This video is to be used as a revision aid as you prepare for your final examinations. My assumption is that you've already studied the poem in class and that you've got quite a good understanding of it already. Remember that the examiners are interested in your understanding and interpretation of the poem.
It mustn't be your aim to learn from videos and study guides so that you can just regurgitate someone else's analysis of the poem. You should be... engaging with the text, and it's quite possible that you'll disagree with some points made by various teachers and authors.
Whatever your opinion, you must be able to refer closely to the text to substantiate your answers. You will hear that my voice is not as it usually is on these videos. I do apologize as I try and bounce back from yet another bout of COVID. You'll need a copy of the poem, preferably a clean, unannotated one. If you are using the textbook, the poem is on page 98. You'll definitely need different coloured pens and highlighters so that you can annotate the text.
I find it useful to use post-it notes too. I also recommend that you write your thoughts on paper in non-erasable blue or black pen. so that you can practice writing about the poem in the same way that you'll be expected to do when you answer the exam questions. If you would like to hear the poet read the poem herself, you can find this version on YouTube. Pause my video here and scan the QR code in the top right hand corner.
It'll take you to the reading. It's always good to do some research about the poet. This puts the poem into a context for the reader, allowing you to make some assumptions about the content and hopefully will help you to broaden your understanding of the poem.
Dr. Fionnuala Dowling is the writer of this poem. She is a South African, originally from Cape Town. Her age makes her a contemporary of mine.
which means she grew up during the apartheid years and has seen huge changes in the country. She is a prolific and renowned writer, with her poetry receiving the highest accolades in the South African literary scene, both the Ingrid Jonker and the Olive Schreiner prizes. She is also a voracious reader and is quoted as saying that reading leads to empathy. This quote seems particular. particularly apt for the poem Worm Pit.
Fort Worm Pit is one of her earlier poems, which was republished in a recent anthology. It's always interesting to note the titles of poetry anthologies. Try to think why this poem could be included in anthologies entitled I, Flying and Pretend You Don't Know Me.
You'll agree that this poem isn't a difficult one to read. Take a look at the last point on this slide where you'll see some of the quotes from reviewers of Dowling's work. How do each of these words apply to this poem?
One of the temptations that you have to avoid when writing about a poem such as this is to include all the knowledge that you have of the poet in your analysis. You're expected to deal with the text, the words of the poem. Be careful of stating explicitly that the poet wrote this about her divorce and how she was struggling to cope as a single parent. Every point you make must be backed by substantiation from the poem itself. As preparation for the unseen poems, I recommend that you find other poems by this brilliant poet and analyze them on your own.
It'll give you great practice for the exam paper. Now that we've looked at the poet's background, let's look at the poem itself. What do you notice about its structure?
Well, it consists of four stanzas of varying lengths. The whole poem consists of 25 lines. The writing is free verse.
This means that there is no formal rhyme scheme or meter. There's a lot of enjambment, which you'll remember is a sentence or line that continues from one to another without a break, and the rhythm of the poem mimics that of natural speech, and the diction and register are quite conversational or colloquial. The next step is to have a look at the title of the poem.
Uwem is the Afrikaans word for uncle. Here in South Africa, we have the peculiar habit of calling non-family members auntie and uncle as a term of respect. As an English-speaking person, I'm still shocked when a youngster addresses me as Tani, and I've had to learn not to respond with a terse, I'm not your auntie.
Pit is a typically Afrikaans name. The title and the name position this poem firmly as South African. The man's name is preceded by the preposition for, which indicates that the poem is written in acknowledgement or recognition of this man. It's almost a gift for him.
When you read a poem for the first time, underline or highlight the words that you don't know. so that you can return to them. Also take note of words that strike you as odd or out of place.
In this poem, because the language is so accessible and colloquial, there won't be a lot of words that are unfamiliar to you. Make sure that you understand the connotations of words, not just the denotations. In line five, are you certain of the age range of a toddler? This is important when you look at the relationship between mother and daughter, especially when we read that it is the toddler who leads the mother to the neighbour. There's a connotation of innocence and wide-eyed wonder and acceptance of the world.
This child is not as jaded or world-weary as the mother appears to be. In line 9, the adjectives lame and bilious. are used to describe injured or sick animals and many of the words in the second stanza relate to the world of farming or agriculture the expression foytoch in line twelve should stand out for two reasons one is that it is printed in italics indicating in this context that it is from another language i e afrikaans And secondly, many of you English-speaking students might be unfamiliar with it. It's a delightful South Africanism, indicating sympathy.
