'Les Grands Seigneurs' - Some thoughts about structure

Hello,

A typical courtly lover - wounded by Cupid's arrow

Given the fact that Harlie told us what this poem was all about within 10 minutes of the start of today's lesson, I don't think I need to blog at great length about Les Grands Seigneurs by Dorothy Molloy. It's pretty straight forward. However, I have a hunch that it may appear on your exam paper, so it's definitely worth getting to know it inside out.

I thought it might be useful to focus on an aspect of the writer's craft that is sometimes difficult to comment on convincingly: STRUCTURE.

So what is structure?

Structure refers to:

• how the poem is put together
• what holds it all together
• all those things that give the poem its shape and make it whole and coherent
• what leads the reader through the poem

When you write about the writer's methods in the exam, comments about structure are a vital aspect. You will lose marks if you only write about language.

 

So, here are some thoughts about the structure of Les Grands Seigneurs:

• The first half of the poem is a succession of images showing what men were to the speaker. These images are clustered together to develop subtle shades of meaning: first architectural images, then bird images, performing animals, ship images and musical/entertainment images. For example, the first group of images are suggestive of the medieval world of castles, knights, maidens and courtly love. 'Buttresses' suggest support, 'castellated towers' suggest protection (but perhaps isolation? entrapment? - does this foreshadow the ending?) and 'bowers' suggests comfort, relaxation and privacy. Think about why each image is included and what it adds to its cluster of images.
• Men are the subject and focus of stanzas 1 & 2. Note the repetition: Men were... Men were... These stanzas suggest certainty and confidence in the regularity provided by the repetition.
• There are rhymes in stanza 1, as well as a strong rhythm enhanced by assonance (strutting pink flamingos) which add to the confident dynamic voice of the speaker.
• Stanza 3 marks a shift. Now the subject is the all-powerful speaker. The enjambment of 'out of reach' in line 9/10 enacts the idea of her being on a pedestal.
• There are only three lines in stanza 3, and they create a kind of skewed rhyming couplet: reach/peach. However, this shortened stanza suggests that her power is short-lived.
• The final stanza starts with 'But' - marking a bigger shift.
• The 'wedded, bedded' bit slows the poem down and emphasises (through heavy stresses) the shift into the dreary reality of marriage.
• The bracketed phrase (yes, overnight) adds a sense of shock and disbelief to the speaker's voice.
• The poem ends on another skewed rhyming couplet (fluff/bluff). But this time, it seems rushed. Try reading the rhming lines in stanza 3 and then compare to the end of stanza 4: the final line is over quicker than a click of the fingers. The poem's lines have been getting progressively shorter. This recreates the sense of a sudden, shocking transformation from 'queen' to 'bit of fluff'.

I hope this helps to clarify what kind of features of the writer's craft constitute structure: think stanzas, line lengths, rhymes, patterns of imagery, rhythm/stresses.

In your revision guide thingy, you will find an 'A' grade answer to a question comparing this poem with Medusa. It's definitely worth a read. That could be your exam question - who knows?

Please remember: you need to be putting in the extra effort now. It is time. Read and re-read and re-read and re-read the poems. Read your study guide. Look at other revision resources. Fill in comparison grids and your Character and Voice connection chart. Revise!

If you need more help on any aspect of the poems that we're rushing through, please email, comment or just grab me in school. 


See you Friday for Q4 chat.


Mr M