POETRY ANALYSIS
Before Reading
1. The last poem I remember reading in English class was I am Canadian by Duke Redbird. We read this in ELA A30.
2. The poem will be about Canada. Canada is usually said to be from sea to sea (between two furious oceans) and we are currently doing a unit on Canada.
During the Reading
1. Parts that stood out most for me are underlined.
2. The poem is centered around the narrator being asked by an unknown identity to tell the identity what it is. This unknown identity is Canada and the narrator moves from coast to coast picking out and describing dominant landforms in regions throughout out the country. Canada wanted to know what it was and the narrator described Canada for an answer.
3. The words I highlighted are not literal descriptions. Instead, they are personifications that the landforms a sense of movement and life. The way they are described makes them seem either more vibrant or dark creating sharp contrast.
The subject of the poem is Canada. They author is talking about the identity of Canada; what it looks like. The author, in my opinion, wrote the poem because he was inspired by the scenery of Canada and wished to share what he experienced. The poem does not specify when or where it is taking place. The poem’s attitude is positive. It says Canada is beautiful and tries to make it come alive. There isn’t a shift from person to person in this poem. The author instead picks up where the narrator repeats the question he was asked to show that he understood the question.
4. Poetic Devices
Simile: No.
Metaphor: Blazing with consuming crimson golden lights with beacon flames.
Creates image of intense brightness.
Personification: reckless foothills clambering down the eastern slopes.
Makes landform seem alive and vibrant.
Tone: Positive, Ethereal
Puts Canada in good standing. Ethereal descriptions make Canada have an air of magic.
Point of View: 1st person.
Looking at Canada through narrators eyes. He controls what you see.
Imagery: You are the maple groves that undulate, mile upon mile,
Over the wave-like hills of the Maritimes, mantling them
With rich green in the summer, kindling them with a million fires,
Blazing with consuming crimson golden lights with beacon flames
To proclaim the season’s death when crackling autumn days explode,
Leaving them black and naked in the waning year, tracing
Their lonely fingers against the leaden sky.
Helps you picture exactly what the author is describing. Put yourself in the place the author is describing.
Alliteration: Cold current. Adds to the poem by making the description stand out more, as it is not that striking in of itself.
Other: Symbolism: Eternal rocks that rise in columned ranks to meet the dawn.
Adds to poem by likening rocks to an image we are familiar with, helping us picture what is being described.
5. Connection
Connection to self:
This poem reminds me of the beauty of the country I live in. It connects to our unit because we are focusing on Canada and establishing a Canadian identity. I liked this poem, it used very strong descriptors and gives me quite the picturesque mental image.
Connection to text:
This poem is similar to “I am a Canadian” by Duke Redbird. Both poems deal with Canadian identity. However, “Between Two Furious Oceans” does this by describing the land and “I am Canadian” does this by describing the people of Canada and what they do for recreation.
Before Reading
1. The last poem I remember reading in English class was I am Canadian by Duke Redbird. We read this in ELA A30.
2. The poem will be about Canada. Canada is usually said to be from sea to sea (between two furious oceans) and we are currently doing a unit on Canada.
During the Reading
1. Parts that stood out most for me are underlined.
2. The poem is centered around the narrator being asked by an unknown identity to tell the identity what it is. This unknown identity is Canada and the narrator moves from coast to coast picking out and describing dominant landforms in regions throughout out the country. Canada wanted to know what it was and the narrator described Canada for an answer.
3. The words I highlighted are not literal descriptions. Instead, they are personifications that the landforms a sense of movement and life. The way they are described makes them seem either more vibrant or dark creating sharp contrast.
The subject of the poem is Canada. They author is talking about the identity of Canada; what it looks like. The author, in my opinion, wrote the poem because he was inspired by the scenery of Canada and wished to share what he experienced. The poem does not specify when or where it is taking place. The poem’s attitude is positive. It says Canada is beautiful and tries to make it come alive. There isn’t a shift from person to person in this poem. The author instead picks up where the narrator repeats the question he was asked to show that he understood the question.
4. Poetic Devices
Simile: No.
Metaphor: Blazing with consuming crimson golden lights with beacon flames.
Creates image of intense brightness.
Personification: reckless foothills clambering down the eastern slopes.
Makes landform seem alive and vibrant.
Tone: Positive, Ethereal
Puts Canada in good standing. Ethereal descriptions make Canada have an air of magic.
Point of View: 1st person.
Looking at Canada through narrators eyes. He controls what you see.
Imagery: You are the maple groves that undulate, mile upon mile,
Over the wave-like hills of the Maritimes, mantling them
With rich green in the summer, kindling them with a million fires,
Blazing with consuming crimson golden lights with beacon flames
To proclaim the season’s death when crackling autumn days explode,
Leaving them black and naked in the waning year, tracing
Their lonely fingers against the leaden sky.
Helps you picture exactly what the author is describing. Put yourself in the place the author is describing.
Alliteration: Cold current. Adds to the poem by making the description stand out more, as it is not that striking in of itself.
Other: Symbolism: Eternal rocks that rise in columned ranks to meet the dawn.
Adds to poem by likening rocks to an image we are familiar with, helping us picture what is being described.
5. Connection
Connection to self:
This poem reminds me of the beauty of the country I live in. It connects to our unit because we are focusing on Canada and establishing a Canadian identity. I liked this poem, it used very strong descriptors and gives me quite the picturesque mental image.
Connection to text:
This poem is similar to “I am a Canadian” by Duke Redbird. Both poems deal with Canadian identity. However, “Between Two Furious Oceans” does this by describing the land and “I am Canadian” does this by describing the people of Canada and what they do for recreation.
Connection to world:
The main thought or message the poet is trying to make is that Canada is a vast land and each region has its own unique landforms. There is much to see and experience in Canada. The identity of Canada is made up of these many regions and landforms.
Good Old A.B.
From the northern border to Pincher Creek,
Alberta and I have seen much of each other.
Ranks of spruce, pine and birch stand on guard in the north,
an ocean of rolling plains rushes to meet them.
Moving south, massive, white tipped rocky forms pierce through the waving grass,
with only curvaceous hills to warn of their approach.
In central Alberta forest and prairie have reached a compromise,
the vibrant parkland is dominant.
Parkland dwindles back into golden vastness,
the land land begins dry.
Soon you are in basking under a desert sun,
trees give way to hoodoos and grass gives way to sand.
Once past this river valley so deprived of precipitation,
an immense flat greets you.
The sky and earth meet,
guiding you through a maze of limitless direction.
A new kind of form rises up to stop the tour,
marking the end of Alberta.
As high as mountains,
as green as parkland,
Cypress Hills.
From the northern border to Pincher Creek,
Alberta and I have seen much of each other.
Ranks of spruce, pine and birch stand on guard in the north,
an ocean of rolling plains rushes to meet them.
Moving south, massive, white tipped rocky forms pierce through the waving grass,
with only curvaceous hills to warn of their approach.
In central Alberta forest and prairie have reached a compromise,
the vibrant parkland is dominant.
Parkland dwindles back into golden vastness,
the land land begins dry.
Soon you are in basking under a desert sun,
trees give way to hoodoos and grass gives way to sand.
Once past this river valley so deprived of precipitation,
an immense flat greets you.
The sky and earth meet,
guiding you through a maze of limitless direction.
A new kind of form rises up to stop the tour,
marking the end of Alberta.
As high as mountains,
as green as parkland,
Cypress Hills.
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