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Monday 7 June 2021

River poem Summary, Poetic devices, Theme and Paraphrasing-fusionstories

 

Poem: River

Clear and cool, clear and cool,

By laughing shallow, and dreaming pool;

Cool and clear, cool and clear,

By shining shingle (stones, pebble), and foaming weir (waterfall);

Under the crag (rock) where the ouzel (bird) sings,

And the ivied (covered with ivy plants) wall where the church-bell rings,

Undefiled (pure), for the undefiled;

Play by me; bathe in me, mother and child.

 

Dank (Wet, Damp) and foul (unclean) dank and foul,

By the smoky town in its murky (dark, gloomy) cowl;

Foul and dank, foul and dank,

By wharf (dock) and sewer (drain) and slimy bank;

Darker and darker the farther I go,

Baser (lower) and baser the richer I grow;

Who dare sport with the sin-defiled (ruined)?

Shrink from me, turn from me, mother and child.

 

Strong and free, strong and free,

The floodgates are open, away to the sea.

Free and strong, free and strong,

Cleansing my streams as I hurry along

To the golden sands, and the leaping bar,

And the taintless tide that awaits me afar,

As I lose myself in the infinite main,

Like a soul that has sinned and is pardoned again.

Undefiled, for the undefiled;

Play by me; bathe in me, mother and child.

Summary

The poem “River” is a short poem, just three stanzas long. It is written by “Charles Kingsley”. The poet says that a river can be a place for playing, laughing, dreaming, and bathing: a pure place where a mother and child can belong. It can reflect the cleanest, most admirable aspects of the human spirit.

At the same time, a river can be dark, dank, foul, and slimy: a place where a mother and child should naturally feel repulsed. These portions of the river reflect the sinful, unclean aspects of humanity. The point is that the river is defiled in some places and undefiled in others. It's complex and changing. The same is true of humanity. We're debauched at times, pure at other times. The author seems to hint that sin and filth are related to greed and the accumulation of money. "Baser and baser the richer I grow," the river says, meaning that it gets more disgusting and unclean as it gets "richer."

However, the poem seems to have a hopeful message overall: the first and last stanzas are about the purity of the river, while the second stanza is about its filth. This structure allows the poem to end on a pure note. Toward the end of the final stanza, the river cries out this description of itself: "Like a soul that has sinned and is pardoned again."


THEME RIVERS (POEM)

The theme of the poem is that our soul is both pure and sinful at the same time.

CENTRAL IDEA

Its central idea is that a river can be symbolic of both cleanliness and filth, and both sin and purity of the soul. 

Metaphor:  A Figure of speech comparing two things without “like” or “as”.

1.    The river’s a winder

2.    The river’s a hoarder

3.    The river’s a singer

4.    The river’s a monster

ONOMATOPOEIA: is a sound that things make

1.    Hums

2.    Gurgles

3.    Sucking

4.    Gobbled

5.    Swallow

Personification: A figure of speech gives human qualities to things

He doesn’t choose

He twists and he turns

He just cannot be still

And he buries down deep

He gurgles and Hums

Sucking his thumbs

As he dances along

He’s gobbled up trees

 

SIMILE: A figure of speech comparing two things using “like “or “as”.

And sounds like he’s happily sucking his thumbs

 

 

Rivers poem poetic devices

 


 

Paraphrasing

Stanza 1: In this stanza the poet says that the river water is clear and cool. It flows by the shining stones makes foaming waterfall. Near it the ouzel bird sings under a rock. The wall of Church near it is covered with ivy plants. The church bell rings there. It is a pure place for pure people. It can be a place for playing, laughing, dreaming, and bathing: (a pure place) where a mother and child can belong.

Stanza 2: In this stanza the poet says that the river water passes by the dark, swampy and polluted places. That dark and gloomy town is full of pollution. The sewer is passing by the dock and making the bank slimy and stinky. As it goes farther and lowers, it gets more and more polluted. The poet questions “who will dare to play with a sinful and ruined (person)?” Now the river is polluted and it is no more favorable for the mother and child to play with.

Stanza 3: In this stanza the poet says that the river water has become strong and free near the sea. The floodgates are open and it enters the sea. It cleans all its filth and then it touches the golden sand with its pure tides. It joins the grand sea and become pure like a soul who is forgiven. Now the river is pure for the pure souls. Mother and child can play by it bath in it is it is pure again.

 

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