Lit and Non-Lit text

For my first ever ELP task of grade 11, my partner (Owen) and I will be exploring/unpacking one literary piece of text and one nonliterary piece of text. We will analyze literary pieces of work from the same body (author) and non-literary pieces of text from the same body (author). For our literary author, we will be using Issac Rosenberg an English poet notably known for his poems written during the first world war. And, for our non-literary author, is Little Miss Honey who is famous for her blogs.

Literary text:

“Break of Day in the Trenches” by Issac Rosenberg.
The darkness crumbles away.
It is the same old druid Time as ever,
Only a live thing leaps my hand,
A queer sardonic rat,
As I pull the parapet’s poppy
To stick behind my ear.
Droll rat, they would shoot you if they knew
Your cosmopolitan sympathies.
Now you have touched this English hand
You will do the same to a German
Soon, no doubt, if it be your pleasure
To cross the sleeping green between.
It seems you inwardly grin as you pass
Strong eyes, fine limbs, haughty athletes,
Less chanced than you for life,
Bonds to the whims of murder,
Sprawled in the bowels of the earth,
The torn fields of France.
What do you see in our eyes
At the shrieking iron and flame
Hurled through still heavens?
What quaver—what heart aghast?
Poppies whose roots are in man’s veins
Drop, and are ever dropping;
But mine in my ear is safe—
Just a little white with the dust.

Context: Issac Rosenberg who was an English poet born was on 25 November 1980 in Bristol, United Kingdom. Growing up, Rosenberg attended the Slade School of Fine Art, Bribeck then going on the University of London. Issac Rosenberg later on in his life became a soldier during the First World War. While being in war, Rosenberg tended to write many literature pieces inspired by the things that were happening around him. Issac Rosenberg is well known for his poems from the battlegrounds and the trenches. His most well know pieces of work are: “Break of Day in the Trenches” and “Dead Man’s Dump”.

 

Point: In the poem, “Break of Day in the Trenches”, Issac Rosenberg uses free verse rather than a rhyme scheme which is most commonly used in poetry. Issac Rosenberg here uses the free verse to convey the feelings/consciousness of the soldier in World War One.

 

Evidence:

“The darkness crumbles away.
It is the same old druid Time as ever,
Only a live thing leaps my hand,
A queer sardonic rat,
As I pull the parapet’s poppy
To stick behind my ear.
Droll rat, they would shoot you if they knew
Your cosmopolitan sympathies.
Now you have touched this English hand
You will do the same to a German
Soon, no doubt, if it be your pleasure
To cross the sleeping green between.
It seems you inwardly grin as you pass
Strong eyes, fine limbs, haughty athletes,
Less chanced than you for life,
Bonds to the whims of murder,
Sprawled in the bowels of the earth,
The torn fields of France.
What do you see in our eyes
At the shrieking iron and flame
Hurled through still heavens?
What quaver—what heart aghast?
Poppies whose roots are in man’s veins
Drop, and are ever dropping;
But mine in my ear is safe—
Just a little white with the dust.”

Analysis: Here, Issac Rosenberg uses no specific rhyme scheme but a free verse style. This free verse restricts the reader to interpret the poem as one long stanza. This allows the reader to interpret the text as a deep thought of consciousness very similar to how the soldiers would feel in battle while being in the trenches. Issac Rosenberg uses the long stanza here to reflect the gloominess and harsh thoughts of World War One. These thoughts were not visibly shown by soldiers as they were supposed to go into battle without having any fears/line of thinking, Rosenberg here shows the perspective of a soldier indicating one part of their identity which is below the surface.

Related image

 

Point: Issac Rosenberg in the text reveals the political values of the solider which reflects one part of his identity.

 

Evidence:

“Droll rat, they would shoot you if they knew
Your cosmopolitan sympathies.
Now you have touched this English hand
You will do the same to a German
Soon, no doubt, if it be your pleasure
To cross the sleeping green between.”

Analysis: Through the use of the words “English hand”, Issac Rosenberg reveals the identity of the soldier who is stuck in the trenches. Furthermore, Issac Rosenberg personifies an image of a rat that is with the solider. Rosenberg indicates that the Germans on the other side of the trench would shoot the rat (which symbolizes a figure) as it associates itself with one side (vice verse, the English would shoot the rat if it was associated with the Germans). Through the reveal of an English soldier and the symbolization of the rat, Rosenberg indicates the political views of an English soldier.

 

Point: Issac Rosenberg uses powerful sentences and symbolization to illustrate the experiences of the soldier.

 

Evidence:

“What do you see in our eyes
At the shrieking iron and flame
Hurled through still heavens?
What quaver—what heart aghast?
Poppies whose roots are in man’s veins
Drop, and are ever dropping;
But mine in my ear is safe—
Just a little white with the dust.”

Analysis: Issac Rosenberg here uses the flower (poppies) which often symbolizes hope to show the light and darkness of the soldier’s experiences in the war. The poem describes the “roots are in man’s veins” and “Drop, and are ever dropping” almost as if all the hope is like blood being drawn/drained away from the body. Issac Rosenberg here again illustrates the life experiences and perspective of the soldier in World War One.

 

In conclusion, Issac Rosenberg illustrates the identity of a worn-out English soldier stuck in the trenches of the First World War. Additionally, Rosenberg here uses his poem to shows the real/true identity of a solider back then compared to expectations/assumptions of what a soldier’s identity would be. Rosenberg could very well potentially be reflecting his identity upon this solider.

 

Non-literary text: 

SUCCESS DOESN’T HAVE ONE FACE

Context: Little Miss Honey is a lifestyle blogger who currently lives in Singapore with her husband and two kids. She is a licensed doctor in family medicine but currently enjoys adventuring life (food junkie, traveling, and reading) while recording all her experiences.

Point: Little Miss Honey doesn’t believe that success is all materialistic. She believes in a more deep-meaningful value in terms of success.

Evidence:

“Can you quantity success by your branded bag, your expensive shoes and your glittery jewelries? It is easy to say, I bet he/she is successful having to acquire those. I guess you forget that devilish item called Credit Card. Anyone can look rich and successful nowadays but check again their bank accounts & credit score, are they really? Those are not measurements of success as most people think they are. Some prefers less things and have peaceful lives. And they feel successful enough to have all their necessities met.”

Analysis: Little Miss Honey mentions that success is not just all materialistic tangible items but sometimes value. Furthermore, Little Miss Honey mentions “Anyone can look rich and successful nowadays but check again their bank accounts & credit score, are they really?”. Little Miss Honey is trying to express not to believe in everything you see. Little Miss Honey believes that everyone has their own definition of success but her own definition is when her necessities are met. That is what she values.

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