After reading the poem, naturally there would be questions to be answered and questions to be asked. Here are some questions we have to answer.
1) What is the underlying message that is being conveyed in this poem?
The poem is trying to tell us not to look at the bad side of things for there are people who also faces the same problem as you and not to keep looking at the past, but rather, look ahead towards the future we will all face.
2) He has used dialogue specifically in this poem, and it is very evident from the poem that it brings out the message more clearly as each sentence of the poem contains a dialogue. The direct speeches made convey the message faster to the reader as the reader does not need to interpret what Shel Silverstein is trying to say and just understand straight from the dialogue given.
Messy Room by Shel Silverstein
1) Can you say that the poem is humorous? If so how?
At first, the persona was giving negative comments on the tidyness of the room, and making sarcastic remarks. He also comments on the owner of the room and feels that he should be ashamed of himself and his behaviour. But he only realises that he was talking about his own room all this time and I feel that his ignorance and inability to realise his own faults is humorous.
2) What aspect of the human character has been highlighted in the poem?
The most evident human character highlighted here is the fact that one is so quick to blame others, such that one deludes the fact that he is probably committing the same fault or perhaps he is actually the one at fault. One fails to see his own faults when he gets blamed, and instead, immediately pushes the blame to others.
Cloony The Clown by Shel Silverstein
1) Explain the irony in this poem
The irony in this poem is when Cloony tries everything he can to make everyone laugh and tries to be funny, he failed to do so and everyone felt that he did not have the ability to be funny. But when he honestly hopes to confide to everyone about his negative feelings, what he received was laughter and mocking. The irony is that he is not happy in the end even though he hopes to make everyone laugh at the beginning, and this is mainly because the people are laughing at his misery, rather than laughing due to his effort he puts in to make them laugh.
2) Does Shel Silverstein manage to convey such harsh realities in this poem?
He manages to convey the message that the world can be sadistic towards anyone and laugh at your miseries when you confide in them and seek condolences from them.
3) What poetic devices has the poet used to effectively convey his message?
Which of the above poems can you identify with the most? Write down your thoughts on your blog.
I can identify most with the poem Messy Room by Shel Silverstein. The poem underlies the fact that one is so quick to blame others such the one often deludes the fact that the same situation might apply for himself. For me, it happens quite often, especially during my secondary 1 year.
One experience for me was closely related to my CCA, a group of friends, including me, was recruited to Track and Field sprints group. We were very reluctant at first, but we withstood the temptation to skip trainings and tried our best to attend all the trainings as many times as possible.
But after the first few months of training, most of us got sick of the training. So, to skip the boredom we face each training, most of us begin to skip trainings. Being the captain with so tme responsiblity, I endured and still continued to attend training. But my friends thought otherwise. They started to skip trainings and I began to get irritated by their attitude. So, after much hesistation, I scolded them.
After much reflection done while lying on my bed thinking about it thoroughly, I felt that I myself had a bad attitude too. I think the underlying message Shel Silverstein is trying to underline to readers with this poem can fully apply to the situation I faced. Without looking and reflection about my actions, I reprimanded my teammates for their bad attitude. Perhaps they all could have learn it from me, in any case, I was wrong and unfit to scold them without being disciplined myself.
After much reflection done while lying on my bed thinking about it thoroughly, I felt that I myself had a bad attitude too. I think the underlying message Shel Silverstein is trying to underline to readers with this poem can fully apply to the situation I faced. Without looking and reflection about my actions, I reprimanded my teammates for their bad attitude. Perhaps they all could have learn it from me, in any case, I was wrong and unfit to scold them without being disciplined myself.
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