – communicate the extreme pain he is feeling Use of personal pronouns. Accusing tone (similar technique used in Memorial) Unambiguous statement Paradox – being alone should make you hear more not less yet this is not the case

16. Stanza Four I thought I was hurt in my pride only, forgetting that, when you plunge your hand in freezing water, you feel a bangle of ice round your wrist before the whole hand goes numb. The final verse is utterly bleak The focus of the poem moves from sound to touch Complexity of emotions that comes when there is a parting.

17. Stanza Four Initial feeling is on the surface – he thinks it is his feelings are not badly hurt at first I thought I was hurt in my pride only, forgetting that, when you plunge your hand in freezing water, you feel a bangle of ice round your wrist before the whole hand goes numb. Word Choice – plunge emphasises the suddeness of the parting Paradox – hand is how you normally feel but by plunging it in ice he cannot feel He conveys the emotional pain that still lies, like the hand, beneath the surface even if he is numb to it at the moment. Metaphor – raw initial grief of someone leaving

18. Themes • The closing door is an important image in the poem and introduces the theme of loss and parting. • For the speaker, the separation is significant and painful. He feels his life has been changed and his senses have been altered forever. • MacCaig explores how parting affects us in a significant way. He captures both the initial, difficult pain of a break-up but also the lasting effect such experiences can have on us. • Love is usually depicted in poetry positively, yet this love has resulted only in pain and heartbreak, leaving the reader to consider whether this relationship has been worth the pain of parting.