[0:01]Hello everyone. The following presentation is on the poem The Morning Sun is Shining by Olive Schriner. This is the ninth poem on the list of the new English Home language poetry for 2023 and the next few years to come.
[0:20]The following is some background information on the poet Olive Schriner. Olive Schriner was born in 1855 and she died in 1920. She was born in South Africa, specifically in the Eastern Cape. She is well known for her critically acclaimed novel The Story of an African Farm. Schriner wrote on a range of political and social issues such as anti-racism and feminism. This poem, The Morning Sun is Shining, conveys Schriner's deep love of nature and her belief that the world and nature are interconnected.
[1:03]Let us read through the poem. The morning sun is shining on the green, green willow tree and sends a golden sunbeam to dance upon my knee. The fountain bubbles merrily, the yellow locusts spring, of life and light and sunshine, the happy brown birds sing. The earth is clothed with beauty, the air is filled with song, the yellow thorn trees load the wind with odours sweet and strong. There is a hand I never touch and a face I never see; now what is sunshine, what is song, now what is light to me?
[1:44]Let us take a look at a short summary of the poem. The poem begins with the speaker sitting in the morning sunshine. She is surrounded by nature, specifically a willow tree, a bubbling fountain, insects and birds. The speaker sees the beautiful day around her and hears the the birds singing. She experiences the smell of a thorn tree. All of these sensations of the total beauty of the day suddenly become overwhelming. She realizes that she is unable to share this with a loved one whom she will never get to see or touch again. In order for the poem to make better sense, the following is some background and context to what happened in Olive Schriner's life. Schriner suffered multiple miscarriages as a young woman. Her one child whom she carried to term, sadly died within a few days of being born. The contrast between the beauty and the richness of nature and the enormous loss she suffered is poignant and heartbreaking.
[3:00]In lines 1 and 2, the speaker states that the morning sun is shining on the green, green willow tree. The morning sun creates an image of a warm, lovely morning in our imaginations. We can also say that the sun is a symbol of life. Consider the repetition of the willow tree being described as green, green. The repetition of the word 'green' emphasizes the beauty and just how intense the green colour of the tree is. We also associate the colour of green with freshness, lush vegetation and life.
[3:40]The speaker specifically chose to include a willow tree in the picture she paints with her words in this poem. There are various ideas that a willow tree can symbolize. A willow tree might symbolize power and security for the fact that the branches can be used to make baskets and boats.
[4:03]A willow tree can also symbolize fertility, as it grows very fast, and it can also symbolize love, grief and loss of love, for the fact that its branches often droop to the ground.
[4:36]In lines 3 and 4, she states, 'And sends a golden sunbeam to dance upon my knee.'
[4:45]We have personification here, as the sun is given the human quality of being able to send something.
[4:54]A golden sunbeam suggests something precious and filled with richness and beauty.
[5:10]We have personification again in the next line, as the sunbeam is given the human quality of being able to dance.
[5:24]The sun blesses the earth with warmth, joy and delight. The idea of dancing has connotations of light-heartedness, playfulness and happiness.
[5:41]In lines 5 and 6, she states, 'The fountain bubbles merrily, the yellow locusts spring.'
[5:50]The word 'bubbles' is an example of onomatopoeia, meaning that it is a word that describes a sound. It is a happy, satisfying sound.
[6:04]We also have personification here, as the fountain is described as being merry, reinforcing the mood of beauty, joy and cheerfulness.
[6:21]The locusts jump with energy, reinforcing the idea that nature is associated with happiness and vitality.
[6:44]In lines 7 and 8, she states, 'Of life and light and sunshine, the happy brown birds sing.'
[6:59]We can interpret this repetition of the L sound in 'life' and 'light' with the idea that it provides a sense of freedom and suggests an experience free of burdens.
[7:13]Also notice the repetition of the word 'and'. It is almost like the speaker is listing and therefore reinforcing the ideas of abundance and joy that surround her. These ideas are what the happy brown birds sing about. The figure of speech used here is personification, as the birds are given the human quality of being able to sing. The singing of the birds is happy. This reinforces the idea that the natural world is celebrating life. It is as if all the elements of nature are rejoicing in the morning sun.
[7:58]In line 9, the earth is described as clothed with beauty. We have personification in this line. It can be said that the earth is covered with beauty, which suggests it has an impressive appearance created by nature.
[8:16]Clothing in the literal sense envelops our bodies, providing a feeling of comfort. We can extend this analogy to say that the speaker finds a sense of comfort in the beautiful nature that surrounds her. In line 10, the air is filled with song.
[8:36]We can interpret this line as saying that nature is alive with music and beauty. The speaker continues to describe the nature surrounding her that she experiences with her senses. In line 11, she mentions the yellow thorn trees. This line places the poem in context in terms of location. Yellow thorn trees are native to South Africa. The speaker says these thorn trees load the wind. In other words, their scent completely fills the air with odours or smells that are sweet and strong.
[9:20]The words 'sweet' and 'strong' illustrates another example of alliteration. We can interpret this alliteration as emphasizing that the smell of these trees is all-encompassing, completely surrounding the speaker.
[9:37]Lines 13 and 14 read, 'There is a hand I never touch and a face I never see.' The images, tone and mood shift unexpectedly in the last four lines of the poem.
[10:04]The content in the last four lines of this poem jumps from the beauty of nature suddenly to content that is personal and deeply saddening. Consider the phrases 'hand I never touch' and 'face I never see'. The speaker does not reveal the identity of the 'hand' she 'never touches' and the 'face' she 'never sees', but we know that Schriner, the poet, was deeply affected by the loss of her daughter. We can therefore presume that these lines are a reference to her daughter whom Schriner lost a day after she was born.
[10:46]The last two lines of the poem read, 'Now what is sunshine, what is song, now what is light to me?' The speaker ends the poem with three rhetorical questions. Remember that a rhetorical question is a question that makes the reader reflect on or think about the subject matter at hand. The speaker asks, 'What is the point of experiencing a beautiful nature-filled morning if she will never be able to share it with her loved one?' Even though her surroundings are beautiful, she finds no comfort in them. Perhaps this implies that the beauty of nature cannot reduce the immense pain, loss and isolation the speaker feels. From a more generalized point of view, perhaps this can also suggest how trauma, loss and grief can completely change people's perspectives of the world around them.
[11:51]In terms of the form and structure of this poem, there are 16 lines divided into four apparent segments. Lines 1-4 discuss the sense of sight, lines 5-8 discuss the sense of hearing and lines 9-12 focus on the sense of smell. These senses appreciate the morning filled with nature and the shining sun. However, in the last four lines, the narrative changes. Even though the speaker mentions the senses of touch and sight, they are experiences that her senses will never have. There is regular rhythm throughout the poem, in that the lines consist of either six, seven or eight syllables each. The poem also consists of a regular rhyme pattern, in that the last word of every alternating line in each stanza rhymes. Let us consider the themes that are prevalent in this poem. This poem addresses themes of beauty and nature, grief and loss, the idea that true happiness is shared and the theme of loneliness. The feelings of the speaker are reflected in her tone. In the first 12 lines, her tone is happy, cheerful, appreciative, positive and joyful. However, in the last four lines, her tone becomes one of despair, sadness, of loss, of grief and a tone of hopelessness.
[13:42]Thank you for watching this presentation on the poem The Morning Sun is Shining by Olive Schriner. Please keep an eye out for the remaining poems for grade 12 English Home language. Thank you for all the positive comments, likes and subscribes. For these I am eternally grateful.
