“Absence”

Assignment #1 is due. This assignment will account for 10% of your overall mark.

Instructions: Read the following poem and answer all the questions that follow.

“Absence”

I visited the place where we last met.
Nothing was changed, the gardens were well-tended,
The fountains sprayed their usual steady jet;
There was no sign that anything had ended
And nothing to instruct me to forget.

The thoughtless birds that shook out of the trees,
Singing an ecstasy I could not share,
Played cunning in my thoughts. Surely in these
Pleasures there could not be a pain to bear
Or any discord shake the level breeze.

It was because the place was just the same
That made your absence seem a savage force,
For under all the gentleness there came
An earthquake tremor: Fountain, birds and grass
Were shaken by my thinking of your name.
Questions
a. In a single word or short phrase, state what you consider to be the most dominant subject or idea that the poem communicates. (1 mark)
b. In a single sentence, state the theme or statement that the poem makes (implies) about the subject you selected. (2 marks)
c. Identify and list three effective techniques or devices that help to convey this statement. For each device you identified, write a

brief statement (one sentence) explaining its effectiveness (what it contributes to the poem, its function). (6 marks)
d. Taking into consideration your responses thus far, formulate a working thesis you could use to guide your analysis of this poem. (5

marks)
e. Using between 80 and 100 words, present the introductory paragraph (which of course must include your thesis) of the critical analysis

essay you would write. (6 marks)

Total: 20÷2=10

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