BIS3013 INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH LITERATURE ANALYSIS OF POEM

LECTURER: DR. AINON BINTI OMAR GROUP: B GROUP MEMBERS: 1) JASMEET KAUR A/P UTUMBER SINGH (D20111047735) 2) NOORFAIZAH BINTI MD. NAYAN (D20111047715)

La iman Janoory LIFE Life is but a passing glimpse of existence a small frame of time out of many too short for pleasure too long for suffering its a sand of uncertainties of happiness, sadness- apprehension. its the eternal cycle of fate sometimes motherly, sometimes a tyranny its but a shadow play and we the insignificant puppets playing the short scripts of destiny directing our little histories applauded by Death.

Proton City, Tanjong Malim Nov, 2010

ANALYSIS OF POEM (LIFE) Interpretation: Both of us have picked a meaningful poem simply entitled Life by La Iman Janoory in our effort to complete this assignment together. Truthfully, this was the first poem we saw the day we decided to peruse the book Ecstasies and Anxieties and it didnt take us long to know that we just had to pick this poem. As the title suggests, this poem speaks about life and how life is a fleeting journey that is filled with both joy and unhappiness. The first line Life is but a passing glimpse of existence tells us that everyones life does not last very long. Even though life actually does not last long, life seems very long and endless when we are facing so many unending difficulties when living. Life can also can seem short when we are having fun doing things we like. All these are clearly stated in the two lines, too short for pleasure and too long for suffering. It can be concluded that life can seem short or long, depending on the situation you are in. This poem also tells us that life is full of countless uncertainties. Both of us decided to conclude the line its a sand of uncertainties this way right after seeing the word sand. There is no way in which one can accurately count grains of sand, because these grains are, if not, seem incalculable. This line made us come up with the idea that everybodys life is filled with countless uncertainties. Besides that, ones life is an eternal cycle of fate, according to the poet. No matter what we do, or how we try to shape our lives, fate is an unstoppable thing. We are all controlled by fate. We are unable to change fate unless permitted by God. We concluded this after reading the line its the eternal cycle of fate. There are times when things go the way we want them to, and this is when we feel like life is being kind to us. However, life can also get really hard, especially when we have so many predicaments to deal with at the same time. This poem tells us that, life is not that different when compared to a play. Life is a lot like a play. But the only thing controlling us puppets in life is destiny. Meanwhile, death is portrayed as an audience viewing the play. Just as a play needs audience, life needs death. Everyone who lives will die as death is unavoidable. Point of view:

Obviously, the poem is written from the poets own point of view. This can be seen from the usage of the word we that refers to the poet and others. Setting: The setting of the poem is so vague, so maybe, there is no setting at all in the poem. Conflicts: The poem presents conflicts such as sadness and apprehension that must be faced by those who live, before they undergo death. Characters: The characters in the poem are all of us humans and the poet. Style and Language: The overall mood of the poem is one of sadness. The poet uses many simple modern words that are easy to understand. However, we must be able to understand what the words really mean. Theme: The main theme of the poem is life, feelings people get to experience in life and how life can be ended by death.