Poem analysis for E-learning 4/9

1. The poet brings out his frustration and impatience, anger and boredom clearly in the first 3 stanzas through a series of well-selected puns, metaphors and alliteration.
A good example of pun : “ I am sick…” expresses his anger and dismay of teaching the students as he sees that they are no longer interested in the pursuit of knowledge. He could either be literally tired of long years of teaching the students without any improvement on their part, or could be actually having a headache or sickness. Another pun is “I will not!” It seems to tell the readers that the persona has reached his limit and is already very stressed up with the students.
Metaphors are abundant in this poem. “Unruly hounds” refer to the restlessness of the students and the boredom they experienced. The teacher referred them to dogs, who were put on a leash, and trying to free themselves not wanting to learn. “Tugged the leash” tells us that they very much wanted to “escape” from the dull lesson. They have certainly lost all interest to learn.
“Fuel of life”, another metaphor, refers to the efforts the teacher tries to press on with the lesson, though he felt very dull, monotonous and discouraged. He uses every bit of his will to kindle and motivate himself. However, he does not think that he would make a positive difference to the students even if he uses all of his efforts in teaching these students as they are simply uninterested in acquiring knowledge. This metaphor highlights the passiveness felt and brings an interesting texture to the poem.
2. How is the tone of anger expressed in this poem?



The poet expresses his anger through a choice of carefully-selected words and poetic devices. He has composed a very interesting rhyme scheme to spice up the poem. For example, “ My last fuel of life to heap on my soul, … and take the toll” creates interest in the reader.
Symbolisation is also present. The poet stresses that the knowledge” Goes down the same abyss.” I think he means that all that has been painfully taught to them has been wasted, and disappears from their thoughts. It might also mean that the teacher’s efforts are wasted and the students have not gained anything.