Higher English ciritical poetry essay - constructive ciriticism and hepl please watch

    • Thread Starter

    I wrote an essay on a poem that I think I can match to a multitude of questions, so I want to get it just write. Here is one I did on how the theme of change is explored:

    Waiting Room

    A poem in which the poet explores the theme of change is 'Waiting Room' by Moira Andrew. The Poem tells the story of an old woman in a care home who struggles to come to terms with her old age. In this essay I will show how the writer effectively conveys the theme through imagery,...

    The poem begins with the line:
    "She waits neatly, bone-china thin"
    Right from the outset Andrew uses this metaphor to conjure up an image of this lady in the reader's mind. The connotations of something being 'bone-china thin' is not just that it is not thick, but delicate, fragile and easily breakable. This first line deals with the theme of physical change which is continued throughout the poem. In the next stanza, Andrew goes on to describe this woman's appearance further:
    "bearing the graffiti of old age"
    The use of the word 'bearing' in the metaphor suggests the carrying of a burden, that it is an unwanted hindrance. This idea continues when she describes it as 'graffiti', this implies that it tarnishes a previously unblemished object and that it is difficult to remove. This shows that she is not happy with her change in appearance. After this Andrew uses another metaphor:
    "veins / snaking across her hands / like unravelled knitting"
    Here Andrew is painting a clear picture of the woman's appearance. The description gives and idea of both the size and shape of her veins. The simile 'like unravelled knitting' is also appropriate as knitting is an activity often associated with the elderly. This is yet another piece of imagery which shows a change in physical appearance.

    Andrew also uses similar techniques to describe the weakness that has come to the woman with old age:
    "She drizzles sherry"
    The word choice here shows her lack of strength. It shows that she is not strong enough to carry out the simple activity of lifting a bottle sufficiently enough to pour it but instead manages to tilt it just enough for a small quantity of the sherry to flow out. Andrew maintains this theme:
    "fumbling / to light a cigarette'
    This is another simple task that she struggles to carry out. The reader is given an image of an old woman with shaking hands unable to perform a seemingly straight-forward task. Continuing this theme the poem goes on to say:
    "The stick a third leg"
    This metaphor shows the dependence this woman has on her walking stick - that she is so reliant on it, it has become as important as a limb. All of this amounts to give the reader a clear idea of how much the woman has weakened with old age.

    The third verse opens with a very long sentence with no pauses except from a single comma towards the end. The sentence comes to an abrupt halt and is followed by a contrastingly short sentence:
    "Names elude her:
    This sentence structure mirrors her mental state, one second she is thinking back to occurrences of the past and then suddenly a gap in her memory becomes apparent. Andrew then follows this with:
    "Tormented / she tries to trap them on her tongue"
    The significance of the word 'tormented' is shown as it is the first word of the sentence and it is separated by a comma and a new line from the rest of the sentence. The extremity of the word, carrying connotations of agony and torture, shows the amount of frustration and anguish this causes her. The alliteration of the harsh 't' sound backs up this feeling. Use of imagery in the metaphor 'she tries to trap them on her tongue' shows her lack of memory and how bitter she is that she suffers from such forgetfulness. The whole stanza has an underlying tone of pity for the woman, Andrew stirs sympathy from the reader by showing how resentful she is of her faltering memory and how much she wants to return to her previous mental state when she didn't suffer from such issues.

    A third change we see the woman go through is a change in lifestyle. Andrew uses personification, describing her room as 'claustrophobic with possessions'. This tells us that she has so many items they clutter up a whole room. Next Andrew backs up this point:
    "eight Homes and Gardens rooms"
    This explains the vast quantity of possessions, that they have been moved from eight large rooms into a single, far smaller one. This also shows the life of luxury she once led, living in a house with eight rooms that are nice enough to be included in 'Homes and Gardens' magazine suggests a lifestyle of wealth. After this, Andrew mentions some of the woman's possessions:
    "fine glasses... wide-brimmed wedding china"
    This too backs up the idea that the woman had a wealthy lifestyle. Finally Andrew demonstrates the woman's lack of independence:
    "waiting to obey the gong / (Saturday, boiled eggs for tea)"
    Here Andrew shows how institutionalised the woman's life has become. The word 'obey' implies that her actions are governed by the gong and she follows whatever is asked of her through it. The idea of a gong summoning the group of elderly people is also very impersonal, as is the fact that they have no choice in food, but eat the same things at the same time. All os this tells the reader the extent of her changes in lifestyle and her negative feelings are clearly evident from the tone of the poem.

