1. SPELLBOUND
LO: To explore verb and
adjective types and apply
these to a poem.

2. VERBS
 5 things to know about verbs
 in Standard English, verbs agree in number and
person with the noun or pronoun which precedes
them
 the boy walks to town every Saturday. [third
person singular]
 we walk to town every Saturday. [first person
plural]

3. AUXILIARY VERBS
 primary auxiliary verbs are used to construct questions and
negatives, to create emphasis, to communicate different time scales
(aspect), or to construct passive sentences (voice)
 Do you have any spare tickets for the match? [question]
 The dog was stolen by a professional. [passive]
 Even when I’m on facebook, I do get my work done. [emphasis]
 He was going to visit tomorrow morning. [aspect: past
progressive]
 The neighbours do not like noisy parties during the
week. [negative]
 We had planned the journey carefully. [aspect: past perfective]
 modal auxiliaries are used to communicate different shades of
meaning (modality)
 I can run 5km in under 30 minutes. [ability]
 I may run 5km in under 30 minutes. [possibility]
 I will run 5km in under 30 minutes. [prediction]
 I must run 5km in under 30 minutes. [obligation]

4. FINITE AND NON-FINITE VERBS
 finite verbs are marked for tense (present and past)
 The donkey makes a lot of noise. [present]
 The snow fell very quickly and covered the road. [past]
 non-finite verbs (-ing participles, -ed participles, infinitives and base
form verbs) are not marked for tense; they can stand alone as part
of a non-finite clause, or they can be used attributively in front of a
noun as a verb modifier
 The man fell to his knees, begging for mercy. [non-finite clause]
 To visit you in Paris would be a dream come true. [non-finite
clause]
 The ground was covered with rotting apples. [verb modifier –
describing an on-going process]
 The boy linked to the attack was questioned by the police. [non-
finite clause]
 As the moon came out from behind the cloud, the broken glass
reflected its light. [verb modifier – describing a completed
process]
 We can help you clear your debts. [base form verb after a modal
auxiliary]

5. 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ADJECTIVES
 they can be placed before a noun (attributive) or after a copular verb
(predicative)
 the sunny day; the pale boy; a cloudy sky [attributive]
 the day is sunny; the boy grew pale; the sky became cloudy [predicative]
 they can be formed by adding suffixes to other words
 afford (verb) + -able = affordable; disappoint (verb) +-ed = disappointed;
amuse (verb) + -ing= amusing (also known as verb modifiers)
 mischief (noun) + -ous = mischievous; dirt (noun) + -y = dirty; skill (noun) + -
ful = skilful; blame (noun) + -less = blameless
 they can usually be graded by a degree adverbs (some adjectives like dead or
still cannot be graded because they describe absolute qualities)
 so rapid, quite warm, exceptionally dangerous, very blue, rather
unexpected
 they can be compared using -er/more or -est/most
 quieter, more precise [comparative]
 highest, most skilful [superlative]
 when they occur in strings, they are ordered according to their
meaning: description/feelings, size, age, -ed/-ing participles, colour, defining
(adjectives closely linked to nouns)
 the loyal old Dalmatian dog
 some delicate tiny blue Forget-me-Not flowers

6. SPELLBOUND
The night is darkening round me,
The wild winds coldly blow;
But a tyrant spell has bound me,
And I cannot, cannot go.
The giant trees are bending
Their bare boughs weighed with snow;
The storm is fast descending,
And yet I cannot go.
Clouds beyond clouds above me,
Wastes beyond wastes below;
But nothing drear can move me:
I will not, cannot go.

7.  2. Key ideas: nouns and modifiers
 What do the nouns and modifiers tell us about
the content?
 Brontë gives the landscape a physical presence
with the concrete nouns linked to the natural
world (“trees”, “boughs”) and the weather
(“winds”, “snow”, “storm”, “clouds”). The
atmosphere, however, is created through
adjectives like “wild”, “bare” and “drear”, and the
adverb “coldly”. These words tell us something
about the literal scene, but also reflect the
narrator’s mood. The use of pathetic fallacy
helps us to understand that the poem is about
more than just a description of a place at a
certain moment in time.

8.  3. Key ideas: themes
 How does the poet use the words, the rhyme scheme and the form to
develop her central themes?
 The theme of vulnerability is developed in the perspective of the poem. The
attributive adjective “giant” and the contrasting adverbs “above/below” make
the narrator seem insignificant in the landscape. This is reinforced by the
parallel noun phrases “Clouds beyond clouds” and “Wastes beyond wastes”, which
define the vast scale of the natural world. The abstract noun “wastes”
contributes to the bleak tone because its negative connotations enhance the
apparent isolation and loneliness of the narrator. She has no control over her
surroundings and is motionless while the present tense verb “blow” and the
present progressive verb phrases “are darkening” and “is … descending” create a
sense of on-going movement around her.
The narrator seems trapped – not just by the approach of night and the
storm, but by something more intangible. This is clear in the abstract noun
“spell”, with its connotations of bewitchment, and in the attributive modifier
“tyrant” with its connotations of control and manipulation. It is also evident,
however, in the very form of the poem itself. The tight rhyme structure
mirrors the narrator’s feelings of being imprisoned: long vowel sounds
(“blow/snow”) and even the words themselves (“me/go”) recur in an inescapable
cycle. The grammatical structure of the sentences is cumulative: the comma
splicing (ll.1-2) and the patterned sequence of initial position co-ordinating
conjunctions (“But … And … And yet … But …”) drive the reader inescapably
onwards. The mood of oppression is underpinned by dynamic verbs like “bound”
and “weighed” as the poem builds to a climax in the repetition of the negative
modal verb “cannot” (ll.4, 8). The initial position conjunction (“And”) and the
caesura (l.4) make this an emphatic statement: the narrator feels physically and
emotionally helpless.

9.  4. Change of direction
 Where does the poem change? What has changed? What effect does it
have?
 The poet has built up a negative tone through her choice of words and the
structure. The last line, however, moves us in a new direction. Instead of
repeating the modal verb “cannot”, Brontë replaces it with “will not”. The
change in meaning is significant – suddenly there is a sense of personal choice.
The tone is emphatic: the positioning of the personal pronoun at the
beginning of the line and the sequence of three consecutive stresses on the
monosyllabic words reinforce this unexpected certainty. The change in tone is
not sustained since “will” is quickly replaced by “cannot”, but for a moment
there is an ambiguity that adds another dimension to the poem. The narrator
both desires and fears the literal and figurative storm that envelops her.
It is at this point that we have to consider the title of the poem. The
adjective phrase “Spellbound” repeats the meaning of the simple sentence
“(But) a tyrant spell has bound me” in an intensified form. As a grammatical
fragment, it is a dramatic introduction, drawing our attention to an idea that is
clearly going to be central to the poem’s meaning. The poet’s implicit repetition
is a signpost that we need to pay particular attention to this. On first reading,
we inevitably interpret the simple sentence as evidence that the narrator has
been bewitched against her will because of the connotations of the words and
the repetition of the negative modal verb in the next line. In the light of the
final line and the title’s repetition of the idea, however, we need to reassess.
There is an important ambiguity: as well as bewitched (negative), we feel that
the narrator is also mesmerised, enthralled (positive). “Spellbound”: one word –
two fields of reference. Some part of her finds a sensual pleasure in the
physical and emotional storm. It is as though the passion of feeling, however
painful, is better than the cold detachment of being numb.

10. PHONOLOGY
 Use the sheet to pick out phonological features
from the poem.

11. REVIEW
 Write a S.E.A paragraph analysing the writers
use of alliteration or assonance.