Choose two poems in the Edexcel anthology and show how successfully the poets have expressed a response to the society in which they live in.
Choose two poems in the Edexcel anthology and show how successfully the poets have expressed a response to the society in which they live in. The content of a poem can refer to the society in which the poet lived in and can be highly representative of the poets' emotions and views toward society. The poems 'London' by Blake and 'Prayer before birth' by MacNeice will be closely examined. In the poem 'London' the foremost theme present is the corruption of society. In the first stanza Blake refers to sadness and melancholy being experienced by society "mark in every face I meet marks of weakness, marks of woe" this illustrates the oppression faced by individuals in Blake's society. The significance of repeating the word 'mark' indicates a permanent affect on society and how these 'marks' will remain eternally. Blake uses an anaphora with the words 'In every' to emphasise that everyone is affected by governments actions and by leaders. 'Mind-forg'd manacles I hear' The strong use of imagery illustrates how society metaphorically have chained people in following what they want and doing what they want, diminishing the purpose of the 'democratic' society in which we are supposed to be living in. The fact that people are chained down emphasises how there is little freedom and society have to follow what governments say to be accepted. Blake indicates that governments are
Compare and contrast - The poem Woman Work is written by Maya Angelou and depicts the daily routine of a black woman in the southern states of America whereas the poem overheard In County Sligo is a poem set in Ireland written by Gillian Clarke.
Compare and Contrast Modern other cultural poetry Bethany Edwards The poem Woman Work is written by Maya Angelou and depicts the daily routine of a black woman in the southern states of America whereas the poem overheard In County Sligo is a poem set in Ireland written by Gillian Clarke. The poem tells the story of an Irish housewife and her unattainable dreams. Woman Work asks us to consider the black woman's plea as we hear of the gruelling routine she faces everyday. This woman does not have many wishes; she just strives for a break in her day and dreams of returning to her African home country. We do not know if she has ever been to Africa but she considers it her home. The poem asks us to think about all the things we take for granted as we all have such big aspirations whilst this woman just yearns for a rest. In contrast to this the poem women work tries to make us realise how much women were expected to give up in the early 19th century to become housewives. They were expected to give up their dreams and aspirations and the opportunities of a career for women weren't really there. As in woman work the female character in this poem asks us to hear her plea and listen to all her lost dreams and similar to woman work she feels like a slave in her own home. Woman work has five stanzas as does over heard in county Sligo. The first in woman work describes her daily
Is Thomas hardy obsessed with the past
A critic has described Hardy as a poet obsessed with the past. How far do you agree with this claim? A common theme that consistently reoccurs in Hardy's poetry is the feelings conjured by looking at the past. Many of his poems are about reliving past romances and mistakes that hardy made in his younger days. On the surface it appears as though Hardy is obsessed with his past however this may be misleading as it is also the case that Hardy's poetry looks at both the present and future - Hardy may only be using the past as means of understanding the present. The Self-Unseeing is an example of where Hardy appears to be obsessed with the past. The poem describes Hardy's memories of his childhood home as he visits it in its current state. There is an element of sorrow to the way hardy describes everything in past tense - as if all the life is gone now. "She sat here in her chair, smiling into the fire," this line shows Hardy reminiscing about his mother and remembering the exact details of where everything used to be. From the offset Hardy seems to be piecing the room back together in his head and reliving memories of his mother by the fire, and his father playing some stringed instrument. This almost shows Hardy's inability to accept that things have moved on and that his house is no longer the same anymore. The poem can be looked at in two ways; initially the poem appears to
By comparing 'School for Scandal' and 'Rape of the Lock' explore the difference between wit and malice
By comparing one drama and one poetry text you have studied explore the difference between wit and malice. It has been said "'The two basic modes of satire are good-humoured teasing and savage attack" i.e. wit and malice. Wit is often thought of to be a quickness of mind and humour whilst malice is a desire to harm others. In the definitions an immediate difference arises, that of good natured wit and ill humoured malice, indeed it is often considered that 'Rape of the Lock' is the good-humoured teasing whilst 'School for Scandal' is more malicious, 'savage attack'. Yet, is also clear that often the terms are interchangeable and irreversibly inter-woven - how far is this true in the two texts? 'Rape of the Lock' is written in a style coined 'Horatian satire' after Roman satirist Horace who said, "every play should either instruct or delight - better if it does both". This is a light satirical style which aims to create humour without being overly malicious. Here is a clear example of a way in which wit is different from malice, the 'Horatian' satirical wit seen in 'Rape of the Lock' is far from the malice viewed in School for Scandal. For example, Pope writes, 'The tortoise here and elephant unite\ Transformed to combs, the speckled and the white.' The use of heroic couplets satirizes the vanity of society that has turned grand creatures into frivolous items. It is a clear
Comparing John Clare's poem Badger with an NSPCC non fiction text
Compare the way in which the two texts, NSPCC and Badger, generate sympathy from the reader 'Badger' is an emotional poem about badger baiting, and explores the aspects of human nature and ways in which humans can behave immorally. Clare explores a scene of rural life and deals with the survival and fighting instincts of a Badger. The NSPCC text, on the other hand, is a leaflet that aims to persuade the reader to donate money to the charity. It aims to do this by putting the reader in a position where they feel sympathetic towards the children spoken about in the leaflet, and uses rhetorical devices such as imperatives, verbs and repetition. The NSPCC text, is a leaflet, but is presented as a letter, so that it can directly address the reader, involving them, and making them feel as if the writer is talking directly to them. The front of the leaflet, says 'Please Help', in a font that replicates a child's handwriting. This would automatically have an impact on the reader's emotions, and would make them open the leaflet, to reveal the writing 'I just don't want to be hit anymore', which would then make them want to read the actual 'letter'. 'Badger' on the other hand, is simply written as a poem, which is the most convenient form for Clare to portray his message and concern in the behaviour of crowd and badger, which the reader may then themselves generalise to other issues.
