English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 2012

Course: English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 Title of assignment : Short coursework Poem Short Coursework Assignment The acquisition and the application of the four language skills would help in the learning of the English Language and enhance students proficiency. Reading and analyzing poems allow the effective integration of the four language skillsand provide a meaningful context for using the language not only for communicative but also forpersonal as well as academic purposes. POEM 1 Lifes Brief Candle Tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow Creeps in this pretty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The wau to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Lifes but a walking shadow; a poor player, That struts and trets his hour upon the stage.

English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 2012

And then is heard no more; it is a Tale told by an idiot, full of soun d and fury Signifying noting. By William Shakespeare

POEM 2 The Dead Crow Stanza 1 He saw a dead crow in a drain near the post office. He saw an old man gasping for air and a baby barely able to breath in a crowded morning clinic. This land is so rich. Why should we suffer like this? Stanza 2 I want clean air

English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 2012

for my grandchildren. I want the damned fools to leave the forest alone. I want the trees to grow, the rivers run free, and the earth covered with grass. Let the politicians plan how we may live with dignity, now and always. By A. Samad Said

English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 2012

2. Difference (Compare and Contrast) about the poems: Title Lifes Brief Candle The Dead Crow

Poet Subject Matter

William Shakespeare

A.Samad Said ordinary person(the

Macbeth is getting ready for An

battle. He is infored that his poet) on the street saw queen is dead. He feels sad death and sickness around because at this time when him. The poet questions he needs her support, she why there is suffering in a is no longer around to land which has plenty of support him. He sees resources. The poet wishes have a clean and

tomorrow, the future, as to meaningless. Life is a foolish tale

unspoilt environment. He appeals to the authorities to take appropriate action to protect the environment

Symbolism

Life can be short, just like a

Human beings are very

candle whose wax melts selfish and careless. They with the heat. destroy the environment by

The candle symbolizes the causing air, water and land temporary nature of life pollution. As a result of their

English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 2012

Life is brief. irresponsible actions, there is much suffering for

everyone. The poet wants those in authority (for

example,the

government)

to protect the environment for the sake of future

generations. Themes Nature of life i. Life is compared to a candle. The candle can only glow for a time. When it is time to leave this world, the and comes. Life is short. ii. Life meaningless. It has no future. is iv. flame dies death iii. ii. Nature of environment i. Take care of the environment. There is a need for environmental preservation. Development must be planned so that a clean environment preserved future generations. Environmental pollution is a is for

English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 2012

The future will serious threat to health and life.

also end in death. iii. Time is precious because mans

lifespan is short. Man has only a short stay on this earth. iv. Life is a stage. We each have

our special roles to play and then we leave after

our role is ended.

Moral Values

Dos 1. Live life fully and meaningfully. 2. Value tie and use it well. 3. Where there is hope, there is life. 4. Remember the ii. i. We must take

steps to preserve our environment. We must leave a pollution-free environment for

our children and

English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 2012

happy moments 5. Forget the past and move confidently into the future. 6. Live for today, and the past is done, and the future will take care of itself. Donts 1. Dont dwell on the past mistakes and sorrows. 2. Dont give up hope. Tone i. ii. iii. Sad Despairing Helpless hapless iv. Disinterested life v. vi. vii. Mood i. Pessimistic Tired Burdened Unhappy Indignation in and Anger - I want (the poet makes demands) iii. future generation Politicians capitalists take and must to the

action

preserve environment.

