On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High by D.C. Berry

1. Original Text

Before
I opened my mouth
I noticed them sitting there
as orderly as frozen fish
in a package.

Slowly water began to fill the room
though I did not notice it
till it reached
my ears

and then I heard the sounds
of fish in a aquarium
and I knew that though I had
tried to drown them
with my words
that they had only opened up
like gills for them
and let me in.

Together we swam around the room
like thirty tails whacking words
till the bell rang

puncturing
a hole in the door

where we all leaked out

They went to another class
I suppose and I home

where Queen Elizabeth
my cat met me
and licked my fins
till they were hands again.

2. Initial Response

                This poem is about a teacher at a high school.  The speaker in the poem, who is a teacher, is trying to teach his students how to swim; they act as though they are drowning even though they are fish. The speaker talks about how the bell punctures a hole into the door, and the great pressure pulls the students out into other classrooms. The teacher goes home and is calmed down by his cat until he turns back into a normal human who just relaxes at home.

3. Paraphrase the Poem
Before
I began to talk
I saw them waiting there
In neat order and frozen stiff
In a box.

Slowly words began to fill the place
Though I didn’t notice it
Till I heard it
With my own ears

And then I heard some sounds
Of students learning hard
And I knew that even though I’d try to frustrate them
With all my talking
That they had listened up
Like gulping down everything
And letting me into their minds.

Together we talked inside the room
Like thirty mouths throwing around words
Till the school bell rang
Creating
A vacuum-like hole in the door

Where we all left out from

They went to other classes
I guess and I went home

Where Queen Elizabeth
My cat came next to me
And liked my cover
Till I became a normal human again.

4. SWIFTT
               
SW = Syntax/Word Choice

                D.C. Berry uses no set structure for the poem, which is free verse. He portrays the classroom as an aquarium and the students in it as fish. He uses different words to relate this. For instance, he uses the word “gills” in part to describe how the students opened up to his words. The teacher’s words are represented by water, and he mentions how they swam around the room to describe a discussion they had.

I = Imagery

                The biggest images that Berry uses are the classroom being an aquarium and the students being fish. The speaker in the poem says that he thought his words were drowning them but notices that “they had opened up like gills for them”. This is great imagery and allows readers to get a sense of how the teacher felt and responded to the students swimming around the room.

F = Figurative Language

                The poem is full of figures of speech. Berry first uses this instrument when he describes the students by calling them “as orderly as frozen fish in a package”. The next time he uses figurative language is when he describes how the students listened intently and earnestly to him by creating gills to take in the water that was his words. The speaker also says that he and the students discussed things together “like thirty tails whacking words”.

T = Tone

                The tone in the beginning of the poem is disappointed at uninspired at the sight of the teacher’s frozen package of fish.  Then, the students become interested and participate in the class discussion, so the speaker because inspired and delighted at the intensity of the class. He is filled with wonderment at the delight of the students.

T = Theme

                The theme of the poem is that people can inspire others to learn and become active. It is that knowledge is power, and that people shouldn’t believe completely what they see. For example, in the beginning of the poem, the teacher believes that the student are like senseless fish who won’t remember what he is about to tell them. To his surprise, they do, which reinforces the theme of inspiration and belief in man.

5. Conclusions

                Part of my initial reaction was correct. The teacher feels as though today would be just another ordinary boring day at school but is surprised when he students actually begin to care and listen to his words. He is inspired by them because they are inspired by him, which shows that both parties are feeding off of each other and learning more than they had ever imagined from each other. D.C. Berry shows that there are ways to help inspire students to learn as much as they can and become efficient students of life and school.