Pre 1914 Poetry

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Pre-1914 Poetry Coursework

To study how pre-1914 poets have explored the different aspects of the theme of relationships over a period of time.

When we read the five poems we gather that the poems all have different aspects of the theme of relationships. The poems I have chosen are ‘The Laboratory by Ancien Régime, The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy, Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare, Remember by Christina Rossetti, The Little Boy Lost and The Little Boy Found by William Blake and lastly On My First Sonne by Ben Jonson’. These poems written before all have similarities within it comes down to the themes of relationships however they all have different aspects, views, feelings and the theme of relationships may vary.

Overall in this essay we are looking at the themes of relationships and see what the different aspects the poets have explored over a period of time which overall have a striking resemblance and within this essay I would like to explore it…

Various methods are used to explore the theme of relationships in ‘The laboratory by Robert browning’ and ‘The man he killed by Thomas Hardy’ are comparatively similar.

The laboratory made in the 1842 era,  has a distinct subject, a person who kills (or is about to kill) her rival in the presence of her lover - who appears to be connected to the speaker in some way - perhaps her husband or an ex-lover who has spurned her for the rival who is soon to die. It is in the form of a monologue, and the silent listener is important. He is an expert in poisons who sells his services to a wealthy woman. The language used refers to an older form of rule or government - suggesting that the speaker comes from a past age ‘Now that I, tying thy glass mask tightly’ shows the past tense language. We do not know for certain that the speaker is female - but this is suggested by the things, listed in the fifth stanza, in which she will carry her poison ‘an earring, a casket/A signet, a fan-mount, a filigree basket’, and by her offering a kiss to the man providing her with the poison, when he has finished his work. The poem recalls the saying that ‘Hell has no fury like a woman scorned’. Browning explores the jealousy and vengefulness of someone disappointed in love. We can say that the poem ‘The Laboratory’ relies on the feeling of hate and this is backed up by the fact that the author has explored the relationship of enemies/nemesis there is a sense where the woman would also like a bit of revenge. Maybe due to jealousy, due to the fact that she may have hate within herself or the fact she likes to see people suffer, however all these points show the theme of relationship and in this case is bitter hate within in this character. It would show the reader that the female speaker is plotting a very mysterious and sly death, nonetheless, just as brutal as ‘pure death’ ‘Not that I bid you spare her the pain; let death be felt and the proof remain’ this shows that her plotting of death does not bother her, which in most cases do to other people as you would say it would bother their ‘conscience’ but for this narrator it does not feel that way.

Similarly ‘The man he killed by Thomas Hardy’ explores the theme of enemies.

This poem was written at the time of the Boer War, but there is nothing in it that refers to any particular conflict - it could refer to almost any war. The poem appears as one half of a conversation. The speaker tells about how he killed another man in battle, and reflects on how much he and his victim had in common, and how little reason they had to fight each other.

Superficially a simple, uncomplicated piece, this is, in fact, a very skilful poem heavily loaded with irony and making interesting use of colloquialism. The title is slightly odd, as Hardy uses the third-person pronoun ‘He’, though the poem is narrated in the first person. The ‘He’ of the title (the ‘I’ of the poem) is the soldier who tries to explain and perhaps justify his killing of another man in battle.

In the first stanza the narrator establishes the common ground between himself and his victim; in more favourable circumstances they could have shared hospitality together. This idea is in striking contrast to that in the second stanza; the circumstances in which the men did meet. ‘Ranged as infantry’ suggests that the men are not natural foes but have been ‘ranged’, that is set against each other. The phrase ‘I shot at him as he at me and killed him in his place’ indicates the similarity of their situations however it shows that it was a battle of survival.

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In The third stanza the narrator gives his reason for shooting the supposed enemy which contrasts to the laboratory he justifies his reasons for the murder committed. The conversational style of the poem enables Hardy to repeat the word ‘because’, implying hesitation, and therefore doubt, on the part of the narrator. He cannot at first easily think of a reason. When he does so, the assertion ‘because he was my foe’ is utterly unconvincing however this would effectively cause the audience to sympathise ‘Hardy’  as they would feel that the murder he had committed was not his fault as he ...

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