Preliminary English: Standard
Assessment Task 2
POET CORNERED
John Keats Interview.
Introduction:
Good evening everyone, tonight I will be interviewing the famous poet John Keats.
He is noted as one of the principal poets of the English Romantic movement. Keats’s poetry, including a series of odes is characterised by elaborate word choice and sensual imagery and remains one of the most popular poets today.
Please welcome John Keats!
Q: In your poem “Ode to Autumn”, what is the main theme?
A: The main theme in this poem is the cycle of life. It has an emphasise of change and progress not only through autumn but through all mortal events.
Q: Your poem has many extended metaphors such as the seasons in each stanza, what is the deeper message?
A: In my poem I am not just talking about autumn, I am talking about life and more relevantly the end of life, basically. For example, in the first stanza spring relates to birth, the second stanza is summer which relates to adulthood and the third stanza which is autumn relates to the golden years. The third stanza also alludes to winter which symbolises imminent death.
Q: The language you have used is very archaic for a young man, what is the purpose of this?
A: I chose to use language to make the poem sound older than what they really are. Because I am a young man I wanted it to sound authoritative and hopefully be recognised by all.
Q: You allude to the fact that death is inevitable, how does the poem relay this message?
A: Each three stanzas of the poem carry a unique significance to the message, beginning, middle and end. It depicts death through imagery and language and the seasons symbolises this theme.
Q: The other poem being discussed tonight is called “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”. I am told this literally means the beautiful girl without mercy. What is the main theme and purpose of this poem?
A: The poem is about a Knight who...