The poem highlights a negative view of the world and the harsh reality contrasted to an innocent unborn child. All the poems that Motion has included appear to have a strong message. This is not always the case in Copes. To highlight the different types of poems in each I will analyse a poem from copes anthology entitled ‘A child’s sleep’ by Carol Anne Duffy.
This poem demonstrates the happiness and joy evoked through watching a child sleep and the protectiveness that a parent feels towards their child. The poem is written in the first person, this effectively shows the parents feelings. The words ‘could not leave’ (line 4) shows that that he/she is drawn to their child and their sleep is something so precious, nobody can enter. This is reinforced further in the poem by being described as ‘sacred’ (line 7) and ‘wordlesssly good’ (line 12). Her sleep is described as a metaphor of a ‘small wood’ (line 5) the nature demonstrates the innocence and purity of the child, it creates a picture of beauty. The child is described as being the spirit’ in the heart of the woods, this shows the freedom; as she is ‘without history’ (line11) – a blank slate.
The poem is very picturesque, I just feel very peaceful reading it. Even the ‘greater dark’, which would normally be seen as a threat, is written in a positive way. This is highlighted through the personification, as it is seen to gaze back ‘maternal, wise, with its face of moon’ (line19-20). This poem cleverly captures the feelings of a parents love for a child. Unlike the poem demonstrated in Motions book, it doesn’t appear to have an underlying message.
Although I have shown that the poems selected to be in the 2 anthologies are different, there is a poem which is included in both. However they have both been included for different reasons. The poem is ‘composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802’ by William Wordsworth. The poem describes the beauty of the city of London. It is clear to see that it is a happy poem due to the language used. This is unusual as it is usually nature and the countryside which is praised for its beauty, this may be why Motion included it in his, to draw the readers attention to what they may not have seen in the city.
The title itself sets the time and place and is like a snapshot of what the writer was seeing at the exact time. The images are very vivid like the previous poem, and the writer is praising the beauty of the city. The reader is made aware of how beautiful it can be. The way the writer feels about the city is reflected in the form as it is a petrarchan sonnet and sonnets are traditionally used to talk about love. The Words used to describe the city highlight the beauty; such as ‘fair, ‘touching and ‘majesty’ (line1-3), this also reminds me of the royal family suggesting the high status and how precious the sight is. The city is personified as ‘like a garment, wear’ (line 4) suggesting the strong feelings the writer has. It is as if the city is wearing the beauty of the morning.
The visual images of what the writer can see are stated – ships, towers, dome (line 6). It appears that the writer is saying that humans have triumphed over nature and built these beautiful things. Wordsworth himself loved nature and saw the city as being part of nature and what God has intended, therefore reinforcing this interpretation. The houses are personified as being ‘asleep’ this demonstrates the peacefulness, and what the city is like when people are asleep. The freedom and harmony is captured it this poem through the beautiful use of language and the way this reflects the powerful feelings of the writer. This is a very happy poem therefore it is clear to see why this was included in Copes anthology. However it also seems to make you aware and gain insight into the world, and this is I can imagine why this was chosen for Motions anthology.
Copes anthology includes a range of happy poems, but what is happiness? or what makes a happy poem? Is it the words used, a happy ending or the feelings it evokes? – this is questionable; although there are 101 poems to choose from. The poem above suggests that the city. I believe it’s a personal choice, what the reader see in it and cope has included a range of poems to show this. I will discuss a few poems to demonstrate the range offered.
There are many religious poems included EE Cummings unnamed poems and Sabbath bells by John Clare. Both use vivid description to describe the day. In his poem Cummings is thanking God for the day. It is a really upbeat poem and this is shown through the language used. For example ‘the leaping greenly spirits of trees’ and ‘a blue true dream of sky’ (line2-3) it is like a dream, which emphasises this ‘amazing day’. It appears to have an enormous impact on the writer which is cleverly shown by the lines ‘(I who have died am alive again today)’ (line 5) It is as if everything has come to life, which is reinforced later in the poem with the lines: ‘ears of my ears are wake…eyes of my eyes are open’ (line13-14). John Clare’s ‘Sabbath bells’ is similar but the writer is describing how he feels on a Sabbath day when the bells are ringing. Again, very positive language is used; the sound is described as ‘beautiful. In fact this word is repeated several times to describe the writer’s surroundings. The nature around is personified, which is shown by the example: ‘beans in blossom breathed around’ (line 7); this helps to create a vivid image, which highlights effectively the writers feelings about the day. The happiness is plain to see in these poems. This is mostly shown by the language used and the strong images they create.
