Paired Poetry Tone Shift Chart

Task:

• Title and Author of the Piece: “To Sir John Lade: Of His Coming to Age”, by Samuel Johnson
• Topic: The responsibility associated with the inheritance of wealth and the coming of age..
• Task to Accomplish: Analyzing the poetic techniques, such as point of view and tone, that Johnson uses to make his point about coming of age.

Opening shot:

• What is happening in the first few lines?

• The narrator, Johnson, is officially congratulating John Lade for reaching 21. He is also reminding Lade of the powers and possessions he now controls, including fame, plenty, etc.

• What is your first impression of the speaker’s TONE?

• Joyous

• What is your evidence from the text?

• “Lingering year at last is flown”        
• “Long-expected one and twenty”

• What are your observations about the speaker/situation based on TONE and evidence?

• Johnson congratulates Lade, as if he were a good friend or mentor of his, anticipating his coming-of-age. The diction choice “pomp and pleasure, pride and plenty” gives the first hints that Johnson believes Lade does not understand the consequences of being 21, and that Lade isn’t mature enough for adulthood.

Shift (1):

• Describe the shift in FOCUS, TONE, or BOTH

• Focus: The Focus shifts from the initial congratulation to a celebration of the reminders of the powers that Lade now possesses, specifically talking about the freedom that Lade has to do what he wants.
• Tone: Joyous to Effusive.

• Techniques/Devices used to achieve this shift.

• Simile: emphasizes the freedom that he is given but also how unstable his freedom can be because of all of the money he has inherited.
• Metaphor: adds complexity to thought that his parents were making money off of the lack of freedom of someone else. What gives freedom to some can be what cages others.
• Parallelism: sensationalizes the liberation from restriction, as well as newfound authority and liberty.

• Evidence:

• “Wild as wind”, “light as feather”
•  “slave of thrift”
• “Loosened from..free to…”

• Observations:

• Johnson goes deeper into the freedoms that Lade now has. However, what is interesting is that Johnson now describes freedoms that could prove to be costly to Lade. This includes loans and selling, in addition to saying that Lade could now be “wild” and do whatever he wants, which is a dangerous statement. Johnson almost seems to be hinting to Lade that dismissing the virtue of thrift in the name of freedom can be ruinous.

Shift (2):  

• Describe the shift in FOCUS, TONE, or BOTH

• Focus: The focus now shifts from actions that Lade can do to matters of his inheritance, referencing the grandfather’s inheritance.
• Tone: Shifts from Encouraging to Reckless

• Techniques/Devices used to achieve this shift

• Alliteration: treats the inheritance light-heartedly, undermining the weight of responsibility.
• Colloquial diction: bypasses moral censors to discuss taboo topic of lust. Creates a morally loose and carefree tone.
• Diction: romanticizes the pleasures of financial liberty and disparages the concept of self-restraint

• Evidence

• “grandsire’s guineas”
• “Bettys, Kates, and Jennys”
• “Spirit of an heir”

• Observations

• The alliteration helps to reinforce the importance of the financial aspect here, talking about living off of the grandsire’s money. Johnson also tells Lade to live like an heir. However, the tone is becoming a little bit more sarcastic. Johnson encourages reckless actions that go against common sense. While Johnson takes the perspective of an irresponsible youth, he isn’t sincere.

Shift (3):

• Describe the shift in FOCUS, TONE, or BOTH

• Focus: The focus shifts to the a warning about the opportunists who will be waiting if Lade lives a lavish life.
• Tone: Shifts from sarcastic to mock cautionary

• Techniques/Devices used to achieve this shift

• Descriptive diction: helps create the metaphor and relate it to Lade’s situation
• Extended metaphor: arouses sympathy for “poor, young heirs” who are “mercilessly exploited” by unrelenting con men
• Parallelism: contrasts the innocence of rich youngsters to the depravity of their victimizers

• Evidence

• “grave and sly”
• “light and jolly”
• “Here...There...”

