Both poems Plenty written by Isobel Dixon and The Old Familiar Faces written by Charles Lamb, can be related through the theme of memories and childhood.

Authors Avatar

Compare memories of childhood

With the poems Plenty & The Old Familiar Faces

Both poems “Plenty” written by Isobel Dixon and “The Old Familiar Faces” written by Charles Lamb, can be related through the theme of memories and childhood. “Plenty” and “The Old Familiar Faces” are a memory of childhood and a comparison including the present lifestyle; through the expression of these memories they both show thoughts and feelings about the past and present. This similarity allows for links and comparisons to be made between the two poems.

Both poems are written from the perspective of a fully matured adult reminiscing on their past, in turn they express their thoughts and feelings through a comparison between the past and the present.

 Both narrators, despite a life of luxury in “Plenty” have a sense of loss and emptiness. In the final stanza of  “Plenty” this is expressed, after a “plentiful” and “sybarite” like lifestyle is describe it says -  “And miss my scattered sisters, All those bathroom squabbles.” This shows that even though narrator has more then what she had when she was young she misses the things that she may have complained about; these are given through the text and therefore show a sense of loneliness E.g. “We thought her mean” “Such plenty was too dear.” In “The Old Familiar Faces” the following quote shows the narrators feelings of loneliness and loss – “All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.” This allows the reader to understand that there has been a loss for the narrator and since the loss is people (“familiar faces”) the sense of loneliness is expressed as well. The fact that this is said almost makes the reader think that the narrator feels sorry for him self, overall these feelings of loss, emptiness and loneliness link the two poems and allow for them to be compared.

Join now!

The use of verbs in these poems seemed important as it took the readers attention and applied it to any particular places wanted throughout both poems. The verb “I” was mainly used in “The Old Familiar Faces” and verbs such as “us” and “our” were used as a majority within the poem. In “The Old Familiar Faces” the narrator says, “I have had,” “I have been,” “I loved,” all being in a past tense to show that these things are things the he no longer has and the use of the verb focuses the point by the use of ...

This is a preview of the whole essay