Compare the way four poets write about events which have happened to them

In this essay I am going to compare four different poems on the theme of events that have occurred and how they are displayed. I will explore the different methods and techniques used by the poet to convey the story and event. I am going to compare, “The Affliction of Margaret”, “On my first Sonne”, “Mid-Term Break” and “Cold Knap Lake”.

In The Affliction of Margaret, the tone is set almost immediately, because the reader is asked a question, “Where art thou, my beloved Son” this is the first line of the poem and it suggest that the character has lost her son, because she is questioning “where art thou”, from this we see that the poem is based on a mother and son theme. “Where art thou, worse to me than dead?” here the poet questions the audience, by using a rhetorical question, this technique involves the read more emotionally. The quotation shows that her son is missing, and the idea that it is on the same level of being dead, if not worse because having your child missing, creates a false hope that they will return, whereas knowing they are dead, will allow you to come to terms with it, and your mind will be at peace even though there has been a indescribable loss. The length of this poem supports the theme of the poem, because there are 11 stanza’s which are fairly long. This unusual size for a poem support the idea that the poet’s mind is not at rest, so he keeps going on and on, whereas if she knew her son was dead, she would not go on. The idea that Margaret does not care about her pride “pride shall help me in my wrong” – all she wants is his son back shows the strength of the relationship the mother and son had. “seven years, alas!” this states that the boy has been missing for 7 years, which creates a depth of pain, because she has been wondering with her mind not at rest about her son’s being. “Why am I ignorant?” this supports the idea of not knowing because she is questioning why she can’t accept that her son may never return. In the second stanza, we are told that he was her only son, “no tidings of an only child” – this make the poem more emotional because we are left with the idea that Margaret is left alone. In the second stanza she’s feels tricked with thoughts of happiness “and be for evermore beguiled”. Each stanza in this poem has a different tone on the same theme, an example of this is in the second stanza, there is a tone of being tricked and miserable, whereas in the third stanza, Margaret begins to praise her son “Ingenuous, innocent, and bold”. in the sixth stanza there is a feeling that she may have accepted her son is gone, because she is almost writing a letter to her child, saying how she should be thought of – “think not of me with grief and pain”. The seventh stanza suggest a idea of heaven and god “fowls of heaven” shows how she wishes her son could simply fly home, but is tied down to the earth – “chains ties us down by land and sea”. The poem is long because of her uncertainty.

On my first Sonne is similar to The Affliction of Margaret because they are both about children, but this is different because the boy has died, and is not missing. Knowing your child is dead removes all the thoughts and questions running through the mind of the parent. There is no chance that the child will return so it also removes any hopes, where as having your child missing, creates a hope that they will return, or several scenarios are created such as Whats happened to my son?, all the bad things that may of happened. All these negative ...

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In “On my first Sonne” contains several methods to explain the event that has happened, “Farewell, thou child of my right hand…” this tells the reader that he has already lost a child. This poem is fairly emotional and plays with the concept of death. Jonson refers to his son as a sin – “my sinne was too much hope of thee” - this shows that Jonson has accepted the death of his son. “Seven yeeres tho’wert lent to me, and I thee pay” – this shows that Jonson feels that his son was lent to him from God, and his death was just him returning to where he belonged and his death was meant to be. The tone of this poem is much more subtle and peaceful; it is based on how his son was a blessing etc, whereas in The Affliction of Margaret the tone and theme are unsettled and static, because there is a sense of anxiety and distress, because the boy is missing. Ben Jonson sees his son as a piece his best piece of work “… his best piece of poetrie”. Due to his death, Jonson may never enjoy his life again for the fear that he might loose his loved ones – “as what he loves may never like too much”. This is the last line of the poem and suggests the end, because he said he will never be too happy again. So the peak of his life has passed, the poem seems to suggest that Jonson is jealous of his son, and wishes for death so they can be together. The techniques in this poem create a sense of peace and justice, because Ben Jonson is talking about how his son is a blessing and linking him to God. The event of the death of his son is told in a very positive and poetic way. The poem flows smoothly, and contains rhyming couplets; on the other hand in The Affliction of Margaret the event is reflected in a negative way. “I have no other earthly friend” this is the last line of the poem and shows the depression and sadness in Margaret, she feels alone and isolated from the world, because her son was more then a son but also a best friend, so she has lost more then just a son.

In mid-term break, the tone of the poem is set in the second line of the first stanza. “Counting bells knelling classes to a close” – here Heaney uses alliteration, this emphasizes the sounds of the bells at the funereal. The first stanza begins with morning - “I sat all morning...” and only two lines away “At two o’clock…” – this shows how hours have been spent waiting. The first stanza gives the reader the tone and format of the whole poem. The second stanza begins with the image of the father crying, “I met my father crying” this suggests to the reader that it is a rare event because there is a comment about how he takes normal funereal in his stride and do not create a emotional problem for him, “always taken funerals in his stride” – this shows the strong effect death can have on anyone emotionally. “A four foot box, a four for every year” - this represents the death of a four year old child, because he is saying a foot for every year. So the reader understands this as a four year old child has died. This poem reflects on the funeral in a subtle way, the poem does not contain many emotional feelings, and is fairly neutral. The poem is written more as a story then anything else. The poem is very descriptive of the funeral and contains ideas and imagery that have a greater representation.

In “Cold Knap Lake” there is tone of death straight away, “pull a drowned child from the lake” – the death of a child signifies destroying pureness, because children are clean and unspoilt, also describing the death “drowned” adds a element of struggle, because drowning is seen as a very painful way of dying. The poem is very descriptive and contains metaphors that create images in the readers mind. “Blue-lipped and dressed in water’s long green silk” – this is a very imaginative way of describing a young girl that has just be found dead. “Long green silk” represents see weed. “My mother gave a stranger’s child her breath” – this means that the girl was brought back to life by Gillian Clarke’s mother, because she was resuscitated. The idea that she was brought back to life, and when she arrives home is beaten by her father, creates several ideas in the reader’s head, either the girl is being taught a lesson, that she should not be so careless, or she is being abused; this technique involves the reader more. The poem ends on a morbid tone, “in that lake with poor man’s daughter”.

In all four poems there is a sense of death, and the poets are all telling a past event, in The Affliction of Margaret its about her missing son, and all her problems, and her unsettled mind, in On my first Sonne, there is a sense of peace and the rush and uncertainty in The Affliction of Margaret is not there, because Ben Jonson has accept the death of his death, and has justified it, by seeing his son more as a blessing, then a person. Mid-term break is also based on the same theme of death, because it is about a funeral, and the effects is has caused, and in Cold Knap lake, the event is the discovery of a dead girl that is brought back to life. All the poems use metaphors, personification to bring the poem to life to explain their personal events.

Jay Patel Ms Langsmith /