Starter quiz
- “Burning” might connect to ...
- feelings of sorrow.
- feelings of anger. ✓
- feelings of apathy.
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- Attribution of human characteristics to non-human things is called ______.
- 'personification' ✓
- The sonnet form has ...
- 14 lines and an irregular rhyme and rhythm.
- 14 lines and a regular rhyme and rhythm. ✓
- 15 lines and a regular rhyme and rhythm.
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- Lament means...
- a passionate declaration of love.
- a passionate declaration of hatred.
- a passionate declaration of sorrow. ✓
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- Grace Nichols’ personal context is that ...
- she has lived in Guyana her whole life.
- she emigrated to Britain from Guyana. ✓
- she has lived in Britain her whole life.
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- A volta is ...
- the turn of thought or argument in the sonnet form. ✓
- a division of a poem consisting of a series of lines arranged together.
- a reflective poem that laments the loss of someone.
- repetition of words or phrases in the first part of successive clauses.
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Exit quiz
- An irregular form in poetry could arguably indicate ...
- feelings of anger ✓
- feelings of calm
- feelings of control
- feelings of uncertainty ✓
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- In 'Like an Heiress', Nichols refers to nature’s emotions as ...
- “volatile”
- “moodswings” ✓
- “apathetic”
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- In 'Like an Heiress', Nichols links to the sonnet form through ...
- the use of a regular rhyme and rhythm.
- the use of 14 lines in the poem. ✓
- the use of a volta. ✓
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- In 'Like an Heiress', the contrast between “burning” and “air-conditioned” is ironic because ...
- it suggests humanity has to create solutions to problems it caused. ✓
- it suggests that the reader knows something the speaker does not.
- “Burning” and the concept of cold are opposites.
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- In 'Like an Heiress', the volta in line 4 signals ...
- a shift away from a focus on nature.
- a shift to a focus on the destruction of nature. ✓
- a shift to focus on the speaker’s heritage.
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- Relating to, or resulting from the influence of human beings on nature is called ______.
- 'anthropogenic' ✓
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Nichols’ personification of nature may be to heighten the unjust treatment of nature by humanity.
- The link to the sonnet form through the length may be to show the love that the speaker has for nature and her heritage.
- However, the lack of adherence to the sonnet form may show that humanity itself doesn’t love nature.
- It may also be representative of the disconnect the speaker feels towards her home.
- The irregularity of the poem may be indicative of the uncertainty towards the planet’s future.
Common misconception
If a poet doesn't conform to a poetic form then they are rejecting it.
By not using a particular poetic form, or subverting a poetic form, a poet may be critiquing a certain expectation or making a certain comment on society.
Keywords
Ironic - an ironic situation in which something has the opposite effect of the one intended.
Anthropogenic - relating to, or resulting from the influence of human beings on nature.
Sonnet - a poetic form consisting of 14 lines, written in iambic pentameter, typically on the topic of love.
Lament - a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.
Volta - the turn of thought or argument in the sonnet form.
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