ENG2602
ASSIGNMENT 3 ,2024
, ASSIGNMENT: 03
THIS ASSIGNMENT IS COMPULSORY
ASSIGNMENT WEIGHT: 35%
ASSIGNMENT DUE DATE: 13 AUGUST
2024
ENG2602
QUESTION 1: POETRY
Closely read the following poem “Farewell” by E.E. Sule
and answer the question that follows. Tight jinxed
professors gazing at the immensity of nothing!
Behold a multitude of books speeding away in escape
Pens swagger in hollowness, prostitute with cheap sheets
Afro-haired professors walking the length of the Atlantic in
fury!
Bid the sun, bid the moon, bid the stars, bid the rivers
Farewell
Farewell to the flapping bravado of the flag
Farewell to the querulous query of the anthem
Ask the rocks, ask the rivers
ask the ghosts of the deserted shelves
ask the rocks, ask the rivers
ask the emasculated walls surrounding shelves
They will be manacled by crooked questions
In their intention a jeremiad shall burst
They will compose startling rhetoric
Only in amputated tongues
Assignment Guidance
Reading for Pre-writing
To answer this question, you first need to read the whole poem more than once in order
to get a sense of what it is about. Thereafter, annotate the poem as you identify words,
phrases, and expressions you are not familiar with. As you do so, establish first the
surface meanings and then the contextual meanings of these words and phrases. This is
an important step to take as it makes you appreciate the relevance of context and will
assist you in being relevant to the poem and the accompanying prescribed question.
Remember to also make use of the techniques provided in your study guide and try to
follow the process that has been outlined for you. Make notes on the margin about the
following:
• In what way does the title of the poem suggest meaning? Farewells often evoke
mixed emotions. What emotions are evident in this poem? How do they communicate
feelings of loss, sadness, outrage, and disillusionment? How do these feelings merge to
give the poem a sense of defeat and disappointment in the face of what people had
hoped for?
• Consider how lines like ‘the flapping bravado of the flag’ and ‘the querulous query
of the anthem’ use linguistic features to enhance meaning while they illustrate the
poem’s political context.
ASSIGNMENT 3 ,2024
, ASSIGNMENT: 03
THIS ASSIGNMENT IS COMPULSORY
ASSIGNMENT WEIGHT: 35%
ASSIGNMENT DUE DATE: 13 AUGUST
2024
ENG2602
QUESTION 1: POETRY
Closely read the following poem “Farewell” by E.E. Sule
and answer the question that follows. Tight jinxed
professors gazing at the immensity of nothing!
Behold a multitude of books speeding away in escape
Pens swagger in hollowness, prostitute with cheap sheets
Afro-haired professors walking the length of the Atlantic in
fury!
Bid the sun, bid the moon, bid the stars, bid the rivers
Farewell
Farewell to the flapping bravado of the flag
Farewell to the querulous query of the anthem
Ask the rocks, ask the rivers
ask the ghosts of the deserted shelves
ask the rocks, ask the rivers
ask the emasculated walls surrounding shelves
They will be manacled by crooked questions
In their intention a jeremiad shall burst
They will compose startling rhetoric
Only in amputated tongues
Assignment Guidance
Reading for Pre-writing
To answer this question, you first need to read the whole poem more than once in order
to get a sense of what it is about. Thereafter, annotate the poem as you identify words,
phrases, and expressions you are not familiar with. As you do so, establish first the
surface meanings and then the contextual meanings of these words and phrases. This is
an important step to take as it makes you appreciate the relevance of context and will
assist you in being relevant to the poem and the accompanying prescribed question.
Remember to also make use of the techniques provided in your study guide and try to
follow the process that has been outlined for you. Make notes on the margin about the
following:
• In what way does the title of the poem suggest meaning? Farewells often evoke
mixed emotions. What emotions are evident in this poem? How do they communicate
feelings of loss, sadness, outrage, and disillusionment? How do these feelings merge to
give the poem a sense of defeat and disappointment in the face of what people had
hoped for?
• Consider how lines like ‘the flapping bravado of the flag’ and ‘the querulous query
of the anthem’ use linguistic features to enhance meaning while they illustrate the
poem’s political context.
