drama - Gulp and Gasp by John Townsend

synopsis

This is a melodrama about a villain, Lord Septic who is greedy for more power, money and fame. He is even ca[able of committing murder to get what he wants. He owns the railways and is after the Gatsby gold. Crouch, Lord Septic’s manservant is a big bully. Rose is a damsel in distress who meets Percy, the hero. They fall in love and he rescues her from a bloody death at the railway tracks. Later, Percy learns he is the heir to the Gatsby gold and is known as Sir Percy. Lord Septic loses everything.

themes

- Pride goes before fall

- Greed is  destructive

- Innocence and beauty

moral values

- One should be humble about one’s wealth and fame.

- We should be sensitive to people’s feelings.

- We should live a humble and honest life.

setting

- An empty train station

- A cold foggy night

characters

Lord Septic, the villain

Crouch the bully

Rose the damsel in distress

Percy the hero

plot

EXPOSITION – Lord Septic, the villain, and his manservant Crouch, a groveling bully, are waiting for the midnight express at the train station. Lord Septic owns all the train stations and he wants wealth and power.

RISING ACTION/CONFLICT – Rose, a blind flower girl comes to the station. Crouch bullies her and Percy, the dashing hero comes in to help her. He tells her about himself.

CLIMAX – Lord Septic hits Percy and ties Rose to the train track. Percy runs off to try and stop the train coming down the track.

FALLING ACTION – Percy stops the train and Rose is saved. Percy learns that he is Sir Percy Gatsby and heir to the Gatsby Gold.

RESOLUTION – Lord Septic and Crouch, the villains, are tied up and waiting to be picked up by the police. Percy, the hero, proposes Rose and she agrees to marry him.

short story - The Fruitcake Special by Frank Brennan

synopsis

The Fruitcake Special is the  story if the effects of a perfume on men. It was accidentally created by Anna, a chemist. When Mr Amos gets a whiff of the perfume he feels he is in love with Anna and so invites her out for dinner. He does not behave like a man in love and Anna is surprised and upset. When she wears the Fruitcake perfume again, Mr Amos and a waiter become enticed and both make declarations of love to her. The situation become chaotic when a fight ensues between two men.

themes

- Illusion vs Reality

- Be realistic in life

- Appearances can be misleading

moral values

- We should not be taken in flattery.

- We must not be too proud of our looks.

- We must not belittle other people.

characters

main:

Anna

David Amos

minor:

Anna'a mother

Aunt Mimi

waiter

Sabina

Armstrong

point of view

First person point of view

plot

EXPOSITION – Anna creates a Fruitcake perfume and dabs on it. Mr Amos becomes intoxicated with her when he gets a whiff of it. Anna is very surprise with this sudden interest.

CONFLICT – During dinner, Mr Amos is not as attentive as he was in the morning. Anna dabs on the Fruitcake perfume in the ladies room.

CLIMAX – Mr Amos becomes enamoured and makes declarations of love to her. A waiter also makes love declarations to her. A fight starts between Mr Amos, the waiter and Sabrina, Mr Amos’ girlfriend. Anna realises it is the effects of the fruitcake perfume.

FALLING ACTION – Anna wants to find the ‘special something’ in the fruitcake but is unable to.

RESOLUTION – Anna resigns from Amos Cosmetics and she settles for the pizza delivery man, Armstrong, who has his own pizza company.

short story - QWERTYUIOP by Vivien Alcock

synopsis

The story QWERTY tells of how a young secretary battles with ex-secretary who haunts the typewriter. Lucy Beck is as determined as Miss Broome to hold on to the job for Ross and Bannister’s. Miss Broom haunts the typewriter and frightens anyone who uses it with the word QWERTYUIOP and others. Lucy manages to overcome the problem and sends Miss Broome away with a peaceful heart.

themes

- The will to succeed is the road to success

- Letting go

-Opportunity knocks but once

moral values

- If we want to be successful, we must work towards it.

- We must make good use of opportunities that come our way.