Cope has also included humorous poetry with the poem ‘on his baldness’ by Po Chu-I. The writer changes from not wanting to be bold to seeing the benefits. The repetition of ‘at dawn I sighed to see my hair fall and ‘at dusk I sighed to see my hair fall.’ highlights how he felt about it. An exclamation mark is used to show the writers surprise at his change of view- ‘I do not mind at all!’ The benefits are then listed, this is supported but the use of punctuation which ensures the poem is read in a list form. The loss of his hair appears in the end to be a liberation. This is shown by the religious link made as he compares himself to a priest who ‘frees his heart by first shaving his head’ (line 16).
Cope has also included poems to highlight the happiness created from the small things is life. This is shown in Les Murray’s poem ‘shower’ and Tachibana Akemi’s ‘poems of solitary delights’. Murray cleverly describes taking a shower very vividly using metaphoric language to compare it to other things and experiences. Akemi’s poem focuses on little things that make a person happy. It contains many little poems – each with 5 line stanzas. At the beginning of each is the line ‘what a delight it is…’ meaning happiness, joy which just reinforces why the poem was included in the anthology. It talks about the little things that make you happy – when you understand a difficult book that nobody else does or when you get up in the morning to see a full bloom of flowers. To me this is a poem I can relate to, just makes you smile to remember those times in your life.
As I have shown Cope has included a range of poems to prove her point that poetry can be happy. However I didn’t perceive all the poems in her anthology to be happy.. This is highlighted in Edwin Morgan’s ‘One Cigarette’. The poet uses the symbol of a cigarette smouldering in an ashtray to demonstrate love. The opening line – ‘No smoke without you, my fire’ appears to highlight the feelings that are developed, but the real ‘fire’ is not present. It is not clear who the poem is about, although they are not present. The word fire seems to suggest red, passion and demonstrates the strong feelings the writer feels. This is reinforced by the word ‘glowed’ (line 3) suggest a burning precious love. The rhetorical question- ‘is it smell, is it taste? (line 11) highlights the fact the writer doesn’t know what it is about the cigarette but it reminds him of his love.
Although this poem is about the feelings of love, personally I don’t see this as a happy poem. To me there seems a sadness behind it; the ‘fire’ cannot be shown, it is just a symbol – the smoke. The love seems to be hidden, the fact that the cigarette is in the non-smokers tray suggest that nobody knows about their love and it is hidden. This would link to the poet’s life; Morgan was a homosexual, at a time where it was not accepted, therefore he was forced to live a hidden life. This is reinforced by the words ‘let the smoke lie back in the dark’ (line 14). However this is my interpretation. Therefore this is not a poem that I would class as happy, although Cope obviously did. Other interpretations include the cigarette being portrayed as a phallic symbol. I think this highlights the multiple readings a poem can have and how the only one who decides whether a poem is happy is the reader.
I have shown that in Motions anthology he has included poems that appear to have a strong message, which enrich the readers life. He also appears to be taking us on a journey. For example in the war section, the poems at first are about ‘target setting’ and ‘range finding’ then move onto ‘lessons with war’ ‘The battle of Maldon’ ‘Wounds’ ‘Punishment’, the finally ‘Freedom’ and the ‘Survivor’. He has very cleverly arranged the poems in each section to tell a story, as well as the book as a whole gelling together. I will highlight this by looking at poems from the travel section.
I will focus on ‘The road not taken’ by Robert Frost. The poem focuses on the problem when faced with 2 diverging roads. The poem is like a story, this is emphasised by being in the past tense and the use of connectives such as ‘and’ ‘then’. It is written in the first person, this cleverly shows the problem the writer has deciding. The form reinforces the idea of walking as it is very constant, each stanza has 5 lines, where the end of the first and the third line rhyme. The poem is very contradictory and ambiguous. The writer states that he took ‘the one less travelled by’ (line 19) but earlier on in the poem it states ‘...the passing there had warn them about the same’ (line 9). Although the writer states that the path he did take ‘made all the difference’ (line 10).
