PRE-READING


1. What does the phrase ‘stiff upper lip’ mean? Do you know of anybody who could be said to have a ‘stiff upper lip’?


2. What does the word ‘sublime’ mean? What do you think the phrase ‘from the sublime to the ridiculous’ means?


3. What does the word ‘hero’ mean to you? What kinds of actions do you think can be described as heroic? Is the concept of heroism outdated in the modern world?


COMPREHENDING AND RESPONDING


1.  you think he does this?


2. Who are the ‘others’? What are the others ‘pretending not to know’? Why do you think they might be pretending not to know this?


3. Describe the scene as portrayed in stanza one. Where are these men, and what is their situation?


4. What do you think is ‘ridiculous’ in this moment? What is ‘sublime’ about it?


5.  Discuss.


6. Why do you think the character’s frostbite is ‘replaced by vertigo’?


7. Mahon uses a very striking metaphor to describe Oates in line 13. Why do you think he chose this comparison?


8. What is the ‘earthly pantomime’ mentioned in line 16? What do you think is the effect of this metaphor?


9. 


10. Are there any similar themes in any of the other Mahon poems you have studied? What are they? Pick one other poem and compare the way your chosen theme is treated.


CREATING


1. Write a journal entry (or entries) from the perspective of one of the members of the expedition. Express your feelings on Lawrence Oates and the decision he has made, the predicament the team is in, and your thoughts on your environment, your personal wellbeing and your immediate future.


2. There is much in modern life that is ridiculous; and there is also much that is sublime. Write a discursive essay in which you weigh up whether life in general, from your perspective, is mostly glorious, or mostly absurd, or an equal combination of both.


3. Write a short story in which a lone character struggles against a hostile and vast environment.


352 VERSE 2025


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