Many of us would probably use, ah, shame, as a substitute term here. An oddity in line 12 is the sentence, I don't hope so, which is a direct translation from the Afrikaans, ekwep ni sueni. The reason for the single inverted commas is to indicate both the oddity of the expression and the fact that these words are direct speech. The word courtly in line 15 is an old-fashioned term often used to describe the interactions between well-bred gentlemen and ladies.
The etymology of the word is from the French courtesse, which means to have good manners or a courtly royal bearing. In keeping with the conversational register, the description of the duck's waddling is rather lovely, as we imagine the clumsy, flat-footed gait of the birds. The choice of words, like this, show the writer's skill. There's a deftness, a lightness of touch in the diction, that amplifies the message of the poem. Let's get started with a line-by-line analysis.
The first line of the poem is arresting. The speaker refers to a time in her life when she was least happy. The reader is intrigued. What caused this unhappiness?
And do you note that she doesn't say when I was sad or when I was unhappy. The description of least happy implies that generally the speaker is an optimistic person, one who is not prone to doom and gloom. In the second line, there's an inversion.
Usually, a parent would escort a child across a road. Here, it's the daughter who leads the mother. In line four, we see that this child is very young, a toddler.
Note the determined action of this child. She leads her mother across the road with a purpose. The child knows exactly where she's going and why. The mother appears more cautious. The neighbour is someone she doesn't know, as is the case with so many young children.
They don't see the obstacles in front of them, the gates, the fences, the new people. They only see the reward that lies ahead of them. In this case, the ducks and the puppies on the other side of the fence.
It appears that the mother is learning a lesson taught to her by her toddler. Be brave. Step out.
Cross that road. When analysing poetry, always be on the lookout for figurative language and other linguistic features. Here we have the phonic device of alliteration, with the repetition of the L sound in the first two lines. What effect does this have on your reading of the poem? Well, generally, the L or L sound slows down the pace of the reading.
This could apply here as the mother is reflecting on a moment in her life when her daughter made her stop and take stock of something for which she usually didn't make time to enjoy the simplicity of the animals on the other side of the fence. How many of you? Like me, scroll mindlessly through social media, but stop when we come across the videos of cute puppies and kittens. It's a way of slowing down, appreciating something sweet and innocent. Most of us are so caught up in the busyness of our days, indoors, that we've lost touch with the simple outdoor pleasures of life.
In the second stanza, it is one pit who is addressed six times with the pronoun you. By placing the pronoun at the beginning of the lines, the speaker shifts attention to this person, this man, who treats her with such kindness, compassion and empathy. In line 8, there's another example of alliteration with the repetition of the gentle mm or e. m sound. Everything about this neighbor, Worm Pit, is gentle and soothing.
He doesn't speak in harsh tones. He's attentive to all creatures in his world, both animal and human, and he treats them all with courtesy and respect, especially those who are hurting in some way, be this a physical ailment, lameness or biliousness, or an emotional one. The use of the direct speech, foitoch and I don't hope so, add a layer of authenticity to this man. There are huge differences between the speaker, an English-speaking woman, and her neighbour, an Afrikaner man, but his speech patterns reflect his core of decency, his ability to communicate with her despite their differences.
line ten points out the mundane topics that became part of the conversation when pitt didn't pry into the speaker's life he recognized that she was hurting in some way and extended a hand of friendship to this mother and daughter duo living next door do you note another inversion of traditional roles here generally or stereotypically In the world of elderly men, it is the women who make the tea and wipe the counters. Here it's Wampit who does this, giving the speaker a brief respite from her troubled life, a few moments in which she is treated and served. As no other family member is mentioned by the speaker, we can assume that she's a single parent and that it's just she and her daughter in the home. In line 13, the elderly gentleman recognises this without being told.
He guesses about the circumstances of his neighbours, and, without being creepy, nosy or weird, affirms the speaker's role and position in society, acknowledging her presence, reminding her that she's beautiful, that she's of worth. The conversation that these two have is how we should all strive to be, showing our humanity and empathy when we guess that a fellow human being is having a difficult time. We should all be courtly and not ditch old-fashioned concepts of politeness and courtesy towards others. And conversely, we shouldn't discount elderly people as having lived their lives and thus being of little or no value to the rest of society.
The third stanza comes across as an anecdote. In other words, a short personal story told to illustrate a point. Line 16 starts with the words one day, the age-old introductory statement used when telling stories. Wumpet is doing what neighbours should do, spreading joy and kindness. What little girl wouldn't enjoy some time with ducks, especially on a rainy day?