My interpretation of the poem is that we should forge our own way in life and not follow the path already taken. Although t is not made clear if the difference is good or bad and this could be a sarcastic remark. Either way I think its highlighting the importance of decision making. This is something that is very important in life and when travelling. This poem is at the beginning of the travel section, I think this is a very good place for it as travelling involves many decisions.
The Poem at the end of the travel section is entitled ‘For William Harrison, Mariner’ It is in the first person as well, but talks about the end of their travels. ‘My anchors cast, my sails are furled, and now I am at rest’ (lines 5-6). I think this just highlights how Motion has cleverly ordered his poem and how each section tells a story.
To Conclude, Cope has proved her point that ‘happiness does not write white’ and that misery does not have all the best lines. She has cleverly used a range of poems to show this. Although I have shown that poetry comes down to personal choice and this selection is Copes and others may not be see them a happy. I have looked at a range of reviews (appendix b), these mostly appear to be positive describing the anthology as ‘a moving collection’ and ‘gloriously exuberant’, although some did describe it as an ‘uneven and unimaginative selection’ where copes definition of happy was ‘blurred’. This reinforces the point that poetry is personal.
Motion however appears to be taking us on a journey through his anthology, with different sections, where the poems are cleverly ordered to show progression. The poems that he has included appear to have an underlying message, to make the reader aware of something. This was his purpose as through his anthology he wanted to enrich and diversify the readers life, and I believe he did.
I think I have proved that both have shown the effectiveness of poetry and I believe both anthologies are accessible for a wide audience and are particularly good for those who do not usually read poetry. As I have mentioned throughout the essay, poetry is very personal and means different things to different people. Cope and Motions selection are exclusive to them and even the poems I decided to include in this essay are exclusive to me and only reflect my interpretation.
Word Count – 3254
Bibliography
Motion, A (2001) Here to eternity. An anthology of poetry. London: Faber
Cope, W (2001) Heaven on Earth: 101 happy poems. London: Faber
Websites
Lancaster J (online) books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084.85950600. html
www.contemporarywriter.com/authors/
Gower, G (online) Poets guide to the galaxy – The Spectator, October 1996-2001. www.looksmartindianapolis.com
www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/
www.amazon.co.uk/review
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Most poets agree that happiness is harder to put into words than sorrow; while sadness lends gravitas, joy can risk sentimentality and mawkishness. Seeking to prove this need not be the case, popular poet Wendy Cope assembled poems over 10 years that made her smile, putting a "H" in the margin next to them. The result is Heaven on Earth: 101 Happy Poems, a wonderfully disparate collection that is guaranteed to chase away the blues. While love is a common theme, Cope allows it to roam free and gloriously wild. There is the unrivalled 17th century "To My Dear and Loving Husband" by Anne Bradstreet, as well as the self-loving "Poems of Solitary Delights" by Tachibena Akemi:
What a delight it is
When a guest you cannot stand
Arrives, then says to you
'I'm afraid I can't stay long....
Nina Cassian's "Intimacy" will convince you that a cuppa of "pure, burning amber" is all you need. There is nervy anticipation of the gay lover in Thom Gunn and Walt Whitman's entries:
We savour the approaching delight
of things we know yet are fresh always.
Sweet things. Sweet Things.
The daily routine of conjugality is also covered, like Sainsburys and cheese and onion rolls, made divine by UA Fanthorpe in "7301"--the number of days she's counted with her lover. While you might expect a happy poem from Carol Ann Duffy, who writes about her sleeping daughter, it's a surprise to discover an exuberant Sylvia Plath in "You're", written for her baby:
Jumpy as a Mexican bean.
Right, like a well-done sum.
A clean slate, with your own face on.
