Class 6 :: English Literature :: If I Were A Giant by Jackie Hosking
If I Were A Giant
by Jackie Hosking
The Poem :
"If I were a giant I wonder if I
could stand on my tiptoes and paint the sky.
I'd fashion paintbrushes from branches of trees
and paint all the clouds as they float on the breeze.
I'd wake up quite early when morning was new
and paint all the daisies with pollen and dew.
I'd blend all the colours from deserts so dry
and mix up a sunrise to splash on the sky.
I'd stride to the mountains and gather the snow
to paint snow-white blossoms where blossoms should grow.
I'd dip my tree brush in the yellow corn … and
I'd paint golden beaches by waving my hand.
I'd grind autumn leaves, some pink ones, some red,
and cover the sun as she set off to bed.
I'd hunt all the shadows that hide from the light
and dip them in pen ink and blacken the night.
I can dream I'm a giant from the books on my shelf
but I know when I wake Nature's painted herself."
The Summary of the Poem :
The poet expresses her desire to paint the sky standing on her toes if she was a giant. She wishes to paint the floating clouds with the brushes made of the branches of the trees. She would get up early and paint the daisies with pollen and dew. She would also make a blend of colour with the colours of the desert and the sunrise and splash it on the sky.
Then the poet says about the reality that she can only dream of being a giant from the books on her shelf. She knows that Nature would paint herself before she awakes up from sleep.
Making Connections
1. Read these lines and answer the questions that follow.
a. "If I were a giant I wonder it I
could stand on my tiptoes and paint the sky.
I'd fashion paintbrushes … "
i. In these lines, what does the poet 'wonder'?
= In these lines, the poet 'wonders' that if she could be able to paint the sky standing on her toes.
ii. Give another word or expression for 'fashion'.
= Another word or expression for 'fashion' is to make or shape something especially with hands.
iii. If the poet were a giant, how would she fashion paintbrushes?
= If the poet were a giant. she would fashion paintbrushes from the branches of the trees.
b. "I'd stride to the mountains and gather the snow
to paint
snow-white blossoms where blossoms should grow."
i. Which word does the poet use to describe the walk of a giant?
= The poet uses the word 'stride' to describe the walk of a giant.
ii. Why does the poet want to 'gather the snow'?
= The poet wants to 'gather the snow' to paint the blossoms white.
iii. In these lines the poet imagines painting blossoms. List five other things the poet imagines she could paint.
= Other five things the poet imagines she could paint are - daisies, beaches, clouds, sky and night.
2. Where does the poet imagine getting the colours from?
a. black; b. white; c. yellow; d. pink and red;
= a. The poet imagines to get the black colour from all the shadows that hide from the light.
b. The poet imagines to get the white colour from the snows of the mountains.
c. The poet imagines to get the yellow colour from the corn.
d. The poet imagines to get the pink and red colour from the autumn leaves.
3. Personification is giving human qualities to something that is not human. List two examples of personification from the poem.
= In the fourth line, the clouds have been personified as they are floating on the breeze. As it is they are floating according to their own accord.
In the last line, Nature has been personified as the poet says that nature has painted herself before the poet could get up from bed and do the same.
4. The poet uses the word 'splash' when she describes how she would paint a sunrise on the sky. Why do you think the poet chose this word?
= At the sunrise, we can see a semi-circular shade of reddish light. At the time we splash, we can also get semi-circular shade of the colour we throw. That make the similar sense. The use of the word 'splash' is very apt to bring the essence of the lines.
5. What inspires the poet to dream about being a giant?
= A giant is a huge creature. It has huge limbs which can reach higher distances. The poet is obsessed with the various colours with nature and its beauty.
She wants to paint the sky, the clouds, the daisies, the sunrise, the blossoms, the beaches, the sunset, and the night respectively. If she wants to paint all these, she has to reach them too. Only a giant can reach all of them very easily. I think this factor inspires the poet to dream about being a giant.
6. Good poems use language in ways that are fresh and help us see the world with new eyes. Would you say this is a good poem? Give reasons for your answer.
= This is definitely a good poem. This is a picture the poet has painted with the gift of speech. She has used anaphora by repeating 'I'd' and 'and' in the beginning of every couplet from the third line to the sixteenth line.
Each couplet has rhyming words at their end e.g. I-sky; trees-breeze; new-dew; dry-sky; and so on. These make the poet more interesting to read. The poet points out every notable segments of the nature with their respective colour and beauty. The poem has been made erudite with all its aesthetic point.
About the Poet:
Jackie Hosking (b. 1966) is a children's poet who was born in Nigeria. Jackie has been writing poems for children for many years now. 'If I Were a Giant' is her first poem, which was first published in 2005 in a school magazine. She also writes short stories, blogs and articles.