1|P ag e
ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE [ENGHL]
GRADE 12
POETRY GUIDE
(January 2023-)
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CONTENTS PAGE
CONTENTS PAGE No.
i. Preface 3
ii. Poetic Devices 4
ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE [ENGHL]
GRADE 12
POETRY
1. Sonnet 130 / William Shakespeare 8
2. The Child Who Was Shot Dead …/ Ingrid Jonker 17
3. At a Funeral / Dennis Brutus 31
4. Poem of Return / Jofre Rocha 39
5. Talk to the Peach Tree / Sipho Sepamla 45
6. Prayer to Masks / Leopold Sedar Senghor 50
7. This Winter Coming / Karen Press 64
8. Solitude / Ella Wheeler Wilcox 71
9. The Morning Sun is Shining / Olive Schreiner 84
10. It is a Beauteous Evening… / William Wordsworth 91
11. Fern Hill / Dylan Thomas 106
12. The Shipwreck / Emily Dickenson 132
13. References 139
,3|P ag e
PREFACE
Dear Colleagues
This Grade 12 ENGHL Poetry Study Guide was compiled by putting all the resources
that were made available on the Resource Portal, ‘under one roof’. The primary purpose
was to present a range of analyses related to the NSC poems.
It would be truly appreciated if all technical glitches are brought to the light so that
corrections could be affected on the master copy.
Finally, in all humility and gratitude, full credit and acknowledgement are given to the
following individuals who laid the foundation for this Study Guide:
• Ms Carlien Buss
• Ms ASM Haffejee
With best wishes
N. Morar
, 4|P ag e
POETIC DEVICES
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Language that is not meant to be taken literally, or word for word
IMAGERY / SENSORY LANGUAGE
• The use of language to create mental images and sensory impressions for emotional
effect and intensity
• Example—
He could hear his world crashing down when he heard the news about her.
********************
SIMILE
• a comparison of two things that are essentially different, using the words like or as
• Example
O my love is like a red, red rose
(rom Robert Burn’s “A Red, Red Rose”)
********************
METAPHOR
• a subtle comparison in which an author describes a person or thing using words that are not
meant to be taken literally.
• Examples—
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely
players:
They have their exits and their
entrances
(from As You Like It by William Shakespeare)
********************
EXTENDED METAPHOR
• a metaphor introduced and then further developed throughout all or part of a literary work,
especially a poem—comparison can be made to something else not mentioned in the poem
*****
PERSONIFICATION
• figurative language in which non-human things or abstractions are represented as having
human qualities
• Example—
o Necessity is the mother of all invention.
********************
HYPERBOLE
• an intentional and extreme exaggeration for emphasis or effect
• Example—
o This book weighs a ton.
ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE [ENGHL]
GRADE 12
POETRY GUIDE
(January 2023-)
,2|P ag e
CONTENTS PAGE
CONTENTS PAGE No.
i. Preface 3
ii. Poetic Devices 4
ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE [ENGHL]
GRADE 12
POETRY
1. Sonnet 130 / William Shakespeare 8
2. The Child Who Was Shot Dead …/ Ingrid Jonker 17
3. At a Funeral / Dennis Brutus 31
4. Poem of Return / Jofre Rocha 39
5. Talk to the Peach Tree / Sipho Sepamla 45
6. Prayer to Masks / Leopold Sedar Senghor 50
7. This Winter Coming / Karen Press 64
8. Solitude / Ella Wheeler Wilcox 71
9. The Morning Sun is Shining / Olive Schreiner 84
10. It is a Beauteous Evening… / William Wordsworth 91
11. Fern Hill / Dylan Thomas 106
12. The Shipwreck / Emily Dickenson 132
13. References 139
,3|P ag e
PREFACE
Dear Colleagues
This Grade 12 ENGHL Poetry Study Guide was compiled by putting all the resources
that were made available on the Resource Portal, ‘under one roof’. The primary purpose
was to present a range of analyses related to the NSC poems.
It would be truly appreciated if all technical glitches are brought to the light so that
corrections could be affected on the master copy.
Finally, in all humility and gratitude, full credit and acknowledgement are given to the
following individuals who laid the foundation for this Study Guide:
• Ms Carlien Buss
• Ms ASM Haffejee
With best wishes
N. Morar
, 4|P ag e
POETIC DEVICES
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Language that is not meant to be taken literally, or word for word
IMAGERY / SENSORY LANGUAGE
• The use of language to create mental images and sensory impressions for emotional
effect and intensity
• Example—
He could hear his world crashing down when he heard the news about her.
********************
SIMILE
• a comparison of two things that are essentially different, using the words like or as
• Example
O my love is like a red, red rose
(rom Robert Burn’s “A Red, Red Rose”)
********************
METAPHOR
• a subtle comparison in which an author describes a person or thing using words that are not
meant to be taken literally.
• Examples—
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely
players:
They have their exits and their
entrances
(from As You Like It by William Shakespeare)
********************
EXTENDED METAPHOR
• a metaphor introduced and then further developed throughout all or part of a literary work,
especially a poem—comparison can be made to something else not mentioned in the poem
*****
PERSONIFICATION
• figurative language in which non-human things or abstractions are represented as having
human qualities
• Example—
o Necessity is the mother of all invention.
********************
HYPERBOLE
• an intentional and extreme exaggeration for emphasis or effect
• Example—
o This book weighs a ton.
