poetry for grade 11 English FAL by Mbuyiseni Mtshali

1. At a Snail’s Pace, Please –
Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali
At a Snail’s Pace, Please – Oswald Mbuyiseni
Mtshali

3. Mr. NONYANE
AT A SNAIL’S PACE, PLEASE

4. KEY WORDS: LOW-ACTANE
PETROL
 The lower the octane level of petrol a
motor car can use, the less energy is
wasted.

5. MONSTER
 a large, ugly, and frightening
imaginary creature.

6. A TRAPEZE ARTIST
 A trapeze artist often performs in circuses on high wires and
swings. Their skill relies on balance and very careful
movements to prevent them falling to the ground. The
chameleon moves carefully to keep its balance like a trapeze
artist.

7. CONFETTI
 Tiny pieces of coloured paper often thrown over a
couple who have just been married. The confetti
scatters all over the ground. In the poem, dead insects
and animals are scattered on the road like confetti.

8. GORY
 Showing violence and bloodshed.

9. GAWK
 stare openly and stupidly

10. FIEND
 an evil spirit or demon.

11. KNELL
 The sound of a bell, especially when
rung solemnly for a death or
funeral.

12. LET’S READ
At the tip
of the chameleon’s tongue
there is a pot of boiling glue
to cook flies for breakfast
before he sets off
on a slow tightrope walk
like a trapeze artist.
Under the belly of every snail
lies a tankful of low-octane petrol
to propel the miniscule engine
to the destination of a juicy cabbage leaf.
It is overtaken
by American mechanical monsters,
drunk with gallons of gasoline,
that leave highways strewn
with gory confetti of corpses.

13. The loud Bang!
brings brawny farmers
running from homesteads to render help.
From beehive huts tumble black bumpkins
to gawk at twisted wrecks coated with fresh blood
amid cries of ‘Help!’
Ambulances sound shrill sirens,
tearing the silky shawl of the night’s silence.
O! speed fiend
whose knell has sounded,
look at the snail
slumbering
in his shell.
See the chameleon
cosy under her quilted coat.

14. SPEAKER
For most of the poem, the speaker uses the third person.
This means that he is not involved in the action but is
watching it happen. In the final stanza, the speeding
motorists are addressed directly in the second person. We
know this because he tells them to ‘look’ and ‘see’ the
snail and chameleon.

15. VOICE
The voice is both admiring and dismissive. The speaker
admires the chameleon and the snail and how peaceful
they are. He believes that the slow pace of nature can
teach us important lessons about how to live better. The
poet’s view of the drivers is dismissive – he is angry at
how little respect they have for nature.

16. ADDRESSEE
The poem directly addresses the reckless
motorists. But he is also talking to all people
– we need to understand that modern
technology, like fast cars, bring danger. We
need to remember where we came from in
nature. We have forgotten how to live a
slower, more peaceful life.

17. THEMES AND EVIDENCE OF
THEMES IN TEXT

18. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: METAPHOR
 ‘Under the belly of every snail / lies a
tankful of low-octane petrol’ (lines 8–9).
 Here, the snail is compared to a slow-
moving car that does not need expensive
petrol to move. A snail uses very little
energy to move. It does not waste its
energy like the cars that need ‘gallons of
gasoline’ (line 14) to move fast

19.  ‘gory confetti of corpses’ (line 14).
 compares dead insects to confetti at a party. The
bodies of dead insects (‘corpses’) killed by fast
cars seem like ‘confetti’. They are bright spots of
colour scattered on the road. This description is
also ironic because confetti is usually a sign that a
marriage or birthday has been celebrated. Death
is not something that is usually celebrated and a
birthday is the opposite of a death.

20. 2. SIMILE
 A simile is an indirect comparison of two things using
the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
 In stanza 1, the chameleon moves ‘like a trapeze artist’
(line 7). The chameleon moves carefully step by step
like a person balancing carefully on a wire high above
the ground.

21. 3 PERSONIFICATION
 Personification is when an inanimate object is given human /
animal qualities
 Fast cars are described as ‘drunk’ (line 14) and ‘mechanical
monsters’ (line 13).
 Just like monsters, fast cars leave death (‘corpses’) behind
them. They use up lots of petrol in order to drive so
recklessly. It is as if they are intoxicated (‘drunk’) and out of
control.

22. 4. ALLITERATION:
 Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound (usually
at the beginning of a word).
 . In stanza 6 the / s / and / sh / sounds are repeated:
‘sound shrill sirens’, ‘silky shawl’ and ‘night’s silence’.
 This reminds us of the frightening and harsh sounds made
by tearing metal in car accidents and the high-pitched
warning alarms of ambulances.

23. APOSTROPHE:
 Apostrophe is used to address a person directly,
sometimes by name.
 Words like ‘Oh’ are often used. In stanza 6 the
speaker says ‘O! speed fiend’ (line 25).
 Here, the speaker is calling out to the reckless
motorist. He wants him to understand that what
he is doing is dangerous. He could cause his own
death.

25. NATURE VERSUS MACHINE
 There is struggle between modern technology and the
natural world. We think that modern machines bring us
improvements and that a natural life is old-fashioned.
However, the improvements can also bring death and
suffering.
 The poet believes there is an important lesson to be
learned from nature. The quiet, slow natural world of
nature is safe and peaceful.
 Fast cars and bad drivers bring death and disorder into
our world. The noise and panic caused by accidents
disturb the peace and rest of the countryside
 When we look to the snail and chameleon, we see that
nature is safer, quieter and more peaceful. If we want
to live better lives, then we should return to nature to
learn from it.

26. EVIDENCE OF THEME IN TEXT
 The chameleon and snail move at slow, careful speeds, even
when hunting prey or searching for food. Speed is used only when
needed,
 The chameleon and snail move at slow, careful speeds, even
when hunting prey or searching for food. Speed is used only when
needed. For example, the chameleon’s tongue is very quick to
catch its food: ‘a pot of boiling glue / to cook flies for breakfast’
(lines 3–4).
 Small creatures are shown to be safe, protected by their
carefulness and slow pace. The snail sleeps safely protected by
its shell. This is contrasted with the reckless speed of drivers or
‘speed fiend[s]’ (line 25).
 These crazy drivers cause disturbance – the sound of ambulance
sirens ‘tearing’ the quiet of the countryside at night. They cause
accidents – the cars are ‘twisted wrecks coated with fresh blood’
(line 21). Nature is seen as preferable to the machine.