    The idea of waiting is developed throughout the poem. Initially this is seen as a good thing:
    "She waits neatly"
    "She waits graciously"
    These give a sense of anticipation. However as we go further on, this idea changes:
    "she waits defiantly"
    Where the words 'neatly' and 'graciously' have positive conniptions, the word defiantly breaks this pattern. Now the waiting becomes less exciting and more tedious, waiting for something to interrupt the monotony rather than waiting for something interesting to take place. This idea of boredom is continued:
    "A man's face, / preoccupied by youth, looks on"
    Here a sense of loneliness in the poem is established. She is constantly waiting for something, anything to happen and when she does get a visitor they come across as passive, disinterested and not engaged. This creates a sympathetic tones for the woman which is built upon at the very end of the poem:
    "Waiting for the rain to stop / waiting for winter, waiting"
    Here we see the idea of waiting reach it's climax. The events she is waiting for start at short term, a change in weather. Then they become slightly longer term, a change in season. Finally, waiting for something even longer term which the reader can only assume is her inevitable death. This shows that Andrew uses the idea of waiting to show the woman's outlook on life has changed from optimistic to bleak.

    To conclude, Andrew effectively conveys the theme of change through various means including tone, imagery, sentence structure and word choice amongst many others. Andrew takes us through this woman's life, showing us how she had changed in appearance and physical strength as well as how her outlook on life, mental state and lifestyle have changed. Of the many changes she has experienced since her move to the home, it was the final once that struck me the most. Her change in outlook leaves the reader reflecting on the negatives that come with old age. This brings us back to the title. After reading the poem it is clear that the title 'Waiting Room' is a metaphor for death. The room, is the woman's room in the care home and she is waiting to reach the end of her life, living out her final days in a less than exciting way.

    Thanks in advance.

    You clearly know your poem inside out. But, you need to know how to answer the question, and not simply do a guided tour. Essentially, your essay is: quote + meaning + more meanings -> repeat -> repeat.

    You should try not to be repititive nor too predictable. You must structure your essay to, firstly, answer the question, and then to show your appreciation of the writer's craft. For example, what impact did the use of "quote" have on the question: what message is the writer trying to convey?

    At the moment, you're giving a guided tour, going from quotation-to-quotation and annotating them, and then going to on to say that "it deals with physical change" or that it "is yet another piece of imagery which shows a change in physical appearance."

    From reading your paragraphs, I see you do not have opening sentences/points/statements which answer the question.

    For example:

    question = Write about a poem in which feminist ideas are put forth. Go on to discuss how it affects your appreciation of the text.

    The feminist poet highlights women's pulchritude during the renaissance. Throughout the poem it is prevalent that women are, indeed, aesthetically appealing. As such, it is said that the "lady is a rose". It can be said that "rose" suggests beauty: thus, the lady is beautiful. Therefore, the poet believes that women, during the renaissance, were especially superior when it came to aesthetics.

    The first part asks for feminist ideas: I have answered this with my opening sentence, and backed it up with my following sentences on analysis (the argument); then I answered the second part of the question which asks for appreciation of the text: I said that women during the renaissance were especially superior, as that is what the author is trying to convey (that's the Personal Response).

    The above example was purely fictitious which I merely made up (there is no question on feminism, nor have I studied, and therefore written an essay, such a text). However, it does answer the question. Answering the question = minimum B, strong argument and personal response = A

    Good luck. If you need any help on English PM me: I'm also doing Higher this year.
    • Thread Starter

    Thanks a lot that was very useful! I was aware that my essay had a rather formulaic and repetitive structure but I was unsure of how else to get my points across.

