1. Childhood
Long time he lay upon the sunny hill,
To his father's house below securely bound.
Far off the silent, changing sound was still,
With the black islands lying thick around.
He saw each separate height, each vaguer hue, 5
Where the massed islands rolled in mist away,
And though all ran together in his view
He knew that unseen straits between them lay.
Often he wondered what new shores were there.
In thought he saw the still light on the sand, 10
The shallow water clear in tranquil air,
And walked through it in joy from strand to strand.
Over the sound a ship so slow would pass
That in the black hill's gloom it seemed to lie.
The evening sound was smooth like sunken glass, 15
And time seemed finished ere the ship passed by.
Grey tiny rocks slept round him where he lay,
Moveless as they, more still as evening came,
The grasses threw straight shadows far away,
And from the house his mother called his name. 20
1
4. Responding to the poem
Stanza 1
Long time he lay upon the sunny hill,
To his father's house below securely bound.
Far off the silent, changing sound was still,
With the black islands lying thick around.
Important notes:
4
5. Imagery
Long time he lay upon the sunny hill,
To his father's house below securely bound.
Far off the silent, changing sound was still,
With the black islands lying thick around.
5
6. He saw each separate height, each vaguer hue, 5
Where the massed islands rolled in mist away,
And though all ran together in his view
He knew that unseen straits between them lay.
6
7. Often he wondered what new shores were there.
In thought he saw the still light on the sand, 10
The shallow water clear in tranquil air,
And walked through it in joy from strand to strand.
Tone-more like 1st stanza-joy-wonder
-IMAGINATION
-the child imagines the 'black
islands' to be similar to his current
'world', a reflection of his presently
peaceful, calm life. FLIGHT OF FANCY
Imagery supporting these points:
'new shores'-sees bigger world as
full of islands like his own
- reflects narrow experience of Word Choice
childhood sand-shifts in reality
'still light'-contrast change
- 'strand to strand'
'clear'-not realistic in terms
(walks between islands) of LIFE
'shallow water' 'tranquil'-cannot see storms ahead
- contrasting with 'joy'
REALITY all convey sense of wonder,
joy t imagination of the
- conveys INNOCENCE innocent child.
SOUND
SH-- shores, shallow etc
hush, comfort, calm
7
8. Over the sound a ship so slow would pass
That in the black hill's gloom it seemed to lie.
The evening sound was smooth like sunken glass, 15
And time seemed finished ere the ship passed by. emphasises
how slowly
Setting time passes
'Sound' a body of water (more on this later) for the child
'evening' day ending?
'black hill' SOUND-'sound' 'smooth'
-soft, calm,
-threat?
'black hill's gloom'-contrast with
'sunny hill' the boy began on-darkness
- encroaching
PATHETIC FALLACY
-reflects the menace of the passing
ship, a symbol of the outside
world-it's not quite entering
his world, but it's on the periphery,
'gloom' suggesting something unpleasant.
8
10. Grey tiny rocks slept round him where he lay,
Moveless as they, more still as evening came,
The grasses threw straight shadows far away,
And from his house his mother called his name. 20
Setting:
'grey tiny rocks slept round him', 'grasses threw straight shadows',
the landscape appears to provide further protectionthere is an atmosphere of
peace
personification: sleeping rocks
Mood:
Serenethe threatening ship has passed by
Evidence: 'rocks slept', 'moveless'
Mentioning the child's father (line 2) and mother (line 20) gives the sense that
they 'enclose' the whole poem (frame), which is concerned with the child,
embracing him, giving a sense of unity in the family, echoed by the unity and
harmony of the landscape.
In the final line of the poem, the repetition of 'his' in 'his house, his mother... his name'
stresses that he really belongs to this place, with these people. Calling his name
emphasises this.
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16. Literary form
influence of ballad form:
word order: 'long time he lay', 'rolled in mist away'
(inversion, as you spotted earlier)
lexical choice (fancy way of saying word choice):
'ere', 'strand'
language in Orkney is at times archaic, retaining words and forms
from the 17th century.
gives sense of ancestry, generations stretching back from this
small boy, increases sense of belonging
Simple form fits the theme of uncomplicated, secure childhood,
and bare landscape
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