Comment on the way the relationship between individuals and the natural world is presented in Farmhand and She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways.
The poem Farmhand by James K. Baxter is about a self-conscious male who is only at ease when working on the land. In contrast, She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways by William Wordsworth focuses on a girl called Lucy who has just died; she is described using natural metaphors. Baxter wrote his poem in the 20th Century, and Wordsworth wrote his in the 19th Century; despite the different eras both the poems' characters are closely related to nature. Even though Lucy and the Farmhand both seem at first glance very simple, and are ignored and judged by people before they are known by them; deep down they are complex are best understood when considered in relation to their natural environment. Through these poems, both poets express the viewpoint that people shouldn't make assumptions, and that there are personal feelings and experiences beneath the surface.
The poem Farmhand is about a character who feels out of place and uncomfortable when he is around girls, even though he wishes that he had one to make him feel manly and 'run her fingers through his sandy hair'. The Farmhand thinks about them though, as he has 'awkward hopes' and 'envious dreams' that he likes to dwell upon, but that he obviously doesn't tell anyone about as he finds them almost embarrassing. We can see that he is not comfortable around girls and they are not part of his natural environment, as can be seen by the fact he is described as having "awkward dreams," concerning any kind of relationship and his bodily features. However, it is clear that he appreciates them, as indicated by the phrase "drifting like flowers," with the word "flowers" highlighting their beauty. He uses words from his natural environment to describe them. The farmhand's bodily features are unsuited for company around girls, his unappealing hairy hands and sun burnt face are not fit for 'dancing or love-making'; however when ploughing the earth they are perfect and are the obvious result of this hot labour under the sun. His 'hairy hands' are unappealing and clumsy, and he feels as though if he were to touch the girls he might break them, but they are suited to his natural environment on the farm. Baxter tells of how the music tears open an old wound of the Farmhand, a scar that hasn't had a chance to heal and is a painful memory of something his past. The use referring to the heartache that the character is feeling as a 'wound' is effective because it something commonly known, and so the reader of the poem can relate to. The music could be seen as a metaphor for the sun, and the wound as the flower; if this is so, whenever there is music around the wound opens as a flower to the sun.
The poem Farmhand by James K. Baxter is about a self-conscious male who is only at ease when working on the land. In contrast, She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways by William Wordsworth focuses on a girl called Lucy who has just died; she is described using natural metaphors. Baxter wrote his poem in the 20th Century, and Wordsworth wrote his in the 19th Century; despite the different eras both the poems' characters are closely related to nature. Even though Lucy and the Farmhand both seem at first glance very simple, and are ignored and judged by people before they are known by them; deep down they are complex are best understood when considered in relation to their natural environment. Through these poems, both poets express the viewpoint that people shouldn't make assumptions, and that there are personal feelings and experiences beneath the surface.
The poem Farmhand is about a character who feels out of place and uncomfortable when he is around girls, even though he wishes that he had one to make him feel manly and 'run her fingers through his sandy hair'. The Farmhand thinks about them though, as he has 'awkward hopes' and 'envious dreams' that he likes to dwell upon, but that he obviously doesn't tell anyone about as he finds them almost embarrassing. We can see that he is not comfortable around girls and they are not part of his natural environment, as can be seen by the fact he is described as having "awkward dreams," concerning any kind of relationship and his bodily features. However, it is clear that he appreciates them, as indicated by the phrase "drifting like flowers," with the word "flowers" highlighting their beauty. He uses words from his natural environment to describe them. The farmhand's bodily features are unsuited for company around girls, his unappealing hairy hands and sun burnt face are not fit for 'dancing or love-making'; however when ploughing the earth they are perfect and are the obvious result of this hot labour under the sun. His 'hairy hands' are unappealing and clumsy, and he feels as though if he were to touch the girls he might break them, but they are suited to his natural environment on the farm. Baxter tells of how the music tears open an old wound of the Farmhand, a scar that hasn't had a chance to heal and is a painful memory of something his past. The use referring to the heartache that the character is feeling as a 'wound' is effective because it something commonly known, and so the reader of the poem can relate to. The music could be seen as a metaphor for the sun, and the wound as the flower; if this is so, whenever there is music around the wound opens as a flower to the sun.