    (Original post by James94)
    I beg you to PM me with anything to do with English: admittedly, I love reading and writing essays.
Applying to university

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How immigration reform would affect Social Security and Medicare

Immigration ReformImmigration reform advocates, together with the nonpartisan organization the Congressional Budget Office, have declared in public that the United States would be positively affected by immigration reform in a number of different ways.  Thousands of jobs would be created by immigration reform every year, spurring economic growth and dramatically reducing the nation’s deficit.

As well as these benefits, independent researchers have also discovered evidence that indicates that the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the system that supports the great majority of healthcare services in which millions of Americans are enrolled, would have its own financial stability markedly improved by immigration reform.  Many experts are predicting that the Trust Fund, which finances healthcare for people on Medicare in the United States, is likely to be depleted within 12 years, by 2026.

Immigrants who are newly legalized would give tax dollars to the Trust Fund without having to use its benefits for around ten years and Social Security is likely to be affected in much the same manner.  Undocumented immigrant workers who receive legalization would extend the solvency of the Social Security by a number of years by contributing taxes to the system.

The Congressional Budget Office and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare are of the opinion that immigration reform would prove to be extremely beneficial to the programs of the United States and affect the lives of senior citizens who are enrolled in these programs in America in a very positive way.


The Eye

For a comprehensive and interactive treatment of the eye visit

Visit this site to learn of the history of corrective lenses

Courtesy: Buzard Eye Institute

Normal Vision

The human eye is a marvelous manager of light rays. The function of eye structures is summarized here
cornea is transparent tissue that serves as an outer covering for the eye and is the place where much (70-80%) of the refraction for the eye takes place.
iris regulates the amount of light entering the pupil by altering the size of the aperture (pupil) through which the light passes.
lens is double convex and gelatinous, its shape being controlled by ciliary muscles in order to fine-tune a sharp image. The process by which the lens changes shape to sharpen the retinal image is called accommodation. Click here for a demonstration.
retina at the back wall of the eye is the place where incoming rays(or waves or photons,take your pick) strike rods and cones that convert light energy into electrical impulses that are sent to the brain for analysis.

While it will always be a marvelous construction, the eye from time to time does malfunction. The most common eye disorder is nearsightedness,more commonly known as myopia . There are two schools of thought on the cause of myopia. Some suggest that it is hereditary and exists because the eyeball slightly longer than it should be. In the other theory it is held that behavior, specifically great amounts of close work, weaken the ciliary muscles so that the eye cannot focus things are far away. In either case, the image comes to a focus in front of the retina . See the diagram above. The condition can be corrected by a diverging lens, most often a meniscus concave (a.k.a. convexo-concave). Such a lens in a spectacle frame is an imposing piece of glass or plastic being much thicker at the edge than at the center. The reader shoiuld note that the glass is this thickness mostly for its own safety--well beyond being shatter-prone. A soft contact lens is fashioned as meniscus concave and is called hydrophilic,literally "water-loving", because it has 40% water composition. This small wisp of plastic soaked in saline does all of the additional refraction necessary to put a sharp image on the retina.

People who are extremely myopic may need the refractive power of a double concave lens/ Many years ago, Congress saw fit to give people who are functionally blind an additional tax exemption

 Formally, a person is legally blind if their central vision acuity is 20/200 or less in the better eye, even with corrective lenses; or if they have central vision acuity of more than 20/200 if the peripheral field is restricted to a diameter of 20 degrees or less. Informally, those who, even with corrective lenses, cannot read the biggest letter on an eye chart are considered to be legally blind. -------The Braille Institute

Visit these sites for a comprehensive look at myopia.

