This line portrays that even after two years; the death of his wife has not made any impact on his life at all, as well as showing to the reader the son’s disbelief at his father’s actions.
Harrison’s concentration on his father’s actions then continues, when he expresses how his father clears away his wife’s things when people come round to visit. The reader is given reason to believe that he does this just to make it look like he has stopped grieving for her when he really has not.
‘You couldn’t just drop in. You had to phone...
to clear away her things and look alone.’
The reader is now aware that the father knows that she is dead but he does not want to stop grieving for her, he therefore clears away her belongings to look alone. Harrison then adds the last line of what he thinks his father is thinking.
‘as though raw love were such a crime.’
The third quatrain expresses the father’s actions while in the company of his son. The boy tells the reader how his father tries to make sure that his son is not aware of his actions. However, the boy is aware of his fathers’ actions.
‘He couldn’t risk my blight of disbelief.’
In the last quatrain, the focus of love is from the viewpoint of the son. The theme of love moves from the lost love of the Harrison’s father for his mother to Harrison’s lost love for his father. This love is represented by the boys’ actions such as repeatedly ringing the disconnected number in his new black leather phone book even though he does not get a reply.
‘In my new black leather phone book there’s your name
and the disconnected number I still call’.
The theme of love for lost ones within the family triangle is carried throughout the poem but from a different viewpoint in the last quatrain.
Similarly, in Claude McKay’s The Barrier the theme of love is for someone who cannot be reached because of his or her race. This is emphasised by using such words in the first quatrain like,
‘I must not...I hear but...’
The first quatrain is describing what he can and cannot do even though he wants a relationship with the other person. This is achieved with the use of similes. Claude McKay’s use of similes shows the love he has for the other person. He compares her features to settings such as the dawning day.
‘Your eyes are dawning day’
These words are repeated throughout the poem to express his desire to hear and see the person he admires, however he cannot be with them because of the race. His description of the person he admires shows the reader exactly how he feels,
Claude McKay’s description of love carries on through to the second verse. In this verse he describes her voice and once again uses a simile,
‘...fluting like a river reed’
The way he describes their voice is calm and relaxed. However, he then states the tone of voice,
‘Comes from your trembling throat’
This line shows the reader that even though he likes her voice he is aware that he should not hear her, as she is scared in case she is caught.
In the next verse, Claude McKay again states what he is not allowed to do. He portrays that he can see the love on the other persons face but he should not.
‘I must not see upon your face
Loves softly glowing spark.’
The use of I must shows the reader that he wants to see them and talk to them but he must prevent this.
The reader becomes aware of the love between him and the other person. McKay then makes it clear why they cannot be together in the last two lines of the final verse,
‘For there’s is the barrier of race
You’re fair and I am dark’.
This shows the reader even though there is a ‘spark’ between them they cannot get together because of the Barrier of race even though the love is so great. The love described in this poem is between two different races.
However, in Claude McKays I Shall Return the theme of love is not for someone, but for something, his homeland, Jamaica. The first line of the sonnet immediately explains to the reader the purpose of the poem,
‘I shall return again I shall return’.
The repetition of these words ‘I shall return again’ shows the reader that he has been there before and he is going to go back. The word ‘again’ shows the reader that he is reminiscing the time he was in Jamaica and that he wants to return. The first quatrain of the sonnet is about the things that he can remember about his homeland, in particular the atmosphere.
‘At golden noon the forest fires burn,
Wafting their blue-black smoke to sapphire skies.’
This description picks out the good times he had there and the desire to return to view the setting again. The strong use of colour enables the reader to imagine quite easily the setting as well as McKays love for his homeland.
The second quatrain, again describes the atmosphere but this time the setting. He describes how he would relax and what surroundings helped him achieve this feeling.
‘I shall return to loiter by the streams
That bathe the brown blades of the bending grasses.’
The description of setting is described in every quatrain as with the next one. The representation in this quatrain is about the sounds he can hear.
‘I shall return to hear the fiddle fife...
Stray melodies of dim remembered tunes.’
The last line of the verse ‘dim remembered’ gives the reader a reason to why he wants to return now, they are aware that he is losing memory of his homeland, therefore he wishes to return before he forgets everything.
The last rhyming couplet at the end is about Claude McKay and his reason for wanting to return.
‘I shall return. I shall return again
To ease my mind of long, long years of pain.’
The repetition of I shall return shows the reader that this is exactly what he wants therefore he shall return. This description shows his strong devotion to his homeland. His reason for going is to ease his mind of pain; this description allows the reader to understand why he wants to return and adds a solemn ending to the poem.
‘To ease my mind of long, long years of pain’.
By repeating, the same line at the beginning of the sonnet in this last verse further enforces the emphasis of McKay’s strong desire to return to his homeland. He repeats this to highlight to the reader that he will return one day.
‘I shall return...’
The form of this type of poem is that of a normal poem, which consists of four quatrains. The structure of Tony Harrison’s rhyming pattern is very basic yet effective. His rhyme scheme goes as follows, ABABCDCDEFEFGHHG.
Similarly, in Claude McKays the Barrier the structure just has three verses, which consist of four lines. Again the rhyme scheme is similar, ABABABABABAB. However, in I Shall Return the poem is a sonnet. The sonnet consists of fourteen lines. These lines are broken down into four verses, the first three verses consist of four lines, and the last line consists of two lines. The rhyme pattern goes, ABABCDCDEFEFGG.
Long Distance contains few poetic devices. In the first quatrain Harrison seems to mock his fathers actions by saying,
‘...still went to renew her transport pass’.
The use of the word ‘still’ shows that the boy does not think that he should be doing that as it serves no purpose. He teases him further in the third quatrain where he illustrates to the reader the fact that he his father knows that she is dead,
‘He knew she’d just popped out to get the tea’
In the last quatrain, he says,
‘You haven’t both gone shopping; just the same’
He is rebuking his fathers’ lack of cleverness, however, with a semicolon separating the two thoughts, which indicates that he, ironically, has gained the same fault as his father.
In Claude McKays, the Barrier the poetic device expressed throughout the poem is the passion for the opposite person. Throughout the poem similes are used to achieve this, such as,
‘Your eyes are dawning day...
fluting like a river reed...’
These poetic devices are used to highlight his passion for the other person.
In I Shall Return, there is a lot of alliteration used throughout the poem.
‘To laugh and love and watch with wonder eyes...
blue-black smoke to sapphire skies...
That bathe the brown blades of the bending grasses...
fiddle and fife...
dances dear delicious...
long, long...’
The use of alliteration emphasises life in the country and creates a stronger image in the readers mind.