- We must know our limits and let go when the time is right.

characters

main:

Lucy Beck

minor:

Harry Darke

Miss Broome

Lucy's mother and uncle

Miss Price and Mr Ross

plot

EXPOSITION – Lucy starts working in Ross and Bannister’s. Harry Darke gives her hints of the haunting of the typewriter by Miss Broome.

CONFLICT – Lucy types her letter but she is bewildered that her letter has extraordinary words that are not typed by her.

CLIMAX – Lucy retypes her letter but is challenged by Miss Broome who asks her to leave and even threatens her. Lucy battles woth it by using correcting liquid to clean off words typed by Miss Broome.

FALLING ACTION – Lucy learns about Miss Broome and her haunting of the typewriter.

RESOLUTION – Lucy types and talks to Miss Broome and convinces her to leave this world peacefully and go to other world. Lucy keeps her job in Ross and Bannister’s.



Are You Still Playing Your Flute by Zurinah Hassan

poem for form 5 students.

Are you still playing your flute?

When there is hardly time for our love

I am feeling guilty

To be longing for your song

The melody concealed in the slim hollow of the bamboo

Uncovered by the breath of an artist

Composed by his fingers

Blown by the wind

To the depth of my heart.

Are you still playing your flute?

In the village so quiet and deserted

Amidst the sick rice fields

While here it has become a luxury

To spend time watching the rain

Gazing at the evening rays

Collecting dew drops

Or enjoying the fragrance of flowers.

Are you still playing your flute?

The more it disturbs my conscience

to be thinking of you

in the hazard of you

my younger brothers unemployed and desperate

my people disunited by politics

my friend slaughtered mercilessly

this world is too old and bleeding

themes

- Family commitments

- Priorities in life

- Neglect of one’s duties

moral values

-We should be aware of our family commitments and carry them out properly.

- Everyone has priorities in, life and we should know what is important and what is not.

- Following a hobby is good but there is a time for work and a time for play.

point of view

- The poem is the first point of view.

-The person is addressing another person and describing a situation to him.

language and style

- Rhetorical question

- Descriptive and questioning

- Simple style and no rhyme

Nature by H.D Carberry



Nature

form 4 poem

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.

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

In The Midst Of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin

this is form 4 poem

by

Latiff Mohidin

At dawn they returned home

their soaky clothes torn

and approached the stove

their limbs marked by scratches

their legs full of wounds

but on their brows

there was not a sign of despair

The whole day and night just passed

they had to brave the horrendous flood

in the water all the time

between bloated carcasses

and tiny chips of tree barks

desperately looking for their son’s

albino buffalo that was never found

They were born amidst hardship

and grew up without a sigh or a complaint

now they are in the kitchen, making

jokes while rolling their ciggarete leaves

synopsis

In this poem, the poet tells of the situation of a farmer and his family. They come back at dawn after being out in the floodwater for a day and night. They are looking for their albino buffalo. They come back wet and hurt but they do not show any despair. They have been born into a life of hardship and have never complained. Now, they are in the kitchen and they joke and talk while preparing to relax with a smoke.

themes

Stoicism in life

Family love

Acceptance of way of life

moral values

We should learn to accept problems in life with a positive outlook.

We must attempt to face and solve problems.

Failure is part of growing up.

Do not despair in the face of failure.

point of view

Third person point of view.

languange and style

Language is simple and easy to understand.

The style is simple with no rhyming scheme.

Leisure by William Henry Davies

leisure is for Form 3 students :)

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

this the meaning of the poem

The poem "Leisure" has been composed by an American poet William Davies. He was a wandering poet and singer. He led a life of loneliness and his poetry is marked with truth and simplicity in idea as well as language. As the title of the poem suggests, it is about the availability of time for enjoying various delights of life. These may range from the most ordinary every day pleasure to the extraordinary events. The poet is lamenting over the rush and hurried manner in which we spend our lives. We deprive ourselves of the richness and diversity of life.

The poet believes that life must be enjoyed in a casual leisurely manner. He thinks that we should spend our free time enjoying and appreciating the beauty of nature. We should find time to stand under the trees and look at beautiful objects of nature as sheep and cows do. While passing through the woods, we must pause to see the squirrels busy in hiding their nuts in the grass. We should also stop by streams of clear water glittering like skies at night. We must also find time to see the beautiful glance of a maiden and admire the skill of her dancing feet. We should not miss the beautiful smile playing at her face. In this way we can fill our lives with happiness.

