for granted or be ignorant and dismiss people who need us.
All the Poems are depressing and reflective, the tone is tragic in all three poems. There is sense of anger coming from the voice of the uncle in Ogun “emerging woodwork image of his anger” and in the Old woman, In Blessing there is a celebratory tone to the water, but we/they know it will come to and end, and the tone changes to a dismal slower pace.
Structure
Each poem has its own set structure. The stanza length varies; In Blessing the poem is structured into four stanzas of different lengths.the stanza length echoes the story. In the beginning the stanza’s are short with short, abrupt sentences. This represents the lack of water and gradually as there is more water available the Stanza’s increase in length and more enjambment is used. This speeds up the pace of the sentence to signify the sudden rush of water.
However in Ogun the structure is notably different, the stanzas’s come in pairs and are short and choppy like wood itself, the poem rebels against normal poem structure as the sentences are cut in half and the whole poem needs to be read in go, rather than in separate Stanza’s.
In The Old woman the poem is divided into two very definite halves, pivotingthe middle stanza is significant to the meaning to the poem because it changes the man’s attitude towards the old woman. The placing of the words in speech marks, instead of using reported speech at the start, shows their impact and makes the man realize the difficulty the woman has to go through and her voice makes him feel sorry for her. Poem has a formal structure in triplets (three-line stanzas). Although each poem has a different structure, each seems to unravel its story in sections which involves the pace of the sentences changing.
Language
Blessing uses Onomatopoeias and sensory phrases to get the reader to imagine the water, “the small splash, echoes in a tin mug.” The tone and pace of the poem changes from line 7. There is more enjambment used to create a sense of noise and activity. The language used in Ogun is very descriptive; there are a lot of adjectives. There is a direct comparison between the work of the carpenter and the work of modern world machines.
The poet has pride in describing his uncle’s work, smoothing, shone, wood caught fire.” But the imported goods are ugly, spine curving, bird bones, thin beds.” In an Old woman there are references to direct speech, the poem has no set rhythm and does not rhyme apart from two couplets towards the end, which draw attention to themselves. All three poems have a turning point where the language changes either in richness of the words, pace or the description. Both Ogun and Blessing use emotive vocabulary which portrays strong imagery. In Blessing the poet compares human skin to seedpod, drying out and cracking. Similarly in Ogun the powerful phrase “The knuckles of his hands were silvered knobs of nails” describe how the carpenter has almost become the tools of his own work. Similes are a common feature in all three poems, the simile in An Old woman is referring to how clingy old women are, “They stick to you like a burr”, like burrs they stick to you and don’t let go. The Poem Blessing has a single central metaphor: describing water as a “blessing” from a “kindly god”. Water is source of other metaphors, for example fortune is like water rushing out of the burst pipe. Water is referred to as the precious metal “silver” which “crashes to the ground”, and light from the sun is seen as “liquid”. From each poem you can learn something about the people and the place they are from. In each poem it is easily recognizable that the poem Is set in a poor country and the people are poor, I know this from the lack of water and hot weather shown in Blessing and the mention of the donkey, the clip-clop sandals, and the fact the carpenter has scarce amount of money in Ogun. Poverty is also shown in an old woman the poem tells the story of a beggar chasing people desperate for money.
Personal Response
I think each of the three poems come with a meaning behind them. I find them very touching as they make you reflect on how lucky we are in a western world compared to those who are less fortunate. This is particularly significant in Blessing where the people are overwhelmed by the sight of water, this teaches us not to take water for granted, but see it as a “gift”. Ogun almost makes the reader feel guilty, knowing about these craftsmen who make their livelihood from selling their wood work, but modern consumer society prefers to go for cheaper goods. The poet demonstrates his admiration and affection for the beautiful crafted furniture produced, and I think this is relevant to me as a reader as I would not normally consider the amount of work and detail that goes into making such furniture. An Old woman is again directed at the readers, it is telling us how lots of people have dismissive attitudes to older people and find them insignificant. I think the poem helps people to realize the hardship old people have to go through, and the poem can change someones attitude towards them.