There's plenty of non-filial pleasure in drunkenness, rotundity, dancing, music, contemplation and the wonder of rain too. Les Murray excels in his love poem to his "Shower": "this good blast of trance / arriving as shock...". Eighth-century poet, Po Chui-i learns to celebrate his baldness, while Elaine Feinstein finds "Getting Older" much less terrifying than she imagined. This is a volume that is, as Larkin says in "For Sidney Bechet", "an enormous yes ... scattering long-haired grief and scored pity". It "bashes out praises", to as Czeslaw Milosz argues, "glorify things just because they are". Cherry Smyth
Synopsis
In a gloriously exuberant anthology, Wendy Cope sets out to prove that misery doesn't have all the best lines. What makes us happy? In her introduction the editor says of the subject-matter of these poems: 'A lot of them are about love - of lovers, spouses, children. There are also poems about places, the beauty of the natural world and the changing seasons, about company and solitude, about music, books, food and drink, and the pleasure of taking a shower. And there are some religious poems.' Among the more surprising items are the Chinese Po Chu-l on the advantages of baldness, the eighteenth-century John Dyer on the kindly behaviour of his ox, and an unusually cheerful Thomas Hardy enjoying the sight of seven women laughing as they stagger, arm in arm, down an icy hill, Catullus, Chaucer, Clare, Dickinson, Betjeman and Larkin are among the contributors who help to demonstrate that people who believe that 'happiness writes white' have got it wrong.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Happy poems are no laughing matter, November 3, 2002
I love this anthology! It does what it says on the tin; it's a collection of poems about happy things: moments, memories and moods mostly. Surprisingly, there's very few comic poems. Instead, it's a rather moving collection, mostly focussed on "kissing the joy as it flies", and there's almost a pleasant ache induced by sharing some of these moments.
The choice of poets is wide ranging and goes from Chaucer to Derek Walcott. Some of the entries are predictable and easily found elswhere (eg "sumer is icumen in" and "Jenny Kiss'd Me"), but it's always comforting to read these old favourites again. There was enough that was new to me in here to merit the purchase. Look out for "Red Boots On" by Kit Wright, "Faure's Second Piano Quartet" by James Schuyler and "Ice on the Highway" by Thomas Hardy, which I thought were delightful poems that are not found in every anthology.
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Slightly self-indulgent and more contemplative than happy, October 18, 2001
Appendix A – copies of poems
Appendix B – Reviews of copes anthology
Amazon.co.uk
The Road Not Taken
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The Road Not Taken is a , published in , by (–).
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Summary
: Plot and/or ending details follow.
This poem tells the story of the poet who is travelling on a road in a wood when he comes upon a fork in the road and, even though he would like to travel both, he has to make a choice. He contemplates where both roads will take him. While one road is well trodden and safe, the other road is grassy and has not yet gone through the rigours of time and thus, as he says, had the better claim. He also remarks as to the fact that on that morning, neither road had been travelled upon. He took the road less trodden, keeping the first road for another day. But he realizes that he may probably not have a chance to go back on his choice, because one choice leads to another and the world moves too fast for one to look back.
Later on, when he is recounting his tale, he says that he has no regrets of his choice and that choice has made all the difference and led him to where he was that day.
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Autobiographical background
Born in , Robert Frost spent most of his adult life in rural and his laconic language and emphasis on individualism in his poetry reflects this region. He attended and but never earned a degree and as a young man with a growing family he attempted to write poetry while working on a farm or teaching in a school.
However, American editors rejected his submitted poems. Frost moved his family to in and in the following year, a publisher brought out his first book. After publishing his second book, Frost returned to determined to win a reputation in his own country, which he gradually achieved. He became one of the country's best loved poets. Unlike his contemporaries, Frost chose not to experiment with new verse forms but to employ traditional patterns, or, as he said, he chose "the old fashioned way to be new".
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Explanation and Misinterpretations
The most popular explanation of this poem is that it is a call for the reader to forge his or her own way in life and not follow the path that others have already taken.
However, it is also possible to read it as an ironic statement against such notions . Frost is said to have written the poem as a sly joke on his friend , and to have warned audiences, "You have to be careful of that one; it's a tricky poem—very tricky."
