Monday, May 30, 2011

Popular Poem: A Glass of Beer


A Glass of Beer is suitable for teaching the students of Junior High School students because the words used are not so difficult. Besides, a teacher can also teach the grammar mainly for past tense and the message that is related to their life especially for their ambition.


A Glass of Beer
James Stephens (1882-1950)

The lanky hank of a she in the inn over there
Nearly killed me for asking the loan of a glass of bear;
May the devil grip the way-faced slut by the hair.
And beat bad manners out of her skin for a year.

That parboiled ape, with the toughest jaw you will see
On virtue’s path, and a voice that would rasp the dead,
Came roaring and raging the minute she looked at me,
And threw me out of the house on the back of my head!

If I asked her master he’d give me a cask a day;
But she, with the beer at hand, not a gill’ would arrange!
May she marry a ghost and bear him a kitten, and may
The High King of Glory permit her to get mange.

1.  Poetic Devices
     A Glass of Beer is categorized into a formula poem because this poem has fix rhyme scheme and stanza.
     a. The Rhyme
          -    Stanza 1: A-B-A-B
          -    Stanza 2: A-B-A-B
          -    Stanza 3: A-B-A-B
     b. Rhythm
         Most of the lines in each stanzas apply dactylic tetrameter because it consist of 1 accented followed by 2 accented.
     c.  Alliteration
          -    Stanza 1-Line4  : beat bad
          -    Stanza 2-Line3  : roaring and raging
          -    Stanza3-Line3   : may she marry
     d.  Repetition
          -    Me    :  Stanza1-Line2, Stanza2-Line3,4, Stanza3-Line1
          -    May  : Stanza1-Line3, Stanza3-Line3
          -    She    :  Stanza1-Line1, Stanza2-Line3, Stanza3-Line2
2.  Kinds of Stanza
     The poem consists of three stanzas and each stanza has four lines which is called quatrain.
3.  Poetic Diction
     a. Denotation
         Few of the sentences in this poem are denotative. In this poem, the poet uses  dictionary meaning for the words chosen like : he lanky hank, killed me for asking he loan of a glass of bear ,  beat bad manner,  roaring and raging, through me out of the house, to make meaning of  words clearly. 
     b. Connotation
         The poet uses the following words of connotation like: the devil grip the way,  a voice that rasp, get mange to make the poem sounds beautifully in meaning and feeling.
     c. Personification
         A few sentences used in personification like: a voice that rasp, through me out of the house because the poet wants to make the poem interesting in getting meaning.
4.  Point of View
     In this poem, the poet narrates his life using the word of” me” and other person using “she”.
5.  Theme
     Angry and regret
6.  Tone
     Anger and regretful.
7.  Symbol
     Beer describing something that makes somebody happy but it can destroy his/her own life at the end.
8.  Message
     a.  We should be careful with our life to get pleasure
     b.  We should not be easily trapped to get happiness that can destroy our own life.

Analyzed by Siswo Yusbido

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