1b) How is the tone of anger in this poem illustrated?

1b) How is the tone of anger in this poem illustrated?


The poet uses mainly the poetic device diction in this poem to illustrate the tone of anger. The poet uses the words “When will this bell ring and end this weariness?” to show how tired and frustrated the teacher felt while teaching her students. Normally, a teacher would feel happy and energetic to teach and impart her knowledge to her students, but instead in this poem, the teacher is feeling tired. This must show that her students are giving her a hard time and that she had reached her limits whereby she felt that she could teach any longer.


The poet also uses the words “Of several insults of blotted pages”, “Of slovenly work” and “scrawl” to show how untidy and slipshod the work of the students were. This also indirectly tells us that the teacher would feel very enraged after seeing how they treated and did their homework. Being their teacher, she would obviously feel that the standard of their slipshod work is an insult to her intelligence and would be extremely furious.


The poet also uses the words “No longer now can I endure the brunt” to show how pressurized and frustrated the teacher felt while teaching her students. “No longer” tells us that she has probably been enduring the pressure from teaching her students for a period of time. She has probably reached her limits and felt that she could not take the stress that her students are giving her anymore and probably wants to stop teaching.