For though this poem is often cited as a source for inspiration and encouraging individuality it contains key contradictions and ambiguities. After all, lines 9-10 state, "Though as for that the passing there/Had worn them really about the same." So, even though it is often read and taught that the speaker chooses "the one less traveled by", the speaker of the poem contradicts himself by saying the roads were ultimately the same. This is further illuminated in line 11's declaration that, "And both that morning equally lay" (emphasis added).
The misreading that the speaker takes "the one less traveled by" is the first of two popular misinterpretations. According to Frost, the key to the poem is found in line 16, "I shall be telling this with a sigh". Also, the ambiguity of the closing lines, "I took the one less traveled by,/And that has made all the difference". A close reading of this highly anthologized poem must admit that the speaker leaves the reader wondering whether they mean it has made a good or bad difference in the speaker's life-and of course, why is the speaker telling it with a sigh?
Some believe readers must acknowledge that though the poem closes in ambiguity, it is clear the initial choice of the road taken has made all the difference, for because of that choice, "way leads on to way". Continuing with such thoughts on what the poem says about choice, still others suggest that the line "And that has made all the difference" is meant to be one of jest or sarcasm. Thus the traveler (ie, Frost) is trying to tell the reader that the most important issue is to simply to choose and therefore not become lost trying to decide whether to take this or that road. The important issue, then, is to make the decision and then follow through.
Background
The inspiration for it (The Road Not Taken) came from Frost’s amusement over a familiar mannerism of his closest friend in England, Edward Thomas. While living in Gloucestershire in 1914, Frost frequently took long walks with Thomas through the countryside. Repeatedly Thomas would choose a route which might enable him to show his American friend a rare plant or a special vista; but it often happened that before the end of such a walk Thomas would regret the choice he had made and would sigh over what he might have shown Frost if they had taken a "better" direction. More than once, on such occasions, the New Englander had teased his Welsh-English friend for those wasted regrets. Disciplined by the austere biblical notion that a man, having put his hand to the plow, should not look back, Frost found something quaintly romantic in sighing over what might have been. Such a course of action was a road never taken by Frost, a road he had been taught to avoid. In a reminiscent mood, not very long after his return to America as a successful, newly discovered poet, Frost pretended to "carry himself" in the manner of Edward Thomas just long enough to write "The Road Not Taken". Immediately, he sent a manuscript copy of the poem to Thomas, without comment, and yet with the expectation that his friend would notice how the poem pivots ironically on the un-Frostian phase, "I shall be telling this with a sign". As it turned out Frost’s expectations were disappointed. Thomas missed the gentle jest because the irony had been handled too slyly, too subtly.
A short time later, when "The Road Not Taken" was published in the Atlantic Monthly for August 1915, Frost hoped that some of his American readers would recognize the pivotal irony of the poem; but again he was disappointed. Self-defensively he began to drop hints as he read "The Road Not Taken" before public audiences. On one occasion he told of receiving a letter from a grammar-school girl who asked a good question of him: "Why the sigh?" That letter and that question, he said, had prompted an answer. End of the hint. On another occasion, after another public reading of "The Road Not Taken", he gave more pointed warnings: "You have to be careful of that one; it’s a trick poem – very tricky". Never did he admit that he carried himself and his ironies too subtly in that poem, but the circumstances are worth remembering here as an illustration that Frost repeatedly liked to "carry himself" dramatically, in a poem or letter, by assuming a posture not his own, simply for purposes of mockery – some times gentle and at other times malicious.
(from Selected Letters of RF : Edited by Lawrence Thompson
The more we read of Frost, the more we grow in awe of him – his intellect, his thinking, his feelings, his understanding and his expression. Each poem strikes a chord somewhere, each poem brings us closer to life, makes us appreciate life’s simple pleasures, see in birds, flowers, fruits and streams the wonders of nature. Each poem is like a journey of self-discovery, of life. And those jewels of thought that are found embedded here and there among the seemingly simple poems – so profound that they catch you off guard. Such depth of feeling, of wisdom – such a way with words that hits you at once and lingers long afterwards too - also gathering wider meanings and interpretations.
