Text analysis Virginia by Thomas Stearns Eliot Approaching

Text analysis “Virginia” by Thomas Stearns Eliot Approaching Literary Genres p. 42 Millennium

FOCUS ON THE Virginia Red river, red river, Slow flow heat is silence No will is still as a river Still. Will heat move Only through the mocking-bird Heard once? Still hills Wait. Gates wait. Purple trees, White trees, wait, Delay, decay. Living, living, Never moving. Ever moving Iron thoughts came with me And go with me: Red river MEANING In this poem Eliot uses a river in Virginia as a metaphor for life flowing slowly but unceasingly, running its course until it doesn't anymore. He hints that the Gate awaits each of us. He hints that we live, but decay and try to slow time down so we can live more. 1. The poem begins with the image of the red river flowing slowly. Highlight in blue the examples that refer to the river. • • 2. • • “Slow flow”(l. 2); “still as a river” (l. 3) “Still” (l. 4) The river is seen as calm and still. What other physical features of Virginia are mentioned in the poem. Highlight them in yellow. First of all the great river Mississippi , then the hills (“Still hills”, l. 6) and various kinds of trees(“Purple trees/White trees” ll. 7 -8). The description is dominated by the presence of heat of this Southern State. (“heat is silence” l. 2, “Will heat move”, l. 4)

Virginia Red river, red river, Slow flow heat is silence No will is still as a river Still. Will heat move Only through the mocking-bird Heard once? Still hills Wait. Gates wait. Purple trees, White trees, wait, Delay, decay. Living, living, Never moving. Ever moving Iron thoughts came with me And go with me: Red river FOCUS ON THE MEANING 3. Colour is important throughout the poem. Highlight in red all the references to colours. • “Red river” (ll. 1, 13)”, “Purple trees/White trees” (ll. 7 -8). 4. One of themes of the poem is slowness and immobility. Which other words and images express this? Highlight them in green. “Slow flow”, (l. 2) “No will is still as a river /Still ” (ll. 3 -4), “Still hills” (l. 6); “White trees, wait, / Delay, decay” (ll. 8 -9); “Never moving” (l. 10) •

• FOCUS ON ALLITERATION 5. AND ASSONANCE Alliteration means the repetition of the same (especially initial) consonant sound/s. Highlight in pink the lines that contain repetitions, underlining the alliterating sounds. Red river Slow flow heat is silence No will is still as a river Still. Will heat move Only through the mocking-bird Heard once? Still hills Wait. Gates wait. Purple trees, White trees, wait, Delay, decay. Living, living, Never moving. Ever moving Iron thoughts came with me And go with me: Red river l. 1 l. 7 l. 8 l. 9 l. 10 l. 13

• FOCUS ON ALLITERATION 6. • • AND ASSONANCE Now look at the following consonant sounds and match them with the alliterating words in the poem, underlining them line by line: m l s (s, as in “say”) t d w r ng s (s, as in “cheese”) m: l: Never moving. Ever moving Iron thoughts came with me And go with me: l. 10 l. 11 l. 12 Slow flow heat is silence No will is still as a river Still. Will heat move Heard once? Still hills Delay, decay. Living, living, l. 2 l. 3 l. 4 l. 6 l. 9

• FOCUS ON ALLITERATION 6. • • AND ASSONANCE Now look at the following consonant sounds and match them with the alliterating words in the poem, underlining them line by line: m l s (s, as in “say”) t d w r ng s (s, as in “cheese”) s (say): Slow flow heat is silence l. 2 t: Wait. Gates wait. Purple trees, White trees, wait, l. 7 l. 8 d: Red river, red river Delay, decay. Living, living l. 1 l. 9 Slow flow heat is silence Wait. Gates wait. Purple trees, White trees, wait, l. 2 l. 7 l. 8 w:

• FOCUS ON ALLITERATION 6. • • AND ASSONANCE Now look at the following consonant sounds and match them with the alliterating words in the poem, underlining them line by line: m l s (s, as in “say”) t d w r ng s (s, as in “cheese”) r: ng: Red river, red river Red river Delay, decay. Living, living, Never moving. Ever moving s (cheese): No will is still as a river Wait. Gates wait. Purple trees, l. 13 l. 9 l. 10 l. 3 l. 7

• FOCUS ON ALLITERATION 7. AND ASSONANCE Highlight in grey the assonances (similar vowel sounds) in the poem, underlining them line by line. Red river, red river Slow flow heat is silence No will is still as a river Still. Will heat move Only through the mocking-bird Heard once? Still hills Wait. Gates wait. Purple trees, White trees, wait, Delay, decay. Living, living, Never moving. Ever moving Iron thoughts came with me And go with me: Red river

• FOCUS ON ALLITERATION 8. AND ASSONANCE Though this poem is not, strictly speaking, rhymed, it has a few lines that may be said to end with rhymes. Highlight in violet other examples. Red river, red river Slow flow heat is silence No will is still as a river Still. Will heat move Only through the mocking-bird Heard once? Still hills Wait. Gates wait. Purple trees, White trees, wait, Delay, decay. Living, living, Never moving. Ever moving Iron thoughts came with me And go with me: Red river

• FOCUS ON ALLITERATION 9. AND ASSONANCE The poem’s rich texture of sounds is also given by the presence of internal rhymes, that is, rhyming words which are found within the lines and not in the more usual final position. Circle them in the poem Red river, red river Slow flow heat is silence No will is still as a river Still. Will heat move Only through the mocking-bird Heard once? Still hills Wait. Gates wait. Purple trees, White trees, wait, Delay, decay. Living, living, Never moving. Ever moving Iron thoughts came with me And go with me: Red river