Edwin Morgan Hyena

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Edwin Morgan Poems

Hyena

>Poem of address

"I am waiting for you"

the hyena begins (and carries on) by speaking to us directly

it is in a threatening and challenging manner

this remains throughout

> Repetition of "I am"

"I am waiting... I have been travelling" "I am lying"

confidence in himself

arrogance

he is the centre of his universe

> Repetition of "you"

" I am waiting for you...What do you think of me?"

hyena is addressing the reader

makes the reader feel uncomfortable

he wants us to know we are in his sights

> Repetition of "golden"

"I put my muzzle at his [the lion's] golden flanks and tear. He is my golden supper"

hyena previously says "my pelt is silver", describing lion as golden shows that the lion is above the hyena

self-deprecating humour

hyena eating a dead lion shows that in the end even the lion can't be defeated by the hyena

> Repetition of "I am waiting"

"I am waiting...I am waiting for you"

first line of first and last stanza

emphasises the hyena's patience

reminds us he is watching us

makes the reader feel uncomfortable

a momento mori- a reminder of death

> Hyena facts

"it is said I am a good match for a dead lion"

hyenas are scavengers who eat carrion (dead meat)

rarely hunt their own prey

very strong digestive systems

cowardly hyena- eats dead meat, doesn't take down anything himself

> Hyena beliefs/superstition

"I am not laughing"

Hyenas were associated with greed, uncleanliness and cowardice

their laughs were believed to imitate human voices to lure their victims

hyena tells reader we do not understand him and his ways as he isn't laughing- he is showing off his teeth to scare us

> Dramatic monologue

"My place is to pick you clean and leave your bones to the wind"

'monologue' -one person talking

'dramatic' - speaker not on his own, talking to himself

someone else is supposed to be listening- a message for us

> Alliteration of 'f' sounds

"I am very fierce without food"

draws our attention to the threat

> Alliteration of 's' sounds

"My eyes are screwed to slits against the sun"

draws our attention

shows us how dangerous he is

> African words

"kraal" "veldt"

words not known by majority of readers

shows hyena's arrogance using words we don't understand

makes him seem superior, wiser and more knowledgeable than us

> Use of 't' consonant sounds

"I have a rough coat... I am crafty with dark spots... I eat the dead"

draws out attention to his looks and character

alarms us that he is so greedy and unsympathetic

> Use of 'd' consonant sounds

"I eat the dead"

makes us notice terrifying statement

we feel uncomfortable and disgusted

> Use of 'a' vowel sounds

"I have a rough coatlike Africa/ I am crafty with dark spots/Like the bush tufted plains of Africa/ I sprawl as a shaggy bundle of gathered energy"

relaxed sound reflects hyena's state

contrasts last line "bundle of gathered energy"

>Persona

"My place is to pick you clean/ And leave your bones to the wind"

author is speaking through another character

using the hyena as a momento mori

he is putting us in our place- he is in control

death will catch us no matter what

> Sibilance

"Although my eyes are screwed to slits against the sun you must believe I am prepared to spring"

repetition of 's' sound

draws our attention to hyena's alertness

prepared to get us although he seems weakened by hunger, thirst and the sun in his eye

> Metaphor

" I sniff a broken drum"

broken drum represents a human body

suggests the kraal has been destroyed by humans

when death comes to humans they are unable to move or make sounds

heart doesn't beat anymore, like the drum- useless, broken, forgotten

> List

"I am waiting

For the foot

to slide,

For the

heart to seize,

For the

leaping sinews to go slack,

For the

fight to the death to be fought to the death,

For a glazing eye and a rumour of blood"

hyena is waiting for us to die

very disturbing

list of ways to die

makes us see there are many ways to die

hyena knows signs of death and is preparing to pounce

> Momento mori

" I am waiting for you"

A reminder that death is coming

threatening

hyenas eat the dead so he is ready to pounce

> Euphemism

" Do you like my song?"

a polite way of saying something unpleasant

describing laugh as a song makes it seem more pleasant

> Humour

"It is said I am a good match for a dead lion"

self-deprecating humour to put himself down a bit

he knows he is a bit of a coward because he doesn't kill anything himself

although he gets the lion in the end- he will win

> Questions

" What do you think of me?" "Do you like my song?" " Would you like to meet me there in the waste places?" "Do you like me when it comes lolling out over my jaw very long and I am laughing?"

rhetorical questions

doesn't about our answer

he has already influenced our answer- NO!"

> Short Statements

"I trot, I lope, I slaver, I am a ranger. I hunch my shoulders. I eat the dead."

blunt and threatening

language used disgusts us

shows us his arrogance

> Subverting usual poetry stereotypes

"When the moon pours hard and cold on the veldt"

in poems the moon is usually a symbol of romance

"pouring hard" -not romantic

painful, no happiness

> Connotations

"I am a slave of darkness"

bound to doing bad things

controlled by darkness

evil

> Connotations

" My pelt is silver"

second best to "golden" lion

precious

valuable

important

> Connotations

" I have a crowd of fangs"

sharp

violent

vampires, wolves

the ability to hurt

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