Sparrow – Norman MacCaig

1 / He’s no artist.
His taste in clothes is more
dowdy than gaudy.
And his nest – that blackbird, writing
5 / pretty scrolls on the air with the gold nib of his beak
would call it a slum
To stalk solitary on lawns,
to sing solitary in midnight trees,
to glide solitary over grey atlantics-
10 / not for him: he’d rather
a punch up in a gutter
He carries what learning he las
lightly – it is, in fact, based only
on the usefulness whose result
15 / is survival. A proletarian bird.
No scholar.
But when winter soft-shoes in
and these other birds -
ballet dancers, musicians, architects-
20 / die in the snow
and freeze to branches,
watch him happily flying
on the O-levels and A-levels
of the air.

Answer all the questions

  1. Look at lines 1-6
  2. Explain, in your own words, three of the ways in which a sparrow is shown to be an ordinary, plain or boring bird (3)
  1. Quote an expression which emphasises the contrast between the blackbird and the sparrow (1)
  1. Explain how the language of this expression makes the contrast effective (2)
  1. Look at lines 11-16
  2. Quote the word or phrase that emphasises the lonely nature of the sparrow (1)
  1. How does the structure of lines 7-10 (“To stalk … not for him”) clearly show how different the sparrow is from other birds? (3)
  1. “He’d rather a punch-up in a gutter” – what impression of the sparrow does the writer give us here? (2)
  1. Look at stanza 3
  2. How does the structure of lines 12-13 (He carries … lightly) effectively convey its meaning? (2)
  1. Quote a word or phrase from lines 12-15 which tells us that the sparrow is only interested in staying alive. (1)
  1. How does the language and structure of lines 15-16 help emphasise the simple characteristics of the bird. (4)
  1. Explain, with close reference to text, how the writer creates the impression that winter is a dangerous enemy in line 17? (4)
  1. Quote two expressions from stanza 4 which show the harsh realities of life in winter for birds (2)
  1. Explain, in your own words, how the sparrow is contrasted more favourably with other birds in lines 17-23 (2)
  1. From your understanding of the poem as a whole, explain what you think the poet’s central idea is. Justify your answer with at least two close references to the text. (4)

Total 32 marks

Answer all the questions

  1. Look at lines 1-6
  2. Explain, in your own words, three of the ways in which a sparrow is shown to be an ordinary, plain or boring bird (3)
  • No artistic talent
  • Boring taste in clothes
  • Ugly or untidy nest
  1. Quote an expression which emphasises the contrast between the blackbird and the sparrow (1)
  • “And his nest – that blackbird … would call it a slum”
  • “He’s no artist …. That blackbird, writing pretty scrolls on the air with the gold nib of his beak…”

(any one of…)

  1. Explain how the language of this expression makes the contrast effective (2)
  • “And his nest – that blackbird … would call it a slum” – slum has connotations of squalor, poverty, unpleasantness. The sparrow would call it home, but to the blackbird it would be disgusting
  • “He’s no artist …. That blackbird, writing pretty scrolls on the air with the gold nib of his beak…” – sparrow has no skill in art or bueaty, whereas the author uses a metaphor to describe the blackbird’s song as “pretty scrolls on the air” and his beak as “gold”, suggesting great skill and beauty in his song.
  1. Look at lines 11-16
  2. Quote the word or phrase that emphasises the lonely nature of the sparrow (1)
  • “solitary”
  1. How does the structure of lines 7-10 (“To stalk … not for him”) clearly show how different the sparrow is from other birds? (4)
  • Each line begins with “To…” and a verb which describes typical bird behaviour
  • It forms a climatic list, starting on small scale “lawns”, moving to “trees” and finally “Atlantics”
  • A hyphen is used to end the list, emphasising more is to follow
  • It ends with the negative “not for him”, showing this list does not apply to the sparrow
  1. “He’d rather a punch-up in a gutter” – what impression of the sparrow does the writer give us here? (2)
  • Negative impression – the sparrow would prefer a “punch-up” which makes him seem rough and violent. The word “gutter” has dirty, diseased connotations and suggests the sparrow would like to be in the sewer.
  1. Look at stanza 3
  2. How does the structure of lines 12-13 (He carries … lightly) effectively convey its meaning? (2)
  • “lightly” is an adverb, and the poet leaves it until the end of the phrase to emphasise how little interest the sparrow has in learning
  • Enjambment is used to place it alone on the next line to make it stand out further.
  1. Quote a word or phrase from lines 12-15 which tells us that the sparrow is only interested in staying alive. (1)
  • “…based only on the usefulness whose result is survival”
  1. How does the language and structure of lines 15-16 help emphasise the simple characteristics of the bird. (4)
  • Any two from three, but both must language and structure must be discussed for full marks
  • Language:
  • “Proletarian” suggests working class, rough but honest and hard working
  • “no scholar” suggests he has no time for school or studying
  • Structure:
  • Short, minor sentences – reflect simple nature of the bird
  • “No scholar” again emphasises what he is not
  1. Explain, with close reference to text, how the writer creates the impression that winter is a dangerous enemy in line 17? (4)

Any two from three, but must include reference and explanation of two quotes for full marks

  • Personification of winter - “soft shoes” - makes it seem like it is creeping up on you
  • “When winter” – alliteration, sounds like harsh winter wind
  • “soft-shoes” – sibilance, sounds secretive and sneaky
  1. Quote two expressions from stanza 4 which show the harsh realities of life in winter for birds (2)
  • “these other birds … die in the snow”
  • “…and freeze to branches”
  1. Explain, in your own words, how the sparrow is contrasted more favourably with other birds in lines 17-23 (2)
  • Other birds have previously been seen as superior to him in beauty or skill but when winter arrives, their talents are useless
  • The sparrow may only know a little, but its knowledge keeps it alive
  1. From your understanding of the poem as a whole, explain what you think the poet’s central idea is. Justify your answer with at least two close references to the text. (4)
  • Poem is about life being more than just what you achieve in academic study. Practical skills are important too. Also that we shouldn’t judge rough outward appearances as useless nor external beauty as good.
  • To get full marks, at least two quotes, plus suitable explanation, must be included
  • Quotes you would expect to see explained about appearance:
  • “he’d rather a punch up in the gutter”
  • “His taste in clothes is more dowdy than gaudy”
  • “no artist” / “a slum”
  • “A proletarian bird”
  • Quotes for practical skills
  • “he carries what learning he has lightly”
  • “..based only on the usefulness whose result is survival”
  • “no scholar”
  • “happily flying on the O-levels and A-levels of the air”
  • External beauty or academic knowledge being useless
  • “ballet dancers, musicians, architects, die in the snow”
  • “that blackbird, writing pretty scrolls on the air with the gold nib of his beak”