The closing lines “The sun spangles” shows there is only a brief flicker of light and the daylight is fading away like the life of the grandma. The poem also goes from morbid death to life. “One thing we have to get, John, out of this life.” Shows he tries to take something positive out of the day’s events.
In the poem “On my first sonne” the poem is about a father who is mourning the death of his seven year-old son. The poem is the father’s way of saying goodbye to his son.
The poem “On my first sonne” shows a lot of grief and sadness that the poet has towards his son, whereas in “November” there is little grief shown. “Child of my right hand, and joy” shows the poet he loved his son very much, whereas in November the poet is not really attached to the grandma. In the closing sentence the poet says, “as what he loves may never like too much” which shows that he decides he will never love anyone else so dearly because he doesn’t want to feel so much pain again. “November” is also based before death, whereas “on my first sonne” is afterwards.
In the poem “Before you were mine” the poet talks to her mother the ten years before the poet’s birth. She imagines her mum led a fun-filled, carefree life. But that all changed when she became a mother, and her child took her freedom away. The poet wants the happy, fun-loving girl, but realises she only exists in the past.
The first two lines describe the poet’s mother as having fun with friends, and she compares her to Marilyn Monroe. “The corner you laugh on”, the poet talks directly to her mum and “With your pals” show that her mum was having fun with friends.
In the final two lines “Before I was born” emphasizes that the poet’s birth was a turning point in her mum’s life. “You sparkle and waltz and laugh shows that the poets mum was bright, energetic and fun loving.
The poem “Before you were mine” is about death and “On my first Sonne” is about the creation of life. “November” is about an elderly woman who has live her life, whereas “On my first Sonne” is describing a boy who has died young and has not had a chance to live his life.
