WAEC Literature Non-African Poetry Summary & Analysis

By Ralph Nyadzi

This book gives the reader easy-to-understand study notes on six famous poems from American and English poets. Bat by D.H. Lawrence and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou are among this collection. Other poems analyzed are Journey of the Magi, The Good Morrow, Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night and Binsey Poplars. Teachers and students of WAEC senior high school Literature will find the study notes on topics like subject matter, themes and poetic devices extremely useful.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cegast
• Release date: Feb 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215779569

Ralph Nyadzi

Ralph Nyadzi is one writer who loves to entertain, educate and inspire his readers all at the same time. He writes as much fiction as he produces non-fiction. His reputation for exploring the human condition, for interrogating the motives behind the actions of everyday people and for inspiring the disadvantaged to reach out for the prize has been well established in his books and on his blog. He is the founder and site editor at CegastAcademy.com and also his indie publishing platform, RN Digital Media Ent. On a typical day, he is either online, busy writing, reading and researching or busier cooking or gardening. Ralph Nyadzi lives with four cats and a partridge couple in the Central Region of his native country, Ghana.

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PART TWO: Non-African Poetry

Binsey Poplars

Caged Bird

Journey of the Magi

Bat

The Good Morrow

Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night

Binsey Poplars by G.M. Hopkins

In this analysis of Binsey Poplars by G.M. Hopkins, we will cover the following key areas.

A Brief Background Information

Title

Structure

Subject Matter of Binsey Poplars

Themes

The Use of Diction and Imagery

Other Poetic Devices or Literary Techniques

The Setting of Binsey Poplars

Binsey Poplars as a Romantic Poem

The Meaning of Sprung Rhythm in Hopkins’ Poetry

Likely Essay Questions on  Binsey Poplars

The Main Point of Binsey Poplars

The main point of Binsey Poplars is that the destructive tendencies of human beings have caused too much damage to the natural environment and, for that matter, there is an urgent need to stop it. We may as well call this the main theme of Binsey Poplars.

Background Information and Title

Here is how the Cambridge English Dictionary defines 'poplar':

'A tall tree with branches that form a thin pointed shape'

Please Note: It is obvious that the poet has used 'Poplars' and 'Aspens' interchangeably. You might want to see more details about poplars and aspens here.

Binsey Poplars, one of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ famous poems, was written in 1879.

G.M. Hopkins (1844-1889), an English poet and Jesuit priest, wrote Binsey Poplars in response to an unfortunate spectacle that unfolded before his eyes when he revisited the small hamlet of Godstow, near Oxford, just a few miles to the north of Binsey.

Hopkins saw, to his horror and dismay, that all the aspen trees that once lined the banks of River Thames had disappeared. The local people had chopped down all of them.

According to Wikipedia.org, G.M. Hopkins' poem, Binsey Poplars, was inspired by the felling of this row of poplar trees near the village of Binsey.

In the recent past, up to as late as 2004, there had been an attempt to replant new trees to replace Hopkins' 'dear' aspens of 1897.

This brings us to the setting of Binsey Poplars

The setting of Binsey Poplars

The setting of Binsey Poplars is somewhere in the vicinity of the village of Binsey, Oxfordshire, England and overlooking Port Meadow, close to the River Thames. The river provides a serene, and beautiful background to the events over which the poet laments.

Unfortunately, the natural ambience of this beautiful setting has been destroyed, all in the name of industrial development.

Coming next in our analysis of Binsey Poplars is the significance of the poem's title.

Title and Its Significance: Binsey Poplars; Felled 1879

The title of the poem, therefore, tells us exactly about its very simple but powerful subject matter.

It is obvious that the destruction of the aspen trees represents a bitter experience in the poet’s life. The sense of loss he feels is portrayed in this obituary-like title:

'BINSEY POPLARS; FELLED 1897'

To him, the trees have been wickedly killed and buried. His poem is a gravestone that stands in memory of the beloved lost trees upon which the words, ‘Binsey Poplars, Felled 1897’ are engraved.

Hopkins might, to all intents and purposes, be feeling so sad about this loss that he wanted to immortalize the memory of the trees in verse.

And, let’s not forget, the exact year of the felling of the aspen tree is mentioned – 1897.

A look at the subject matter of Binsey Poplars forms the next stage in this analysis.

Subject Matter and Meaning

So what is the subject matter of G.M. Hopkins' poem, Binsey Poplars? Or, better still, what is the poem all about? I’m about to explain the meaning of Binsey Poplars by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Well, the subject matter of Binsey Poplars, in a nutshell, is this. Binsey Poplars sums up the poet’s reflection and lamentation over the reckless and ruthless destruction of a group of ‘aspen’ trees in a place called Binsey where he once lived.

Going back there after a long period of absence, the poet is devastated when he notices that none of the once lively and beautiful poplar trees near Binsey is still standing. The local people have ‘felled’ all of them.

‘Not spared, not one’

It is this disturbing spectacle that causes the poet to complain and lament over the loss and over man’s destructive attitude toward nature.

Structure - Two Stanzas

One key question we need to answer in any serious analysis of Binsey Poplars is this. What is the basic structure of Binsey Poplars?

The poem Binsey Poplars is divided into just two stanzas.

It is this basic structure that we will follow as we reveal the subject matter of the poem. We shall take a closer look at each one of these two stanzas - one after the other.

Analysis of Caged Bird by Maya Angelou

Journey of the Magi Analysis

Analysis of The Good Morrow by John Donne

Summary and Analysis of Second Class Citizen

A Brief Summary of Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Literature Lessons for High School - FREE

First comes a summary or subject matter of Stanza I.

Here we go.

Binsey Poplars Stanza I

My aspens dear, whose airy cages quelled,

Quelled or quenched in leaves the leaping sun

All felled, felled, are all felled;

Of a fresh and following folded rank

Not spared, not one

That dandled a sandalled

Shadow that swam or sank

On meadow and river and wind-wandering weed-winding bank.

Meaning of Stanza I

The first stanza of Binsey Poplars is basically about the poet’s discovery of a shocking spectacle. A group of poplar trees he expected to see on his return to Binsey are nowhere to be found