• Observations

• Johnson mockingly sympathizes with the “innocent” young heir, who is “undeservingly” exploited by con men and cheated of his money. Underneath the veil of compassion lies a biting criticism of the unaccountable and irresponsible mindset of those entitled snobs.

Shift (4):

• Describe the shift in FOCUS, TONE, or BOTH

• Focus: shifts to the a discussion about Lade’s carefree attitude toward money. Johnson jokingly suggests that Lade proactively seek waste and squander all of his money.
• Tone: The tone shifts from cautionary to didactic.

• Techniques/Devices used to achieve this shift

• Personification: By giving “wealth” human characteristics, Lade excuses indulgence as an inherent characteristic of wealth.
• Repetition and parallel structure: reemerge to create a light-hearted tone. The speaker is sarcastically encouraging Sir John to spend on sports and pleasure.

• Evidence

• “Wealth, Sir John, was made to wander”, “Let it wander as it will”
• “See the jockey, see the pander, Bid them come, and take their fill.”

• Observations

• After telling Lade to be cautious of those around him in the previous stanza, the speaker uses this tone shift to revert back to his sarcastic tone which he uses to mock all of the splurging that is bound to happen. By discussing the lavish lifestyle repeatedly and slightly mockingly, the speaker hopes to warn the reader that while it may seem like he has control over the money, the money, which has equal power, may actually take control of him.

Shift (5):

• Describe the shift in FOCUS, TONE, or BOTH

• Focus: The focus shifts from splurging money to the consequences of doing so. Especially the consequence of him dishonoring his family.
• Tone: becomes increasingly sarcastic as he discusses the idea that the pleasure that comes from having wealth may be worth more than the wealth itself. He also introduces the idea that coming of age and wealth are indicative of wealth but can be the cause of social and financial ruin.

• Techniques/Devices used to achieve this shift

• Colloquial diction: lowers the diction to romanticize the joys of a lifestyle without restrain
• Polysyndeton: sarcastically dismisses the value of estate to the family’s wealth, honor and good name.

• Evidence

• “bonny blade carouses”
• “Only dirt, or wet or dry”

• Observations

• The speaker uses this stanza to discuss the possible consequences of the having money. There is one side allows for a pocket full of money and spirits high while the other side shows the loss of all material possessions and thus the loss of his reputation.

Shift (6):

• Describe the shift in FOCUS, TONE, or BOTH

• Tone: Shifts to mock flippant, then to bitingly sarcastic
• Focus: Turns to disregarding the wisdom of parental authorities

• Techniques/Devices used to achieve the shift

• Alliteration is employed again to disparage the virtues (or rather vices) or economy, restraint and thrift.

• Evidence

• “the woes of wilful waste”

• Observations

• Johnson scorns the wisdom of Lade’s mother’s financial advice, while simultaneously affirming it. The alliteration underlines the nonsensical nature of wasting money in the name of material luxuries and financial security.

So What?

• FOCUS ON THE FINAL LINES OF THE POEM

Describe the shift in FOCUS, TONE, or BOTH

• Johnson final line reveals that his entire poem has been a satire of Lade’s careless attitude with wealth and a sarcastic commentary on his extravagance and disregard for financial responsibility. Johnson purposefully crafted a flawed argument to more effectively reveal the moral to Lade. While Lade feels that his inheritance gives him invincibility from want, he is gravely mistaken. If he chooses to waste his fortune on pleasure, he cannot blame “lenders...jockeys [or] panders” for his financial ruin. Not only that, Lade was stepping into the shoes of the patriarch. The “acres [and] houses” he watches stand not just as assets, but as the proud name of his family. Lade’s careless attitude toward wealth threatens the security and honor of his family.

• Techniques/ devices used to achieve this shift:

• Diction twists the meaning of the entire poem, swinging the tone at the end from flippant to sarcastic and mocking

• Evidence & Observations:

• “You can hang or drown at last”

Task:

• Title and Author of the Piece: “When I was One-and-Twenty” by A.E. Housman
• Topic:
• Task to Accomplish: Analyzing the poetic techniques, such as point of view and tone, that Housman uses to make his point about coming of age.

