plants olive senior essay

  • Glossary of Literary Terms
  • Plants are deceptive. You see them there
  • looking as if once rooted they know
  • their places; not like animals, like us
  • always running around, leaving traces.
  • Yet from the way they breed (excuse me!)
  • and twine, from their exhibitionist
  • and rather prolific nature, we must infer
  • a sinister not to say imperialistic
  • grand design. Perhaps you've regarded,
  • as beneath your notice, armies of mangrove
  • on the march, roots in the air, clinging
  • tendrils anchoring themselves everywhere?
  • The world is full of shoots bent on conquest,
  • invasive seedlings seeking wide open spaces,
  • matériel gathered for explosive dispersal
  • in capsules and seed cases.
  • Maybe you haven't quite taken in the
  • colonizing ambitions of hitchhiking
  • burrs on your sweater, surf-riding nuts
  • bobbing on ocean, parachuting seeds and other
  • airborne traffic dropping in. And what
  • about those special agents called flowers?
  • Dressed, perfumed, and made-up for romancing
  • insects, bats, birds, bees, even you –
  • – don't deny it my dear, I've seen you
  • sniff and exclaim. Believe me, Innocent,
  • that sweet fruit, that berry, is nothing
  • more than ovary, the instrument to seduce
  • you into scattering plant progeny. Part of
  • a vast cosmic program that once set
  • in motion cannot be undone though we
  • become plant food and earth wind down.
  • They'll outlast us, they were always there
  • one step ahead of us: plants gone to seed,
  • generating the original profligate,
  • extravagant, reckless, improvident, weed.

Olive Senior Poetry

Olive Senior, a Jamaican-born writer, captures the essence of childhood and adulthood with a keen eye for nature, history, and local intricacies. Her upbringing in Jamaica’s mountainous landscape deeply influences her work.

With numerous awards, including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Senior’s poetry, fiction, and non-fiction seamlessly intertwine themes of identity, ethnicity, and Caribbean life, often with an ironic and humorous touch. Senior’s works are a vibrant testament to her Caribbean roots and literary prowess.

Olive Senior

‘Plants’ by Olive Senior is a unique free verse poem that describes the deceptiveness of plants. It uses irony and humor to suggest that plants are trying to take over the world.

Plants are deceptive. You see them there looking as if once rooted they know their places; not like animals, like us always running around, leaving traces.

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COMMENTS

  1. Plants by Olive Senior

    'Plants' by Olive Senior is a unique free verse poem describing plants' deceptiveness. It uses irony and humor to suggest that plants are trying to take over the world.. Throughout this piece, Senior employs several unique images and clever, humorous reasoning in order to convince the reader that plants are far smarter than they seem. They are working together, she suggests, in order to ...

  2. PDF AP English Literature and Composition 2018 FRQ 1 Sample Student

    the few constants in the history of our Earth. In his 2005 poem "Plants," poet Olive Senior attempts to create a discussion regarding the perpetuity of plant life & the relationship it shares with those around it. Senior establishes said relationship with poetic devices such as syntax, diction, figurative language, & more.

  3. PDF AP English Literature and Composition

    Question 1. (Suggested time — 40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.) Carefully read Olive Senior's 2005 poem "Plants.". Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze how the poet portrays the complex relationships among the speaker, the implied audience, and plant life. You may wish to consider the ...

  4. PDF AP English Literature and Composition

    Question 1: Olive Senior, "Plants". The score should reflect the quality of the essay as a whole — its content, style, and mechanics. Reward the students for what they do well. The score for an exceptionally well-written essay may be raised by 1 point above the otherwise appropriate score. In no case may a poorly written essay be scored ...

  5. Ap18 english literature q1

    Question 1: Olive Senior, "Plants" The score should reflect the quality of the essay as a whole — its content, style, and mechanics. Reward the students for what they do well. The score for an exceptionally well-written essay may be raised by 1 point above the otherwise appropriate score.

  6. FRQ #1 Writing Practice, "Plants" // Understanding the AP Rubric

    Directions. Have students complete the Olive Senior FRQ#1 prompt on "Plants" in real AP time of 40 minutes. This is best done as a FORMATIVE assessment only and used as a diagnostic "before picture." Discuss the thesis section of the rubric. What makes an effective thesis, what are some must-haves, and so on.

