American & Smart Language Schools

1.

AMERICAN & SMART Language Schools
Department of English
Grade 9
First Term
Poetry
Poem 2
Let Peace be in your Heart
By
Mary Hession

2.

Mary Hession is an English poetess, living in
England. She writes about love and peace.

3.

4.

Vocabulary:
race
: a group of people who
share culture, language and history
creed
: a set of beliefs or
religion
divine
: holy
sacred
: from God
seed
: source
flow
: to move smoothly

5.

Summary:
The poet tells us that our hearts should be
filled with love and faith so humanity can be like one
whole,regardless of the difference in colour, race,
religion or any other factor that usually differentiates
people.
Love should flow among us like air from family
members to other people to nature and animals in a
loving peaceful circle, because love connects
everything on earth and creats peace and faith.

6.

The poet starts by addressing the readers
and inviting them to have a peaceful
heart. She continues by explaining that
“we” human beings are all “one” and that
nothing should differentiate us, whether it
is colour, race or creed. A heart has
nothing to do with other materialistic
concerns.

7.

Paraphrase
In the second stanza the poet conveys
the idea that “love” should “flow”
From one person to the other,
regardless of their relationship or the
differences they may have. She believes
that everything was created to be one
loving family.

8.

Paraphrase
Finally, the poet ends the poem by
comparing the growth of the oceans,
seas and trees with the love created
within “us” to be shared. She urges the
readers to “care” for people around
them and treat them with love, in order
for everyone to live lovingly in peace.

9.

Rhyme Scheme:
aabb ccdd
eeff

10.

Figures of Speech:
The use of alliteration contributes strongly to the rhythm and
directs the attention to particular words.
• Alliteration: Repetition of consonant “s” sound as in
(We come from one source, the divine sacred seed)
[ Line 4 ]
It gives music to appeal our sense of
hearing.
• Alliteration: Repetition of consonant “f” & “l” sound as in
(Let love flow from one to another)
[ Line 5 ]
It gives music to appeal our sense of
hearing.
• Allusion
“The divine sacred seed” is an allusion to Adam and the idea
that human beings came from “sacred seed”, meaning that we
all came from one person, Adam.

11.

Symbols
• Love:
The poet uses the symbol of love throughout the poem to explain
how important it is for anyone to survive, regardless of who they
are and what their relationship is with another loving person.
Themes
1• Love
The poet centralises her poem around the importance of love and
how love is shared among people.
2• Nature
The poet uses nature, “oceans”, “seas” and “trees”, to convey how
love is a natural aspect in life.

12.

Form and Metre
The poem is written in iambic tetrameter. It’s a
type of metre in which there are four iambs.
The rhyme scheme is AA BB. This means
that in each four-line stanza, the first two lines
rhyme (A), and the last two lines rhyme (B).
Rhyming pairs are called couplets. When two
couplets are put together, a four-lined stanza
called a quatrain is formed. This combination
reflects the simplicity and the complexity of the
poem. It shows that even simple words can
contain deep thoughts and observations about
human nature. This creats harmony and music
throughout the poem.