Fleur Adcock Poetry - Weathering Analysis. Write a detailed appreciation of Weathering, showing how it is characteristic of Adcocks poetic methods and concerns

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English Exam Essay

Paper 52 – Fleur Adcock Poetry

1(b) Write a detailed appreciation of ‘Weathering’, showing how it is characteristic of Adcock’s

        poetic methods and concerns

Plan

1/ Introduction (We have all felt it, etc.)         5/2nd Stanza (transition in tone, place discussion)

2/ 1st Stanza (provocative opening lines)        6/ 3rd Stanza (imagery)

3/ 1st Stanza 2 (beauty standards, caesura)     7/ 4th  Stanza (figurative language, message)

4/2nd Stanza (Anti-romantic, personal life ref)    8/ Personal Response (quote, reader resp., inspirational)

We have all felt insecure about our appearance. No matter how much one denies it, it is inevitable that in a world where appearance seems to mean everything, everyone at some point or another has experienced insecurity and diffidence towards their body image. In arguably her most famous piece of poetry, Fleur Adcock addresses her own personal experience with the standards of beauty in ‘Weathering’. Here, she employs her distinctive poetic methods of provocative openings, strong critical tone, naturalistic imagery, enticing figurative and strictly conventional structures in order to intertwine her most recurring thematic concerns of nature, anti-romanticism and place.

In typically provocative Adcock style (as seen in ‘A Way Out’ with “The other options to become a bird”),  ‘Weathering’ commences with the thought provoking lines “Literally thin skinned, I suppose, my face/ catches the wind off the snow line and flushes/ with a flush that will never wholly settle”. Readers are immediately captivated by her affirmation of psychological strength despite physical weakness in her first three words. She confidently states the thin condition of her skin while ardent to avoid any misconceptions through the figurative cliché of being “thin skinned” that indicates emotional weakness. Additionally arresting is the naturalistic imagery of “the wind off the snowline and flushes with a flush that will never wholly settle” which also stimulates immediate attention in showing her gracious acceptance of the natural process of aging that the wind has caused. Her use of the “wind” is potentially a strikingly symbolic reference to aging being an uncontrollable force like the wind, or a literal reference to the physical effect of wind on the skin. Though in this introductory stanza Adcock uses typically provocative techniques and establishes her characteristic theme of nature and it’s processes, the stanza distinguishes ‘Weathering’ from her other poems in being much more personal– where the primary focus is not just her personal relationships with her family and men, but rather she explores the more personal issue of how she sees herself both emotionally and physically. It is this unique purpose of ‘Weathering’ which furthermore intrigues one to pursue reading the poem.  

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The pressure concerning beauty and appearance is immense, where throughout history there has always been a specific standard for everyone to be measured and rated against, from Marilyn Monroe in the 50s to today where being thin is actively encouraged by the media. To show her defiance of these standards, Adcock writes “Well: /that was a metropolitan vanity,/wanting to look young for ever, to pass.”, using the caesuraic “:” and line differentiation to vividly distinguish her acceptance of aging, from the metropolitan vanity which permeates the mentality of western cultures, especially in women.  

Adcock extends her strong criticism ...

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