Was Text 3, Section 1 a Dog or Human??

[Cob-was-here]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

The poem wasn't about a dog. It was about a person going back to his childhood home. Its described as the "Galapogas" of his childhood. If you didnt know, the Galapogas ISlands is where Charles Darwin found out all about the exotic species such as the finches and tortoise. Anyway, it was an allusion to an exotic landscape.

Further the poet Peter Goldsworthy was very smart playing on various different puns. The Beagle which was referred to was Charles Darwin's ship HMS Beagle. By saying "quicksilver Beagle" it meant a plane, as it is a form of transport. Also the most famous cyclone in Darwin, Nt was cyclone Tracey. So basically, it was a very cleverly written poem, drawing on puns from anthromorphoism (dog), Cyclone Tracey in Darwin, and Charles Darwin.

ps i only got this after going through the test at home with a clear mind. I wish i could think like this in the exam!

man.. i know this shit. why did it not occur to me in exam? grrr

 

[josh238]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

look, i'm just gonna put this out there......why would a dog be getting on a plane and be given a scented towel by air hotsessess?


the whole smell-nose thing was just a different way of connecting to his past - rather than using visual imagery, he used a different kind of imagery. all the stuff about moistness, tropical, heat, it fits in with Darwin being so hot.

the bit about the Beagle was just a play on words; he'd talked about smells for an entire poem, and alluded to an animal that is primarily used as a hunting dog, that picks up on other animals smells.


if you thought it was a dog, theres seriously something wrong with you.

 

[ArnoldS]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

look, i'm just gonna put this out there......why would a dog be getting on a plane and be given a scented towel by air hotsessess?

Very true, that right is reserved for snakes only.

 

[-may-cat-]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

LOOK
-everyone knows it was not a dog.
-everyone knows it was an extended metaphor.
-people disagree on if someone said it was a dog but still answered the question, they would receive full marks.

can we be done with it now?

 

[watsthebuzz]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

What was that "Wet" thing?

Maybe it meant rain..or the dog's nose. Hmm maybe they purposely put this poem in because people can read it so many different ways.

 

[Princess Hollyx]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

No, they're not. The poem was not from a dog's perspective. It was from a human's perspective, who used the metaphor of being a dog in some brief parts to enhance how he perceived the new Darwin.

It wasn't about the place darwin.

It was about the golappogas (lol @ spelling) island.

He titled the poem darwin because of charles darwin, the explorer, who spent a lot of time in the golappogas islands.

It's also why he called the aeroplane a "quicksilver beagle" (the beagle was the name of darwin's ship.

 

[Miffstaa]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

hahah i thought it was about a guy walking down a street and a stray dog following him
ahh well

 

[snowconesyum]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

it was a METAPHOR, used to show a PERSON sniffing out there past like a DOG

ghostblade's got it - the dog was used as part of the whole emphasis on smell in his 'journey to the past' blahblah

i don't reckon it matters if u did say it was a dog tho, like they always tell us it's about positive marking, so if u still answered the question about reflections on going home or whatever really well, i think u'll get the marks.

and holly - i think it was about darwin, and the galapagos islands was referring to both darwin's travels there plus the fact that the houses on stilts reminded him of the exotic island feel...?

 

[xibeleli]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

ROFL dog = epic fail

 

[Kalashnikov47]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

I am damn sure its about a human lol~~~

if it is not about a human, then how can the "persona" get on board an aeroplane at the end. (I dont think many airline services would allow a non-human on their flight.)

 

[Dunnybrush]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

I took the heavy tail as it showing that he didn't want to go back using any excuse to hold him back... after all it did say he didn't want to find himself or something like that...

Then when he was leaving back onto the plain i saw it as him not wanting to leave again as his nose was looking back at his home place as he was walking backwards, watching what he was leaving.

And the guy/girl that said it wasn't Darwin (the place)... it really had to be because the famous cyclone sorta gives it away... but there is a definite link to Charles Darwin

 

[jessticles!]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

Umm, didn't the text say something about a Beagle? They're a dog used at airports and the last stanza talked about aeroplanes... and those dogs are good with smell, and it discussed smells a lot.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I didn't mention wether it was human or not, coz I wasn't sure

 

[Garygaz]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

Not if you're completely and utterly misinterpreting an entire text, based on one extended metaphor.

You're saying that the single tree constitutes an entire forest, to paraphrase an idiom.

If you can support it, then yes. Poetry isn't that succinct and straight forward though, hence allowing different interpretations. And no, I didn't interpret it as a dog, btw.

 

[XeneX]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

i thought the poet was using the sense of smell as a tool of remembrance and to show that the place had changed because there was new smells etc etc

 

[jessticles!]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

That's what I said in the response, but I was just saying what I thought

I guess that also Darwin could be reffering to Charles Darwin and the Beagle as his ship...

oh well, I'll probably fail anyway

 

[fallenstar]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

@ whoever said the poem was about a dog...
IT'S CALLED FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE.

 

[m000]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

Okay, I just freaked out because the poem was supposed to be about a dog and I had missed it lol
I hate these reflective forums that freak you out!!!!!!!!!
Good to know that it WASN'T about a dog...

 

[carrots please!]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

3 mark question guys.

 

[metalheaven]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

Umm, didn't the text say something about a Beagle? They're a dog used at airports and the last stanza talked about aeroplanes... and those dogs are good with smell, and it discussed smells a lot.
sure

Well yeah it did mention a beagle, but "Beagle" was a popular manufacturer of light aircraft. Also, didn't the poem also say something about the Beagle having wings? So for that part I'm preeeetty sure that the "Beagle" and the aeroplane aren't simply linked, but are actually one in the same.

I only skimmed over the poem though, so I could be completely wrong

 

[Nivi7]

Re: The Poem Was About A Dog?

uummm...wasn't the poem abt a man whose house or town or wateva was destroyed by cyclone tracy and he decided to return back to his hometown to try and re-collect his childhood memories???!!!