6. c) Unseen Poetry - Explaining Poetic Devices

In the Friendly Dark by Dennis Brutus*

In the friendly dark, I wheel                  

as a bird checks in flight
to glide down streams
and planes of slanting air

so I turn, worn by work                                                       5

and the dull teeth of care
to find your face, your throat
and the soft dark of your hair;
 
flesh lies snuggled in sheets
the brain, wrapped close in folds                                    10
of the still-blanketing night,
awaits the easy balm of dreams,

but my heart soars and wheels

hurtling through the friendly dark
to find your mouth and your heart                                  15
and nest quietly there.

*Dennis Brutus served 18 months of hard labour on Robben Island due to his political activities during the Apartheid era, after which he was permitted to leave South Africa with his wife and family.

 

When writing about any poem it is essential to discuss the imagery using the correct terminology. You also need to do more than name the figure of speech [e.g. simile], you need to discuss how it contributes to what the poem is trying to show or emphasise. Read this poem and highlight all the imagery; underline other words that contribute, for example using the words associated with one idea to write about another.

 

Task:

1. Select quotes and explain each one for different figures of speech you've found. e.g. (metaphor, oxymoron, personification etc)
2. Write about the central image in the poem.