1. HEIR CONDITIONING
THE POET: M.SHANMUGHALINGAM
 Studied at the Victoria Institute School, Malaysia from 1952-
1958.
 Holds an Honours degree from University Malaya, a Masters
from Harvard and a Doctorate from Oxford University.
 Literary publications include short stories and poems in
Commonwealth Anthologies, internal anthologies, universities
and in national literary journals.
 The co-editor of an anthology of Malaysian poetry.
 Has always been active in the debating, literary and drama fields.
THE MEANINGS
Stanza 1 : the grandchild asks questions to his/her granparents.
Grand dad did you breathe
before air cons were invented
The grandchild asks his/her grandfather if he was able to
before the air conditioners were made.
Was it hard staying alive without
modern inventions?
The grandchild asks whether his/her grandfather found it
difficult to live without modern gadgets.
Grandm weren’t you flustered as
you fluttered with paper fans?
The grandchild asks his/her grandmother whether she was
angry when she had to cool herself with paper fans.
Could you communicate before
faxes and long distance calls
became basic necessities?
The grandchild wonders how his/her grandparents
communicated before there were no facsimile machines and
telephones. These are considered basic needs in our lives.

2. Stanza 2 : the grandfather/grandmother responsed to the questions posed by
their grandchild in stanza 1.
Grandchild we lived before your
age.
The grandparent says that they lived at an earlier time
than the grandchild.
Because of our ignorance, we did
not know pollution, stress, trffic
jams, destruction of forests,
streams and hills.
However, since they are not educated, they didn’t have
to deal with pollution, stress, traffic jams, damage of the
natural environment.
We feared God and nature We were afraid of God and respected nature.
Now nature fears you and money is
your new God.
Now, nature is being threatened by you and money has
become your main focus.

3. SETTING
Time frame : Stanza 1 - past time
Stanza 2 - present time
Place : Stanza 1 – a place in the past
Stanza 2 – a place in the present
PERSONA
 There are three personas.
 One persona is curious child talking to his granparents.
 The other two personas are an old man and an old woman answering their
grandchild’s questions together.
LITERARY DEVICES
Alliteration
Alliteration is used to reflect the sound of the wind from her grandmother’s paper fans
The repetition of similar consonants at the beginning of words put close to each other.
Example:
Consonant: /f/
Grandma weren’t you flustered
As you fluttered with paper fans?
Rhyme Scheme
Contemporary. Followed no rhyme scheme.
Pun
Pun is used as an irony as the usage of air-conditioner is causing harm to the nature as
we enjoy the cool air.

4. Example:
Heir conditioning and air-conditioning
Heir
An heir is a person who will legally receive money, property or a title from
another person, especially an older member of the same family, when that other
person dies; someone who now has the responsibility for dealing with a problem
or situation that existed or was created earlier.
Condition/ Conditioning (INFLUENCE)
It is to train or influence a person or animal mentally so that they do or expect a
particular thing without thinking about it.
Repetition
Words or ideas that are emphasized to show the importance of a certain concept
Example:
Line 1- 9 : You”
Line 10- 18 : “We”
Line 18- 20 : “You & We”.
Here the poet emphasize the word “you”, focusing all attention to the
grandparents. Also signify blaming; “you” as pinpointing.
Style
The style use is simple but rich in contrast.
Example:
The lines in the poem are presented in a non standard tradition of style.
The poem is presented in 9 lines in the first stanza.
The second stanza contains 10 lines.
Tone
This poem has a rather serious and sarcastic tone. This is because the use of all these
technological appliances that are supposed to make our lives more comfortable is
actually destroying the world we live in.

5. The tone of the grandchild (line 1-9) poses question. The child asks questions in
an innocent and naive tone. Example ( “…did you…” , “…was it…” , “…weren’t
you…” , “Could…you…” )
The tone of the Grandparents (line 10-18) is serious. The voice of someone
scolding, preaching, and teaching an ignorant person. Example (“…we did
not…”)
Irony
An expression of meaning often humorous or sarcastic, by the use of language of a
different or opposite tendency
Example:
In this poem, the poet highlights the comforts of modernization (telephones, air-
conditioner and modern transportation), and the consequences (stress,
consequences of traffic jams and pollution) they have brought into us.
THEMES
 Life in the past was simple and peaceful.
 Developmets in the present life come with stress, pollution and destruction
of nature.
 Love of money and material things.
 No fear of God and no love of the environment.
 Modern inventions are beneficial but are indirectly gives us problems.
MORAL VALUES/MESSAGES
 We must love our environment.
 We must be God-fearing.
 We should not be greedy and materialistic.
 We must realize that material comfort does not ensure a better quality of
life.
 We must always respect and preserve nature.

6.  We must use the technology wisely.
 We must be not blinded by money.
 We should be religious and do not forget our responsibilities.
QUESTIONS
1) Explain the meaning of ‘before your age’ ?
= long before the grandchild were born.
2) Why does the grandparent says ‘now nature fears you’
= because we destroy nature indiscriminately for our own gain.
3) What does the word ‘heir’ refer to?
= the grandchild.
4) List two negative aspects of modern invetions.
=pollution
=stress
5) The poem states that money is your new God. Why?
= because money is very important for us that we cannot survive without
money.
6) What is the persona’s view of life during his grandparents’ time?
= he believed that their life was difficult as it was without modern gadgets.
7) What are the poem about?
= the comparison between the lifestyle of those days and nowadays.