A Song on the End of the World

Here is the text we engaged with for our "Fun Friday" activities in English 10.
If you did not have a chance to finish the closing questions, remember to answer them thoughtfully and thoroughly for Monday.

A Song on the End of the World

by Czelaw Milosz
Translation by Antony Milosz

On the day the world ends
A bee circles a clover,
A fisherman mends a glimmering net.
Happy porpoises jump in the sea,
By the rainspout young sparrows are playing
And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.

On the day the world ends
Women walk through the fields under their umbrellas,
A drunkard grows sleepy at the edge of a lawn,
Vegetable peddlers shout in the street
And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,
The voice of a violin lasts in the airAnd leads into a starry night.

And those who expected lightning and thunder
Are disappointed.
And those who expected signs and archangels’ trumps
Do not believe it is happening now.
As long as the sun and the moon are above,
As long as the bumblebee visits a rose,
As long as rosy infants are born
No one believes it is happening now.

Only a white-haired old man, who would be a prophet
Yet is not a prophet, for he’s much too busy,
Repeats while he binds his tomatoes:
No other end of the world will there be,
No other end of the world will there be.

Denotations
•Write definitions of words next to these words, on the poem:

•Peddlers = sellers
•Archangels = high ranking angels
•Trumps = trumpets
•Prophet is someone who 1) speaks to god, 2) has moral insight, or 3) predicts the future
•Binds = ties


Read and Annotate
Read poem silently or aloud toyourself while annotating (making margin notes) :

1.Imagery = descriptive language that appeals to senses of smell, sight, taste, touch and sound. Underline words or phrases that appeal to the senses. Make a note about why your selections were interesting or notable. What is the effect of this imagery?
2.What is the mood or feeling of the poem? How do you know? What lines support that?
3.What is the tone or author’s attitude toward subject? What lines support your idea?
4.What is ironic about the poem? Irony = contradicts what is expected
5.Create a title for each stanza.

Closing Questions
1.What is Milosz message to us about the end of the world?
2.What would McCarthy say to Milosz about the end of the world?
3. Which one has it right? Why do you say this?