11ENG-Unfamiliar Texts, Poetry Booklet

Unfamiliar Texts, Poetry Booklet

1.Link to the poem:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByBim7vQfjGbRm1zRmtGM0JwaW9sOWhVUllFQmpGNXFCek9Z/view

2. Record your first impressions below:
The poem's title is "tooth". I think that this poem is going to be about the journey of a singular tooth as it falls out and leaves the person. I think that this poem makes the reader think between the lines, as it never directly says "a tooth fell out", but it uses other sentences and words to describe what it is like. This is seen in sentences such as "In the morning, I'll show you how it can rest safely upon its starboard". This works well, as it makes the poem a story, adding in interest for the reader.

3.Vocabulary Work
a. Circle or highlight any words in the poem you are unfamiliar with:
    moored, alveolus, matai
b. Use a dictionary or your device to find the definition for your words (from task a) that makes sense for this poem. Write that definition in the space provided:

   Moored-make fast (a boat) by attaching it by cable or rope to the shore or to an anchor.
   Alveolus-the bony socket for the root of a tooth.
   Matai-a coniferous New Zealand tree which yields pale timber.

4. What is my interpretation of stanza 7?
Now that I know that this stanza is referring to Lazarus in the 'Doctor Who' series, I can see that since the person loses a tooth, this acts as a moment of 'becoming younger', which is what happened to Lazarus when he went in a machine and came out younger. This connection is where the narrator measures age in teeth, and suddenly the subject now is "eleven teeth old" in comparison to before,      being "12 teeth old".

Identifying the point of change
1. Identify the line where the first point of change occurs.
I think that the point of change occurs in the stanza: 'As I stroke you, your eyes collect water; your gums are an ocean of blood.'

2. Identify the line where the second point of change occurs.
I think that the second point of change occurs in the stanza: 'Suddenly, you're eleven teeth old and have grown, like Lazarus, younger beneath moonlight.'

3. Describe the atmosphere in the first three stanzas of the poem.
In the first three stanzas, there is a certain atmosphere that hints at the person losing something.

4.Words such as 'fossick' and 'goodbye' show this, as they hint at something or someone getting lost or something leaving.

5. Describe the atmosphere in stanzas 4-6 in this poem.
In stanzas 4 to 6 there is an atmosphere that the event (of a tooth falling out) is sudden and unexpected.

6.The Phrase 'only when you're sleeping' points at something sudden and unexpected. This poem indicates that the event only occurred when the person was sleeping, putting it as an unknown and untimed event.

7. Describe the atmosphere in the last three stanzas in this poem.
In this poem, the last three stanzas give an atmosphere of patience and prosperity. This is because the poem talks about the person getting younger and that this can all be solved the following day, which makes the person wait.

Identifying how the poem is communicated

Examples of (blank) in the poem

Alliteration-twelve teeth
Metaphor-tooth's a boat
Adjective-polished
Personal Pronoun-you
Listing-shells, starfish, pipi, and paua
Simile-and have grown, like Lazarus
Direct address-like Lazarus
Extended metaphor-White and hull-shaped, tooth's a boat, isolated by low tide.
Personification-

Feature                      Example                            Effect
personal pronoun      you're                                Direct address to the subject of the poem/feels personal
listing                        cake, chips, and drinks      To add information for a long list of things to inform                                                                                  the reader
Simile                        he eats like a pig                To compare something to another by saying they are                                                                                 like it, but not exactly the same.
Alliteration                 the silly seal sat slowly      To add interest in the text, appealing to the reader.

3. Underlined extended metaphor:
ocean of blood. anchored to blue woollen blanket. white and hull-shaped, tooth's a boat, isolated by low tide. safely upon its starboard.

4. What are these references to sea and boating being compared to?
I think that boating is referring to the act of losing a tooth, as it says "tooth's a boar". I think that the sea is referring to the points in time throughout the process of losing a tooth. Being apart from the mouth by being isolated by "low tide".

5. What is the effect of this extended metaphor?
It helps the reader understand that losing a tooth is not easy and direct, it is rocky just like being on a boat. This is done so we might think about the whole poem as one story that has a continuous flow to it.

Putting it all together

1. Select one language feature the author uses to describe the setting.
-Metaphor

2. Give an example from the text.
your gums are an ocean of blood.

3. Explain how this and/or other feature(s) help you to understand the poet's feelings on the loss of her child's tooth.

The poet is saying that she feels the pain (empathy) of her child, through the use of the metaphor "your gums are an ocean of blood". This is an exaggeration of what it is actually like to lose a tooth. The poet also uses an extended metaphor of the sea and boat to notify us that it is a rocky experience, and nothing can be known in the process for sure. This can even be linked to when we lost a tooth, as we know it is an unstable experience.