Farsightedness (Hyperopia) is a condition where one can see well those things that are distant but cannot see things close at hand. See the diagram above to note that the light does not converge soon enough to put a sharp image on the retina. This deficiency is corrected with some kind of converging lens. These are the glasses that people wear only for reading or other close work and removed otherwise.
See this topic at
http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/hypThis page was last reviewed by mgosselin 10/09/2005This page was last reviewed by mgosselin 10/09/2005This page was last reviewed by mgosselin 10/09/2005eropia.htm

Presbyopia is a condition usually related to the age of the patient wherein the lens in the eye is no longer flexible enough and/or the ciliary muscles in the eye are no longer strong enough to cause the lens to change shape. The patient needs glass lenses to see a close and to see things far away. this is the situation is corrected with bifocal lenses with the bottom half the convex lens for reading and the top half a concave lens for seeing things at a distance. This is not a new technology; first bifocal lenses were created for a client by Benjamin Franklin

Astigmatism is a condition arising from asymmetry of the cornea; instead of being spherical, it is shaped more nearly like a football. See the diagram above. Once again, corrective lenses come to the rescue, although prescribing the correct configuration for the lens is not easy.

Learn more about astigmatism at

Return to light as a ray

This page was last reviewed by mgosselin 10/09/2005


Hero (2002) / ZHANG Yimou (dir.); Emi WADA (costume designer)

Ansnitt Filmclub – Costume Workshop
Film-Virage Cultural Association

7pm 5th February, 2018

Lecture by:

We are in China’s bloodiest era in history: the country is divided into 7 kingdoms, and the Chin ruler is particularly strong and cruel. His quest to conquer all of China demands many lives, so a group of excellent warriors join forces to kill the king. Their mission is doomed to failure; however, King Chin becomes much more cautious afterwards: he makes it impossible for anyone to come close to him. Then an Untitled man arrives in his palace, who claims to have defeated the assassins. He can only get his reward if he tells the story of his feat. A verbal duel begins between the Chin-ruler and the Unnamed man, leading to an exciting outcome…

Zhang YIMOU’s 2002 film is noteworthy for its interesting plot and philosophical questions, but also for its symbolic use of colors, its cinematography, imposing costumes and scenery. The talented Christopher DOYLE (In the Mood for Love, 2046) was responsible for the fantastic images, and the beautiful costumes were created by Emi WADA (Dreams, 8½ Women), who won an Oscar for costume design in Akira KUROSAWA’s Chaos. Among the actors are the internationally renowned Maggie CHEUNG (In the Mood for Love, Clean), Tony LEUNG CHIU WAI (In the Mood for Love, Lust, Caution, Internal Affairs) Ziyi ZHANG (House of Flying Daggers, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2046 ) and Jet LI (Once Upon a Time in China, The Expendables).

Rita DANILESZK – 2005-2013: student of film history, film theory and Hungarian studies at the University of Pécs , a founding member and vice chairman of the Film-Virage Cultural Association, established in 2011, one of the main organizers and lecturers of Ansnitt Filmklub

Ansnitt Filmklub’s new series Costume Workshop explores the field of costume design through Hungarian and foreign examples. During the pre-screening introduction and the subsequent lectures, we will discuss film-making processes, seeking answers to the following questions in specific: What is the costume designer’s job? Who do costume designers need to cooperate with before and during the production? Where does their inspiration come from? How well do costume designers need to know the film’s story and characters?

All films are either subtitled or dubbed in Hungarian.
Participation is free but is subject to registration. You can register until 5 pm on the day of the screening at the following email address: In the subject box, enter the title of the current movie, and in the text box, the name of the person or persons you want to register. Please arrive 15 minutes before the screening.

Sponsor: National Cultural Fund of Hungary

  • Hős 2

  • Hős


Organizational Resilience

Organizational resilience is “a task of determination of the complete condition of the organization, management of root weaknesses and adaptive capacity in a dynamic, compound and organized environment.” the main role is played by the organizational resilience for the purpose of organizational survival.  It also plays important role in the functioning of the extensive community during hard times. Organizational resilience assists the organization to reply to a variety of issues and threats. It also predicts the disturbances and troubles and learns from the experience. It is believed that competitive benefit achieved by the organization is due to the contribution of organizational resilience. Heads of the resilient organization motivate their employees in order to use their potential skills to resolve the issues and establish an environment through which the employees will know the connection between the organizational resilience and their work.

