Aunt Helen by T.S.Eliot
Critical Analysis of the poem "Aunt Helen" The title of the poem is lamentable and affectionate. The narrator in the poem is Aunt Helen's nephew since Eliot states in the first line, "My maiden aunt". The poem is much like a eulogy for Aunt Helen. The form of the poem consists of one stanza containing thirteen lines. The poem is one line shy of an Elizabethan sonnet, he intentionally did not included fourteen lines in his stanza due to his unconventionality and he was concerned with portraying his message more than the style and techniques of poetry. The rhythm scheme is irregular, abcdeeccfghij, perhaps because of the nephew's sense of loss and awareness that humans are insignificant in this world and the idea of "Tempus Fugit", which ironically is re-enforced by an inanimate object, the Dresden clock. The reader is conscious of the fact that Helen is no longer alive; Eliot uses the past tense "was my maiden aunt" instead of referring to her in the present, "is my maiden aunt". At the start of the first line, Eliot writes, "Miss Helen Slingsby" which tells the reader that Helen was not married due to the unmarried female title, "Miss" instead of the married female title, "Mrs", which may perhaps be due to the age of this women or perhaps it is because this women is independently minded, the reader is aware that the aunt was privileged enough to not be finically dependent
The drudgery of Work
"Work can Sometimes Feel Like Drudgery or Slavery" Compare and Contrast the Two Poems in Light of This Statement Within both The Chimney Sweeper and Miners we see that the poets feel the work being done in unjust to the workers. Being written from a child chimney sweeps voice, The Chimney sweeper manages to highlight the problem with a society which allows children to work in trades such as chimney sweeping and w see this again in Miners, however in the second poem the poet is outraged at a society which allows its youth to go to war. The Chimney Sweeper certainly shows the sweeps trade for the slavery that it truly is. This becomes clear within the first stanza "My Father sold me whilst yet my tongue/ Could scarcely cry "weep!" "weep!" "weep!"" This shows the sheer injustice of the sweeps trade, and the irony of the boy being unable to perform the sweep's call, so young he can only manage "weep!" displays just how young these boys were. Contained within the poem there is also repeated black and white imagery. Firstly with the boy whose head has been shaven "You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair." Clearly as this imagery is repeated we see that the white represents the child's innocence whilst the black soot held within their work taints these boys. There is this idea that the work is too hard for children so young and this imagery is repeated with "They were
The Glass Jar (Gwen Harwood) Analysis. The Glass Jar, dedicated to Vivian Smith, is a narrative poem about a childs fear of the dark, and reflects, as many of her poems do, Gwen Harwoods knowledge and understanding of children.
The Glass Jar 'The Glass Jar', dedicated to Vivian Smith, is a narrative poem about a child's fear of the dark, and reflects, as many of her poems do, Gwen Harwood's knowledge and understanding of children. The poem can be read at a number of levels. At one level it is a story; at another it explores fears and taboos common to humankind, expressed in the language of myth or childhood fantasy; at a third level it addresses the struggle between good and evil from a Christian viewpoint, finally offering hope through Christ's Resurrection, symbolised in the last stanza as 'the resurrected sun'. The Christian perspective established early in the poem by words such as 'disciples', 'host', 'monstrance', 'bless', 'exorcize', and 'holy' contributes to the poem's unfolding spiritual meaning. The child's awareness of evil expressed in his fear, is a reminder of Adam and Eve's loss of innocence, an act which condemned humankind to suffering and death. Gwen Harwood counterbalances this universal loss of innocence with the boy's naivety, captured in the poem's first striking image when the child attempts to trap some of the sun's light in a glass jar he plans to use later as a night light to scare away the demons of his dreams. The poem is overlaid with Christian imagery symbolising the struggle between good and evil implicit in the boy's attempts to defeat his demons. Apart from the
Mary Oliver's Whelks
Mary Oliver's Whelks Mary Oliver's poem, Whelks, can easily be identified as a Mary Oliver poem. Whelks describes nature in an attempt to illustrate an issue that is all too "human being." Simply, Oliver is using nature to communicate the desire to discover her true self. In lines 12-17, Oliver states that she herself is suffering from the universal dilemma of knowing that there is something more to herself than she is aware. For the duration of her life she has been "restless" because there has always been something missing, but she is not entirely sure of what exactly. However, she feels that "there is something more wonderful than gloss." This statement insinuates that Oliver knows that her true self is not what appears on the outside. She has always known that deep inside of her being, she has so much more to offer. In line 18 Oliver states the obvious, that she is "curious" as to what lies deeper inside of her. She has come to face the fact that she does not know who she truly is, but she is eager to find out. She finds her answer on her morning walks along to shore. In line 21 Oliver broaches to whelks once again. She calls them "perfect and shining," but she goes on to describe how they are eroded by the tide and the rubbing against the land. In fact, it is the whelks' imperfections that make them perfect. They have "rubbed so long against the world"
Darkling Thrush analysis
How does hardy suggest his own spiritual state by images of darkness and decay in this poem? The Darkling Thrush was written and set at the turn of century, in the depths of the harsh British winter, "when Frost was spectre-gray". It conveys Hardy's dismay at the rapid industrialisation of Britain, which he saw as ruining the rural landscape, corrupting the "ancient pulse of germ and birth" at the very heart of nature. The poem is written in first person, and we may presume that Hardy is the speaker. Hardy uses first person in an attempt to emphasise that his musings on the destruction of the countryside could be shared by all; he makes the poem at once universal and also personal. The use of first person helps the reader to really share Hardy's experience and witness his true emotions. The only other character within the poem is the "aged thrush" which appears mid poem to break up the miserable description of the desolate night. The thrush signals a change in the poem to a lighter tone and it is interjected straight into Hardy (and the reader)'s thought pattern with "at once", changing the structure of the poem. The use of the thrush in the title shows that the poem is more centred, despite its gloomy beginning, on the hope that the thrush brings with his "full hearted evensong" than the forbearing darkness Hardy describes at the start of the poem. It is interesting that
Norman MacCaigs Assisi is an intriguing poem, in which a contrast is used to create an intense feeling of irony and sympathy. Discuss.
