ENG1501
SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMS
JAN/FEB 2024
Question 1
1. The epigraph suggests that the poem will be about the speaker’s experience
undergoing radiotherapy treatment for cancer.
2. The speaker describes the seagulls using words like “sheer scythes” (line 9) and “tilt
the eye/ in watchfulness” (lines 10-11) which conveys a sense of reverence for the
birds’ grace and skill in flight. The speaker seems to admire the seagulls’ ability to
“hang in” and “slide into a thermal” (lines 29-30).
3. Imagery used to describe the hospital includes “that Great Barn” (line 15), “moping
stooks and sheaves” (line 18), and “shuffling corridors” (line 18). These images
evoke gloom, lifelessness, suffering, and impending death associated with the
hospital environment.
, 4.1 The “moping stooks and sheaves” refer to the patients in the hospital corridors.
4.2 The poet has used a metaphor, comparing the patients to wheat stooks and sheaves,
which gives a sense that they are gathered and waiting to be harvested or die.
4. In lines 28-29, the speaker sees the seagulls gliding and flying outside the hospital
windows. This sight gives the speaker hope and comfort in the midst of her difficult
cancer treatment, reminding her of the freedom, vitality, and beauty still present in
the world outside the dreary hospital. It renews her spirit.
5. Alliteration is a prominent sound device used in the poem. Examples include
“bright/ blustery” (line 3), “sheer scythes” (line 9), and “sword-edge joy” (line 40).
The repetition of initial consonant sounds creates a rhythmic, melodic effect.
7.1. Reflective
7.2. The colon introduces an explanation, illustrating the idea presented before the colon. It
shifts the tone from uncertainty to revelation, as the speaker gains insight into the nature of
survival.
7.3. A main theme is the need to embrace life’s difficulties with courage and joy, to balance
and persist like the seagulls rather than succumb to suffering.
Question 2
SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMS
JAN/FEB 2024
Question 1
1. The epigraph suggests that the poem will be about the speaker’s experience
undergoing radiotherapy treatment for cancer.
2. The speaker describes the seagulls using words like “sheer scythes” (line 9) and “tilt
the eye/ in watchfulness” (lines 10-11) which conveys a sense of reverence for the
birds’ grace and skill in flight. The speaker seems to admire the seagulls’ ability to
“hang in” and “slide into a thermal” (lines 29-30).
3. Imagery used to describe the hospital includes “that Great Barn” (line 15), “moping
stooks and sheaves” (line 18), and “shuffling corridors” (line 18). These images
evoke gloom, lifelessness, suffering, and impending death associated with the
hospital environment.
, 4.1 The “moping stooks and sheaves” refer to the patients in the hospital corridors.
4.2 The poet has used a metaphor, comparing the patients to wheat stooks and sheaves,
which gives a sense that they are gathered and waiting to be harvested or die.
4. In lines 28-29, the speaker sees the seagulls gliding and flying outside the hospital
windows. This sight gives the speaker hope and comfort in the midst of her difficult
cancer treatment, reminding her of the freedom, vitality, and beauty still present in
the world outside the dreary hospital. It renews her spirit.
5. Alliteration is a prominent sound device used in the poem. Examples include
“bright/ blustery” (line 3), “sheer scythes” (line 9), and “sword-edge joy” (line 40).
The repetition of initial consonant sounds creates a rhythmic, melodic effect.
7.1. Reflective
7.2. The colon introduces an explanation, illustrating the idea presented before the colon. It
shifts the tone from uncertainty to revelation, as the speaker gains insight into the nature of
survival.
7.3. A main theme is the need to embrace life’s difficulties with courage and joy, to balance
and persist like the seagulls rather than succumb to suffering.
Question 2
