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Literature spot B         

Student’s Book, page 86

A Green Cornfield
Christina Rossetti


The earth was green, the sky was blue:
I saw and heard one sunny morn
A skylark hang between the two,
A singing speck above the corn;


A stage below, in gay accord,
White butterflies danced on the wing,
And still the singing skylark soared,
And silent sank and soared to sing.


The cornfield stretched a tender green
To right and left beside my walks;
I knew he had a nest unseen
Somewhere among the million stalks.


And as I paused to hear his song
While swift the sunny moments slid,
Perhaps his mate sat listening long,
And listened longer than I did.

 

Explanation

The poet is Christina Rossetti

The first stanza

The earth was green, the sky was blue: (a)
I saw and heard one sunny morn (b)
A skylark hang between the two(a)
A singing speck above the corn; (b)

 

  • The underlined word two in the third line refers to the earth and the sky.
  • The two colours mentioned in the first stanza are green and blue.
  • The underlined word speck in the first stanza indicates something "small". 
  • The poet saw the bird one sunny morning.
  • The bird mentioned in the first stanza is a skylark
  •  The thing that the poet saw and heard in one of the mornings is a skylark singing. 
  •   The colour of the Earth as mentioned in the first stanza is green
  •  The colour of the sky mentioned in the first stanza is blue.
  •   The bird was singing above the corn. 
  •  The line which shows the skylark flying in the sky is a skylark hang between the two.
  •  The rhetorical device mentioned in "singing speck" is alliteration.
  •  The rhyme scheme is abab

       The second stanza

A stage below, in gay accord,
White butterflies danced on the wing,
And still the singing skylark soared,
And silent sank and soared to sing.

  A

  •  The animal mentioned in the second stanza is a skylark. 
  •  The insects mentioned in the second stanza are butterflies
  •  The skylark sings when it flies high.
  •  The skylark doesn't sing when it flies down. It becomes silent.
  •   The butterflies were dancing.
  •  The colour of the butterflies is white.
  •  The word accord means "in harmony" or "in agreement".
  •  'Silent sank " and "Singing skylark soared" are two examples of alliteration.
  •   The butterflies dance in gay accord.
  •  The words in gay accord mean that the butterflies were dancing happily
  •  What shows that butterflies did not sit quietly is "White butterflies danced on the wing."

 

The third stanza

The cornfield stretched a tender green
To right and left beside my walks;
I knew he had a nest unseen
Somewhere among the million stalks.
  •  The word tender suggests something fresh and young.
  • The lines which indicate that the skylark's nest is invisible  (not visible / hidden) in the cornfield are:

        "I knew he had a nest unseen."   

        "Somewhere among the million stalks"

  • The female skylark lays eggs in the nest.
  •  The stalk is the long, upright part of the plant that supports the leaves.
  •  The poet doesn't know where the skylark nest is.
  •  The nest of the skylark is "somewhere among the million stalks"

 

The fourth stanza

And as I paused to hear his song
While swift the sunny moments slid,
Perhaps his mate sat listening long,
And listened longer than I did.
  • The poet uses many examples of "alliteration", such as:

       listening long 

       listened longer 

  • The effect the poet is trying to achieve with the technique of alliteration is adding to the rhythm of the poem.
  • Apart from the poet, there is a reference to another listener who is female skylark. 
  • The lines which indicate that the poet left the cornfields before the skylark stopped singing are :

          "Perhaps his mate sat listening long"

           "And listened longer than I did"

  •  The poet stopped in the cornfield to hear the skylark's song. 
  • The underlined word swift means fast.
  • The two listeners to the skylark are the poet and the female skylark (his mate).

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