Critical Analysis of "City Planners" Poem by Margaret Atwood
Explore the intricate language choices and vivid imagery in Margaret Atwood's poem "City Planners," dissecting themes of conformity, mundanity, and societal critique. Uncover the poet's sharp commentary on urban development and human nature, delving deep into the stark contrasts painted through rationality and madness.
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City Planners- an exercise in futility or an example of arrogance? 'ouses Thursday, 26 September 2024
Remind yourself of the poem On your desks there are sheets for you to work on. You have 5 minutes to complete your stanza (s) and to prepare to explain the reasons for the word choice.
FOCUS Revision of the poem and reminder of the key elements of language choice. How the description of setting can signify the viewpoint of the writer. OUTCOME A detailed analytical paragraph, which is reviewed and improved.
Stanza 1 rational, straight, sanities, pedantic, residential, sanitary, discouraged Cruising these Sunday streets in dry August sunlight: what offends us is the : the houses in . rows, the planted .trees, assert levelness of surface like a rebuke to the dent in our car door. No shouting here, or shatter of glass; nothing more abrupt than the . whine of a power mower cutting a . swath in the . grass.
Stanza 2 Certain, vicious, sickness, hysteria, stare , avoidance , bruise, But though the driveways neatly sidestep . by being even, the roofs all display the same slant of . to the hot sky, things: the smell of spilled oil a faint lingering in the garages, a splash of paint on brick surprising as a .., a plastic hose poised in a . coil; even the too-fixed .. of the wide windows
Stanza 3&4 Future, clay, glaciers, slide, under, capsized, give momentary access to the landscape behind or . The . cracks in the plaster when the houses, , will .. obliquely into the . seas, gradual as that right now nobody notices.
Stanza 5,6&7 Insane, madness, bland, blizzard, concealed rigid, unsurveyed, panic That is where the City Planners with the faces of political conspirators are scattered over . territories, . from each other, each in his own private ; guessing directions, they sketch transitory lines . as wooden borders on a wall in the white vanishing air tracing the .. of suburb order in a .......... of snows
Semantic Field What strikes you about the effect of the particular language choice? Given this palette of language, could Atwood have created a positive poem?
Approaching a question 1 technique S setting C character A action S style I ideas
Focus on Stanza 1&2 Setting? Where, When? How do you know? Character? Who are the characters in the poem? How do they relate to the reader? Action? What is happening? How is it described? STYLE? How would you describe the style of the writing? What are they key features?
Dull and regimented suburban streets Travellers from out of town Free verse which allows words to be placed for maximum effect Strong use of metaphor in the form of personification An area which seems unnaturally clean and lacking in humanity Mundane items seem threatening to the newcomers Unnatural peace
Writing to impress Examiners want to see you demonstrate clear critical/analytical understanding of the author s intentions and the text s deeper implications and the attitudes it displays; respond sensitively and in detail to the way language works in the text. What does this mean? Not just device spotting, but close discussion of the effect created zooming in .
Atwood creates a clear sense of unease in the new surroundings by Evidence: the use of the terms sanities and sanitary Zoom in to analyse: although the terms have different meanings, their quasi homophonic natures allow the reader to link the ideas into one. Thus although she is offended by the sheer rationality the sanities , the sanitary trees, somehow cleansed and unnatural also seem to her to be examples of all that is wrong in this new world.
TASK: You have 10 minutes to write a paragraph in answer to the question: How does Atwood make her feelings clear in her description of the suburbs? You will be assessed on the following criteria: 1. Is there an opening sentence which makes a specific and relevant point directly linked to the question? Has a short and relevant quotation been fluently embedded? Is there analysis at word/device(structure or language) level with literary terminology which has zoomed into the quotation? Has a response been given which comments insightfully on the impact on the reader or the wider context of the poem? Is the entire content fully relevant to the question and demonstrating strong literacy? task sheet.docx 2. 3. 4. 5.
Home Learning You are going to reflect on your work and review your writing. You may award a mark out of 5 for each element of the paragraph. You should write an improved version of the paragraph based on your assessment. Next time: The paragraphs will be discussed.
