IntroductionOverview

Latiff Mohidin-In The Midst of Hardship Writer

Latiff Mohidin is a poet-painter, born on Aug 20, 1938 in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. Called ‘Boy Wonder’ since age 11, he received his art education at Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste, Berlin, Germany in 1960. In 1969, Latiff furthered his studies in printmaking at Atelier La Courriere in Paris, France and Pratt Graphic Centre in New York, USA. He started writing poetry in the early sixties. Since then, his work has been published in various magazines and translated into English and Chinese. Today, Latiff Mohidin is one of Malaysia’s most celebrated living artist and poet and is considered a national treasure.

He Had Such Quiet Eyes Writer-Bibsy Soenharjo

Bibsy Soenharjo was born in Jakarta on 22 November 1928. Bibsy and her siblings were homeschooled and each was encouraged to pursue their own interests. She had a particular fondness for literature and, after returning home from a four-year stay in Japan, Bibsy began writing her first prose in 1957, and then poetry in the 60s.

The Literary Review, an international quarterly published by Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, USA, published her first four literary pieces in their Autumn and Spring Editions in 1967 and 1968 respectively. In 1967 also, her poem, “Jakarta, March 1967” was published in the Australian magazine Hemisphere, while ”Setelah Gerhana Bulan” (After the Eclipse of the Moon) was published in Gelanggang, an Indonesian cultural magazine now defunct.

In The Midst Of Hardship Poem-Latiff Mohidin

At dawn they returned hometheir soaky clothes tornand approached the stovetheir limbs marked by scratchestheir legs full of woundsbut on their browsthere was not a sign of despairThe whole day and night just passedthey had to brave the horrendous floodin the water all the timebetween bloated carcassesand tiny chips of tree barksdesperately looking for their son’salbino buffalo that was never found

They were born amidst hardshipand grew up without a sigh or a complaintnow they are in the kitchen, makingjokes while rolling their cigaratte leaves

Synopsis

In this poem, the poet tells of the situation of a farmer and his family. They come back at dawn after being out in the floodwater for a day and night. They are looking for their albino buffalo. They come back wet and hurt but they do not show any despair. They have been born into a life of hardship and have never complained. Now, they are in the kitchen and they joke and talk while preparing to relax with a smoke.

SYNOPSIS (ACCORDING TO STANZA)

STANZA 1They returned home at dawn and headed for the stove. Their clothes were soaking wet and tattered. Their bodies were covered with scratches and wounds. Yet, they did not display any signs of being worried.

STANZA 2They were out in the flood the whole day and night. They were surrounded by dead animals and parts of trees that had been destroyed by the flood. They searched desperately for their son’s albino buffalo but were unable to find it.

STANZA 3They were born into poverty and difficulty, but they do not complain about their suffer. Instead, they sit in the kitchen, cracking jokes while smoking cigarette

Elements of the Poem

SETTINGPlace-A remote village where life is simple and the people live in hardship and povertyTime-The poem opens with dawn when the family returns home and is now relaxing in the kitchen.They have spent the entire previous day and night in the floodwaters searching for a buffalo

THEMESStoicism in lifeFamily loveAcceptance of way of life

MORAL VALUESWe should learn to accept problems in life with a positive outlook.We must attempt to face and solve problems.Failure is part of growing up.Do not despair in the face of failure.

TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHEREUnderstanding and sympatheticDismalAcceptance of situation

POINT OF VIEWThird person pint of view.

LANGUAGE & STYLELanguage is simple and easy to understand.The style is simple with no rhyming scheme.

POETIC DEVICESImagery – Gives picture of poet’s thoughts ‘soaky clothes torn’ and ‘legs full of wounds’Alliteration – ‘but on their brows’Symbols – ‘horrendous flood’ and ‘bloating carcasses’Diction – ‘stove’ and ‘brows‘.

Persona

♥ The persona is one who has visited or lived with the rural folk he is decribing.♥ He is ovservant about attitudes, appearance, habits and the culture of the people.♥ The persona is sympathetic. He understands and admires the villagers for their positive and cheerful attitudes they soldier on despite their troubles.

Themes

Poverty and hardship♥ On a wider perspective is the perennial problem of poverty in the rural community.It seems to be an endless cycle of want and suffering which has been accepted and endured as their permanent lot in life.They suffer physically (‘ their limbs marked by scratches’. , ‘their legs full of wounds’) as well as emotinoally and mentally (‘desperately looking for their son’s albino buffalo’, ‘in the water all the time between bloated carcasses’) ‘Born amidst hardship’ , they know no other life and ‘grew up without a sigh or complaint’

MessagesBe Resilient and persevere during difficult times♥ The villagers were strong and resilient during and after the flood disaster.Hence, we too must be couragerous during trials and persevere, for good always comes out of a seemingly hopeless situation.

Be optimistic in the face of challenges♥ Life is filled with chalengges. We should not do nothing and feel sory for ourselves when we face a problem. If we havge a positive attitude, the challenge will be less unpleasant and easier to manage. Hopefully, we will also take positive action to solve the problem or improve the situation

Hardship and suffering build character♥All of us experience some form of hardship or suffering in our journey through life. If we are positive, courageous and persevering during hardship, we will gradully become emotionally and mentally stronger. Challenges, hardship and suffering help to build our character.

