The Planners by Boey Kim Cheng - 836 Words

The Planners Boey Kim Cheng Andrew Annear and Edward Scrimgeour Biographical details †¢ Boey Kim Cheng was born in Singapore in 1965. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Arts degrees in English Literature from the National University of Singapore. †¢ Worked for some time in America as a probation officer †¢ Disillusioned with the state of literary and cultural politics in Singapore, Boey left for Sydney with his wife in 1996. †¢ in Australia, Boey completed his Ph.D. studies with the University of Macquarie. Boey is currently an Australian citizen and teaches creative writing at the University of Newcastle. Literary History †¢ In 1987, Boey won first prize at the National University of Singapore Poetry Competition†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"permutations† can be seen to offer many options or seen as confined compared to infinite arrangements in nature. â€Å"gridded† describes the layout as well of implying that creativity is confined, boxed in. †¢ Planning is seen as a way of shutting out nature attempting to remove the uncertainty it brings. â€Å"the sea draws back and the skies surrender.† can be viewed with a touch of irony implying that nature is afraid of human expansion, giving it an attribute nature can not/does not possess. †¢ Describes what the planners do. Giving the image of everything in prefect order â€Å"meet at desired points† †¢ The author excludes himself, from the planners through repeating â€Å"they† (twice) although every person plays their role in the collective city. This also views them objectively making them appear harsh, thinking and organised, but without love or compassion. †¢ Alliteration: â€Å"skies surrender Analysis-Stanza Two †¢ Imagery of dentistry, an exact science. â€Å"dental dexterity†, â€Å"gaps are plugged with gleaming gold†, â€Å"wears perfect rows of shining teeth† †¢ The dentist imagery moves onto â€Å"anaesthesia† and the numbing of pain associated with dentistry †¢ â€Å"drilling† can provide a link between the metaphor and the actual actions of the planners. †¢ Moves away from describing the planners goals, and more towards how they are viewed. †¢ Alliteration: â€Å"dental dexterity† â€Å"gleaming gold† †¢ â€Å"They have it all soShow MoreRelatedThe Planners(Boey Kim Cheng)-Analysis1373 Words   |  6 PagesTHE PLANNERS The poet of the poem â€Å"The Planners†, Boey Kim Cheng, uses many techniques, including but not limited to an extended metaphor and personification, to effectively communicate his views on the planners. In the beginning of the poem, the poet states what the planners do. â€Å"They plan. They build. All spaces are gridded,† shows that the planners are very organized. The word â€Å"permutations† shows that each space is tightly packed to its full potential by the planners. â€Å"The buildings are inRead MoreAnalysis Of Margaret Atwood s The City Planners 1101 Words   |  5 Pages Margaret Atwood uses the aspect of tone in her poem ‘The City Planners’ to create a voice which speaks about her negative views on urbanisation and perfection. She opens the poem, â€Å"Cruising these residential Sunday streets in dry August sunlight†.The tone created here by Atwood is calm and peaceful shown by the word ‘cruising’ and sunlight portraying the warmth and relaxation. The next line reads, â€Å"what offends us is the sanities†. The tone changes dramatically to a deeper, dark side and speaksRead MoreHow do the poets convey their disapproval of the strong impact that modernization has on Singapore?900 Words   |  4 PagesThe Planners’ and ‘remembering trees’, their respective poems, Boey Kim Cheng and Joshua Yap, have expressed their disappointment that modernization that have affected countless people. Not everybody wants to perfect their country for the better and let their memories slip away. Both poets reve al their feelings of lost behind the contrasting structure and literary devices of their homeland, Singapore. Boey conveys his disapproval by expressing his disgust towards the attitudes of the planners andRead MoreThe City Planners954 Words   |  4 PagesThe City Planners, Margaret Atwood In this poem, the poet attacks the sterile uniformity of residential suburbs. Notice that she never mentions people. ‘What offends us is the sanities’ Sanity is defined as being reasonable and of sound mind; she is referring to ‘pedantic houses’, sanitary trees’ and things that she considers to be overly controlled or constructed. She does not approve. In stanza 2, she lists ‘certain things’ that give momentary access to the landscape†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ The imagesRead MorePoems: City Planners15330 Words   |  62 PagesThe Poems analysed are: The City Planners, Margaret Atwood and The Planners, Boey Kim Cheng. These are taken from the IGCSE Cambridge Poetry Anthology, but may be interesting for unseen poetry too. Question Set How do these poets use language and structure to get across their theme? I wrote this in about half an hour. Both poems are very similar, and have the same topic - City Planning - as shown in their titles. Structurally, they are different though, and the tone differs in places. IveRead MoreLiterature Marking Scheme9477 Words   |  38 PagesCurnow, ‘Continuum’ Edwin Muir, ‘Horses’ Judith Wright, ‘Hunting Snake’ Ted Hughes, ‘Pike’ Christina Rossetti, ‘A Birthday’ Dante Gabriel Rossetti, ‘The Woodspurge’ Kevin Halligan, ‘The Cockroach’ Margaret Atwood, ‘The City Planners’ Boey Kim Cheng, ‘The Planners’ Norman MacCaig, ‘Summer Farm’ Elizabeth Brewster, ‘Where I Come From’ William Wordsworth, ‘Sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’ Songs of Ourselves: The University of Cambridge International Examinations Anthology of Poetry