In Faithless Sally Brown the points that it is making are that women are fickle. We know this because in stanza thirteen it says ‘But when he called on Sally Brown, To see how she went on, He found she’d got another Ben, Whose Christian name was John.’ Women in those days don’t want to be on their own and feel they need someone to be there with them. She didn’t know that he was coming back and two years is a long time to be on her own. Another point is that men are faithful. We know this because when Ben got back from the navy he wanted to go back to Sally Brown. Ben was away for two years and could have easily found a new woman to be with but his heart was set for Sally Brown but she was with john. The final point is that breaking up is hard to do. We know this because in stanza sixteen line 63-64: His head was turn’d and so he chewed, His pigtail till he died. Ben was so hurt tat Sally Brown dumped him and he really loved her so died because Sally Brown broke his heart.
In ‘On the Departure Platform’ the points that it is making are breaking up is hard. To do we know this because in stanza five: We have penned new plans since that fair fond day, And in season she will appear again, Perhaps in the same soft white array, But never as then. This stanza tells us that although his girlfriend would be coming back and she is only going away for a short time he is still really court up about it and doesn’t really want her to go. He could have different ideas in his head of what he thinks she might get up to. The second point is that when you are in love you are in your own little world. We know this because in stanza five: We have penned new plans since that fair fond day, And in season she will appear again, Perhaps in the same soft white array, But never as then. He loved this woman and because he loves her he knew she was going to come back. He trusted her.
The images that ‘Faithless Sally Brown’ implies are in the first stanza Ben says that he loves Sally Brown the maid but we don’t really get the implication that Sally Brown really loves him. Until stanza 6 when she is crying because he is gone and if she didn’t love him she wouldn’t be crying. Although Sally Brown loves Ben she didn’t want to be one her own and couldn’t wait for him to get back so she found another man to be with but when Ben got back from the navy he was devastated that his relationship was over. The poem also gives us an image that Ben is very hurt about the break up and in conclusion to this he died of a broken heart because he was so devoted to the one girl that he loved. This poem is a narrative poem and balled like but doesn’t include the main rules. The rhyming pattern of the poem is regular rhyme of ABCB. This poem uses colloquialism.
The images ‘On the Departure Platform’ gives are that: in stanza one he really doesn’t want girlfriend to go away for a short period of time which shows that he is really committed to the relationship. He also watches her moment growing distant and when she is moving through the train. We also get an image that the girl is ghost like because he describes her as ‘soft white arrays’ and also says that she will appear like just out of nowhere. The poet uses alliteration and repetition in the poem to make the poem more effective. It is written in stanzas. This poem is a ballad type poem but doesn’t fit it with all the requirements. The rhyming pattern of this poem is ABAB.
I think that ‘Faithless Sally Brown’ is a very sad poem. It gave me a very strong image about how it explores relationships. It explores relationships as far as a man who is very much does so in love with his girlfriend. He doesn’t want to leave her to go to the navy but he has no choice. He expected when he got back to have his girlfriend who he had never stopped loving and thought about everyday to be waiting for him with open arms but to his horror find that she has moved on and got another boyfriend. The relationship at the beginning of the poem the relationship was running smoothly I didn’t really expect that she would go off with another man and leave Ben to die of a broken heart. The language the poet used was very effective.
I think that ‘On the Departure Platform’ is also another very sad poem just like ‘Faithless Sally Brown’. It explores relationship in the same way that ‘Faithless Sally Brown’ does. The down side of the relationships when you are not with the one you love and respect for what ever amount of time and for whatever reason it may be. The relationship in this poem needed a break for a little bit so the girlfriend went away but was to return in a short amount of time. The boyfriend wasn’t really that happy about it but she was still going.
My overall view of both of the poems is that all relationships can have their good times but they all do have their hard times. Whether it is splitting up and just having a break for a while. In both of the poems the man gets hurt in some way.
