Two excerpts are given below:

(a) From T. S. Eliot's *The Waste Land*: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust, / The dead tree gives no shelter, the dry bones / of the earth lie open, stark and mute."

(b) From J. Keats's *Ode to a Nightingale*: "Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! / No, no!—the voice of the nightingale / fills the night with a full‑throated ease."

For each excerpt, identify which sense (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.) dominates the imagery, and discuss how that dominance reinforces the central theme of the poem.

Question

Two excerpts are given below:

(a) From T. S. Eliot's *The Waste Land*: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust, / The dead tree gives no shelter, the dry bones / of the earth lie open, stark and mute."

(b) From J. Keats's *Ode to a Nightingale*: "Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! / No, no!—the voice of the nightingale / fills the night with a full‑throated ease."

For each excerpt, identify which sense (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.) dominates the imagery, and discuss how that dominance reinforces the central theme of the poem.

Accepted Answer

Eliot's excerpt is dominated by visual imagery, reinforcing the theme of desolation; Keats's excerpt is dominated by auditory imagery, reinforcing the theme of transcendence through song.

Gce Model Questions Vol1 2021 Literature In English Question 48

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