In Romney Marsh looks at both historical time and at the time of day. Firstly he opposes the newly constructed telegraph wire as he quotes “ringing shrilly taut and lithe”. He obviously thinks that the telegraph wire stands out from all the natural beauty surrounding it, we know this because he describes the countryside as being very picturesque “The upper air like sapphire glowed”. Also he thinks that it sticks out because of the shrill noise it makes, a noise that would not fit into the peaceful countryside.
He also describes the time of day so that the reader can picture a vivid image in their mind. “I heard the south sing o’er the land” this shows that it is morning and that the sun is just rising. Because the poet describes the time of day so accurately it draws the reader in and helps them to picture the scene.
Balance Sheet by John Montague is set out as balance sheet that an accountant would use- a column for loss and a column for gain. In this way Montague has recorded items of loss and items of gain. What the poet is saying is that the balance sheet is not balanced because there is more loss than gain from the new road being built. The poet creates a sense of time by using this structure, as it is a part of modern commerce so he is saying that everything is becoming modernised which he doesn’t like.
Some of the language that he uses also helps to create a sense of time. In the Gain column it says “the prefabricated suburbs of bypassed villages”
The poet makes it sound as if the houses are all the same- all ready made in factories with no character. The “bypassed villages” give the impression of small villages that have been forgotten, as people no longer need to drive through them as they are bypassed by larger roads.
The poem A Major Road for Romney Marsh is set out not as a balance sheet, although it does have two columns, but more as a conversation between two people. On the left hand side would be the person who lives in Romney and on the right the developers who want to build the road.
The language on the left-hand side is poetic and descriptive “It is a kingdom, a continent nowhere is like it” It sounds as though they really love Romney and think that it is the best place in the world. In comparison the language on the right is harsh and robotic “Ripe for development”. This person obviously does not care about Romney and sees it only as a way of making money.
The language that the poet uses in the right column is very interesting because it is all shortened as if it were “text speak” or modern communications. For instance it says “sgns syng T’Den, F’Stone, C’Bury”. Because all the words are shortened it gives the impression of little time to talk and also very little emotion. In this way the poet is able to convey to readers the sense of time.
In Romney Marsh; which focuses on the time of day, the poet tells the readers what the time of day is by using the position of the sun. “I saw the yellow sunlight fall” “the crimson bands of sunset fall” the poet does not actually say that it is morning or evening but he uses words to describe what the scene looks like so that readers know that it is morning or evening. The poet does not really convey the sense of historical time. All he says is that he opposes the new telegraph wire, we know this as he says, “shrill the wire”.
Each of the poets is opposed to an advance in new technology of some sort. Though their thoughts are different their ideas are very similar and they all see the change as a threat.
Also each of the poets tries to convince the reader that they are right by using language to influence our thoughts and feelings. My favourite poem is In Romney Marsh by John Davidson. I prefer this poem to the others as it has both rhyme and rhythm and the poet describes in such vivid detail the things that he can see that I can picture it perfectly in my mind. He uses lots of poetic devices such as similes, metaphors and personification to describe in great detail Romney Marsh and everything he sees around him.
