Compare the ways feelings are presented in two poems from List A and two from List B.
A- Hitcher, Kid, Anne Hathaway, Salome
B- The Laboratory, On my first Duchess, On my first Sonne, The Affliction of Margaret
Feelings are presented in all poems; across all areas of literature. Poems are essentially a poet’s vehicle in expressing their personal opinion, exploring a wider message. These feelings are exemplified via the clever use of structure and language techniques. ‘Hitcher’ by Simon Armitage, ‘The Laboratory’ by Robert Browning, ‘Anne Hathaway’ by Carol Anne Duffy and ‘On my first Sonne’ by Ben Jonson all express feelings; although many of the prominent themes contrast each other.
The structure in ‘Hitcher’ consists of five 5-line stanzas all of which contain a similar sentence length pattern. This common structure is reflective of the society the narrator lives in; the society he resents – “ I’d been tired, under the weather” showing us the protagonist’s critical approach to society in that the working world causes you to have to follow a certain axiom. ‘The Laboratory’s’ structure is also set around a certain number of lines, which in this case is four. These stanzas however, incorporate varying sentence length, relating to the fragmented and confused mind of the woman. Both poems use enjambment to show the feelings depicted by the poems central character; in ‘Hitcher’ it is used to highlight the constant flow of consciousness inherited by the driver, suggesting that the driver is perfectly aware of the atrocities he very soon commits and therefore relating to the idea that nobody is born evil, it is rather the experiences in life which cause these crimes to be undertook. This idea is accentuated by the fact that up until the third stanza, the audience are unaware that the driver is a murderer – the ticking of time being the main culprit for the drivers twisted mind. Similarly, ‘The Laboratory’ uses a sense of time progressing: Roman numerals to show what a murderer goes through to take part in such horrific “invisible pleasures”. However the numerals may not be representing the events leading up to a murder, but instead acts as a justification for her actions; she may simply by stating her reasoning behind her monstrous plans. The poet may therefore be highlighting that murder is a result of unpleasant events in life, similar to that of ‘Hitcher’ and that extreme emotions can lead to disastrous, horrific crimes. ‘Anne Hathaway’ and ‘On my first Sonne’ both use structure to deliver feelings of a different nature to that of the previous poems mentioned. ‘Anne Hathaway’ is set out like a sonnet; possibly a homage to Shakespeare himself, expressing how the love they shared was like “diving for pearls”. The fact that Duffy decided to set the poem out in sonnet form may be a link to the idea that only the positive aspects should be recounted once a loved one has deceased. Similarly, ‘On my first Sonne’ is written as a eulogy to his son and “his best piece of poetrie” highlights the poets feeling of only picking up on fond memories, admirable aspects of their loved ones. Jonson also uses rhyming couplets such as ‘joy’ and ‘boy’ and ‘such’ and ‘much’ to portray the respectful feeling the poem inherits. In contrast ‘Anne Hathaway’ has no rhyme scheme; but instead of mocking Shakespeare it merely shows the beauty of the relationship and how the couple required no added extras – “the next best bed” – were needed for their love to work.