The poet expresses his grief at the fact that modern rush of life has deprived us of many commonplace pleasures. We run around after our material pursuits, so crazily that we get no time to spend in a relaxed manner. He warns us if our life remains full of worries and problems with no opportunity to enjoy its simple pleasures, it will be very miserable life.

and this is a video that i found from Youtube. :)

I Wonder by Jeannie Kirby

     

 this the

 paraphrase

 for

 I Wonder

by

Jeannie Kirby :) 

         I wonder why the grass is green,

         And why the wind is never seen?

The poet questions on why the color of the grass is green but not the other colors. In this world we have so many colors like blue, yellow and gray. However, we can only see green as the color of the grass throughout the Earth. The poet also questions on why is the wind cannot be seen. As human, we can feel things via the sense of touch through contacts made with our skin. Nevertheless, we cannot see the wind although we can feel it on our skin.

     

         Who taught the birds to build a nest,

         And told the trees to take a rest?

In the first line, the poet wonders who gave the birds the knowledge to build such a perfect nest to live on. This is because; most birds build their own nest for their little ones and for them to live. As compared to animals, human need to be taught to learn some skills or abilities. The second line shows the curiosity of the poet on the trees that don’t move like other living things.

       

    

   O, when the moon is not quite around,

   Where can the missing bit be found?

We all know that the moon is round in shape. However, sometimes the moon loses its shape and become half or three quarter of its real shape. The poet is curious on where would the other parts of the moon have gone to.

        

        Who lights the stars, when they blow out,

        And makes the lightning flash about?

The stars always appear at night but disappear as the morning comes. This occurrence makes the poet to think that there is a person who light up the stars as the night comes and the lightning flash in the night sky.

            

             Who paints the rainbow in the sky,

           And hangs the fluffy clouds so high?

Rainbow is the combination of 7 lines that appears in 7 colors after the rain stops. The poet is curious on how would the rainbow appear in the sky. Looking at the rainbow also makes the poet to question about the clouds located up in the sky that looks like they are hanging.

           Why is it now, do you suppose,

            That Dad won’t tell me, if he knows?

The poet is wondering on why his father refuses to explain all the questions above. This is maybe because of the poet is too small to understand all the consequences that happen naturally in this world.  



The River by Valerie Bloom

this a video about Valerie Bloom.

 the poet of The River.
this is the poem for form 1 students.

this is the paraphrase of the poem

The River’s a wanderer,

A nomad, a tramp,

He doesn’t choose one place

To set up his camp.

The poet compared the river to a wanderer because a wanderer does not choose a place to stay for a long time. Same goes to the river which continues flowing and never stops.

The River’s a winder,

Through valley and hill

He twists and he turns,

He just cannot be still.

This stanza explains that a river does not rest or stops. Even though there are valleys or hills upfront, the river will continue flowing by adapting the surface of the Earth.

The River’s a hoarder,

And he buries down deep

Those little treasures

That he wants to keep.

The poet is comparing a river to a hoarder because when the river flows, it won’t stop to evade things which come across its way. The river will carry all the things with it and bury them in the river bed.

The River’s a baby,

He gurgles and hums,

And sounds like he’s happily

Sucking his thumbs.

In this stanza the river is compared to a baby because a baby’s voice sometimes can be too loud and sometimes it can be too slow. Same goes to the river, whenever he goes fast down the stream the sound is loud and when it comes to a more flat ground, the sound lessen and sometimes it cannot be heard.

The River’s a singer,

As he dances along,

The countryside echoes

The notes of his song.

The sixth stanza compares the river to a singer seeing that the river’s movement is significant to the movement of a singer on the stage. While moving, the river moves with sounds and it is heard to the countryside.

The River’s a monster

Hungry and vexed,

He’s gobbled up trees

And he’ll swallow you next.

The river is said to be a monster because when the water level increases and the speed of the stream is boosted, it will be a disaster that no one could stop it until it alleviate itself.