English Poetry
Matric 2023 IEB PT2
Reece Williamson
, Moving through the silent crowd
The repetition of the title is an oxymoron and Tone in stanza 1 is
1 contradicts and emphasizes the division condescending and
Moving through the silent crowd bet ween the speaker and the “crowd”, the critical as the
speaker is alone and not part of the group speaker seems to
2 criticize the men of
Who stand behind dull cigarettes being “idle” and lazy
3
Those men who idle in the road, The speaker shifts the focus from the description of the men
to describing his feelings, (falling light) could literally mean it
is at the end of the day, this imagery enhances the mood which
4 seems gloomy, depressing and ominous.
I have the sense of falling light.
Relaxing / passing time
5
They lounge at corners of the street
Stanza 2 provides more detail about the
6 men as the speaker again shifts the focus
And greet friends with a shrug of shoulder from his feelings to the men, the word
“lounge” confirms the men’s unemployment,
7 the speaker again seems to be criticizing the
And turn their empty pockets out, men of being lazy, unproductive and
demotivated.
8
The cynical gestures of the poor.
The speaker compares the “silent crowd” of unemployed men to
Comparing men those who are employed, he says the unemployed men are
9 “better men” , these “better men” seem to be more productive.
Now they’ve no work, like better men
Overpaid
10 Stanza 4 - the focus shifts as the speaker
Who sit at desks and take much pay now homes in on his own feelings. He says he
Unemployed - unproductive members of society is “jealous” of the “hours” through which the
11 unemployed “stare”. This implies that the
They sleep long nights and rise at ten speaker himself is part of the working class
men who might have less free time
12
To watch the hours that drain away.
The consistent rhythm might mimic the steady pace of a
person walking as the speaker “[m]ove[s] through the
silent crowd”
Jealous of the time unemployed have
13 The fact that there is consistent rhythm and some sense
I’m jealous of the weeping hours of structure in the poem could reflect the idea that the
men have the same daily routines of waking up late and
loitering in the streets
They stare through with such hungry eyes.
14 I’m haunted by these images, Anaphora and repetition: the speaker describes in
the last 2 lines how he feels “tormented” by these
“empt[y]” “images”. The repetition enhances the
15 I’m haunted by their emptiness. ghostlike imagery of the “crowd” being
uncharacteristically “silent”, the image is eery,
strange and ghoulish.
Made by Reece Williamson, distribution of the document is illegal
, Cockroaches
1 Metaphor for how people are
Turn on the light treated
The speaker
2 describes how
and helter-skelter the cockroaches
Run away flee to their
3 hiding places Summary
they scuttle when light is
shone on them “Cockroaches” by Mauri Yambo is a short poem
4 that describes the movements of cockroaches
to their dark shelters. when they are disturbed
Prefer darkness The speaker questions the authority that has
5 given humans the power to kill and control
Cut them off these creatures, and wonders if it is their
preference for darkness that makes them
The speaker suggests
6 seem suspicious
from their hideouts that humans
actively work to
prevent the
7
block cockroaches from
accessing their hiding
8 places
their many approaches
9
and see cockroaches
The speaker observes
the frantic and
10
in hopeless flurry helpless movements of
the cockroaches when
they are disturberd
11
and helpless worry.
12
But
The speaker
questions the
13
who ordained authority that has
given humans the
power to I’ll and
14
the crash-fall control these
creatures, implying
that it is not the
15 of sandals cockroaches
themselves who are
the problem, but
16 on these rather human
attitudes towards
17 them.
shy creatures?
18
Or
The speaker wonders if the
19 cockroaches’ preference for darkness
is it their love and hidden spaces make them seem
suspicious to humans, this line could
20 of also be interpreted as a metaphor for
darkness how people are often suspicious of
things that they don’t fully
21 understand or cannot see clearly.
holds them suspect?
Made by Reece Williamson, distribution of the document is illegal
Matric 2023 IEB PT2
Reece Williamson
, Moving through the silent crowd
The repetition of the title is an oxymoron and Tone in stanza 1 is
1 contradicts and emphasizes the division condescending and
Moving through the silent crowd bet ween the speaker and the “crowd”, the critical as the
speaker is alone and not part of the group speaker seems to
2 criticize the men of
Who stand behind dull cigarettes being “idle” and lazy
3
Those men who idle in the road, The speaker shifts the focus from the description of the men
to describing his feelings, (falling light) could literally mean it
is at the end of the day, this imagery enhances the mood which
4 seems gloomy, depressing and ominous.
I have the sense of falling light.
Relaxing / passing time
5
They lounge at corners of the street
Stanza 2 provides more detail about the
6 men as the speaker again shifts the focus
And greet friends with a shrug of shoulder from his feelings to the men, the word
“lounge” confirms the men’s unemployment,
7 the speaker again seems to be criticizing the
And turn their empty pockets out, men of being lazy, unproductive and
demotivated.
8
The cynical gestures of the poor.
The speaker compares the “silent crowd” of unemployed men to
Comparing men those who are employed, he says the unemployed men are
9 “better men” , these “better men” seem to be more productive.
Now they’ve no work, like better men
Overpaid
10 Stanza 4 - the focus shifts as the speaker
Who sit at desks and take much pay now homes in on his own feelings. He says he
Unemployed - unproductive members of society is “jealous” of the “hours” through which the
11 unemployed “stare”. This implies that the
They sleep long nights and rise at ten speaker himself is part of the working class
men who might have less free time
12
To watch the hours that drain away.
The consistent rhythm might mimic the steady pace of a
person walking as the speaker “[m]ove[s] through the
silent crowd”
Jealous of the time unemployed have
13 The fact that there is consistent rhythm and some sense
I’m jealous of the weeping hours of structure in the poem could reflect the idea that the
men have the same daily routines of waking up late and
loitering in the streets
They stare through with such hungry eyes.
14 I’m haunted by these images, Anaphora and repetition: the speaker describes in
the last 2 lines how he feels “tormented” by these
“empt[y]” “images”. The repetition enhances the
15 I’m haunted by their emptiness. ghostlike imagery of the “crowd” being
uncharacteristically “silent”, the image is eery,
strange and ghoulish.
Made by Reece Williamson, distribution of the document is illegal
, Cockroaches
1 Metaphor for how people are
Turn on the light treated
The speaker
2 describes how
and helter-skelter the cockroaches
Run away flee to their
3 hiding places Summary
they scuttle when light is
shone on them “Cockroaches” by Mauri Yambo is a short poem
4 that describes the movements of cockroaches
to their dark shelters. when they are disturbed
Prefer darkness The speaker questions the authority that has
5 given humans the power to kill and control
Cut them off these creatures, and wonders if it is their
preference for darkness that makes them
The speaker suggests
6 seem suspicious
from their hideouts that humans
actively work to
prevent the
7
block cockroaches from
accessing their hiding
8 places
their many approaches
9
and see cockroaches
The speaker observes
the frantic and
10
in hopeless flurry helpless movements of
the cockroaches when
they are disturberd
11
and helpless worry.
12
But
The speaker
questions the
13
who ordained authority that has
given humans the
power to I’ll and
14
the crash-fall control these
creatures, implying
that it is not the
15 of sandals cockroaches
themselves who are
the problem, but
16 on these rather human
attitudes towards
17 them.
shy creatures?
18
Or
The speaker wonders if the
19 cockroaches’ preference for darkness
is it their love and hidden spaces make them seem
suspicious to humans, this line could
20 of also be interpreted as a metaphor for
darkness how people are often suspicious of
things that they don’t fully
21 understand or cannot see clearly.
holds them suspect?
Made by Reece Williamson, distribution of the document is illegal
