[Synopsis] He Had Such Quiet Eyes

 

Synopsis of the poem

The poem is about a persona, a lady who fell for the wrong man. She was fascinated with his ‘quiet eyes’ and believed that his eyes showed his true emotion and feelings for her. The man’s eyes had the power to charm her and made her believe him and be nice to him.
However, the man was actually a ‘pleasure seeking man’, a flirt. As the lady was truly fascinated and charmed by the man, she did not listen or did not want to listen to any advice concerning the man’s true behaviour. In the end, she realized her error and was broken hearted.

 

THEME

• Betrayal of love
• Personal experiences
• Relationships that are meaningful

 

MORAL VALUES

• Don’t be naive and believe everything we are told especially in matters of the heart.
• Be wise when choosing friends.
• Falling in love is normal but one should be careful.
• We must learn from the experience of other people.
• We should be very careful not to give in our principle in order to please other people.

 

TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

• Refelective
• Sad and happy
• Sympathetic

 

POINT OF VIEW

• Second and third person points of view

 

LANGUAGE & STYLE

• Simple and easy to understand
• Simple style with rhyming scheme

 

MEANING OF WORDS

• sighs – long, deep audible breaths
• eyes – a pair of organs of sight
• advice – guidance
• desolate – unhappy and uninhabited
• pleasure-seeking – looking for a feeling of happy satisfaction
• dice – a small cube with each side having a different number ranging from 1 to 6
• layered – arranged in layers
• lies – intentional false statements
• realise – become aware
• compromise – agree
• paradise – heaven
• render – provide or give help
• imploring – begging desperately
• wise – having knowledge and good judgement

[Synopsis] In The Midst of Hardship

In The Midst of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin

SYNOPSIS (OVERALL)

This poem is about a family who faces  hardship whereby their son’s albino buffalo is nowhere to be found. A flood occurs and they go out to find the buffalo. They reach home early in the morning without the buffalo and yet there is no  sign of despair in them. Meanwhile, they can still crack jokes and roll the cigarettes.

 

SYNOPSIS (ACCORDING TO STANZA)

 

STANZA 1

They returned home at day break and headed for the stove. Their clothes were soaking wet and tattered. Their bodies were covered with scratches and wounds. Yet, they did not display any signs of being worried.

 

STANZA 2

They were out in the flood the whole day and night. They were surrounded by dead animals and parts of trees that had been destroyed by the flood. They searched desperately for their son’s albino buffalo but were unable to find it.

 

STANZA 3

They were born into poverty and difficulty, but they do not complain about their suffer. Instead, they sit in the kitchen, cracking jokes while smoking cigarettes.