Unseen poetry: The Richest Poor Man in the Valley

AQA. Q27.1

This week, I’ve responded to a request from a subscriber to write a model response to an unseen poetry question.

This is just the first part of the question, but rest assured I’ll provide a response to the second part next Tuesday.

Here is a link to the paper where you can read the poem. Note, it’s the last question.

I would recommend reading the question and poem first, the guidance and then my model response.

Guidance

1. Spend at least 5 minutes annotating the poem, summarizing the key idea or ideas in each stanza. Additionally, note down key literary devices or words and phrases that you can analyse in your essay.

2. Make a meaningful comment about structure by evaluating the poet’s focus in the opening and closing stanzas as I model. Poets always think carefully about how they begin and end their poems, and you are far more likely to make a meaningful comment about structure comparing the opening and closing stanzas than waffling about enjambement.

3. Write approximately one paragraph for each stanza depending on the length of the poem and the number of stanzas of course. My essay is structured like this:

Introduction

Analysis of the title

Analysis of the opening stanza

Analysis of the next two stanzas

Analysis of the closing stanza

Comparison of the opening and last stanza

Summary

Question

In ‘The Richest Poor Man in the Valley’, how does the poet present ideas about living a happy and contented life?

Photo by Donald Teel on Unsplash

Response

The poet suggests that you can live a very simple life but still be content. In fact, they even go further and suggest that a poor and simple life is more likely to yield a figuratively rich life. In this essay, I will explore how these ideas are communicated through oxymoron, simile, metaphor and contrast.

First, the title 'The Richest Poor Man in The Valley' uses oxymoron to suggest that counterintuitively a poor life can still be a rich one in other, more meaningful ways. For example, rich in friendship, the companionship of pets and a life spent outdoors in the countryside.

In the opening stanza, the poet then contrasts the man's appearance with how he feels on the inside. Outside, 'his face was like a weather map'. This simile suggests that the man has spent a lot of time outdoors and his hard life shows on his face. He is literally weather beaten. Yet, while his face is wrinkled and aged, on the inside 'his heart was fat with sun'. This metaphor suggests that he is abundant with joy. While looking at Harry on the outside, we might think that his hard life has brought him suffering; yet in contrast, inside he is still joyful.

In the next stanza, the poet continues to subvert societal expectations presenting the man's simple but hard life as one which is still happy. For example, the man seems to only need his two dogs for company. They help him to stay happy: 'with his two dogs, he cleared a thin silver path across the Black Mountain'. The poet suggests his dogs are loyal companions and the metaphor of them clearing a path suggests they help him to overcome difficulties or pain. The black mountain perhaps symbolizes obstacles. Additionally, the sheep could also metaphorically symbolize melancholy feelings which the dogs help to drive away.

In the penultimate stanza, the poet contrasts other people's desires and wants to Harry's desires. The poet lists what other people prize ‘like money, houses, bank accounts and lies.’ Through this list, the poet presents the typical superficial markers of success and happiness and through the use of rhyme ('prize' and 'lies') evokes a condescending and critical tone, subtly signposting that these are not the things that people should prize. In fact it's a lie that these things will bring you happiness. The tone here perhaps reflects Harry’s own contempt for the striving of superficial material possessions. This suggests that Harry actively chooses to content himself with a simple and austere life.

Finally, in the last stanza, at his funeral, the tears of his friends are likened to ‘thousand diamonds’. Through the comparison of the tears to diamonds, which are the ultimate symbol of luxury and wealth, the poet implies that those tears are worth far more than any material possessions. This metaphor emphasises the underlying idea in the poem that the legacy we leave through our relationships and the positive influence we have on others is far more significant than financial riches.

Additionally, the focus on the faces of Harry’s friends at his funeral contrasts with the opening description of Harry’s rugged countenance. The poet perhaps deliberately contrasts Harry’s face with his friends’ faces in the opening and closing stanzas to emphasise the idea that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. In the opening stanza, the poet suggests that we would likely misjudge how happy and content Harry is through our first impression of him. Then in the last stanza, this idea is underscored by the image of Harry’s friends grieving at his funeral, which suggests that many people loved him. Though his face was ‘like a weather map’ and he might have looked sad and brow-beaten, his life was rich in companionship.

In summary, Harry's story serves as a reminder that contentment comes from within and is shaped primarily by the love and connections we cultivate throughout our lives. Material possession might bring us happiness in the short term but not contentment.

Word count: 666 😈 Interest fact: the number 666 is actually a lucky number in Chinese and can even mean awesome in internet slang!

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If you found this response awesome, you can like it and if you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section of my Substack.

Best,

Morgan