The poem describes the hunting and killing of an old tortoise in Siquijor. In the first stanza, the persona watches as old men hunt the tortoise, taking in its wrinkled face and half-century crawl. In the second stanza, one man delivers the killing blow that rolls and stops the tortoise's head. In the final stanza, the man breaks open the shell and pierces its lungs and heart, after which the persona raises the dead tortoise and its tear to their looking glass.
The poem describes the hunting and killing of an old tortoise in Siquijor. In the first stanza, the persona watches as old men hunt the tortoise, taking in its wrinkled face and half-century crawl. In the second stanza, one man delivers the killing blow that rolls and stops the tortoise's head. In the final stanza, the man breaks open the shell and pierces its lungs and heart, after which the persona raises the dead tortoise and its tear to their looking glass.
Original Description:
Anlysis of the Elements in "The Elegy for a Tortoise" by Christine Godinez- Ortega
The poem describes the hunting and killing of an old tortoise in Siquijor. In the first stanza, the persona watches as old men hunt the tortoise, taking in its wrinkled face and half-century crawl. In the second stanza, one man delivers the killing blow that rolls and stops the tortoise's head. In the final stanza, the man breaks open the shell and pierces its lungs and heart, after which the persona raises the dead tortoise and its tear to their looking glass.
The poem describes the hunting and killing of an old tortoise in Siquijor. In the first stanza, the persona watches as old men hunt the tortoise, taking in its wrinkled face and half-century crawl. In the second stanza, one man delivers the killing blow that rolls and stops the tortoise's head. In the final stanza, the man breaks open the shell and pierces its lungs and heart, after which the persona raises the dead tortoise and its tear to their looking glass.
By Christine Godinez-Ortega Background of the Author Christine Godinez- Ortega The Author The Poem In Siquijor I watched Some old men hunt The tortoise- His crawl of half-a-century Stanza 1 Poised upon that moment, Yellow folds on brown. The Hunting of the Tortoise I saw the face The beak that bore The creases of the good years. And when the oldest man
Stanza 2 Raised his remaining strength,
The head of the tortoise rolled, It rolled and stopped and watched. The Killing Blow The old man broke the shell The bolo pierced the lungs,
Stanza 3 Severed the heart, perhaps. Before I closed my eyes, I raised the tortoise and his tear The Persona’s Reaction To straighten the curls In my looking glass Rhythmic Pattern |In /Siq|ui/jor| I /watched| → iambic trimeter (with trochee) |Some /old| men /hunt| → iambic dimeter |The /tor/toise-| → iambic dimeter |His /crawl |of /half|-a-/cen|tu/ry| → iambic tetrameter |Poised /up|on /that| mo/ment,| → trochaic trimeter |Ye/llow| folds /on| brown.| → trochaic trimeter |I /saw| the /face| → iambic dimeter |The /beak| that /bore| → iambic dimeter |The /crea/ses /of /the /good /years.| → ? The pattern is: Rhyme Scheme ABCDEFGHIJKLA Free verse MNOPQRS Last line from Stanza 2 First line from Stanza 1 “It rolled and stopped and “In Siquijor, I watched” watched” Imagery As emphasized by the line: “In Siquijor, I watched” Visual Imagery Figurative Language Ambiguity “His crawl of Hyperbole
half-a-century” → Slow movement Literal → Skin color → Shell “Yellow folds on Metonymy brown” → Wrinkles → Frown of concentration Literal “The beak that → Tortoise’s beak
bore” Metaphor → Focused pout “The creases of Metaphor → Old Age good years” Metonymy “Severed the heart, → Stone-hearted perhaps” → Empathy “I raised the tortoise and his Metonymy
tear” → Tortoise shell comb The Poem Irony
Allegory Tone The Persona ● Apathetic ● Air of Indifference Point of View ● Sad The Reader ● Appalled ● Feeling betrayed Point of View Theme ● Culmination of a life
Allegory of Life & lived prior, and death is
the ultimate Death culmination ● Slaughtering for market Materialistic demand and public
Slaughtering consumption Impassiveness & ● Reflects the tendency of Self-centered people to overlook and
Nature of Humanity never care
Symbol Tortoise ● Symbol of Age
& the Old men
● The Individual The Persona ● The Society Bolo ● Harbinger of Death ● Jadedness Severed Heart ● Empathy ● To overlook Closed Eyes ● Turning a blind eye The tortoise ● Tortoise shell comb ● Tortoise’s suffering & his tear ● Attempt of bringing Straightening the back any semblance of