Moral Values

Courage♥ Courage in times of trials is a value to be encouraged. Here, the villagers who have been used to natural disasters soldier on despite the physical hurt and emotional toll they have endured. In fact, they are cheerful as they resume their daily duties

Resilience and perseverance♥ Both mental and emotional strength are important if we are to persevere in life which is often fraught with challenges. If we are resilient and able to stand up and remain study in difficult situations, we will be better equipped to walk the long and eventful journey of life

Compassion♥The persona observes the courage and positive attitude of the villagers in the face of disaster. He evokes in us a feeling of compassion for the poor, flood stricken villagers. Hopefully, this feeling of compassion will progress into positive

steps to help relieve the plight of disaster victims.

He Had Such Quiet Eyes Poem

He had such quiet eyes

She did not realise

They were two pools of lies

Layered with thinnest ice

To her, those wuiet eyes

Were breathing desolate sighs

Imploring her to be nice

And to render him paradise

If only she’d been wise

And had listened to the advice

Never to compromise

With pleasure-seeking guys

She’d be free from ‘the hows and whys’

Now here’s a bit of advice

SYNOPSIS

Synopsis

This poem is about a lady who falls in love with the wrong man. She is fascinated with his eyes that seem to lure her to give him paradise. The man has a pair of quiet eyes that she does not realise they are not that quiet. As she is ‘charmed’ by the eyes, she does not listen to the advice given by other people who are concerned with her behaviour. In the end, she realises her mistakes and is broken hearted.

Meaning of Stanzas

Stanza 1 ➸ The persona observes the folly of a young woman who succumbed to the charms of a deceitful Casanova. She was fooled by the pleading and ‘lovelorn’ eyes of the lustful man.

Stanza 2 ➸ With a tone of regret, the persona laments the folly of the gullible young woman who had rejected the advice of experienced elders. Thus, she is now left lose, lonely and confused

Stanza 3 ➸ Here, the persona is didactic. She advises the reader to be more cautions especially with matters of the heart. The ‘game’ of love can be a risky one.

Elements of the Poem

Place

♥There is no specific physical setting stated, but we can infer that it is a quiet place in a town or city, where a man charms his way into the heart of a young woman

Time♥Probably a quiet romantic evening, where the confidence trickster can focus on winning the trust of his victim

Social Setting♥Middle-class , young working people

Persona♥An observer, a sharp and cautions person♥She observes with regret the folly of a young woman so easily snared by a charming womanizer and confidence trickster.

ThemesDeception♥The main theme of the poem is deception. In this instance, a young woman is lured by the insincere charm and romantic pretneces of a man. The young woman is deceived by a man who deliberately sets out to woo her to satisfy his own bad intenions and not because of his love for her

The love trap/lust trap♥This is a twin theme which snares the unwary and the innocent.Taken in by the charms of the opposite sex, many people fall in love only to be trickedMessage

Appearances can be deceptive♥We must be careful about whom we trust and how much we can trust them. We must be alert to their true intentions. We cannot simply believe a person at face value, as this will mean that we are gullible and thus easily deceived.

Learn from your mistakes

♥We must be able to learn from our mistakes. We should not give up and lose heart if we make a mistake as it gives us the opportunity to be more experienced.Moral Values

Honesty♥Honesty and integrity are important for a genuine friendship or relationship to succeed.♥Honesty also means the courage to be honest with oneself. We must be sure that we do not get involved in a relationship out of loneliness, desperation , lust or self-gratification

Rationality♥We need to be governed more by our head rather than our heart, especially in romantic situations.♥Common sense,logic and good judgement will prevent us from falling into dangerous ‘love/lust’ traps.

Tone&Mood

Regretful♥The tone of regret is evident in stanza 2. The victim of ‘such quiest eyes’ is left high and dry, sad , disillusioned and betrayed. The tone of regret of the persona is an extension of the victim’s regret for her foolish behavior.

Didactic and serious♥ A didactic tone is used when the persona gives advice to both the victim and the reader.

Meaning of the words

sighs – long, deep audible breaths eyes – a pair of organs of sight advice – guidance desolate – unhappy and uninhabited pleasure-seeking – looking for a feeling of happy satisfaction dice – a small cube with each side having a different number

ranging from 1 to 6 layered – arranged in layers lies – intentional false statements realise – become aware compromise – agree paradise – heaven render – provide or give help imploring – begging desperately

wise – having knowledge and good judgement

Language&Style

The poem has three stanzas with an irregular number of lines. Stanza 1 has eight lines, Stanza 2 has fives lines, and Stanza 3 has four lines , a total of 17 lines. Each line in the poem rhymes, for example, ‘eyes/realise/lies/sighs’. This gives the poem a musical effect

Personification

♥The man’s eyes become alive as they ‘were breathing desolate sighs’. The sad and pleading look the man gave the victim tugs at her heart and she gives in to him

Rhyme

♥The last word in every line of the poem ends with the pronunciation ‘a i z’ or a i s’, for example lines 1-2(eyes/realise); and lines 14-15(advice/nice).

♥Soenharjo’s ability to make all the lines rhyme shows her great skills as a poet. Although she uses insister rhyming in every line, her poem is not monotonous.

Aliteration

♥The ‘s’ sound is repeated throughout the poem.This could imply that the man the poem is like a hissing snake: dangerous, sneaky and cunning

Imagery

♥An Image is a word picture which can appeal to any of our five senses

Hyperbole

♥A hyperbole is an overstatemen used in an ironic or funny way

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