Literature and South Africa

A less theoretical definition of poetry is, “putting the best words in the best possible order.” A poet may incorporate the theory as follows. The poet may astutely choose words possibly with a double meaning in order to indirectly convey a message, evoke emotions, or to slander. Then, the poet may unconventionally place such words and phrases perhaps out of expected order for the sake of creating a “word picture,” emphasizing the speaker’s feelings, or offering tangibility to the poem. By implementing this idea onto poetic works, the poet will have auspiciously written a superb poem. This theory may be applied to a few of Catullus’s poems specifically “Carmen 5”, “Carmen 8”, and “Carmen 85.” Catullus’s meticulous choice of words and arrangement highlight the central focus of the poem, obliquely criticize traditional Roman law, manipulate the audience’s attitude, transmit the speaker’s emotions, paint “word pictures,” and offer symbolic meaning consequently producing a successful poem.

Style is the special way an author creates his or her work. Gabriela Mistral exploits an informal style in her poem “Ballad”. The poem discusses the poets feelings and is written in first person point of view validating its informality; “My heart’s blood.”-Line17 using ‘my’ and describing her heart confirm this. Diction contributes to style in an extensive way. Repetition is a form of diction that is heavily spread out through the poem. “Saw him pass by.”-Lines 2/6, “He goes loving.../...in bloom”-Lines1-2/11-12, and “He will go.../through eternity.”-Lines 19-20/23-24. The repetition emphasizes the authors style an diction. In this poem diction is displayed through negative connotation. Choosing to describe her emotional state as “,wretched,”-Line 5, instead of sad or unhappy, and by adding a

George Szirtes article “Formal Wear: Notes on Rhyme, Meter, Stanza, and Pattern” from the Poetry Foundation opens with opinions which focus on limitations of poetic form. As a counter to these common arguments, Szirtes claims, “Verse is not decoration: it is structural. It is a forming principle and words at depth” ("Formal Wear: Notes” 2). He then develops an argument explaining, “the constraints of form are spurs of the imagination: that they are in fact the chief producers of imagination” ("Formal Wear: Notes” 2). Taking these ideas into consideration Szirtes incorporates the idea of language explaining how language connects to memory and imagination which come together to form poetic images. Additionally, when poets use form it develops

Use appropriate and scholarly sources in order to complete this assignment successfully, such as peer-reviewed literature and web sources that have .edu, .gov, and .org domain addresses. Wikipedia, and most .com sources are not considered to be of sufficient scholarly rigor.

I declare that all material in this assignment is my own work except where there is clear acknowledgement or reference to the work of others. I am aware that my assignment may be submitted to plagiarism detection software, and might be retained on its database. I have read the University statement on Academic Misconduct (Plagiarism) on the University website at www.utas.edu.au/plagiarism or in the Student Information Handbook.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

This assignment represents my own work. It is not a recycled assignment from another course and it has not been purchased, borrowed, or obtained from another source. Nor has any part of it been plagiarized. I did not include sections written by or summarized by other students. I have not shared any part of my paper with other students. I have made myself familiar with the definition of plagiarism and I have properly documented and cited all of the referenced data and quotes in the sections in which they are used. I am familiar with the rules for documenting sources and further understand that any violations of the college code of student conduct will cause me to fail this course (and not just the assignment at issue) and the case turned over to the college vice president’s office for possible further action including possible expulsion from the college.

This assignment represents my own work. It is not a recycled assignment from another course and it has not been purchased, borrowed, or obtained from another source. Nor has any part of it been plagiarized. I did not include sections written by or summarized by other students. I have not shared any part of my paper with other students. I have made myself familiar with the definition of plagiarism and I have properly documented and cited all of the referenced data and quotes in the

This exercise is considered an academic writing exercise. Quality of response, grammar, and punctuation are considered in your overall grade.

I declare that this assignment is my individual work. I have not worked collaboratively nor have I copied from any other student’s work or from any other source except where due acknowledgment is made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for me by another person.

I confirm that I have read the University regulations on plagiarism, and that this assignment is my own work.

By submitting this work, I am declaring that I am the originator of this work and that all other original sources used in this work have been appropriately acknowledged. I understand that plagiarism is the act of taking and using the whole or any part of another person’s work and presenting it as my own without proper acknowledgement. I also understand that plagiarism is an academic offence and that disciplinary action will be taken for plagiarism.

South African heritage and culture is immensely diverse, and consists of many different groups of people who each have their own traditions and beliefs. Having such a diversity of people and cultures is what makes South Africa so unique. In the true sense of the phrase, we are a rainbow nation.

Of all the African countries, South Africa is typically considered the one most connected to the English language. South Africa has quite a complex relationship to English, and it provides an interesting study in sociophonology, the aspect of the discipline of language study which focuses on differences of pronunciation which are perceived as socially significant.

The daily ritual of leaving work in the city to arrive home in the suburbs has been masterfully depicted in the poem, The Inhabitants. By taking the New Critical analysis approach in using scientific theory, we can unpack its meaning through a defined system self-contained within the text. In our analysis of The Inhabitants we take a structuralism approach. Structuralism as defined by Mary Klages, in her book Literary Theory: A Guide for the Perplexed, is a way of thinking that works to find the fundamental basis units or elements of which anything is made.” (p 31). The number 5 is a very powerful prime number. Taking a closer look at the poem, we see the power of the 5 paradigm and how it plays a crucial role in unlocking the poem’s very meaning.