Nature: Practice

by H.D. Carberry

We have neither Summer nor Winter

Neither Autumn nor Spring.

We have instead the days

When the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields-

Magnificently.

The days when the rain beats like bullet on the roofs

And there is no sound but thee swish of water in the gullies

And trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.

Also there are the days when leaves fade from off guango trees’

And the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.

But best of all there are the days when the mango and the logwood blossom

When bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey,

When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air,

When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars

And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.

1. Why is the word 'reaped' used to describe the canefields?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________


2. Write down two words from the poem which are related to the sound of movement of rain water.
i. _________________________________________________________________
ii. _________________________________________________________________


3. What is the difference between the climate in Jamaica and countries with temperature climates?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________


4. Write down two words from the poem which are related to the elements in the solar system.
i. _________________________________________________________________
ii. _________________________________________________________________


5. Why do you think the trees have to struggle in the wind? 
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________


6. What do you think the roofs of the houses are made of?
___________________________________________________________________


7. Why do you think the poet uses the word "beauty'?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________


8. What do you think the last line means in relation to man's life?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________


9. What type of climate does Jamaica have?
___________________________________________________________________


10. What does the sun look like on hot days?
___________________________________________________________________


11. How do canefields look when they are ready for harvesting?
___________________________________________________________________


12. Why should canefields be left to fallow in the sun?
___________________________________________________________________

Nature: Practice

by H.D. Carberry

We have neither Summer nor Winter

Neither Autumn nor Spring.

We have instead the days

When the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields-

Magnificently.

The days when the rain beats like bullet on the roofs

And there is no sound but thee swish of water in the gullies

And trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.

Also there are the days when leaves fade from off guango trees’

And the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.

But best of all there are the days when the mango and the logwood blossom

When bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey,

When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air,

When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars

And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.

1. What type of climate has the four seasons?

    ____________________________________________________________________

2. Write down two words from the poem that show extreme and opposite weather condition in 

    the four seasons?

    i) ___________________________________________________________________

    ii) ___________________________________________________________________

3. Why is the word 'gold' used to describe the sun?

    _____________________________________________________________________

4. Write down two words from the poem which are related to the parts of a house.

    i) ___________________________________________________________________

    ii) ___________________________________________________________________

5. What are the two seasons found in Jamaica?

    _____________________________________________________________________

6. Write down two words from the poem which are related to canefields ready to be harvested.

    i) ___________________________________________________________________

    ii) ___________________________________________________________________

7. What do you think the main export crop of Jamaica is?

    Using your own words, give a reason to support your answer.

    ______________________________________________________________________

    ______________________________________________________________________

Nature

by H.D. Carberry

We have neither Summer nor Winter

Neither Autumn nor Spring.

We have instead the days

When the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields-

Magnificently.

The days when the rain beats like bullet on the roofs

And there is no sound but thee swish of water in the gullies

And trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.

Also there are the days when leaves fade from off guango trees’

And the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.

But best of all there are the days when the mango and the logwood blossom

When bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey,

When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air,

When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars

And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS 

1.         State what the poem reveals about the poet’s homeland.

            _________________________________________________________________

            _________________________________________________________________

2.         Which line in the poem ‘Nature’ suggests the sense of smell?

            _________________________________________________________________

            _________________________________________________________________

3.         Which line in the poem ‘Nature’ suggests the sense of hearing?

            _________________________________________________________________

            _________________________________________________________________

            _________________________________________________________________

            _________________________________________________________________

4.         Based on your knowledge of the poem ‘Nature’, describe a theme in the poem.

            _________________________________________________________________

            _________________________________________________________________

            _________________________________________________________________

            _________________________________________________________________

Nature

by H.D. Carberry

We have neither Summer nor Winter
Neither Autumn nor Spring.
We have instead the days
When the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields-
Magnificently.
The days when the rain beats like bullet on the roofs
And there is no sound but thee swish of water in the gullies
And trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.
Also there are the days when leaves fade from off guango trees’
And the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.
But best of all there are the days when the mango and the logwood blossom
When bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey,
When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air,
When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars
And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.

This poem is simply about nature. It talks about the condition, climate and atmosphere in Jamaica. Surprisingly, even figuratively, this poem is actually talking about the natural cycle of nature - the cycle of life. In my opinion, in this poem, the poet is trying to convey the message that in life, there will definitely be bad times and good times no matter where you are. And it can comes in every different forms. 

Let us note here that the poem starts with the line, "we have neither Summer nor Winter, Neither Autum nor Spring", initially, it gave us the sense of absence, as if something is lacking in the persona's life. And as we continue to the third line " we have instead the days", I sense certain compensation from the persona. I felt like the persona is trying to tell us that they have something else other than the four seasons.

Beginning from line three till the end, the poem elaborates more on the different types of 'days' that they have in Jamaica. Just like how our life is, some days are portrayed as being better than the other, plus, there is also the 'best of all' days - not unlike the best moments we experience in our life. 

I stated earlier about how good times and bad times come in differrent forms. I think we can definitely say that for those living in the places with the four seasons, the best seasons are usually spring and summer, and most of the time, people dread the Autumn and Winter's climate. As for Jamaican, and may I say, Malaysian, we have our preference to and in the poem, the best days are the days when the mango and the logwood blossom, bushes full with the sound of bee with the scent of honey, with slight wind, and the buttercup blooms all over the plains. Do also note that the poem ends with the line " and beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone". This is also another big resemblance to our life, as it has been our experience that after bad times, good times will follow and sometimes ever so abrubtly. 

In short, what I want to say here is the fact that sometimes in life, the best moments or events happen right after a series of really terrible periods in life.  

Nature

by H.D. Carberry

We have neither Summer nor Winter
Neither Autumn nor Spring.
We have instead the days
When the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields-
Magnificently.
The days when the rain beats like bullet on the roofs
And there is no sound but thee swish of water in the gullies
And trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.
Also there are the days when leaves fade from off guango trees’
And the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.
But best of all there are the days when the mango and the logwood blossom
When bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey,
When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air,
When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars
And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.

SYNOPSIS

The poem tells of the weather conditions in Jamaica although it does not have the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. The weather conditions of golden sunny days and wet rainy days are just as good and are almost equivalent to the four seasons.

THEMES

• Beauty of nature
• Appreciation of one own’s country
• Differences in appearances but similar in effects

MORAL VALUES

• We should appreciate what we have in our own country
• We should not long for what we do not have.
• We should be aware that different people have different skills or beauty.

TONE,MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

• Appreciative and happy
• Carefree and light-hearted
• Sense of beauty

POINT OF VIEW

• Third person point of view

LANGUAGE AND STYLE

• Simple and easy to understand the language
• Clear and descriptive
• Simple style with no rhyming scheme

POETIC DEVICES

• Imagery – e.g. ‘gold sun’, ‘lush green fields’, ‘trees struggling’
• Alliteration – e.g. ‘sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air’
• Symbols – e.g. ‘gold sun’ – symbol of summer, ‘rains’ – symbol of winter
• Contrast – e.g. ‘beauty’ or summer is compared with ‘rains’ or winter
• Figurative Language  – Simile – ‘rain beats like bullets’
• Metaphor – e.g. ‘the buttercups paved the earth with yellow stars’
• Personafication – ‘buttercups have paved the earth’ …  buttercups have been personified as having laid tiles