Poem: Snapshotland

1. Forget what the poem may or may not mean, or what it may be about.

2. Look at just the title and WRITE DOWN about half a dozen things that it suggests to you. Give literal meanings as well as other associations.

-It suggest to me that this poem is about happy things that had been captured on the camera.
-It suggest to me that this poem is about the different photographs taken.
-It suggest to me that this poem is about love and joy.
-It suggest to me that this poem is about different things happening in life.
-It suggest to me that this poem is about the different perspective of different people.
-It suggest to me that this poem is about the meaning of life.

3. Read the poem once quickly, and then several times more slowly. Try to hear the poem aloud in your head. DO NOT recite the poem aloud in class; if you must hear it aloud, read it quietly to yourself.

4. WRITE DOWN a list of all those things in the poem that force their attention on you or which catch your interest for any particular reason. This includes unusual/odd/striking words, rhymes, or repetitions/patterns/contrasts, etc.

-Everyone is happy all the time (Line 1)
-Sandboys and sandgirls who never stop smiling from the time they appear. (Line 5)
-Lovers stay in love forever.(line 8)
-Nobody in snapshotland grows old unless they want to.(Line 13)

5. WRITE DOWN any features of figurative language in the poem: metaphors, similes, personification, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, symbolism, etc.

-Personification: Pleasure-boat
Old-fashioned gardens with lavender and grandchildren
-Alliteration: Time and they
: Sea and Shore
-Assonace: Right and Sight
: Lavender and ever


6. WRITE DOWN groups of words that may be thematically similar (for example, that all similes make reference to animals/death/plants, etc., or all the first words of lines are conjunction words, etc.).
*Don't worry about whether your groups of words seem silly or improbable; look at what you have observed and ask yourself: what is its significance?

-Dolphins and the buckets: They were put in to make the atmosphere better because the tourist on the boats could see the dolpin jumping from the water, making the scene look happier.
-Lavender and grandchildren: They were put in to fulfil the atmosphere of the garden.

7. Look at your lists, notes, and groups. Do you see any pattern taking shape? If so, WRITE DOWN this pattern.

-The "shape" of the poem is getting into becoming to be more obvious.
The pattern is that the poem is getting to be built up bit by bit.

8. Read the poem again and WRITE DOWN your intelligent guesses of what the poem may mean.

-It may mean that the poem is about photos taken, especially happy moment and joyful things.

9. Answer the following questions:
a) Who is "speaking" in the poem? Is it the POET or a PERSONA?
b) Who is the poem "spoken" to? In other words, who is the audience for this poem? Is it to a particular person, to the poet himself (reflective) or to the public in general?
c) What is the speaker's attitude to this audience? Is it angry, sincere, joking, teasing, etc.?
d) What is the POET's attitude to this audience? (This may be different from the speaker.)
e) Why is the poem organized in the way that it is?
f) What is the EFFECT of all the things you have written down in Steps 2-8?

-a) The poet
-b) For people who will appreciate art and those who are positvie.
-c) Joyful.
-d) Joyful.
-e) It is to list all the happy things together and summarizing it in the end.
-f) It is a show joy in the poem and life.


10. WRITE DOWN your guess at the poet's intent: what do you think the poet hoped to accomplish in writing this poem?

-He hopes to get attention from the people and hope that they can appreciate poems and learn the appreciate happy poems too!