Directorate: Curriculum FET

SUBJECT and GRADE FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE GRADE 11

TERM 3 Week 3
TOPIC Reading and Viewing
AIMS OF LESSON PART 1: POETRY: Shanty town by Anonymous
PART 2: COMPREHENSION
RESOURCES Paper based resources Digital resources
Refer to your language textbook for more on https://nect.org.za/materials/training-
answering comprehension questions before documents/term-3/eastern-cape-only/gr-11-term-4-
you complete Part 2. 2019-efal-literature-summary.pdf
INTRODUCTION PART 1: Recall the elements of Poetry which you were taught. There are short notes below as a
reminder.
PART 2: The theme of the poem overflows into the comprehension. It is important to read with
understanding and to note that sometimes you will not understand parts of the text. When and if
you come across something unfamiliar, try to focus on the entire paragraph and not single words.
Try to deduce the meaning of words and phrases form what is given in the text.
CONCEPTS AND SKILLS The analysis of poetry requires that you understand and can apply the various ELEMENTS OF POETRY
to any poem being studied.
• STRUCTURE/FORM of the poem [line length and significance]
• RHYME or not to rhyme?
• SPEAKER – the poet? Or not?
• DICTION - specific word choice. Why dos the poet use particular words in the poem?
• THEME/S – what‘s the main message of the poem? Is there more than one message?
• MOOD emotional feel / atmosphere
• TONE the way something is said; NB in a play / dialogue we examine context and
situation in order to identify tone (or subtext, i.e. the way something is said or uttered).
In poetry, it is derived from the poet’s treatment of his or her subject matter; connects
with attitude
• FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENT PART 1: POETRY
Let’s analyse the poem:
What does the title, Shantytown, refer to?
DEFINITION: A very poor area usually outside a city or town. The houses are made of corrugated iron,
wood and plastic. There are no services such as electricity. Jabavu is a shantytown in the bigger
township of Soweto.
The title will provide important information about what the poem will be about.
Before even reading the poem, we have an idea of what can be expected.
Write your THREE thoughts about what you expect the poem will be about (based on the title):

READ THE POEM: Shantytown Stanza 1: The first two lines describe where the town is
By Anonymous situated. ‘High’ and ‘far’ tells the reader that there is
1 High on the veld upon that plain some distance between the town and the city. Why
2 And far from streets and lights and cars does the poet repeat the word ‘bare’? What is the
3 And bare of trees, and bare of grass, mood of the line 4? Do you think it is appropriate?
4 Jabavu sleeps beneath the stars.

5 Jabavu sleeps.
6 The children cough. Stanza 2: Look at the poet’s use of
7 Cold creeps up, the hard night cold, diction: the cold ‘creeps’ – why
8 The earth is tight within its grasp. ‘creeps’? What normally creeps?
9 The high veld cold without soft rain, The ‘hard’ night – why is the night
10 Dry as the sand, rough as a rasp, ‘hard’?
11 The frost-rimmed night invades the shacks Repetition of images and words in this
12 Through dusty ground stanza: Identify and provide possible
13 Through freezing ground the night cold creeps reasons.
14 In cotton blankets, rags and sacks What image does the speaker
15 Beneath the stars Jabavu sleeps. create? How does this image link to
the theme of the poem?
16 One day Jabavu will awake
17 To greet a new and shining day:
18 The sounds of coughing will become Stanza 3: This stanza starts with ‘One day’ –
19 The children’s laughter as they play like a fairy tale (happy ending)
20 In parks with flowers where dust now swirls What is speaker’s wish for Jabavu?
21 In strong-walled homes with warmth and light.
22 But for tonight Jabavu sleeps, How does this stanza contrast with stanza 2?
23 Jabavu sleeps. The stars are bright.
COMPLETE THE SUMMARY OF CONTENT: EXERCISE 1:
The poet describes life in 1. …,a very 2. … section of Soweto in Johannesburg. There are no trees or
grass. The township has no electricity or roads. It is dry, dusty and exceptionally 3. … during winter. The
people of the town have very little to protect them against illness and the freezing temperatures. The
cold is overpowering. They only have thin blankets, rags and 4. … … to cover themselves to keep out
the cold.
There are three stanzas, clearly divided into three descriptions of the township.
1. The first stanza talks about how isolated Jabavu is from the city. There are no trees or grass in
Jabavu – it is not protected.
2. The second stanza goes into deeper detail about the suffering the people experience during
winter. They are freezing and sick.
3. The last stanza takes us into the hopeful future of a Jabavu that has been developed and cared
for. It has become a place where healthy children play in beautiful parks. People live with
dignity in proper houses with electricity. They are all safe and warm. The speaker paints a
positive picture of what he wishes for the future of Jabavu.