Opening shot:

• What is happening in the first few lines?

• The speaker recalls advice given to him by an elder authority

• What is your first impression of the speaker’s TONE?

• Reverent and wistful

• What is your evidence from the text?

• “ I was one-and-twenty, I heard a wise man say…”

• What are your observations about the speaker/situation based on TONE and evidence?

• The speaker approaches the memory with a measured neutrality, but there is a sense of respect for the wise man. The subject matter creates the wistful tone

Shift (1):

• Describe the shift in FOCUS, TONE, or BOTH

• Focus: The focus shifts from the advice the wise man gives to two lines that show how the advice did not affect the speaker because he was only 21.
• Tone: The tone changes from cautiousness of wise man to the regretful speaker.

• Techniques/Devices used to achieve this shift

• Repetition: By repeating his age, the speaker draws attention to his age. But rather referring to it as a point of maturation, he says that giving advice at that age was pointless because of the lack of maturity.

• Evidence

• “But I was one-and-twenty, no use to talk to me”

• Observations

• The speaker makes it sound like there was no point in talking to him because he was too young to understand which ironic because "one-and-twenty" is generally seen as the "coming of age" age or the age when one becomes an adult.

Shift (2);

• Describe the shift in FOCUS, TONE, or BOTH

• Tone: The tone shifts from remorse back to wistful appreciation
• Focus: The development of the the nonchalant attitude of the speaker gives way to the wise man’s advice again.

• Techniques/Devices used to achieve the shift

• Repetition recapitulates respect for the wise man’s advice.
• Analogy: contrasts the “vain” coldness of currency and the intricacy of “heart”, and creates the regret of sacrificing personal spirit for a material benefit

• Evidence

• “When I was one-and-twenty, I heard him say again”
• “given in vain...paid with sighs a plenty, and sold for endless rue.”

• Observations

• The speaker takes a more understanding approach to the wise man’s advice, mirroring his own growth. The speaker also hints at the remorse he/she feels for disobeying his advice, and paying the personal price of his foolishness.

Shift (3):

• Describe the shift in FOCUS, TONE, or BOTH

• Tone: The tone shifts from a little sad about the heartache to reflective.
• Focus: The focus shifts from what the wise man said about how giving your heart away causes emotional deficits to the speaker who is now 22 and agrees with the wise man after some reflection.

• Techniques/Devices used to achieve the shift

• Parallel structure: The line after the tone shift has similar structure to the lines that have “one-and-twenty”. This emphasizes the change in age which is sticks out more because of the similar sentence structure.
• Repetition: By repeating the last two words, the speaker seems to have become a wise man. He now agrees with what the wise man says.

• Evidence

• “And I am two-and-twenty”
• “‘tis true, ‘tis true”

• Observations

• The last two lines show how the speaker has matured. At age 22, he has finally matured and sees what the wise man was telling him a year ago. This adds to the complexity because it shows that, while 21 is seen as the transition to adulthood, each individual will learn and mature on their own timeline. This also shows that even though there is a wise man who is willing to give advice, each person has to have their own experiences and learn from them.

So What?

• FOCUS ON THE FINAL LINES OF THE POEM

Describe the shift in FOCUS, TONE, or BOTH

• The final lines of the poem focus on how the speaker has finally matured and understands what the wise man was trying to tell him before. The tone is reflective as the speaker now understands what the wise man told him a year ago, only the speaker had to experience it to understand it.

• Techniques/ devices used to achieve this shift:

• Repetition, Parallel Sentence structure, Analogy

• Evidence & Observations:

• “‘tis true, ‘tis true”
• “And I am two-and-twenty”
• “given in vain...paid with sighs a plenty, and sold for endless rue.”
• “Give...but…Give...but...”

Comparison Contrast Chart

https://pages.shanti.virginia.edu/Marking_Up_Johnson/to-sir-john-lade/

http://learn.lexiconic.net/meter.html

http://www.shmoop.com/when-i-was-one-and-twenty/rhyme-form-meter.html