Continuum Allen Curnow

L/O To learn how to pick out specific poetic techniques and comment on the effect that they have on the reader and poem

Unscramble the technique – and explain what it means PSNEOIRIAIFCTNO BNTJMEAENM OMOD PEAOMTHR LIISME YMGRIEA IYMLSMBSO TALRTELIANOI YRMEH YRHMTH PERSONIFICATION ENJAMBMENT MOOD METAPHOR SIMILE IMAGERY SYMBOLISM ALLITERATION RHYME RHYTHM

CONTINUUM- What does this mean? Read the poem silently 3 times. Highlight NEON words (That is- words that call out to you- for whatever reason.) Jot down any connotations or associations with these words at the side of the poem Note down: What you think the poem is about What you think the mood of the poem is Any words that you are unsure of the meaning of (you can look these up later.)

Visual task Pick 3 phrases from the poem that create a very vivid and visual image of what is being described, and either: Sketch the image Or explain using your own words, the image that it creates in your mind.

Picking out techniques: Underline between 4 and 7 examples of the techniques you unscrambled at the beginning of the lesson. (You can underline the same technique more than once.) At the side jot down the associations with the phrase that you have picked out. The moon rolls over the roof Personification- Hey diddle diddle / continuous / smooth / circular / confusion / dizzy / disorientated / height / fun / childish / danger / risk / night / man in the moon / crescent

Commenting on the techniques you have picked. Picking out atechnique is a relatively straightforward task. It will gain you little marks in the exam. It does however, give you a springboard on which you can write about the poem. E.g. Curnow uses personification very effectively in his poem Continuum. The opening line states: “ The moon rolls over the roof.” Immediately this takes the reader back to childhood, as the image created is reminiscent of a cow jumping over the moon. It delights the reader, and also confuses them. And this could symbolise the confusion that the writer himself was feeling when writing this poem. This is further exemplified by the feeling of continual movement, a dizzying repetetive motion of circling as the moon is continually rolling. The surreal aspect comes because this action takes place high above the writer. When the writer then informs us “I am talking about myself.” You really begin to see the bizarre nature of the poem. Yet the mood remains light. Although there is confusion, it is like the confusion you felt as a child rolling down a steep hill. It is exhilarating, and uplifting and fun!

Plenary: Write a short paragraph, summing up what you felt when first reading the poem.