Eksamenlokaal – Suzaan Laing
1. Haar skoene klik hard op die 1. Her shoes click loudly on the
houtvloer wooden floor
2. soos sy op en af stap 2. as she walks up and down
3. tussen rye tjoepstil banke 3. between rows of deadly silent
benches
4. Nou en dan kraak die blaai van ‘n 4. Now and then the turning of a
blad page crackles
5. die Septembereksamenlug. 5. the September exam air.
6. hande bewe met rukke oor skoon 6. hands shake at times above the
wit velle clean white sheets of paper
7. los ‘n inkwarboel agter. 7. leave a blotch of ink behind.
8. Die horlosie tel twee ure af. 8. The clock counts down two
hours.
9. Sy stap stadig en oes die stelle 9. She walks slowly and harvests
een vir een the sets of papers one by one
10. Blou op wit: 10. Blue on white:
11. Ryp met gistermiddag se kennis. 11. Ripe with yesterday afternoon’s
knowledge.
Analysis of the poem
1. Haar skoene klik hard op die The pronoun (voornaamwoord)
houtvloer “haar” indicates that it is a
female teacher or female
(vroulike) invigilator
(toesighouer) and the silence
(stilte) is emphasized
(beklemtoon) by the sound
(klank) her shoes make on the
wooden floor.
The h-alliterasie emphasizes
(beklemtoon) the idea of how
loud the teacher’s shoes sound
(klink) in the exam room
(eksamenlokaal).
2. soos sy op en af stap The s-alliterasie serves (dien) to
heighten (verhoog) the tension
(spanning) in the room (lokaal)
with the students writing their
exam.
PROPERTY OF M SOUNES NO COPYING, SHARING OR DISTRIBUTION
1
ALLOWED
, 3. tussen rye tjoepstil banke “banke” indicates (dui aan) that
this is a school setting
(skoolruimte).
“tjoepstil” in its intensive form is
in stark contrast (kontras) to
“hard” in line 1.
“tjoepstil banke” is an example of
personification as well as
metonomy (metonimie) as it
refers (verwys na) to the
learners and also how very
quiet (stil) they are during
(gedurende) the exam.
Lines 1-3 contain (bevat)
enjambment (enjambement)
which might be used to indicate
how the teacher moves
(beweeg) through the rows (rye)
of school benches during the
exam.
4. Nou en dan kraak die blaai van ‘n The turning (blaai) of a page
blad (blad/bladsy) is another thing,
along with the teacher’s shoes,
that breaks (breek) the
absolute silence (stilte).
“kraak” is an example of
onomatopoeia
(klanknabootsing) as it
emulates (naboots) the sound
produced when the students turn
the pages of their exam papers.
5. die Septembereksamenlug. The specific mention (noem) of
September tells the reader that
the learners are busy writing
prelims (rekordeksamen),
indicating (aandui) that these are
grade 12 learners.
This is also an example of a
neologism (neologisme) as this
is a newly coined term.
6. hande bewe met rukke oor The fact (feit) that their hands are
skoon wit velle shaking (bewe) at times (met
rukke) shows (wys) the reader
that the learners are nervous
(senuweeagtig) or stressed
(gespanne) which is emphasized
PROPERTY OF M SOUNES NO COPYING, SHARING OR DISTRIBUTION
2
ALLOWED
1. Haar skoene klik hard op die 1. Her shoes click loudly on the
houtvloer wooden floor
2. soos sy op en af stap 2. as she walks up and down
3. tussen rye tjoepstil banke 3. between rows of deadly silent
benches
4. Nou en dan kraak die blaai van ‘n 4. Now and then the turning of a
blad page crackles
5. die Septembereksamenlug. 5. the September exam air.
6. hande bewe met rukke oor skoon 6. hands shake at times above the
wit velle clean white sheets of paper
7. los ‘n inkwarboel agter. 7. leave a blotch of ink behind.
8. Die horlosie tel twee ure af. 8. The clock counts down two
hours.
9. Sy stap stadig en oes die stelle 9. She walks slowly and harvests
een vir een the sets of papers one by one
10. Blou op wit: 10. Blue on white:
11. Ryp met gistermiddag se kennis. 11. Ripe with yesterday afternoon’s
knowledge.
Analysis of the poem
1. Haar skoene klik hard op die The pronoun (voornaamwoord)
houtvloer “haar” indicates that it is a
female teacher or female
(vroulike) invigilator
(toesighouer) and the silence
(stilte) is emphasized
(beklemtoon) by the sound
(klank) her shoes make on the
wooden floor.
The h-alliterasie emphasizes
(beklemtoon) the idea of how
loud the teacher’s shoes sound
(klink) in the exam room
(eksamenlokaal).
2. soos sy op en af stap The s-alliterasie serves (dien) to
heighten (verhoog) the tension
(spanning) in the room (lokaal)
with the students writing their
exam.
PROPERTY OF M SOUNES NO COPYING, SHARING OR DISTRIBUTION
1
ALLOWED
, 3. tussen rye tjoepstil banke “banke” indicates (dui aan) that
this is a school setting
(skoolruimte).
“tjoepstil” in its intensive form is
in stark contrast (kontras) to
“hard” in line 1.
“tjoepstil banke” is an example of
personification as well as
metonomy (metonimie) as it
refers (verwys na) to the
learners and also how very
quiet (stil) they are during
(gedurende) the exam.
Lines 1-3 contain (bevat)
enjambment (enjambement)
which might be used to indicate
how the teacher moves
(beweeg) through the rows (rye)
of school benches during the
exam.
4. Nou en dan kraak die blaai van ‘n The turning (blaai) of a page
blad (blad/bladsy) is another thing,
along with the teacher’s shoes,
that breaks (breek) the
absolute silence (stilte).
“kraak” is an example of
onomatopoeia
(klanknabootsing) as it
emulates (naboots) the sound
produced when the students turn
the pages of their exam papers.
5. die Septembereksamenlug. The specific mention (noem) of
September tells the reader that
the learners are busy writing
prelims (rekordeksamen),
indicating (aandui) that these are
grade 12 learners.
This is also an example of a
neologism (neologisme) as this
is a newly coined term.
6. hande bewe met rukke oor The fact (feit) that their hands are
skoon wit velle shaking (bewe) at times (met
rukke) shows (wys) the reader
that the learners are nervous
(senuweeagtig) or stressed
(gespanne) which is emphasized
PROPERTY OF M SOUNES NO COPYING, SHARING OR DISTRIBUTION
2
ALLOWED
