Friday 6 January 2012

Ol’ Higue and Le Loupgarou

Ol’ Higue and Le Loupgarou

Many stories of strange supernatural characters derive from the cultural
tradition of the folk. These characters form an important part of the folklore
brought by the Africans to the West Indies. Some of these have been
preserved in narratives and poems.

The character to which this poem ‘Ol’ Higue’ alludes is the ‘Soucouyant’ whose
mission is to draw blood from human beings.

Read the poem.
Discuss the following questions.

1. What image of Ol’ Higue does the poet present in stanza one (1)?

2. What complaint does Ol’ Higue make in stanza one (1)?
Quote the expressions which support your answer.

3. (a) Why would Ol’ Higue be “Burning like cane fire”?
(b) Why does she have to count a thousand grains?

4. Why is the blood of babies attractive to Ol’ Higue?

5. How and when does she perform her “blood-sucking” task?

6. Give one reason why Ol’ Higue would love women giving birth.

7. Do you consider Ol’ Higue a mysterious character?

8. What feeling does Ol’ Higue evoke in you as you read the poem?


Le Loupgarou

Read the poem and discuss the following questions based on it.

1.(a) What is the “curious talk” alluded to in line one (1) of the poem?
(b) What does the word “curious” suggest?

2. Who are the “greying women”?

3. Why, do you think, Le Brun was “greeted by slowly shutting jalousies”?

4. Which word describes Le Brun’s dress?

5. What, do you think, is the bargain Le Brun made with the fiends?

6. What was responsible for Le Brun’s ruin?

7. How did people know that le Brun had changed himself into a dog?

8. What literary device is used in line one(1)?
“A curious tale that threaded through the town”.

9. .How do you feel as you read the last two lines of the poem?

You will observe that both poems deal with the supernatural.
The Soucouyant is the counterpart of the Le Loupgarou.
They both make a pact with the devil to engage in mysterious and fiendish
dealings.
They both are greedy and are ruined through their greed.
They both evoke fear in the people around them.

41 comments:

  1. does not help me at all

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    1. i know right
      should post the answers too

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    2. the questions are meant for discussion in your study groups or with whomever...the industrious students would try to arrive at answers instead of asking for answers...next time attempt questions and then ask if those answers you have are correct....show some self reliance

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  2. hmmmm its kinda of helpful cuz i have this exams and it is worth it

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. my teacher used these exact questions wow!!!!

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  5. someone help me with the dates when ol higue and le loupgarou was written and published

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    Replies
    1. yeah,i need it 2,wat skool u frm?

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    2. me too...ugh this is so stressful

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    3. I four 21 July BC. Isn't that too early?

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    4. 21 BC is wayyy too early

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    5. Le loupgarou is April29,1979

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    6. why does literature class have to be so stressful?

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  6. i reaily need the date of publication of the two poems

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  7. me too I have to get the dates of publication of them pleaaaassse does anyone know all I have for ol' higue is 21 july BC if it helps anyone but I still need more

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    1. le loupgarou 1999 thats all i have

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    2. ol higue was publish may 28, 1972.......... that's what I got

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    3. me three

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    4. ol higue was published 21 july bc thats what i got >3

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  8. so hard to get !!!

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  9. Honestly I hav nothing

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  10. what date did le loupqarou publish

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  11. The poem "Ole Higue" was published on June 7, 1981 and "Le Loupgaru" was published on April 29, 1979.

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    1. Wat site u get the dates from??????

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    2. where did u get these dates from???

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  12. Is that the correct dates????????/


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  13. hey i really need help .............

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  14. Where did u get those dates from??

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  15. Doesn't help me at all

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  16. it really does not at all guess i gota bluff my way through this

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    Replies
    1. I am not sure of the dates but why do you need the dates?

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  17. can someone give me a short summary of the poem le loupgarou please!!

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    1. There is this man called Le Brun who made a deal with evil forces "fiends" and this ruined him. At night he turns into le loupgarou (a werewolf) but one night when he changed his own watchman wounded him, nearly killing him.

      copy and paste the link below to get more info on the poem and other literature stuff

      http://paynterliterature.weebly.com/le-loupgarou.html

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  18. can someone comment on the effectiveness of the choice of speker in each poem

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  19. can someone comment on the effectiveness of the choice of speker in each poem. i need it now please

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  20. Does anyone know of two devices that hightens the presentation of hypocrisy in ol higue

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  21. Can someone tell me why ol higue would be burning like a cane field?

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  22. Can someone tell me why ol higue would be burning like a cane field?

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  23. can someone tell me how does ol'higue feel about what she does ?

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  24. can anyone comment on the effectiveness of any two poetic devices

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