Q1 of 18 Page 109

Irony is a literary technique, or situation in which there is an incongruity between the literal and the implied meaning. For example: Atwood debunk the "sanities" in her contemptuous, gleefully ironic phrasing. She finds the order and sameness of modern life very immature. Pick up more examples of irony.

The poet finds the clone like structures of the houses offending to the eyes. There was no hint of creativity or life. Even the trees were uniform and the roads so leveled that they seem to be rebuking the dent of the car. They were designed by manipulative city planners who had made it without a spark of imagination. The only sound that could be heard was of the lawn grass cutter who was working to make all the grasses look identical. Even a slight color looked like a bruise on the wall. They celebrate monotony and uniformity. There is humor, irony and annoyance in the poem. The order and sameness of modern life very immature.


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3

Answer the following question:

The last two stanzas of the poem have the same message; that in the end, the creations of the city planners will eventually amount to nothing. How does the poet convey that?


 3

Answer the following question:

Select a line that you find particularly striking, and explain precisely how Atwood has made it so striking.


 2

The term "snows" from line 33 talking about people, real estate agents, in particular being blinded by a "blizzard", "snow" or "madness" is an extended metaphor. Explain.

 3

Hyperbole is an obvious and intentional exaggeration. Atwood's ending is very hyperbolic, inferring that these self-absorbed and self-aggrandizing City Planners are just as empty and meaningless as the 'burbs they pollute the world with. How does she convey this message?