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andre-oosthuysen
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Analysis of the Poem
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Karroo Stop
A wholetrainful of coallike a soulburnt black in a holeor tunnel, passed us slowly.We were halted in our carriage. The roll,roll, roll, roll, roll, roll, roll,dragged painfully, each truck like the goalachieved, yet still this kept controlof each eye.
A horse and a foalbeyond were meagre to it, coal –black horse and foal,and far-off clouds stroll whitein little mounds, and the coalin mounds and piles that crawland crawl.
A sigh, a grunt from us all,with one exception, I saw patrollike a moleunderground, through wallsof skewer patience, cold and fireand old oldman’s sharp smile, an oldman wrinkled smallwith teeth like coal.
A wholetrainful of coallike a soulburnt black in a holeor tunnel, passed us slowly.
Narrator’s train is halted in a siding in the Karroo
He watches (with other passengers) as a train laden with coal goes past
Simile: blackness of the train compared to a soul that has been burnt black
We were halted in our carriage. The roll,roll, roll, roll, roll, roll, roll,dragged painfully, each truck like the goalachieved, yet still this kept controlof each eye.
Carriage move by very slowly – without apparent end – repeated “roll” suggests how slowly this occurs
Appear to go on and on
Movement is so slow that each carriage that passes appears to be an achievement – requires a great deal of effort
Passengers are completelymesmerised
SUMMARY OF STANZA 1
• Sets the scene• Know why the passenger train has stopped• Know what the passengers are watching• Know the rhythm with which the train is
moving• Unaware of anything else• Close-up
A horse and a foalbeyond were meagre to it, coal –black horse and foal,
Poet’s eye zooms out and he tells us what else he can see
Very small in comparison to the size of the train
Notices that their colour is the same as the coal
and far-off clouds stroll whitein little mounds, and the coalin mounds and piles that crawland crawl.
Eye glances upwards to the sky – notices the clouds moving
Contrast in colour
Shape of the coal and the shape of the clouds is similar
Movement of the coal trucks vs movement of the clouds
A sigh, a grunt from us all,with one exception, I saw patrollike a moleunderground, through wallsof skewer patience, cold and fireand old oldman’s sharp smile, an oldman wrinkled smallwith teeth like coal.
Passengers sigh with relief as the last truck passes by
Old man – simile – compared to a mole – dressed in black or
Images of heat and coldLink between train and old man