The poem on the HL paper

Diarmsquid

I didn't really understand the unseen poem on the HL paper.
When i asked my mates after, everyone had different ideas and concepts.
So what was the poem all about? I thought it was this:

The poet finds a motorbike, engine running and all, ready to go for a spin on it.
He thinks about hopping on it and driving around for the thrill but doesn't give into the temptation.

Now, this temptation isn't what it would be like if a 40 year old man found the bike because the 15 year old boy is at an experimental age and would like to give it a try.
And he repeats "I was 15" through out the whole thing to emphasise that the temptation was big!

At the end he says it again in a different stanza to emphasise it even more.

Get me?

So that's my point of view on the poem.
What did you guys come up with?

*dream09*

its over!!!!no point in thinkin bout it now ya can't do anything!!!just forget about it! leave it 4 nxt years 3rd years 2 do during class!!!were finished ENGLISH JC!!

Casserine

Wow, did you put that many exclamation marks in the exam? Guess who's coasting for an A...

Yeah, I found that poem odd. Either it's meaning was extremely well hidden or else everyone I spoke to was too thick to comprehend it. The way I saw it, it was a poem about growing up. The poet is reminiscing about the day he finally turned from a boy into a man. He finds a motorbike and begins to dream of the adventures he may have on it. However, his admiration for the machine is dispelled once he sees the damage it did to the owner. He abandons his dreams.

It had no alliteration or anything useful. Garr. Stupid poem.

Hugh Hefner

Nah cos' if that were it then the whole personification of the bike as a person would be unnecessary. Therefore is must me that the kid was looking for companionship and he was lonely.

philologos

its because the motorcycle and its owner had now departed and he was on his own, he was also deprived of the joy of riding the motorbike once more

Diarmsquid

So nobody got anything about temptation?

:mad:

Well then what was with him saying "I was fifteen" over and over?

Hugh Hefner

Jakkass wrote:

its because the motorcycle and its owner had now departed and he was on his own, he was also deprived of the joy of riding the motorbike once more

Well in the poem he never actually rode the motorcycle, he only dreamed of it. So because of that it's not the action that matters but rather the idea so I'm brought back to my companionship theory.

Mysteryfish

Diarmsquid wrote:

So nobody got anything about temptation?

:mad:

Well then what was with him saying "I was fifteen" over and over?

No, at the time i was thinking along those lines but i couldn't put it into the right words, and it was such a dumb poem that i thought i might have just made that up. So i didn't write it, but it was a good thing to write. I'm sure you'll do well on that question.

PurpleFistMixer

From what I can remember of what I said, I said that the way he was saying 'I was fifteen' it was supposed to be showing how he felt.
Sort of, all this stuff was happening and he was just watching it, feeling 'fifteen', that is, a teenager, pretty mixed up with different feelings and such.
Commence ranting about how much he wanted to ride the motorcycle and how it would be an exhilirating thing for a fifteen year old...

And then at the end, when the motorcycle's sped away and he hasn't had a chance to ride it, he's just standing there feeling overwhelmed, so all he can feel really is 'fifteen'.

And somehow I managed to say it even less coherently in the exam.

Big Ears

The Full poem is : Fifteen

South of the Bridge on Seventeenth
I found , one summer day ,
a motorcycle with engine running
as it lay on its side , ticking over
slowly in the hugh grass , I was fifteen.

I admired all that pulsing gleam , the
shiny flanks , the shy headlights ,
grass-fringed where it lay; I led it gently
to the road and stood with that
companion , ready and friendly , I was fifteen.

We could find the end of a road , meet
the sky on out Seventeeth. I thought about
hills , and patting the handle got back a
confident response. On the bridge was indulged
a forward feeling , a tremble. I was fifteen .

Thinking ,back farther in the grass I found
the owner , just coming to , where he had flipped
over the rail. He had blood on his hand , was pale-
I helped him walk to his machine . Hen ran his hand
over it , called me a good man , roared away.

I stood there fifteen .

Questions:1.How does the poet give the impression that the motorcycle is a living creature ? Give reasons for your answer with reference to the poem .

2.The fifth stanza consits of one line only: ''I stood there , fifteen''
Why do you think the poet has set this stanza apart from the rest of the poem ? Give reasons for your answer with reference to the poem .

3. Do you think Fifteen is a good poem ?
Give reasons for your answer with reference to the poem .

Diarmsquid

What a shít poem.
Why couldn't they pick one that concentrates on what we learn about poetry eg illiteration, rythm etc

Stupid poem! :mad:

Hugh Hefner

Diarmsquid wrote:

eg illiteration, rythm etc

Alliteration:

I admired all that pulsing gleam

On the bridge was indulged
a forward feeling

Rythm:

South of the Bridge on Seventeenth
I found, one summer day,