MARKING GUIDELINE EXERCISE 1: SUMMARY OF CONTENT

The poet describes life in 1. Jabavu, a very 2. poor section of Soweto in Johannesburg. There are no
trees or grass. The township has no electricity or roads. It is dry, dusty and exceptionally 3. cold during
winter. The people of Jabavu have very little to protect them against illness and the freezing
temperatures. The cold is overpowering. They only have thin blankets, rags and 4. old sacks to cover
themselves to keep out the cold.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The poem is set in Jabavu township in Johannesburg. Jabavu was a typical ‘shantytown’ to the south
of Johannesburg in the larger area known as Soweto. Today, shantytowns are called ‘informal
settlements’ or ‘squatter camps’. South African shantytowns have always housed the poorest of the
poor. People build makeshift homes out of corrugated iron and whatever materials they can find.
Jabavu, like most other black townships of the time, had no electricity or roads. The government built
some very basic houses to start with, but during Apartheid the township was deliberately ignored. The
government spent most of its money on developing areas for white people.
Over the years many people moved into Jabavu and built shacks in open areas and in people’s
yards.
The area was barren, dusty and unhealthy for children. The Highveld winter in South Africa can be
bitterly cold at night. It is a season that has no rain, so the soil becomes very dry.
[EXERCISE 2: Find evidence in the poem of the images that have been provided in the above
paragraph.]
Today, Jabavu is still not a wealthy part of Soweto, but it has electricity and mainly tarred roads. The
majority of houses are simple, but they are solidly built with walls and yards. There are a number of
schools that serve the area as well as clusters of shops and other services. Trees have been planted
and there is a green, open space called Jabavu Park.
[EXERCISE 3: Compare the last stanza of the poem with the above paragraph and note the
similarities.]

TYPE OF POEM
This poem is a social commentary on extreme poverty. It raises the issues of children’s health and
freedom. It talks of how neglected this area is in terms of basic services like electricity. It is concerned
with the lack of green, safe spaces for children to play in.

CHARACTERISTICS
This poem is written in free verse. It is made up of 3 stanzas. There is no fixed rhyme scheme, but the
poet uses rhyme to support his message, by linking certain words, such as ‘shacks’ and ‘sacks’.

THEMES
POVERTY IN SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIPS
During Apartheid, the vast majority of black people near towns and cities lived under harsh
conditions. As more and more people moved to be near the city for work, the townships filled with
people who had no proper housing. Many lived in informal settlements in openareas. They also built
shacks in other people’s yards.

Black people were not allowed to own houses near the cities. Townships were built outside
of towns and cities for the poor workers. They were seen as places for black people to sleep
until work started the next day.
There were no basic services provided to these areas. The government deliberately neglected
the people living in these areas. Most services were developed in white suburbs only. The
living conditions in townships were very unhealthy, especially for children.

