'Lament is concerned with the tension between the human and the natural. Discuss.

Stanza Two also links to this point that the humans have had a damaging effect on nature with the ‘shadow on the sea’.  The shadow reflects how the human has darkened the natural, not letting it be natural. The ‘ocean’s lap with its mortal stain’ in Stanza 3 also underlines the idea that mother nature in the ‘ocean’ has been contaminated by the oil which is the mortal stain. The personification of the ocean relates to the tension between it and the human. The human has created tension due to the ‘mortal stain’ that it has created on the ocean.  In Stanza 7 this concept is put to a climax in the meaning of the line ‘long migrations and the slow dying’. This adds to the previous tension emphasised as the ‘long migrations’ work well alongside the turtle ‘in search of the breeding-ground’. This adds to the tension created by the humans on nature as this underlines the idea that everything and everywhere is effected, as the animals have to move around but are always doomed for a ‘slow dying’. This creates pathos for the animals which accentuates the tension between the human and the natural.

On the other hand, there is an evident tension between and on humans in this poem in the form of the Gulf War. This is very much emphasised in stanza four in the ‘boy fusilier, who joined for the company’.  The ‘boy’ is youthful and this carries connotations with innocence, creating a sense of pathos for him. The idea that he ‘joined for the company’ is also a personal and innocent motivation, which adds to the sympathy for the boy. This creates a tension between the two sides of the human. The one, the governement, lying to people to make them fight and help kill other people, and the boy, gunsmith and armourer, who’s motivations are different and have been affected by the war, just like nature has been.  The personal references create sympathy for the individuals and not what they represent. This is a key effect as it adds to the pathos but seperates the individuals with personal objectives and feelings to the humans behind the war. The duality of those two contrasts of humans resembles the tension between them. The last stanza also brings a climax to the tension on all of the humans. The ‘vengence’ stresses the revenge of mother nature upon humans.  ‘The ashes of language’ are expressed in a tone underlining the idea that the greates loss of the poem is the loss of humans. This again reimburses the tension on between the human and the human. The ‘ashes of language’ is a mourn for what was lost in a large quantity, which forms a duality with the personal references mentioned throughout the poem up till the last stanza.

In conclusion, the poem does concern the tension between the human and the natural due to the effect of the human on the natural. This is expressed within the first few stanzas. However, throughout the next few stanzas, the tension created upon humans shines ahead. Overall, Lament is concerned with the idea of tension being inflicted upon nature for human gain, but ending with tension inflicted upon humans by themselves.