Mini Poetry Lesson 2

Welcome to the 2nd installment of our 3-part poetry series! Take some time off from soaking up the festive mood and immerse yourself in the wonderful world of verse!

We are going to look at a poem by local poet Kenneth Wee entitled "Festival". This is in your very first handouts (Sec 1) given at the beginning of the year. We didn't have time to go through it then so I thought I'd discuss it with you now.

Festival

Kenneth Wee

1 We sit in a corner, my friends and I

2 In a house filled with the roaring of the

3 Docks and harbours of our ancestors, and the

4 Colours of the sun which burned their fields.

5 The old men talk at the tables,

6 Remembering old times. We know them

7 Not, nor the language that they speak,

8 Yet we are relatives, only two generations apart.

9 We watch the television, glued to its screen,

10 Not knowing the meaning of the lotus seed

11 We unseeingly eat.

12 They are just more candy to us.

13 When the dinner is brought on,

14 With special foods prepared by the elders,

15 We grimace at the "tasteless" stuff

16 And think longingly of cheesy pizzas.

17 Somewhere down the street

18 Lion dancers twirl to heart thumping music

19 In my room we, too, dance,

20 But to the latest rock hits.

21 On my door hang spring couplets:

22 Quotations from Shakespeare.

23 Door gods adorn our entrances

24 Posters of Schwarzenegger and Stallone.

25 We watch the organized festivities

26 And are reminded of our culture, our roots

27 And we think: "I'm proud to be Chinese,"

28 In English.

1. The title. The first thing you look out for in a poem is its title (obvious, isn't it?). However, a lot of poems do not have titles, so the first line of the poem becomes its title. In today's poem, the title "Festival" gives it a 'local' feel because in our multi-racial society, we experience a myriad of festivals all through the year.

2. What's the theme of this poem? A theme is an idea that keeps appearing in the poem (ie. the predominant idea). After the first read-through, keywords such as 'generation gap', 'old versus young' and 'changing customs' come to mind.

3. The way Kenneth Wee presents this poem is by showing the contrasts between the behaviour and activities of the younger and older generation. Let's look at the various contrasts in detail:

a) Distance: There is distance between the two generations. The younger ones 'sit in a corner' (line 1) while the 'old men talk at the tables' (line 5). We can gather that they're probably not close, and have nothing common to talk about, and thus do not sit together. The fact that the youngsters back themselves 'in a corner' in a house that is 'filled with the roaring of the docks and harbours of our ancestors' also suggests that they are uncomfortable being in an atmosphere that is filled with things of the past.

b) Customs/Activities: Although the youngsters are eating lotus seeds (a traditional food), they eat it 'not knowing the meaning' (line 10), they eat it 'unseeingly' and it is 'just more candy' to them. This suggests that they have lost touch or they simply do not care about the story behind traditional customs and foods. For dinner, the elders prepare 'special food', which we can assume to be traditional food. The youngsters openly 'grimace' and show their disdain for the 'tasteless' stuff and 'think longingly of cheesy pizzas', which is a Western food. The traditional activity of lion dancing is also contrasted with the dancing to the 'latest rock hits' enjoyed by the youngsters, though both are 'heart thumping music'. In the 6th stanza, we are given a humorous take on the shift of customs. The Chinese traditionally hang 'spring couplets' with words of blessing and good fortune on their doors. The younger generation still hang 'spring couplets', but replacing the words of blessing are more Westernized stuff - 'quotations from Shakespeare'. In the same manner, the door gods of these youngsters are the movie stars they worship - Schwarzenegger and Stallone.

4. The impact of the last stanza. A strong poem needs a punchline that ends it on a high note. Often, the poet leads us to think in a certain way and then breaks our expectation and when that happens, it has great power. This is what happens here. While the youngsters 'watch the organized festivities', they feel 'proud to be Chinese' (line 27). When we read to the end of this line, we are comforted, thinking that although the entire poem has been about how these youngsters are losing their traditional Chinese customs, there's still some consolation in the end, because they still feel proud about being Chinese. However, the powerful last line breaks this consolation when we realize the irony of it all - these youngsters are so entrenched in their 'Westernized values' that even when they think of their Chinese-ness, they think in English. This strikes a chord with many of us who speak English and embrace Western values so much that we are losing our 'Asianess'. The little pause that we take between line 27 and 28 also make the last 2 words 'In English' more impactful.

5. Share this poem with your grandparents, they might identify with the situation well. Perhaps you can feel for the situation too.

Seen at Parkway Parade.

Guess the ages of Mickey, Minnie and Donald right and you stand a chance to win these large stuffed toys (worth $888 each!).

Did a quick google and found that Mickey and Minnie were created in 1928 and Donald in 1934.

Which makes...

Mickey and Minnie Mouse: 79 years old (!!)

Donald Duck: 73 years old (!)

I wonder what an innocent kid will think if you tell them that. That these cute creatures are older than their grandaddies!

(on 20th December 2007) Finally did the borders, which should've been the first step to do. Didn't work on this yesterday & today. But think it should still be in time for the 31st dec target.