Contents
How to Analyse Poetry
Let us quickly review the key things to look out for when analysing poems!
1. Story – What is happening the poem? Explain each verse in plain language and imagine the poem as a story that someone is explaining to you. Translate it into accessible English.
2. Tone – What is the tone used? Is it angry, frustrated, nolstagic, reflective? Does it change throughout the poem? You may need to revise your vocabulary here: difficult tone words to remember
3. Main message – what is the poet trying to say about the world? What is it challenging us to reconsider?
Sandpiper Poem
This poem is used in one of the GAMSAT ACER Practice tests. Whilst I cannot reproduce the questions here, I can discuss it. Please review the ACER question booklet for the questions.
The roaring alongside he takes for granted,
and that every so often the world is bound to shake.
He runs, he runs to the south, finical, awkward,
in a state of controlled panic, a student of Blake.
Plain language: The sandpiper (a small bird) takes for granted the roaring of the sea that is next to him. This sea is large enough to shake the world yet the sandpiper continues to run south unfazed by its power, absorbed in its own world, searching 'finical, awkward' for something in the sands. He seems controlled yet chaotic. 'A student of Blake' is an allusion to famous poet William Blake, someone whose art may have required intense detailed focus despite the disorder occurring around him. It may also allude to his works which explore worlds within worlds - mirroring the sandpiper's own fascination with the grains of sands later seen in the poem. This might suggest that like an artist, the sandpiper is immersed in details that most might overlook. This detail is not required for you to understand the main idea in the poem.
The beach hisses like fat. On his left, a sheet
of interrupting water comes and goes
and glazes over his dark and brittle feet.
He runs, he runs straight through it, watching his toes.
Plain language: The beach makes a hissing sound as the waves come in; 'hissing' creates a sense of unease that does not seem to affect the sandpiper. To the sandpiper’s left, a wave of water washes in, covering his dark, brittle feet for a moment, but he keeps running straight through it. He seems to be looking down, almost watching each step he takes.
– Watching, rather, the spaces of sand between them
where (no detail too small) the Atlantic drains
rapidly backwards and downwards. As he runs,
he stares at the dragging grains.
Plain language: The sandpiper is more interested in the tiny spaces between his toes and the grains of sand beneath them than in anything else. He notices every small detail as the water drains away from the beach quickly, pulling sand back with it. The juxtaposition between the vast Atlantic ocean 'draining' and the small grains of sand allows us to visualise the tension between enormity and smallness, chaos and order. As he moves, he keeps his eyes fixed on these tiny dragging grains of sand.
The world is a mist. And then the world is
minute and vast and clear. The tide
is higher or lower. He couldn’t tell you which.
His beak is focussed; he is preoccupied,
Plain language: To the sandpiper, the world around him sometimes feels like a misty blur, but other times it’s clear, vast, and detailed. He doesn’t notice the tide’s changes and is too focused on his search to worry about the big picture. He’s intensely searching for something in the sand.
looking for something, something, something.
Poor bird, he is obsessed!
The millions of grains are black, white, tan, and gray
mixed with quartz grains, rose and amethyst.
Plain language: The sandpiper is obsessively focused on finding something, even though he doesn’t seem to know exactly what it is. The sandpiper's fixation in "looking for something, something, something" against the backdrop of an ever-changing shoreline paints a vivid, sensory experience that invites readers to focus on the vast enormity of the world in contrast to the tiny, intricate details of the natural world. He’s captivated by the millions of grains of sand in all their different colours, including quartz grains that sparkle in shades like rose and amethyst.
Question 1
According to the poem, the sandpiper regards the sea as B. untroubling.
In the poem, the sandpiper takes the “roaring” of the sea “for granted” and is not overly affected by its presence. This suggests he’s unfazed by the ocean’s sounds and movements, accepting them as part of his environment without feeling threatened or distracted. The line “he runs…in a state of controlled panic” implies he is focused on his search rather than overwhelmed by the vastness of the sea beside him. Therefore, the sandpiper sees the sea as something natural and non-disruptive—essentially untroubling.
Here’s why the other options are less accurate:
D. the source of life: While the sea could be a source of life, the poem doesn’t emphasise this. Instead, it highlights the bird’s attention to detail in the sand.
A. a threat: The poem doesn’t suggest that the sandpiper feels endangered by the sea. Instead, he seems more intent on his own meticulous search in the sand.
