(Alternate Title: No!) A Poem by Thomas Hood (1799-1845) A Study Guide | |||||||||||||
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Study Guide Prepared by Michael J. Cummings..© 2011 Type of Work and Year Written .......Thomas Hood's "November" (also entitled "No") is a lyric poem centering on the fog and gloom of a November day in London. He completed it in 1844. The copy on this page appeared in the third volume of The Works of Thomas Hood, published in London by Edward Moxon and Company. .......The
theme of the poem is the bleakness of a November day in London. A heavy
fogand perhaps a bit of smog from chimney smokeobscures everything: the
sun, the moon, the steeples, the roadways, the parks, even the faces of
people on the streets.
Text of the Poem
No sunno moon! t'other side the way:
The other side of the street.
.......Even though the poem focuses on the dreariness of a November day, its tone is playful and lighthearted because of its exaggerations, its repetitions, and its extended pun: a series of lines beginning with no and a final one-word line NOvember. .......The poem contains rhyming couplets in lines 1-2, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 16-17, and 18-19. In addition, Line 3 rhymes with line 6, line 20 with 22, and line 21 with 24. A rhyming triplet occurs in lines 16, 17, and 18. .......The
poem consists mainly of iambs in lines
of varying lengths. Following are examples of iambic
dimeter, iambic trimeter, iambic
tetrameter, and iambic pentameter.
No SUN..|..no MOON.....................................................................(Line 1, iambic dimeter) .....1....................2...............
3...........
.......1...............2..............
3...............4
........1....................2..................
3................4.............5
.......Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound. It occurs frequently in the poem to enhance its appeal to the ear. No mornno noon (line 1)Anaphora .......Anaphora is the repetition of a word or group of words at the beginning of a phrase, clause, or sentence. Anaphora occurs throughout "November" with the repetition of no at the beginning of each line, as well as within some lines. .......Hyperbole is an exaggeration. Hood uses it effectively in the poem to add a humorous touch. Study Questions and Writing Topics 1...Write
your own poem about a month of the year. The tone, verse format, rhyme
scheme, etc., are up to you.
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