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130 Unit 2 ■ Analyzing Comparisons and Representations John Crowe Ransom ■ Janet Waking 131 UNIT 2

Janet Waking 1 STRUCTURE The author opens the text by
® SKILLS
AP STRUCTURE 1 Beautifully Janet slept establishing an element that contrasts with the
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PRACTICE Analyzing Shifts and Contrasts STRUCTURE
Till it was deeply morning. She woke then title: Janet sleeps beautifully, until she does not,
Read the following poem, “Janet Waking.” As you read, consider whether the And thought about her dainty-feathered hen, and she awakens. This is the beginning of a
author incorporates a primary shift or a series of contrasts in the text. Then, To see how it had kept. contrast.
record details from the poem in the following graphic organizer, which will help
you make an interpretation. 5 One kiss she gave her mother, 2 CONTRAST While Janet gives her father only
Only a small one gave she to her daddy
2 Only a small one gave she to her daddy one small kiss, her sentiment is contrasted with
Analyzing Shifts and Contrasts Who would have kissed each curl of his shining baby; his in that her father would have kissed her many
Who would have kissed each curl of his shining baby;
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs were used with this sample chapter.
Indicators of Shifts No kiss at all for her brother. times over. It is possible the father cherishes her
• Contrasting transition words (e.g., but, however, yet) “Old Chucky, Old Chucky!” she cried, in a way that Janet could not understand as a
• Syntactic markers (e.g., isolated simple sentences) child.
10 Running across the world upon the grass
• Punctuation (e.g., use of question mark, dash, colon, parentheses) To Chucky’s house, and listening. But alas,
To Chucky’s house, and listening. But alas,
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
• Structural changes (e.g., change in paragraph or stanza, one-sentence 3 3 SHIFT The author signals a shift by the use of
Her Chucky had died.
paragraphs) Her Chucky had died. a transitional phrase and a comma (“But alas,”)
• A change in the connotation of words or language 4 It was a transmogrifying bee followed by Chucky’s stark shift from life to
It was a transmogrifying bee
Indicators of Contrasts Came droning down on Chucky’s old bald head death.
Came droning down on Chucky’s old bald head
• A back-and-forth movement in dialogue, plot, or other elements that create 15 And sat and put the poison. It scarcely bled,
contrast But how exceedingly 4 SHIFT To transmogrify is to transform in
• Frequent changes in speaker, imagery, point of view a surprising or magical manner. The speaker
• Juxtaposed characters, settings, points of view, or images (e.g., I and we; And purply did the knot describes the bee as the agent of change, the
then and now) Swell with the venom and communicate catalyst from life to death. Moreover, the bee
5 Its rigour! Now the poor comb stood up straight does so in a way that is not malicious, but rather
Its rigour! Now the poor comb stood up straight
Shift (detail before) or Shift (after) or “droning.”
But Chucky did not.
Contrast (details of Side A) Contrasts (details Side B) 20 But Chucky did not.
Indication in the text: Indication in the text: So there was Janet 5 JUXTAPOSITION The physical positioning
Kneeling on the wet grass, crying her brown hen of the hen’s comb is juxtaposed with the body
(Translated far beyond the daughters of men) to create a sense of irony and otherworldliness
To rise and walk upon it. associated with death.
25 And weeping fast as she had breath 6 CONTRAST Janet herself awakens to the
What is revealed through these contrasts or shifts? 6 Janet implored us, “Wake her from her sleep!” reality of death and loss while her hen sleeps
Janet implored us, “Wake her from her sleep!”
And would not be instructed in how deep eternally.
And would not be instructed in how deep
Was the forgetful kingdom of death.
Was the forgetful kingdom of death.
STRUCTURE SUGGESTED RESPONSES
TO THE QUESTIONS
1. Is there a shift in the poem? If so, how do you know? What identifies the shift?
2. Identify and explain the juxtaposition in the poem. How do these parallel events 1. Responses may vary. One important shift
contribute to your interpretation of the poem? occurs in the last two lines of the third stanza,
3. How does the perspective of the speaker change from the beginning of the where the reader learns that Old Chucky has
poem to the end? died; this shift is signaled by the contrasting
transition words, “But alas.”
4. The poem has many contrasts. Choose two contrasts and explain how they
contribute to the poem’s meaning. 2. One juxtaposition may be Janet’s youth,
beauty, and vitality (wakefulness), which
contrasts with Old Chucky’s ugly death
(sleep). Janet awakens at the beginning of the
poem may signify that she will keep on living,
whereas Old Chucky will slumber for the rest
of time.
3. The speaker notes Janet’s changing
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COMPREHENSION CHECK perspective: she was once innocent and
blissfully unaware of mortality, but then she
1. Janet gives kisses to which other characters? [Her mother and father] experiences the pain of death and loss.
2. What is the first thing Janet thinks of upon waking? [Her pet hen, Old Chucky] 4. Responses may vary. Janet is contrasted
3. What does Old Chucky suffer and die from? [A bee sting] with Old Chucky; Janet’s love for her father is
4. Janet wants to believe that Old Chucky is actually just _________. [asleep] contrasted with her father’s love for her (lines 6
5. Old Chucky’s wound on the top of her head is described as being which color? [Purple] and 7); Old Chucky’s comb standing straight is
ironically contrasted with the fact that the hen
could no longer stand; the beauty of life and
TRM Unit 2: Comprehension Check Digital Comprehension Check nature is contrasted with the strange and ugly

transformation of death.

John Crowe Ransom Janet Waking 131

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