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Jean du Plessis

Student Number 34890963

ENN205-L

Assignment 01

Stormshelter

Question 1

What is the poem about? Quote some phrase to support your answer.

The poem is about a person taking shelter under a tree during a lightning storm.

Never stand under trees in a storm.

Question 2

Who or what are the musty cats and how do they stroke in death?

The musty cats is a metaphor for lightning. They use a metaphor to link the

lightning patterns to jagged cat scratches. The word musty refers to the smell that

lightning brings. The strokes that the cat scratches can be seen as lightning strike

patterns and as we know if a person is struck by lightning it can be fatal.

Question 3

What colours are used in the poem? Give an example and discuss its effect.

The colour used in the poem is silver. ..stroked in by the musty cats, scratches silver

on fleshy earth The lightning streaks can be compared to the scratch marks of a wild

cat and the typical smell of lightning of that of the cats.

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.

Question 4

The poet uses a number of images drawn from war in the third stanza. Quote two of

these and discuss how they are used and what they mean in the poem.

Steel spears and Impi

The steel spears is again a metaphor of lightning bolts. As spears are hurled at an

enemy the lightning bolts are hurled from the heavens. The poet uses a deadly weapon

to demonstrate how deadly lightning can be.

The Impi is a personification of the heavens. The heavens are personified as a Zulu

warrior who is hurling deadly spears (lightning bolts) from above. This is very similar

to the Greek myth of Zeus, and the Japanese myth of Raiden. Both gods used

lightning bolts as spears.

Question 5

What is the meaning of the final two lines.

The person who took shelter under the tree during the storm came to remember all of

a sudden the proverbial sayings that one should not stand under a tree in a storm and

realised that these was only one thing he/she could do and that is to run as fast as he

can from under the tree into the rain. There is only one thing to do-Wheel, stamping,

into the rain.

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Question 6

Do you like this poem? Give reasons.

I like the poem very much. It reminds me of the thunderstorms I experienced as a

child. It brings back the memories of being frightened by the thunder and lighting and

yet also excited. I can relate to David Livingstones image of a lightning; the Zulu

warrior. I never saw the lightning as an image of a Zulu but I always saw the picture

of Zeus in full Greek armour hurling his spears at Kronos and the thunder the sounds

of battle.

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Secondly, although the poem is written in an abstract form, it is easily understood and

the message is clear.