EVIDENCE OF THEME IN TEXT

‘Shantytown’ is another word for an informal settlement. The poet describes the harsh living conditions
of a shantytown in Soweto, called Jabavu. He knows Jabavu well and probably lived there himself.
However, the conditions in Jabavu were very similar to many other informal settlements in South Africa
at the time.
The speaker describes the emptiness of the area. The land is completely barren: ‘Dry as the sand’ (line
10) and ‘dusty’ (line 12) and ‘rocky’ (line 13). Nothing grows there in winter. It is ‘bare of trees, and
bare of grass’ (line 3). It is located on the highveld, with extremely cold winters. Children have
become ill because of these conditions. People find it impossible to protect themselves from the cold
which ‘invades the shacks’ (line 11). Their thin ‘cotton blankets, rags and sacks’ (line 15) provide no
warmth against the cold. People are living in poverty and cannot afford thick, warm blankets. Despite
the awful conditions, the poet dreams of something better. The poet ends the poem on a note of
optimism (hope) when he describes how much better life in Jabavu could be in the future.

GUIDED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

1 Refer to ‘Dry as the sand, rough as a rasp’ (line 10):
Choose one of the similes and explain why it is effective. [2]
‘Dry as the sand’. In this simile, the sand’s dryness () is being compared to the dry cold ().
OR
‘rough as a rasp’. In this simile, the cold’s roughness () is compared to the roughness of a rasp ().

2 Refer to the whole of stanza 2. In this stanza, personification is used.

Personification is when a non-living thing is given human / animal qualities. Jabavu, the shantytown,
is personified as a person who is asleep and will wake up ‘One day’ (line 17).

a. Quote two different words from the stanza that show that the cold is personified. [2]
• ‘creeps’ ()
• ‘grasp’ ()
• ‘invades’ ()
(Note: Any TWO from the above)
b. How does the personification add to the meaning of what the cold feels like and quote to
support your answer. [4]
• The cold is like an enemy () ‘invades’ ()
• It is secretive / sly () ‘creeps’ ()
• It is harsh / persistent / relentless ‘grasp’
(Note: Any TWO from the above)

3 Refer to ‘One day Jabavu will awake…The stars are bright.’ (lines 17–24):
a State whether the word ‘sleeps’ is used literally or figuratively. [1]
Figuratively
b Explain your answer in 3a above. [2]
Jabavu is like a person (personified) who is sleeping for a short period of time () and will ‘wake up
to’ a better future ().
4 In your own words, describe three things that will be different for the shantytown in the future. [3]
• The children will be happy. ()
• The children will no longer be sick. ()
• The children will be able to play in the parks. ()
• The parks will be pretty. ()
• Houses will be solidly built. ()
• People will be warm. ()

PART 2: COMPREHENSION
South African designer goes from shanty town to London
By Mmathabo Tladi
1. JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African-born fashion designer and entrepreneur Lesego
Malatsi has gone from stitching ready-to-wear garments in a Soweto township mall set amid
shanties to savouring the sweet success of London’s fashion week.
2. Malatsi had his first international show at the weekend in the British capital where he displayed
a collection of new look African prints at the Fashions Finest event backed by Richard Branson’s
Virgin Unity initiative.
3. “Honestly you don’t know how to prepare,” Malatsi said from London in a telephone interview
with Reuters. Malatsi has taken a long road to London that started in a tiny home in Soweto,
the segregated and impoverished township next to Johannesburg that grew under apartheid.
He first tried his hand at accounting after leaving high school but a stint at a cosmetics
company altered his career aspirations. “(It) changed my mind and how I saw things,” he said.
He then studied fashion at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and has been making
clothes since.
4. Money was tough to come by for a young man living in the wrong part of Africa’s richest city
but he eventually opened a store in a Soweto mall to sell his clothes.
He has 12 full-time staff at a firm called Mzansi Design Emporium and envisions having nearly
900 employees in the next five years. His African print and inspired garments gained greater
exposure after a Cambridge University student purchased garments from his Soweto store and
later invited him to showcase his work at a university show. The student then used him as a
supplier for a British clothing store that featured African goods, which later helped him earn the
London fashion week invitation. “I used what I thought is authentically South Africa and colors
representing the diversity of the country’s culture,” he said.
5. Malatsi said designers must be true to themselves and their roots if they are to impress an
international audience.
“In many instances designers have been encouraged to try use the European model, which is
the wrong approach. My understanding now is if you want to be a global competitor, you must
bring something to compete with.”
 6. His show in London caused barely a ripple back home in South Africa, where his store still sells
competitively priced clothing to customers more concerned about costs than the emerging
fame of the designer behind them.
Store manager Dipuo Malatsi said: “Fame and popularity matter but our customers are used
to buying (his clothes) at the normal prices.”
Editing by Jon Herskovitz and Paul Casciato
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-deisgner/south-african-designer-goes-from-shanty-town-
to-london-idUSTRE78J44G20110920