Poetry Analysis of 'Night of the Scorpion' by Nissim Ezekiel, and 'Sacrifice' by TaufiqRafat.
Poetry Analysis Night of the Scorpion by Nissim Ezekiel Sacrifice by Taufiq Rafat "Night of the Scorpion" by Nissim Ezekiel is a poem about a child witnessing an event in his life. This was quite horrific, as vivid details of his mother being stung by a scorpion are portrayed in the poem. On the other hand "Sacrifice" by Taufiq Rafat (1927-1998) portrays a sacrificial ceremony, in celebration of laying the foundation of a new dwelling. The purpose of this sacrifice is to give the dwelling good luck. "Sacrifice" is by an English-language Pakistani poet who is credited with introducing a characteristically Urdu movement into original English writing by Pakistanis. The two poems are both similar in that they contain a lot of religious beliefs, but each is portraying a different religious background. They both use a circle as the symbolic gesture to their religions. In both poems a circle was created around the victims to make sure of no escape. Within the poem "Night of the Scorpion", all families in the community are concerned about each other, as everybody goes to Ezekiel's house and takes part in the rituals as if all this is part of normal family life. He learns about scorpion stings, and rites involved with them in the community. Scorpion stings maybe expected where they live, because they all seemed to know what to do. They live in a very close-knit
Compare 'The Lamb' and 'The Tyger' by William Blake
Compare "The Lamb" and "The Tyger", focussing particularly on how ideas of innocence and experience are explored. 'The Lamb' from Blake's 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience' represents the idea of purity that is woven throughout the 'Innocence' collection. His poem 'The Tyger' is in the compilation of 'Experience' poems which offer a darker perspective on life after learning. These two poems have many similarities and contrasting ideas; Blake depicts these two creatures in such a way that relates them to the sections they appear in and highlights their differences through language. The structure of 'The Lamb' is two even ten line stanzas - one stanza a question, the other an answer - consisting of rhyming couplets. The rhyme scheme helps to create the song-like characteristic; it also makes the verse flow like a hymn which coincides with the religious symbolism. The language used is reminiscent of the Bible, this adds to the theme of religion. 'The Tyger' also uses rhyming couplets within its six quatrains; this and the steady metre (trochaic tetrameter) create a natural rhythm which could be interpreted as the 'hammering' of the creator or the beating of the heart. This language also reminds me of biblical verses, particularly the New Testament and the book of Revelation. By almost directly copying the first stanza as the last stanza in 'The Tyger' the question asked
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.
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,
In this essay I am going to compare the following poemsCrossing the Bar and Let me die a young mans death.
English Coursework Muhammad Yasin Vali In this essay I am going to compare the following poems"Crossing the Bar" and "Let me die a young man's death". Death is an inevitability of life, as Robert Benchley's famous quote proves this true: "Death ends a life" People's attitude towards it often depends on their religion and culture. Both of the poems were written in different eras but both look at death and lifestyle. Tennyson lived in Victorian times where religion played an integral part in people's lives. The large majority of people in England at that time attended church and lived by the rules. Roger Mcgough wrote in more liberal times (1960's and 1970's) when people were rebelling against authority as well as religion and this is also reflected in his poem. The title of Tennyson's poem: "Crossing the Bar" is a metaphor because it represents death like the end of a journey. The word "crossing" can be referred to the journey from this world to the afterlife which again symbolises his religious attitude. The bar is being referred to the barrier from this world to the next as the only way in which you can cross is when the bar is there. In this case the bar refers to the call from god as he chooses the time for humans to die. Tennyson also makes use of the "open sea". This is used to represent eternity as there is no way back
The following essay will examine the two poems, 'The Raven' by Edgar Alan Poe and 'Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?' by William Shakespeare
Word count: 1178 Poe v Shakespeare: A Comparative essay The following essay will examine the two poems, 'The Raven' by Edgar Alan Poe and 'Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?' by William Shakespeare ultimately evaluating which is more effective and appropriate for a modern audience. The two poems will be evaluated using the criteria of structure, language and discourse. While 'The Raven' is more effective in its use of discourse, 'Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?' is noticeably superior in its use of figurative language and literary structure, privileging and foregrounding ideas and values that are more appropriate for modern readers. First and foremost, 'Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?' is noticeably more effective in its use of literary structure in comparison to 'The Raven'. Consequently, the two poems bare very few conventional similarities in relation to structure. Shakespeare's 'Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?' is in the form of a Sonnet, a rhyming poem in 14 lines using iambic pentameter. Poe's 'The Raven' differs immensely, a poem in free verse, characterised by 18 stanzas, 6 lines per stanza for a total of 108 lines. With characteristic skill Shakespeare uses the conventional Sonnet to exalt his beloved and consequently poetry, whereas Poe chooses to use free verse and most notably a powerful refrain, repeating the word 'Nevermore' (seen