  7. PDF Index of Scores for Samples: Question 1

    interpretation in response to the prompt: One such poet is Olive Senior, who expresses his view of plant life as toxic in his poem Plants… Though his comparisons to easily accessible imaging, Seniors claim becomes more effective to the general audience he seeks _ (paragraph 1). Row B: 4/4

  8. Olive Senior's Gardening in the Tropics

    Part of. a vast cosmic program that once set. in motion cannot be undone though we. become plant food and earth wind down. They'll outlast us, they were always there. one step ahead of us: plants gone to seed, generating the original profligate, extravagant, reckless, improvident, weed.

  9. Reflections on "Plants" by Olive Senior

    This is just me sitting in my yard, telling students what I think about Olive Senior's poem. It's a really good one, and - as luck would have it - it was on ...

  10. An analysis of "Plants" by Olive Senior

    An Analysis of Olive Senior's "Plants" Patti Hester 27/10/2021 Poetic Structure The Form Upon first glance, Senior uses a very rigid, contained form- 9 quatrains with internal rhyme But, by stanza 2 the ideas cannot be restrained (like the plants themselves) and she resorts to The.

  11. PDF AP English Literature and Composition

    In the poem "Plants" by Olive Senior (published in 2005) found on the AP English Literature and Composition 2018 Exam (Question 1), ... Read the poem carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Senior uses poetic elements and techniques to develop those complex relationships. In your response you should do the following:

  12. Olive Senior Poetry

    Plants. 'Plants' by Olive Senior is a unique free verse poem that describes the deceptiveness of plants. It uses irony and humor to suggest that plants are trying to take over the world. Olive Senior's poetry, including 'Plants,' showcases her skill in depicting the complexities of the natural world. Through her use of literary devices and ...

  13. Skill 3: Figurative Language // Olive Senior, "Plants"

    Skill 3: Figurative Language // Olive Senior, "Plants". For this unit, we will be building on the skills we learned in the analysis of the Wolsey paragraph, applying it to a modern poem by Olive Senior and focusing specifically on language. We will definitely focus on other skills and concepts, such as the charcter of the speaker and the ...

  14. An Analysis of Olive Senior's "Plants"

    An Analysis of Olive Senior's "Plants" by Lauren Vevoda on Prezi. Blog. July 8, 2024. Funny presentation topics to liven up your next get-together. June 30, 2024. Everything you need to know about creating a research presentation. June 28, 2024. Mastering internal communication: The key to business success.

  15. Carefully Read Olive Senior's 2005 Poem Plants." Then, In A Well

    Carefully read Olive Senior's 2005 poem "Plants." Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze how the poet portrays the complex relationships among the speaker, the implied audience, and plant life. You may wish to consider the author's use of such literary techniques as syntax, diction, and figurative language.

  16. Mullen's Plants & Palms

    Mullen's Plants & Palms, Saint Petersburg, Florida. 448 likes · 5 were here. Landscape supply, palms, plants and garden center.

  17. PDF Chief Reader Report on Student Responses

    Topic: Olive Senior, "Plants" Mean Score: 4.13 What were the responses to this question expected to demonstrate? For the following prompt: Carefully read Olive Senior's 2005 poem "Plants." Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze how the poet portrays the complex relationships among the speaker, the implied audience, and plant life.

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  19. St. Petersburg

    Welcome to Plant Love Ice Cream! We are locally owned and operated by the Matchin family. Plant Love was first opened on Central Ave. in St. Pete during the Spring of 2019. We always intended to build a strong community in the Bay area, but are blown away with gratitude at the ever expanding community developing across the nation. 2023 has ...

  20. PDF AP English Literature and Composition Scoring Guidelines

    These essays give a response that is completely off topic or inadequate; there may be some mark or a AP® ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION 2018 SCORING GUIDELINES Question 1: Olive Senior, "Plants" The score should reflect the quality of the essay as a whole — its content, style, and mechanics. Reward the students for what they do well.

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    Plants that provide nectar attract insects - more bird food! Larger bushes and trees provide cover for nests and even fledged chicks. After four years, we've now had brown thrashers and northern cardinals bring their kids to the yard to feed on bird seed and berries from the rouge plant and beautyberry. Our yard is full of bees and other ...