C. distracting: The sandpiper isn’t distracted by the sea; he’s entirely focused on his exploration of the beach.
Question 2
To the speaker, the sandpiper first appears D. disconcertingly unaware of the larger surroundings.
The speaker describes the sandpiper as so focused on the small details of the sand that he seems unaware of the vast, powerful sea next to him. While the ocean is large and ever-changing, the sandpiper is absorbed in watching “the spaces of sand” and the grains around his toes. This intense focus on tiny details makes him appear oblivious to the bigger world surrounding him.
Here’s why the other options don’t fit as well:
- A. a symbolic figure connecting land and sea: The sandpiper isn’t portrayed as a bridge between land and sea; he’s more focused on what’s directly beneath him.
- B. distracted and disturbed by the surroundings: He’s not distracted; instead, he’s completely absorbed in his own search.
- C. at the interface between real and mythical worlds: The poem keeps the focus on the natural world, without suggesting anything mythical.
Question 3
The impression that the sandpiper is “in a state of controlled panic” is reinforced through C. repetition of words and phrases such as ‘He runs, he runs’ and ‘something, something, something’.
The repeated phrases “He runs, he runs” and “something, something, something” suggest the sandpiper’s frantic but focused behavior, as if he is both purposeful and anxious in his search. This repetition mirrors the bird’s constant movement and heightened attention, reinforcing the idea of “controlled panic” as he continues his search with intense focus.
Here’s why the other options don’t fit as well:
- A. the regular rhyme of the second and fourth lines of each stanza: The rhyme scheme does add structure but doesn’t specifically contribute to the sense of panic.
- B. images of the sea’s magnitude such as ‘The roaring alongside’ and ‘a sheet of interrupting water’: These images emphasize the power of the sea but don’t directly create the sense of controlled panic in the sandpiper.
- D. the effect of uncertainty conveyed in lines 8 and 9: ‘watching his toes. -Watching, rather…’: This moment of hesitation shows uncertainty but doesn’t convey the persistent, panicked energy reflected in the repetition.
Question 4
The poem seems to be suggesting B. an association between creative intensity and obsessiveness.
The reference to William Blake, known for his intense and visionary focus, parallels the sandpiper’s own single-minded attention to detail as he searches the sand. This allusion suggests that, like the sandpiper, artists and creative individuals may become deeply immersed in their work, bordering on obsession as they focus on the smallest aspects of their surroundings. The sandpiper’s fixation on each grain of sand symbolises this kind of creative intensity.
Here’s why the other options don’t fit as well:
D. that great genius becomes petty and crazy in a lesser incarnation: The poem doesn’t imply that the sandpiper’s focus diminishes him; instead, it shows how obsession can reflect a deeper, artistic focus.
A. that the poetic spirit is an engulfing power: The poem doesn’t emphasize a sense of the poetic spirit overwhelming the sandpiper, but rather his focus on minute details.
C. the capacity of the great artist to be uniquely inspired by nature: While nature may inspire, the poem focuses more on the sandpiper’s intense, obsessive focus rather than inspiration.
Question 5
The comment that best characterises the particular quality of “Sandpiper” is A. ‘shifts of physical scale’.
In Sandpiper, Elizabeth Bishop emphasises the contrast between the vastness of the ocean and the sandpiper’s intense focus on the tiny grains of sand. This shifting of scale—from the powerful sea to the minuscule details in the sand—highlights both the enormity of nature and the bird’s obsession with small details. This technique creates a layered perspective, contrasting the bird’s tiny, detailed world with the broader, more imposing natural environment.
Here’s why the other options don’t fit as well:
D. ‘long perspectives of time which dwarf the merely human’: The poem doesn’t emphasize time or history; it’s more focused on the physical space and scale between the sea and the sand.
B. ‘the engulfing power of the world’: While the sea is vast and powerful, the sandpiper isn’t overwhelmed or “engulfed” by it; he’s preoccupied with the details.
C. ‘the dignified frailty of a human observer’: The sandpiper is the observer, not a human figure, and he’s depicted as focused rather than frail.
Take our GAMSAT quiz!!
We’ve created a series of poetry MCQs to mimic ACER GAMSAT and help you practice!
The trick with poetry questions is to be as precise as possible. The more accurate you are in identifying the main message of your poem, the likelier your interpretation of the question will be correct. Make sure to deduce why some answers are wrong, and why are are more correct than others.