Synopsis

The poem is about a persona, a lady who fell for the wrong man. She was fascinated with his 'quiet
eyes' and believed that his eyes showed his true emotion and feelings for her. The man's eyes had the
power to charm her ad made her believe him and be nice to him.
However, the man was actually a 'pleasure' seeking man', a flirt. As the lady was truly fascinated and
charmed by the man, she did not listen or did not want to listen to any advice concerning the man's true
behaviour. In the end, she realized her error and was broken hearted.
Setting
Time: Any time of the day or night.
Place: Inside a house
Persona
1. The poem is in the first person point of view using 'she' and 'he'
2. The persona in the poem is most probably a sensible person who is aware of 'pleasure-seeking guys'
3. The persona describes a vulnerable lady who was attracted to a pleasure-seeking man.
Theme
1. Deceit
2. The importance of listening to good advice.
Message
1. We must not be deluded by looks or appearance.
2. We must listen to advice that is good for us.
Tone
1. Serious
2. Friend
Language and Style
1. The language style is conversational.
2. The words used are simple everyday words.
3. The poet use imagery and metaphors to convey her idea.
Poetic Techniques
A) SYMBOLISM
1. Quiet eyes represent deceitful intentions.
2. Paradise represents the state of ecstasy or great happiness.
3. A pleasure- seeking guy represent men who deceive women with their innocent-looking
appearances.
B) METAPHOR
1. Quiet eyes- this is compared to someone who looks harmless
2. Two pools of lies- this is compared to deceit.
3. "the hows and whys"- this is compared to a situation where one gets hurt emotionally.
4. Losing at dice- this is compared to putting oneself in a weak and defenseless position.
C) PERSONIFICATION
1. The 'quiet eyes' is an example of personification in the poem.
2. It describes as a person who breathes 'desolate sighs'.
Meanings.
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Long, deep audible breaths- SIGHS

A pair of organs of sight- EYES
Guidance- ADVICE
Unhappy and uninhabited- DESOLATE
Looking for a feeling of happy satisfaction- PLEASURE-SEEKING

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A small cube with each side having a different number ranging from 1 to 6- DICE
Arranged in layers- LAYERED
Intentional false statements- LIES
Become aware- REALISE
Agree- COMPROMISE
Heaven- PARADISE
No noise- QUIET
Inhaling and expelling air from the lungs- BREATHING
Shallow patches of liquid- POOLS
Provide or give help- RENDER
Superlative of thin- THINNEST
Begging desperately- IMPLORING
Having knowledge and good judgement- WISE
Muscular body organ that pumps blood- HEART
Past tense of listen- LISTENED

Meanings.
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realise- know
layered- covered
breathing- inhaling
desolate-unhappy
imploring- begging
render- provide help
wise- sensible
compromise-conciliate

Meaning of each of these quotations.

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pools of ice- expression of deceit

layered with thinnest ice- thinly covered
desolate sighs- unhappy and inhabited look in one's eyes
paradise- state of great pleasure
free form "the hows and why"- free from question in mind
losing your heart- fall in love
once or twice- rarely