For Frost, poetry and life were one and the same thing. In an interview he said, ‘One thing I care about, and wish young people could care about it, is taking poetry as the first form of understanding. Say it: my favorite form of understanding. If poetry isn’t understanding all, the whole world, then it isn’t worth anything. Young poets forget that poetry must include the mind as well as the emotions. Too many poets delude themselves by thinking the mind is dangerous and must be left out. Well, the mind is dangerous and must be left in.’
Although we’d created this website for Frost’s lesser-known poems, we get so many mails from people wanting to know about the better-known ones (at least what we thought were so), we include these sometimes.
Roads have long fascinated mankind, whether as metaphors for life, change,
by magazines seeking to publish his
ABOUT THIS POEM:
meaning:
The literal meaning of this poem by Robert Frost is pretty obvious. A traveler comes to a fork in the road and needs to decide which way to go to continue his journey. After much mental debate, the traveler picks the road "less traveled by."
The figurative meaning is not too hidden either. The poem describes the tuogh choices people stand for when traveling the road of life. The words "sorry" and "sigh" make the tone of poem somewhat gloomy. The traveler regrets leaves the possibilities of the road not chosen behind. He realizes he probably won't pass this way again.
devices:
There are plenty literary devices in this poem to be discovered. One of these is antithesis. When the traveler comes to the fork in the road, he wishes he could travel both. Within the current theories of our physical world, this is a non possibility (unless he has a split personality). The traveler realizes this and immediately rejects the idea.
Yet another little contradiction are two remarks in the second stanza about the road less traveled. First it's described as grassy and wanting wear, after which he turns to say the roads are actually worn about the same (perhaps the road less traveled makes travelers turn back?).
personification:
All sensible people know that road don't think, and therefore don't want. They can't. But the description of the road wanting wear is an example of personifiction in this poem. A road actually wanting some as a person would.
id to have lodged himself just as solidly in the
affections of his fellow Americans. For thousands he remains the only
recent poet worth reading and the only one who matters.
-- EB
t
The first
One thing that cope stated was that the majority of poets thought that happy poems could only be love oems. Although Cope has shown this to not be the case in her anthology, I would like to discuss a cleverl written poem called ‘One cigarette’
Happiness can be about the little things in life and this is highlighted cleverly in the poem ‘poems of solitary delights’ by Tachibana Akei. The poem is split up into several small poems each with the first line ‘what a delight it is..’ this repetition helps the flow
Cope – what is happiness –
Love – one cigarette
a childs sleep
Little things – being on your own – poems of solitary delights
nature
Different things make different people happy.
Both are trying to show the power of poetry. Motion to show how it can enrich our lives and make usmore aware of the world, whereas Goodwin demonstrates the power of poetry to help you with lifes traumas and emotions and can add meaning and depth to our everyday existance. Goodwin seems to be appealing more to people who don’t usually read poems. It seems to be showing how poetry can be used. This is emphasised by the very colourful pages where the poems are spread out. Goodwin also includes a little comment on its poem to show what she got from the poem, to help the reader interpret and understand the meaning. She states at the beginning of the book that it is ‘destined to be stained with wine, tears’ they are poems to ‘lasta lifetime’. Motion however sems to be appeling to educated readers of poetry as they are set out closely together.
QUOTE – POETRY HELPS US UNDERSTAND LIFE
Daisy Goodwins ‘poetry to last a lifetime’ is similar to motions as it also is split into section. However the sections are related more to human experience and emotions with sections such as; school, childhood, first love,work, parenthood, regrets, and last orders. The sections seem to track a lifetime and Goodwin suggests using it like a recipe book, turning to the sections when you need advice, reassurance or are ‘dealing with life’s emergencies’. This highlights the impact of poetry and shows readers how poetry can be used.
I am now going to look at some poems from Goodwins anthology. The first at which is ‘The Journey’ by Mary Oliver. The title itself reflects thetitle of the anthology ‘poems to last a lifetime.’ Life itself is a journey and this poem can be used to understand it. The poem uses very simple language unlike the poems tht I have discussed in Motions book.
The start of the poem-‘one day’ suggests a story is being told a story of ‘your’ (the readers) life. The poem is therefore written in the second person, this causes the poem to be very personal and very close to the reader. The poem is giving advice and is very relevant to all.
The first poem I am going to look at is Craig Raines ‘Heaven on earth’
