Analysis of Country School

Country School Allen Curnow By Abdulla Al-Muhannadi In this poesy Country School, Curnow basks in reminiscence of his previous(a) naturalise day where he drifts onward in recalling his fryhood. As this poem re? ects childhood reminiscence, the teller looks to realise that things arent as dull and bad as they seemed before, along with the portrayal of the general issue of ageing. However, the tone of the narrator seems to sway between enthusiastic and apathetic as there are many condemnations when the tones seem to differ between two extremes. The double is describing a country school that seems to be somewhat dilapidated in condition.The vivid paradigm drawn by the alliterative phrase paint all peeled supports the fact that the school is indeed deteriorating. Tufts topping enables the reader to visualise a country school architecture, with pinus tufts on its detonating device ridge, establishing an image of a typical country school. Through the usage of colloquial langu age, these vivid images hold more detail then one faculty think they do at ? rst. For instance, the word dunny evolves a picture of local Australian toilets enlightening the earshot to the smallest of details.Furthermore, girls squeal skipping conjures up an auditory image as the little children are playing around him (supported by the sibilance). Several kinds of onomatopoeia help to describe what the persona is experiencing. THe ? uid r sounds in rank and roof-ridge help to integrate the ideas, linking them and service form a wider image of the country school. Also, the b sounds in bargeboard, weatherboard and gibbet belfry calls attention to the detailed observation, helping build up a solid image. Curnow employs parallelism as well as repetition in order to create links in this poem.The parallel relation, or contrast, of how small how drear, draws a link with how he seems to be recalling his days back in school. The passing of time and his ageing is revelaed as the very doo rs that seemed huge from a childs point of view, are now described as being rather small. The persona refers to himself as a third person and this is deduced by means of the repetition of the word you. Perhaps the persona had a rough time reconnecting with his old school that he felt more comfortable referring to himself as a third person rather than ? rst. The rhyme scheme is irregular perhaps something that re? cts his irregular pattern of this recollection of memories. It also reveals the lack of assurance, and the hard time he seems to have re-adjusting to his past. ALthough is does follow an imperfect rhyme scheme (e. g. topping-skipping waves-eaves than-began small-wall), the ? uctuating rhymes and discordant sounds allows the audience to notice his discomfort while revisiting his school. Curnow has made use of an unstable coordinate (so to speak), for the poem doesnt hold a constant number of stanzas, rather it begins with 3 and 5-lined stanzas and ends with two 4-lined sta nzas.This growth of stability, signi? ed by the proper structure of the proceed two stanzas, re? ects the growth or the increase in the poets clarity of understanding. Its as though he ? nally realised that the very things that were unsettling or intimidating to him as a child (e. g. terrible doors) are not as bad as they looked. This minor epiphany seems to be mimicked by the structure of the poem itself. Similarly, the narrator seems to get distracted momentarily and this can be shown in the second stanza after Pinus betrays. While observing the pinus he drifts international into talking about how they function.However, he does get back on track in the third stanza (for scantling pinus) as his focus shifts back to the long-stalked trees that seem to be guarding the school. There is the use of enjambment as well paint all peeled on bargeboard, scattering bravely Nor West gale, etc. This suggests the pace at which the narrator seems to be remembering his past and the sense of ex citement is established with this upbeat pace. The poet employs colloquial language, chie? y to perhaps connect with his audience and communicate on an informal level by talking about something as casual as school. Gibbet belfry would be an manakin of his simplistic yet local language helping the reader win visualise the school and its locality in detail. The idea that the school started along with the persona himself brings into notice that it might not be as old as one would think. you call it old unless suggests that he is merely just referring to the school as being old when its not in actuality. The idea of ageing has been linked to the pinus trees that grow mature in less than the life history of a man. This line suggests that the time period for a tree to gain maturity is lesser than the time taken for humans.The word scantling further backs this idea for as it describes the measurement of the maturity of the tree and to deduce its time of harvest. Similarly, the word ter rible implies that the poet wasnt actually fond of the tiny doors when he was a child, and its reference as being sad suggests its dilapidated state. Its through words like these that the audience is able to sense a hint of unpleasantness in the poets past as he fails to hold an optimistic approach to this walk down memory lane. Rather the tone seems to be somber and melancholic. Furthermore, it insinuates that the narrator pities the state of his school.This poem holds a variety of ? gures of speech used and this perhaps re? ects the variety of emotions he himself goes through in this nostalgic visit to his old school. Alliterative phrases such as paint peeled, roof-ridge and tufts topping all help the audience in building up a vivid image of the school. A similar imagery effect is achieved through the series bargeboard, weatherboard and gibbet belfry. Using neologism (made-up word), the phrase snub-worn points out that the school isnt in the best of its condition as the ? oors hav e worn out. The pinus trees that portray the same pace of ageing have been personi? d as theyve been criminate of betraying the school and not guarding the roof rom the rattling Nor West gale. However, the trees have also been described as scattering bravely, perhaps an attempt to look up the nobility of what the tree is doing for the school (by scattering the strong winds and defending the meek school structure). This task of the trees has been compared to the take down through the analogy as a reef its waves for the wind is scattered just as the tidal waves are scattered by the reef, drawing an interesting comparison with the two elements wind and water.In addition, the comparison of the ages between the narrator himself and the trees establishes through the usage of polyptoton (where words/phrases derived from the same root are repeated) less than a life of a man and together your lives began further stating the common point in time as they simultaneously began this process of ageing. The poet holds a humorous, as well as a sarcastic, tone when saying O sweet antiquity as its been made clear that theyre not so old, let alone antique. Curnow has successfully, in my opinion, demonstrated through this persona, soulfulness who seems to be in denial of growing old.Its obvious that the narrator is just as old as the school, but we ? nd him calling the school antique, suggesting that he doesnt feel like hes getting older but ? nds it okay to exaggerate others age (sort of comedically insincere I would say ). Through the poem, Ive realised that its still possible to savour the past without having to hold the same perspective. In that sense, times change over and so does ones perspective, however, it doesnt mean that things remain the same throughout and the very things that seemed unpleasant once upon a time might seem laughable now (as Curnow clearly demonstrated in the poem).