After determining the role of employees that they play in the survival of an organization, it is known through the experimental proof that work engagement is the main symbol of organizational resilience. The work engagement is dependent on the employee resilience. The employees who possess more psychological resilience accept the change of organization soon because of their positive attitude which they experience. Therefore, it can be said that main attention should be given to the resilience and well-being of the employees of the organization while concerning the organizational resilience. Current researchers believe that now organization should shift from reacting to the emotional disturbance resulted due to constant change to carefully investing in the establishment of resilience in the employees of the organization.

The most significant part of HRM is said to be training and development of the employee. Its significance enhances during the global decline. It can be said that during the phase of global decline and when many issues are faced by the businesses at different levels, it pressurizes management at each level so that it can be more responsive, adaptive and intensive. Only employees that can protect their organization to become the part of economic doubts will be highly encouraged and educated. Improved level of interest and increased creativity of employee to work for their organization can be achieved by committing with the training and development of employee inappropriate and suitable method. Individual learning of employees can be concentrated and corrected by practicing and continuously applying the training and development programs of the employee. Usually, there are different styles of learning such as verbal, social, visual, solitary, logical, aural and physical. The knowledge regarding the classical conditioning should be contained in the plan of training and development programs for the employees. A theory is known as ‘learning by association’ particularly enhances the role of incentives and undefined response to it at the time of learning phase. Emirates Airline, which is known as the leading player of the universal airline industry, was the first one to determine the significance of investment in the training and development of employee during the phase of global decline.


Do you like Aragon Ballroom?

Portugal. The Man

16th February 2018 - Friday 19:30

Portugal. The Man, Alaska’s sensational alternative rock artists are bringing their signature sounds to the Aragon Ballroom!

Portugal. The Man was formed in Wasilla (Alaska) in 2004 and currently consists of John Baldwin Gourley (vocals, guitar, organ, drum machines), Zachary Scott Carothers (bass guitar, backing vocals), Kyle O'Quin (keyboards, synthesizers, guitar, backing vocals), Eric Howk (guitar), Jason Sechrist (drums), and Zoe Manville. Their musical style can be best described as a blend of indie rock (a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United States and the United Kingdom in the 1980s, encapsulating the genres chamber pop, indie pop, lo fi, math rock, neo psychedelia, post punk revival, sadcore, and shoegazing), psychedelic rock (a style of rock music - inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture - that attempts to replicate and enhance the mind altering experiences of psychedelic drugs, most notably LSD, by using novelty recording techniques, electronic instruments or effects), and progressive rock (a broad subgenre of rock music that grew out of psychedelic bands who abandoned standard traditions in favour of instrumentation and compositional techniques more frequently associated with jazz, folk or classical music). They’ve had a stellar career with 7 studio albums, 1 split album (with The Satanic Satanist), 4 extended plays, and 11 singles. Their music has also been featured on the soundtrack of The Walking Dead (Volume 2).

Don’t miss your chance to see these artists add a unique touch to indie rock, psychedelic rock, and progressive rock!


January 12, 2015

Yoga practice begins. I have a new zest for practice that I have known for a long time would help me reach my goals. I am excited to change up my lifestyle and infuse my day with passion towards an activity that will give back. I have been thinking a lot about the sides of a triangle, the harmony of the image and how I strive for it. Body, mind and spirit combine and when one is lacking, the others suffer. I am joining up the pieces, creating a stronger foundation to build what I know is coming. Transformative and abundant. There is no limit to what is possible and the more I realize that, the freer I feel. I am recognizing the loops that I have been caught in. How I have limited my growth in so many ways, the past is the past. Moving forward, gaining speed and understanding the truth. That time is perception, relative to the situation, and may not exist at all. The boxes that exist in my mind, in the thoughts I have circulated are winding out, creating a space for new developments. As I process these ideas, I feel bliss.


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