You'll note that the second person pronoun is still in use in this stanza. There's the delightful detail of the mispronunciation of the daughter's name as Beatrix. We can assume that Wampit struggles with the pronunciation of Beatrice. This detail is autobiographical, as the poet Fenula Darling does have a daughter named Beatrice. The description of the duck's waddling.
further illustrates the gentleness of Wumpit. The ducks calmly walk to the neighbours. They're not chased. They're not stressed by the movement. His direction is gentle but firm.
This is amplified by the alliteration of the W, the W sound. There's a slowness, a gentleness in the sound. There's also the possibility of linking the gate of the... toddler to this waddling, she too would have walked awkwardly, but in confidence and security towards Wampit.
The final stanza consists of just two lines. Inevitably, life moves on. Both the speaker and Wampit moved, but what will never be forgotten is the kindness of her neighbour.
Wumpit didn't do anything dramatic. He wasn't a rescuer in the sense of a knight in shining armour galloping in to save a damsel in distress. No, more realistically, his empathy gave her the courage, the hope to continue. Wumpit saved her in a way that we can all save others, by noticing if someone is less happy than usual. and reaching out in a simple way one gets the impression that every time the speaker feels challenged she just has to remember the good neighbourliness of wimpit and she'll be able to take on the difficulties of daily life with renewed determination it is the use of the present tense verb in stays in line twenty four that illustrates this wimpit's actions will remain long after they have moved on to new houses.
Take note of the alliteration here, the repetition of the S sound, the S, which is actually called sibilance. It conveys the gentleness of this experience, the sense of security that the speaker gained from her interactions with Wumpit. Although simple, the poem has a number of symbols in it. It's up to you to determine what you think each of the following items represent in the context of the poem. In stanza one, the focus is on mother and daughter and the daughter's determination to get the mother out of the house, into the garden, to see the ducks and puppies.
The child understands far better than the adult that to get to the reward You need to choose a path and to overcome obstacles. In the second stanza. they are references to nature and farming that things will go wrong but that with the right care and attention these things can be put right the reference to tea really resonates with me i come from a family where at the first sign of distress or trouble my mum would say let me put the kettle on it seemed that there was nothing that couldn't be solved by a conversation had while drinking a cup of sweet tea in stanza three there's a sense of a shift the mother and child don't always have to go over to umpitt he now sends the ducks over to their house as they watch through a window while it's raining rain could be a symbol of growth refreshing or you could see it as a time of sadness like tears as the woman processes what has happened to her to make her less happy. The final stanza has the vocabulary of healing. Finally, the mother is able to move on.
She's been rescued. Her friendship with Umpit hasn't continued since they both moved away from this place, but his role in her life is complete. He helped her when she needed it most. It's a wonderful affirmation that sometimes people enter your life just for a season. They're in the right place at the right time and we remember them with fondness long after we've moved on.
This poem is the speaker's gift to her neighbour years later as she reflects on her life. As you prepare for the exam. You should ask yourself for every one of the poems, what's the tone and what's the mood of the poem? Remember that the tone is a reference to the emotions or feelings of the writer, the poet. In this poem, we could say that there's a tone of nostalgia, as the speaker reminisces about events from the past that have shaped who she is now.
There's also a sense of gratitude, an acknowledgement that the influence of oom pitt helped her hugely in some rather difficult times and while it's more correct to write of the register as being informal or conversational it would be appropriate to write about the chatty colloquial tone of this poem the mood of a poem is a reference to the feelings experienced by the reader i'm sure that in the beginning of the poem you were quite curious as to what had happened to the speaker, why she refers to less happy times in her life. You could also be sympathetic towards her circumstances, a single mum in need of a friend. Ultimately, the poem should leave you with a sense of optimism. The poem is a testament to the power of reaching out to simple kindnesses.
There's a sense of hope. that often the solution to heartache is something as simple as a gesture of friendship. The IEB prescribes various poems from a variety of literary canons.
This poem is categorised as South African. Do you think that there's anything in this poem that makes it specifically South African? Well, of course, you'll be expected to refer to the poet herself and to the diction, quoting in particular the Afrikaans words.
But is this relevant to South Africa as a nation? I would argue that it's not that specific, that the theme of the poem is a universal one, that readers from any nationality, would recognize the references to our human condition and the need for kindness and empathy. Well that's it for this video and I fear for my voice.
You should now be well prepared for any assessment on this poem. Good luck with your exam preparation everyone.