English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 2012

ii. iii. Feeling alone Disillusioned with life Atmosphere i. ii. Full of grief Desolate meaningless iii. Death is in the air and i. ii. At the irresponsible acts beings Full of anger Sadness of human

3. A Personal Response About The Dead Crow In stanza 1, the persona was trying to deliver the messages about the condition of air pollution in the place he lived. The dead crow is a symbolism that the persona used to symbolise the air pollution in that area. A crow was described to be a toughest animal that can survive in a dirty environment. He saw a dead crow in a drain that, the place that the persona lived is badly polluted and can cause even the though crow died. An old mansymbolise the old generation. While, a babysymbolised the young generation. an old man gasping for airand a baby barely able to breathshow that both old and young generation are suffered from the environmental pollution. More precisely, both of these generations are suffered from the air pollution. Crowded morning clinicsymbolise the healths condition of the citizens. The word crowdedfrom the phrasedescribe that many people are seeking for medical treatment. This situation shows the effect of the

English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 2012

environmental pollution in humans health. The persona questioning the readers how is this situation occurs since we are lived in a rich land.

In stanza 2, the persona express hes feeling to the readers. He want his grandchildren (future generation) to breath in a healthy environment, free from any environmental pollution. Damned fools represent the sources that cause the pollution. The Damned fools can be vehicles, factory or even human being. However, in this case, the damned fools represent the human being. Since the persona expressed his anger to the damned fools to leave the forest alone. Besides that, the persona also expressed his hope to see a clean and healthier environment. Unfortunately, the persona doesnt have the authority to take any action about this condition. Therefore, the phrase let the politicians plan how we may live with dignity now and alwaysshows that the persona leave this matter to the politicians whose have the authority to take any action about this matter.

The overall massage that the persona wants to deliver in his poem is about the air pollution. The bad air condition affects both young and old generation, since we all need air to breath. Besides that, dirty air environment can effects human health. In Malaysia, we have large scale of rain forest. As we all know, trees and plants are the sources of oxygen that we needed. On the other hand, trees and plants also clean our air environment indirectly, because the used up the carbon dioxide gas in photosynthesis process. These are the reasons why the persona wants the earth become greener and the persona also wanted all the activities involving deforestation to stop. This is

English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 2012

because, deforestation activities also affects our ecosystem, since forest is the habitat of many animal species. However, whether we like it or not, deforestation must be done in order to build a developed country. That is why the persona hopes that the politicians or the ruler of the country can make a wise choice about this problem. So that we do not regret any decisions that have been made and we do not faced any disastrous consequences in the future.

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English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 2012

Reflection Last 18 February 2012, PPG BM1 Semester 2 had been given a short course work assignment by lecturer in English Language Proficiency subject. We had been given several weeks to complete the assignment. In a relatively short time, we has to read, understand and analyse poems based on a selected theme. The first thing I did was divide the task given in time so that the time will not collide for me to complete another task. I had to do that because I dont want to have trouble with constraint of time. There is some information about the selected theme in my learning notes, so it make me easy to complete the task given on time. I have some difficulty to find additional information to complete the task. It is so hard to find the additional information from the library because of limited number of books. Meanwhile, in the internet, I managed to get a lot of additional information, however , most of them are hard for me to understand the meaning. During to complete the tasks given, if there is problem, the best method is discussion and refer to an experienced lecturer became a useful solution. Cooperation and unity are the pillars of the success of the program. As the saying goes Ability is a round man as consensus . We have to unite and always work together in any circumstances. However, despite having problems,I managed to complete the task given within the time specified. This is thanks to the cooperation and understanding with all people around me. Decision-making skills have been trained indirectly. In fact, many experiences can be gained and be used in teaching to a more challenging arena in the future.

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English Language Proficiency II WAJ 3103 2012

Reference

1. https://naturalunseenhazards.wordpress.com/ 2. http://wwwqismis.blogspot.com/ 3. http://storyformydoctor1.blogspot.com 4. http://www.dynamicclimate.ca 5. http://mynewshub.my 6. http://www.asiaexplorers.com 7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth#cite_note-4 8. Mac Yin Mee, & Dr. Malachi Edwin Vethamani, Sasbadi. 9. Sarah M. Ganasegeram. Hotspots Literature, Sasbadi. 10. Crescentia Morais, Grace Kay, Pearson Longman. 11. Anna Mathews, Senam Kaur, Leela Raju, Shamila Pathmanathan , PNI Neuron.

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