Question

Summary of the land of counterpane written by robat loius stevenson.

Answer 1

Answer:

When I was sick and lay a-bed,

I had two pillows at my head,

And all my toys beside me lay

To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so

I watched my leaden soldiers go,

With different uniforms and drills,

Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets

All up and down among the sheets;

Or brought my trees and houses out,

And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still

That sits upon the pillow-hill,

And sees before him, dale and plain,

The pleasant land of counterpane.

Answer 2

Answer:

Summary

Explanation:

Imagination can be described as one’s ability to be creative. Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, “The Land of Counterpane” uses the theme of imagination to express the childhood experience of being bored and sick at home (topic). This topic is evident throughout the poem as the speaker (the sick child) describes how his bedspread is the land where his toys come to life, helping him to defeat the boredom and dullness that comes with being sick at home.

In stanza one the reader is introduced to the idea that the boy’s toys are used as entertainment throughout the day, “And all my toys…all the day”. In stanza two the reader can start to see the boy’s imagination come to life as he watches and describes his soldiers and how they perform drills amongst the hills of his sheets.

The speaker uses metaphor in order to express the abstract idea of his bedspread being a hilly landscape. By indirectly comparing the two (bedspread and hilly landscape) the speaker has created a land where all of his toys can come to life, therefore the concept of imagination is carried throughout the poem not only through the creation of this landscape but as the speaker’s toys continue to explore them.

In this poem a rhyming couplet, AA, BB, CC etc., has been used to create rhythm and energy. Instead of using a rhyming scheme that creates a dull mood, the rhyming couplet created energy that illustrates the entertainment created by the boy’s imagination. Through the use of the rhyming couplet, strong imagery has been created, allowing the reader to visualise in detail the imaginative scenes created by the boy (S1,L2-L3 and S3, L1-2).

“I was the giant great and still” indicates to the reader that the boy is the illustrator that brings his toys to life, creating action and various stories. The word “still” suggests that although his imagination is running wild, he is not well and remains calm in bed as he recovers.

This poem allows the reader to see into the world of a child’s imagination and how it not only entertains him but brings him a sense of peace and makes him feel in good spirits while sitting in bed recovering.