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TASK SHEET: Applying the IDE method
Instruction: Once your teacher has been through the poem with you, use what you have learnt about the IDE method to answer the questions on the following poem.
Autumn by Roy Campbell (1901–1957)
1 I love to see, when leaves depart,
The clear anatomy arrive,
Winter, the paragon of art,
That kills all forms of life and feeling
5 Save what is pure and will survive.
Already now that clanging chains
Of geese are harnessed to the moon:
Stripped are the great sun-clouding planes:
And the dark pines, their own revealing,
10 Let in the needles of the noon,
Strained by the gale the olives whiten
Like hoary wrestlers bent with toil
And, with the vines, their branches lighten
To brim our vats where summer lingers
15 In the red froth and sun-gold oil.
Soon on our hearths reviving pyre
Their rotted stems will crumble up:
And like a ruby, panting fire,
The grape will redden on your fingers
20 Through the lit crystal of the cup.
Note: before attempting any analysis of a poem’s use of figurative language, make sure that you find out the meanings of any words you do not understand.
Summary of the I.D.E method
Identify: name the figure of speech, or sound device, e.g. a metaphor, alliteration.
Describe: say what is being compared to what, or what sound is being repeated or created.
Explain: say why the poet has used this figure of speech or sound device – what does it suggest?
Questions
1.1 Identify the figure of speech in line 2.
1.2 Describe what is being compared to what.
1.3 Explain what this comparison suggests – why has the poet used it?
1.4 Combine your answers to 1.1–1.3 into two sentences following this pattern:
In this …, … is being compared to …. This suggests that …. [3]
2.1 Identify the sound device in line 6.
2.2 Describe the quality of the sound made.
2.3 Explain what this sound device conveys – why has the poet used it?
2.4 Combine your answers to 2.1–2.3 into two sentences following this pattern:
In this …, the word … has a … sound. This conveys …. [3]
3 Identify, describe and explain the figure of speech in “the olives whiten/ Like hoary wrestlers bent with toil.” (lines 11, 12) [3]
4 Using the IDE method, discuss the figure of speech in “And like a ruby, … the grape will redden on your fingers”. (lines 18, 19) [3]
Total marks: 12
© Oxford University Press Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd 2013. From Oxford Practical Teaching English Literature: How to teach Grades 8–12. You may modify, print and photocopy this document solely for use in your classes.