Class 3 :: English Literature :: At Sea in the House by Stanley Cook (Mulberry)
At Sea in the House
by Stanley Cook (Mulberry)
The Poem :
"When I pretend them to be
The tables and chairs are land
Where you can safely stand
And the carpet between is sea.
The dining table makes a boat
And I climb on there
By way of the rocking chair
And out to sea we float.
The pattern in the carpet
Swims like fish on the floor
And anyone opening the door
Is sure to get very wet.
Summary of the Poem :
The poet imagines the tables and chairs as land. He can stand on them safely. He imagines the carpet as the sea.
He climbs on the dining table as it seems a boat to him. He floats on the sea by the way of the rocking chair.
The poet imagines the design in the carpet as the fish swimming in the sea water. Anyone who opens the door, will get very wet by the sea water.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
1. In the space provided below, draw and write what each of these objects turns into in the poet's imagination.
2. Read these lines and answer the questions that follow.
"The dining table makes a boat
And I climb on there
By way of the rocking chair."
a. Onto what does the speaker climb?
= The speaker climbs onto the dining table.
b. Why do you think the speaker uses a rocking chair?
= The rocking moves forward and backward. This movement will give the speaker the feel of being on a boat. That is why the speaker uses a rocking chair.
c. Where does the speaker imagine the boat will go?
= The speaker imagines that the boat will go to the sea.
3. The speaker says anyone will get wet if they enter the room. Why?
= The speaker says anyone will get wet if they enter the room because according to his imagination, the room is full of water except the tables and chairs. Therefore, anyone who opens the door, will get very wet by the sea water.
4. Do you think the person imagining the things mentioned in the poem is a child or a grown-up? Why do you think so?
= I think the person imagining the things mentioned in the poem is definitely a child. This is the mere imagination of a child. Children love to imagine things. Children find joy in imaging things according to their wish.
Only a child can pretend to be in a sea while being in his own room. A child imagines the chairs and tables as the land and the rest of his room as sea water. Only a child imagines the carpet design as the fish and the dining table as the boat.