You should be here, Nature has need of you.
She has been laid waste. Smothered by the smog,
the flowers are mute, and the birds are few
in a sky slowing like a dying clock.
All hopes of Proteus rising from the sea
have sunk; he is entombed in the waste
we dump. Triton’s notes struggle to be free,
his famous horns are choked, his eyes are dazed,
and Neptune lies helpless as a beached whale,
while insatiate man moves in for the kill.
Poetry and piety have begun to fail,
As Nature’s mighty heart is lying still.
O see the wound widening in the sky,
God is labouring to utter his last cry.
By Boey Kim Cheng.
A world of images come to our mind as we read Cheng’s words. What do the girls and boys in S3 see? Take a peek!
Another Prezi presentation by Pilar & Lucas:
To “crown” it all we’ve been doing some essay writing. It was hard to choose one single essay so here’s a selection of what S3 can write. Absolutely worth reading!!!!
Essay question: Compare how Keats and Boey Kim Cheng use nature in “On the Grasshopper & the Cricket” and “Report to Wrodsworth” to convey their meaning.
We really like the presantation Violeta did because the pictures she used really represent what the poets wants to say anda also gives a real view about what is happening to nature and to some places we can not see.
We liked Serena and Sofia´s presentation because they were able to represent in a good way the poem and what is actually happenning in the world.
Due to the intensity and the message transmitted on the shown pictures, we deeply think that two of the best are the first and the third slideshare. We express our opinions in such a way, mainly because, as it is a slideshare, the images are of high importance. Now, the reasons why we have selected these presentations are quite obvious. The images of the chosen slideshares are the clearest, the best and transmit the message in a more unique way than the others, creating a vulnerability on the reader that could change his mind in a very singular way.
This slide share was also very good, we liked the illustrations a lot and we could also understand this poem very well with the illustrations used by agustina’s group.
We liked Luisa and Agustina’s presentation because pictures are well chosen and interesting.
What is more, we liked very much Ramiro and Tomas’s presentation because the pictures fit very well with the quotations.
Ramiro and Tomas’s prezi was truly amazing. The illustrations made it so easy to underdstand the poem, we specially liked it so much for the great images.
the prezi of olivia, micaela and ivan was really good, i enjoyed watching it, because it describes de poem in an easy and quick way, also, the images are well selected.
santiago´s and sofia´s prezi was also very good, it didnt have so much pictures so it was easier to follow, and it was easy to interpretate the poet message.
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John Keats and Boey K. Cheng’s poems contain a theme in common: Nature. Nevertheless, their meaning is different in each poem. In the following essay, I am going to compare and contrast Nature’s role, and how it is conveyed, starting with “On the Grasshopper and the Cricket” followed by “Report to Wordsworth”
Keats states his point of view from the first line: “The poetry of earth is never dead”. This poem is about the cycle of life, how it never ends, and how it is constantly moving on. Keats’ way of describing nature transmits hope and even happiness, as its tone is cheerful. He believes in Nature and in its never-ending cycle. The images are refreshing, “he rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed”, and the reader may sense a kind of calmness. It is a hopeful tone; and even if it is winter time, nature is still there, like poetry, they will never end. “The cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever”: the cricket brings warmth, and a sensation of comfort. So, Nature, in this poem, conveys hope and security; like Poetry, they will always remain immortal.
On the other hand, “Report to Wordsworth” is completely the opposite to “On the Grasshopper and the Cricket” in many different levels; from the tone, to its purpose. Cheng wrote the poem in order to complain and, in a pacific way, (by poetry) denounce an injustice he was seeing and experiencing. In his poem, Cheng is evoking Wordsworth, a famous writer who, during the Industrial Revolution, wrote a poem, in which he denounced the changes the society was living as if it was a horrible, shameless change. He described it as Nature’s end. Cheng’s poem starts calling Wordsworth, asking him for help “You should be here, Nature has need of you” He also regrets the previously stated changes, and feels really sorry about the loss of Nature; and with Nature, poetry as well: ” while insatiate man moves in for the kill. Poetry and Piety have begun to fail”. The blame is put on human beings, and their thirst of technology and innovations. He criticises these losses, and conveys a feeling of regret. Nature’s role in this poem is really darkned, as it was fading away “The flowers are mute, and the birds are few in a sky slowing like a dying clock”
In conclusion, both poems own something in common: Nature is extremly important to convey the poem’s meanings. Although they talk about Nature, the meaning is completly the opposite. While in the first one Nature transmits hope, in the other one, it is being lost. The tones also help to transmit the feelings of hope and security, and of gloom and regret.
Keats and Cheng refer to nature in these two poems, but each of them in their poem has a different view of nature. Now I will explain and compare the different meanings.
In “On the Grasshopper and the Cricket” Keats says that Nature is very much alive, with a lot of birds, trees, flowers. In this sentence he explains it very short and brief “The Poetry of Earth is never dead” And he summarises the theme of the poem.He wants us to know that the meaning of Nature for him is that Nature is alive and not dead.Also in winter the cricket sings and causes a warm feeling to remind us of summer, like it says in this line “The Cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever”. He wants us to know that Nature is a never ending cycle, and that she is present in all the stages of the year, “The Poetry of Earth is ceasing never” it never ends.
Against the view of Keats “Report to Wordsworth” is very different, Cheng wants us to know that Nature needs our help to be alive, as it says in the first line “You should be here, Nature had need of you” Because if not Nature is not alive, “Flowers are mute, and the birds are few” It means that flowers die and there are few birds flying in the sky. Without Nature “Poetry and Piety have begun to fail” So it needs our help to work, with our help Nature can be amazing and beautiful so we can enjoy it. It also says that Nature needs animals and birds to work but if we don´t help Nature to exist, Nature will end.
In conclusion Keats and Cheng have different views of Nature, Keats thinks that nature is alive and that we can witness this because of insects that sing and Cheng thinks that only with our help it can work, but at the same time the two of them think it is amazing.
Literature: Essay Writing
By santi roldan
In “On the Grasshopper and the Cricket”, Keats uses the cricket and the grasshopper`s song to explain how nature is never dead “the poetry of earth is never dead” it compares how Nature survives the outstanding heat and the freezing winter “when the frost has wrought silence, from the stove there shrills the cricket`s song, in the warmth increasing ever”. This quote explains how nature can survive winter. The meaning he tries to transmit is how nature prevails, no matter how hot or cold it is.
In “Report to Wordsworth”, Cheng uses words related to rot such as “waste”,”smog” and “dump” to explain and at the same time to create an effect on the reader, he uses them to explain how the human race is destroying nature, how hopeless our future is if we continue poluting the world. “Neptune lies helpless as a beached whale” he says this as a metaphor, not even the Roman gods can stop us. He uses nature to explain how man is killing the earth.
In conclusion, they use nature to explain something opposite, Keats says nature is never dead and Cheng says nature is dying.