• Read the TITLE. Can you predict what the extract will be about?
• What’s the main idea for each paragraph? Is there a topic sentence?
• Read the questions: Find the instruction verb (that tells you what to do).
Identify keywords (underline/highlight these words) in the question which
provide information about what the question requires.

1.1 Refer to paragraph 1:

Quote THREE consecutive words which describe the setting of Malatsi’s humble
beginnings. (1)
1.2 Refer to paragraph 2:
1.2.1 Name the British capital referred to in this paragraph. (1)
1.2.2 What does the writer mean by, ‘backed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Unity initiative’? (2)
1.3 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence:
The word ‘impoverished’ highlighted in paragraph 3 means…
A. beautiful
B. poor
C. unhappy
D. wealthy (1)
1.4 Refer to paragraph 3: ‘(It) changed my mind and how I saw things,’ he said.
How did (It) change his mind and how he saw things? (2)
1.5 Briefly discuss whether you agree with the writer’s view as expressed in paragraph 5? (2)
1.6 Discuss the suitability of the title, ‘South African designer goes from shanty town to London’. (2)

MARKING GUIDELINE
1.1. THREE consecutive words-words which follow each other. ‘set amid shanties’ (1)
1.2 1.2.1 London (1)
1.2.2, ‘backed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Unity initiative’ means that the money came from
Richard Branson’s company. He provided the financial resources. (2)
1.3 B. poor (1)
 1.4 He worked at a Cosmetics company and this exposed him to his creative side/he had an
opportunity to be part of the fashion world because he worked in cosmetics/ANY TWO
RELEVANT RESPONSES. (2)
1.5 Yes. I agree with Malatsi because if a designer is true to themselves, it means that they design
clothes which they are familiar, what they see in the areas they live. They appreciate where
they come from and it will be appreciated overseas because it will be unique. OR
No. I disagree. A designer should see what is popular. It doesn’t matter what their roots are if
they want to make money. Success requires that a designer should forget about what they like
but rather what their customers like and want.
[NOTE: No mark is awarded for Yes or No. Your motivation is important and must be based on the
paragraph reference which is provided in the question so use KEYWORDS from the paragraph to guide
your thoughts and answer.] (2)
1.6 This is an OPEN-ENDED question so there is no right or wrong answer. Once again, make sure that
base your answer on the TEXT. It is a suitable title because it clearly describes how Malatsi went
from a poor background, worked hard and eventually became very successful in London. (2)
CONSOLIDATION POETRY: In order to analyse poetry effectively, remember the elements. Those are the guidelines
which will assist you in gaining a better understanding of all poetry.
COMPREHENSION: Understanding any text requires that you read for meaning. Try to understand the
text. Read the questions carefully and underline/highlight keywords in the question. Use part of the
question in your answer to guide your thoughts when writing the answer. Use the mark allocation as
a guide as to how much detail or how many points are required.
VALUES These lessons are meant to encourage you to think critically about what you read. Look for underlying
meaning. Choice of words is so important in language and impacts meaning, tone and mood.
Our words have power.
The comprehension has a lesson: Your attitude determines your altitude. Irrespective of where you
start, you can choose where you will end.