starlings on george square

8/18/2019 Starlings on George Square

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/starlings-on-george-square 1/12



Hello Duke of Edinburgh ha!s"

# $ trust you ha%e returned s&elly' exhausted and ha!!y" And will blisters the si(e of )o)onuts" *ou will' of )ourse'be refreshed for your +A, on -riday" Hurray.

# $ ha%e !ut u! the answers for the first stan(a of the!oe&" The rest of the )lass will be going o%er stan(as /and 0 in grou! work" There are &odel answers for word)hoi)e' i&agery' senten)e stru)ture' tone and alliteration"

Don1t be inti&idated2 these aren1t the only answers andyou won1t get e%erything $1%e !ut down" Ho!e it hel!s"



3ines 45/0

# Tone 6 wonder' a&a(e&ent' ex)ite&ent"# $t1s e%ening as the sun is setting" “The

stonefields” are the high buildings round GeorgeSquare"

# The words “sundown” and “high stonefields”suggest a 7estern fil&" The word “sundown” isnot a word we would nor&ally say but &ight hearin a 7estern and the High stonefields suggestthe high )ha!arral and thi)k' tangled brushwood"

# 3ook at next slide" +ot exactly like GeorgeSquare but still8



3ines 45/0

# “The darkening roofs)a!e stirs 6thi)k5 ali%e with starlings”

9ust as the roofs of the building against theskyline in George Square a!!ear solid and darkin the setting sun' so the &ass of starlingsresting on the roofto!s is so thi)k and !a)kedtogether that they see& to be !art of thebuilding" 7hen they &o%e' it see&s as if it is thebuilding that is &o%ing "



3ines 45/0

# “like a shower of arrows they )ross”

# 9ust as the hail of arrows we &ight see in a

7estern &o%es swiftly and threatening' so thestarlings &o%e together at great s!eed'“threatening” the !eo!le in George Square' as ifthe starlings are atta)king" Moreo%er' arrows ares&all and dark' whi)h also re&inds us of thes&all' dark birds"

# This )ontinues the 7estern i&agery introdu)edin 3ine 4"



“they bead the wire with :et”

# 9ust as :ewels on a ne)kla)e are )lose together'and there )an be &any of the&' so the birds areare regularly and )losely s!a)ed on the wires

abo%e George Square" The idea of so&ethingattra)ti%e and %aluable is i&!lied in the idea of a!ie)e of :ewlery and the !oet1s a!!re)iation ofthe birds is )ontinued when he des)ribes thebirds as “:et”" 9ust as “:et” is a shiny' bla)k stoneof so&e %alue' so the !oet thinks that the birdsare also beautiful and %aluable"



“They nestle' !reening by the la&!sand shine' sidling by the la&!sand sing' shining' they stir"”

# The words “nestle' !reening and sidling” are all%ery !re)ise words whi)h suggest the&o%e&ents of birds" The word “nestle” suggests

that the birds are %ery )o&fortable where theyare and are ha!!ily &aking a ho&e there" $t alsosuggests they are )ontent to be !a)ked )loselytogether" The word “!reen” suggests a bird)leaning itself and !erha!s showing off for the)iti(ens below" The word “sidling” suggests thedeli)ate' silent' )areful' &o%e&ent of the birdson the wires abo%e the square"



“They nestle' !reening by the la&!sand shine' sidling by the la&!sand sing' shining' they stir"”

# ;erbs are !la)ed in a !attern beside the !resent!arti)i!le <5ing words= they )an &ake us think of&o%e&ent that is ha!!ening now" Think about

Dul)e “guttering' )hoking' drowning”"> Ea)h lineis a %erb' followed by a !resent !arti)i!le" This)reates a !attern in the lines whi)h refle)ts the!attern of the birds &o%e&ent as they flytogether abo%e the Square" ,y fo)ussing on the&o%e&ent of the birds' we are re&inded of howgra)eful and re&arkable the &o%e&ent ofstarlings )an be as they fly together"



# The re!etition of “by the la&!s” re&indsus of :ust how &any birds there are' as weare told twi)e that they are around thela&!s whi)h surround the Square"



“Ho&eward hurrying )rowds” line 44”7ide eyed at the )la&our on those )liffs” line 4?

# “The alliteration of “ho&eward hurrying” see&sto draw the two words together' as the !eo!le onGeorge Square draw together against thestarlings" The !eo!le are )o&ing togetheragainst a )o&&on ene&y"

# The alliteration of “)la&our” and “)liffs” &akesthe starlings sound like a single &ass" The hard“)” sound e&!hasises that the birds are being

des)ribed in ter&s of the noise they &ake at this!oint' rather than the way they look" The word“)liffs” takes us ba)k to the stonefields that are&entioned in the first line"

starlings on george square

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