HE HAD SUCH QUIET EYES BY BIBSY SOENHARJO He had such quiet eyes She did not realise They

were two pools of lies Layered with thinnest ice To her, those quiet eyes Were breathing desolate sighs Imploring her to be nice And to render him paradise If only she'd been wise And had listened to the ad ice !e er to compromise With pleasure"see#ing guys She'd be free from $the hows and whys$ !ow here's a bit of ad ice %e sure that nice really means nice Then you'll ne er be losing at dice Though you may lose your heart once or twice EXPLANATION ON THE VOCABULARY &' sighs ( long, deep audible breaths )' eyes ( a pair of organs of sight *' ad ice ( guidance +' desolate ( unhappy and uninhabited ,' pleasure"see#ing ( loo#ing for a feeling of happy satisfaction -' dice ( a small cube with each side ha ing a different number ranging from & to .' layered ( arranged in layers /' lies ( intentional false statements 0' realise ( become aware &1' compromise ( agree &&' paradise ( hea en &)' render ( pro ide or gi e help &*' imploring ( begging desperately &+' wise ( ha ing #nowledge and good 2udgement SYNOPSIS (ACCORDING TO STANZA) STANZA 1 The woman is ta#en up with his 3quiet eyes4' The eyes mesmerise and beg her to 3be nice4 to him and ma#e him e5tremely happy, that is 3render him paradise4' The poet uses a ery long imagery of the eyes 3breathing desolate sighs4 to enhance the effect of the eyes on the girl' The woman, being enamoured with those eyes, does not notice he is decei ing her' It would not be difficult to see through the man if the woman had her feet on the ground because the eyes ha e only the 3thinnest ice4, easy to brea# through to learn the man4s true nature'

STANZA 2 Something has happened to the woman and she has learnt the truth about the man' The poet suggests that she has learnt the hard way that is she learns her lesson through bad e5perience' She has made a mista#e of trusting the man because she has refused to listen to the ad ice not 3to compromise4, that is, lower her standards or e5pectations in order to please a man who seduces women' STANZA 3 The poet e5tends her friendly ad ice to women to understand what is meant by 3nice4 what it means when men are 3nice4 to you' When he is 3nice4, friendly and pleasant to you, ma#e sure that he is sincere and trustworthy and not because he has ulterior moti e, that is he wants something from you in return' The poet further comments that lo e may be a gamble as suggested in 3dice4, you ta#e your chances with someone, you may find true lo e or you may not' The important issue here is that ultimately you ha e not lost anything because you ha e not compromised, you are not decei ed' SETTING !o particular place or time is mentioned but the poem relates a situation that can happen to anyone passing through the adolescent stage of life when physical impression and attractions are at their highest' The eyes can re eal many things about a person's inner feelings and emotions' they are the window to a person's soul' The adolescent's perception of such feelings is heightened at this stage' THEMES Strong 6oral 7alues and Self"8espect The woman in the poem got herself into a difficult situation and was cheated by a man because she ga e in to his pleading and his insincere lies' She displayed wea#ness in her moral standing and lost her self"respect as a result' We should ne er lower our self" esteem no matter how much we li#e a man' If a man has respect for the woman he lo es, he too would not as# her to do what is morally wrong' 9eception in Appearances The woman is ta#en in by the man4s gentle and quiet eyes' She thin#s he is a truthful and trustworthy person' The theme in this poem focuses on deception in appearances' 9o not 2udge a person4s character by his appearance' As can be seen in this poem, a gentle and #ind"loo#ing man can actually be a wolf in sheep4s clothing' :onsequences When we ma#e mista#es in life, we ha e to li e with the consequences' The persona tells us that the woman is haunted with questions of 3hows and whys4' She probably as#s herself e ery day how she could ha e fallen for his lies; how she could ha e forgotten the moral alues instilled in her by her parents; how she could ha e ignored all the ad ice gi en to her by people who lo e and care about her' She would probably also wonder why she had not been wiser in her choice of men; why she did not see through his deception and insincerity'

Listen to Ad ice The poet wants to reach out to all young readers' The woman in the poem wished she 3had listened to the ad ice4' She poured out her disappointment, frustration and hurt in this poem and wished she had 3been wise4' The poet cautions young readers that they should not be impulsi e in their actions and they should, abo e all, listen to the ad ice of their elders so that they would not end up li#e the woman ( full of regrets' MORAL VALUES A oid %eing 9eluded by Loo#s or Appearance < We sometimes encounter people who ha e ill intentions towards us' < These are con men who prey on young women' < They loo# nice and decent but ha e bad moti es' < So we should ta#e precaution against them' < We should not 2udge a boo# by its co er' Listen to %eneficial Ad ice < We are gi en good ad ice when others feel that we need it' < We should listen to their ad ice' < The ad ice is for our own good' < It pre ents us from getting hurt or getting into trouble' TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE "8eflecti e, sympathetic, sad and happy' "The tone is one of gi ing ad ice' In the poem, the person is not wise enough to follow the ad ice and is now entangled in a difficult situation' POINT OF VIE Second and third person points of iew LANGUAGE ! STYLE " Simple and easy to understand " Simple style with rhyming scheme Symbolism a= >uiet eyes? "represents deceitful intentions "eyes that do not show much emotion b= @aradise ? "a state of bliss "represents the state of ecstacy c= @leasure see#ing guys? "represents men who decei e innocent women with their appearance'

6etaphor a= Two pools of lies? "this is compared to deceit' b= The hows and whys? "a difficult situation where solutions are not easily found' c= Losing at dice? " Losing at a games of chance " Life is a gamble @ersonification a= Ayes breathing desolate sighs? "eyes that pour out sadness DISCUSSION Birst thing come to mind after reading this poem was about the seducti e and lustful lo e' !ot to del e to deep into that, let us discuss on the surface le el only' The poem discusses on the eyes of a man, alluring, seducti e and dangerous'The connotation of two pools of lies layered with the thinnest ice strongly suggested that the man eyes is ery decei ing, deep, calm but dangerous, 2ust li#e a pool in winter' It may loo# in iting and peaceful to see a still la#e, but when you try to wal# on the thin ice, it will brea# and you will drown in the icy cold water' Another connection was the term CAyes are windows to the soulD thus here, the icy eyes shows that the man ha e a cold, ruthless heart, ready to gobble up gullible woman' The eyes also quiet EstealthyFunderlying intentionFudang sebali# mee= and imploring EdomineeringFcontrollingFpowerful=' Second stanGa, young woman are too gullible, naH e and easily influenced Efirst hand e5perience= especially concerning with lo e and emotions' Thus, the ad ice was !A7A8 to compromise with the wrong guys' This is because the Chows and whysD a'#'a the art of seduction is something that will entangle the woman in its webs for a long time' And the man with this #nowledge will not only suc# the woman dry emotionally, but also physically, financially and then toss her aside, useless, bro#en and aluelessIThe last stanGa, !ice mean nice ? no underlying intention, truthful and honest' Then you'll ne er be losing at dice? lo e is a ris# ta#en by both side, they ta#e turns throwing the Cdice of lifeD and if the woman is smart, she will be safe in the relationship' Though you may lose your heart once or twice? this is the ris# in lo e, but bro#en heart can still be mended, but there are things in a girl that once bro#en, fore er gone'