Autumn at Luggate Pub
(1) It is dusk. Autumn’s charms adorn the small village. Delicate folds of leaves glow copper, mirroring silver evening light, carpeting the paths with gold.
(2) Faded jade mountain heights steeply trace shadows, silhouetting a topaz horizon, embellished by intricate patterns of vast, velvet clouds, waltzing to the wind’s willowy whisper.
(3) Down below, nestled amongst an ornate array of fragrant heather and thyme, lavender and long-lost memories, encrusted with shimmering schist, faintly sparkling with hidden riches, lies an antique asylum, the village pub.
(4) Listen. Almost all is quiet here now, but for the lyrical libretto of twilight swallows and sparrows, waxeyes and wrens, magpies and magic. And a distant hum of life beyond the mountains, in the cities.
(5) Look. Gold-ringed fingers of trees stencil a floral veil of fancy shadows – like old fashioned fineries – across the pub windows, now aglow with contented candlelight. Scented smoke, smoothly seasoned, spirals up, up, through the valleys and over the mountain tops.
(6) Close your eyes now. You can almost see… crisp, canvas-trousered, leather-hide-jacketed, weather worn, weary men – miners of many sunsets back, seeking solace in this precious pub’s shelter.
(7) Breathe in. Smell the pub’s fragrant cedar beams, whisky and history infused, the archaic aromas of tobacco and aniseed and ancient apple wood, with the rich, wispy touch of autumn in the air.
(8) Open your eyes. It is getting late. The sky now glows yet deeper, richer. The sun, a ruby chandelier, drapes low, casting one last slow glance at the scene and sinking gracefully below the mountains. The village, adorned in autumn’s charms, lies peacefully, dusted in shadows.
- Year 12 student. Used with permission
(2) Faded jade mountain heights steeply trace shadows, silhouetting a topaz horizon, embellished by intricate patterns of vast, velvet clouds, waltzing to the wind’s willowy whisper.
(3) Down below, nestled amongst an ornate array of fragrant heather and thyme, lavender and long-lost memories, encrusted with shimmering schist, faintly sparkling with hidden riches, lies an antique asylum, the village pub.
(4) Listen. Almost all is quiet here now, but for the lyrical libretto of twilight swallows and sparrows, waxeyes and wrens, magpies and magic. And a distant hum of life beyond the mountains, in the cities.
(5) Look. Gold-ringed fingers of trees stencil a floral veil of fancy shadows – like old fashioned fineries – across the pub windows, now aglow with contented candlelight. Scented smoke, smoothly seasoned, spirals up, up, through the valleys and over the mountain tops.
(6) Close your eyes now. You can almost see… crisp, canvas-trousered, leather-hide-jacketed, weather worn, weary men – miners of many sunsets back, seeking solace in this precious pub’s shelter.
(7) Breathe in. Smell the pub’s fragrant cedar beams, whisky and history infused, the archaic aromas of tobacco and aniseed and ancient apple wood, with the rich, wispy touch of autumn in the air.
(8) Open your eyes. It is getting late. The sky now glows yet deeper, richer. The sun, a ruby chandelier, drapes low, casting one last slow glance at the scene and sinking gracefully below the mountains. The village, adorned in autumn’s charms, lies peacefully, dusted in shadows.
- Year 12 student. Used with permission
Questions
- Read paragraph (4) (‘Listen. Almost all is quiet here now … in the cities'). In your own words, describe ONE aspect of the five senses that the writer uses to suggest the atmosphere of the scene and give an example.
Aspect: ___________________________________________________________
Example: ___________________________________________________________ - Explain how the aspect that you described in (a) helps the writer show that the mood of the setting. Support your answer with examples from the text.
- Explain how this aspect of description links with other aspects, such as character or style, in paragraphs 6 – 8, to show the situation. Support your answer with examples from the text.
- Look at the text as a whole. Explain how the writer shows you that the autumn scene reveals human as well as natural behaviour. Support your answer with examples from the text. In your answer, you could cover some of the following aspects: ideas; imagery / style; structure; narrative point-of-view
Answers
(http://www.livewirelearning.co.nz/files/2013-English-NCEA-Level-1-AS-1.3-And-AS-2.3-Sample-Extracts-Questions-And-Answers.pdf, 978-0-9876623-0-9)