Assisi Norman MacCaig's "Assisi" is an intriguing poem, in which a contrast is used to create an intense feeling of irony and sympathy. From the outset MacCaig uses shocking images to create sympathy for the beggar. The first image occurs at the beginning of the first line, which induces a feeling of shock within the reader. The beggar is described as a "dwarf", and goes on to say his "hands [were] on backward", which is at the end of the same line. He is also said to have "tiny twisted legs". Perhaps the best description of the beggar is the simile on line two, in which MacCaig compares him to a "half filled sack". The word "slumped" implies the shape of the beggar's back is like the arch of the sack. The leaky bag of sawdust could resemble the energy and life draining from him, and could also indicate that he was physically damaged. The common letter "S" in the alliteration of this image is onomatopoeic, and suggests the running of the sawdust. This also portrays the beggar as worthless, as sawdust isn't valuable, and is just the leftovers of wood. These are particularly cold and cruel descriptions of someone who is in need of help. It makes the beggar seem almost un-human. MacCaig deliberately uses unfeeling descriptions to convey society's attitude, and forces us as readers and members of society to think about how we would view the beggar. We see that the beggar is
How does Coleridge open his story in Part I of The Ancient Mariner?
How does Coleridge open his story in Part I of 'The Ancient Mariner'? (Comment on language, form and structure). If 'The Ancient Mariner' is indeed an allegory - that is, the representation of abstract principles by characters or figures - it would have to incorporate this concept into the introduction, which it does. The piece is written irregularly and in a ballad form, with some stanzas containing rhyming couple, inline rhymes and, oddly, some stanzas are longer than each other. Three young men who are arriving in the area to attend to a wedding are mentioned immediately; could these characters be representative of the three wise men from early Biblical teachings? It could be held that they compose the forum for which the Ancient Mariner can release the guilt of his impending, ominous telling, and are thus the integral part for which the poem can be understood. The work as a whole seems to have religious connotations and it is not too far-fetched to suggest that Coleridge had that in mind when writing; given the context of the era the piece was composed in. However, the implications cease there for now. As the wedding guest seeks to be freed from the grip of the "grey-beard loon", he seems perplexed ("now wherefore stopp'st thou me?") as if to infer that the soon-to-be-told ramblings of the Mariner are confusing, incorrect or, perhaps, more indicative of the state of
Choose one poem or passage and write about the ways in which Eliot presents women.
Choose one poem or passage and write about the ways in which Eliot presents women. * Look closely at the effects of language, tone and form. * Relate the passage/poem to other texts by Eliot. A Game of Chess focuses on two contrasting prospects, one of the higher class and one of the lower. Eliot chooses to society throughout this poem through the roles of the women in these opposing classes. Although the two different characters are from very different scenes, neither are what Eliot might consider an ideal female role. In the first section of this passage from The Wasteland, Eliot describes a woman who is from the higher end of society. He dedicates 110 lines to describing her setting, in which lies some extremely ornate and costly items, "The glitter of her jewels rose to meet it". This may reflect the woman's character in that she obviously cares a lot about her valuables and possessions. We know it is not Eliot that dedicates this much amount of detail to the woman's environment but more a reflection of what the woman herself is thinking, it creates the effect that this woman is very materialistic in a very negative sort of way. Overall the setting is made to be a rather nasty sort of environment. Eliot appeals very much to the senses in order to make the description ever so vividly unpleasant, "Unguent, powdered, or liquid - troubled, confused / And drowned the sense
Analysis of the sonnet
ÐÏࡱá > þÿ þÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿýÿÿÿþÿÿÿþÿÿÿ
In Breaking the Chain Harrison portrays how, although his parents wanted him to succeed, they only wished him to go up a rung or two but settle near.
"I had a very loving upbringing; without question, a very loving, rooted upbringing. Education and poetry came in to disrupt that loving group and I've been trying to create new wholes out of that disruption ever since." (Tony Harrison) Considering in detail one poem, or a passage from a poem, discuss the poetic methods Harrison uses to explore these conflicts. In the course of your answer: * Look closely at the effects of language, imagery and verse form. * Comment on how the poem you have chosen relates to other poems by Harrison that you have studied. In 'Breaking the Chain' Harrison portrays how, although his parents wanted him to succeed, they only wished him to 'go up a rung or two but settle near'. He had a 'loving upbringing' where his mum, like the others, pushed him as 'bright'. The mothers passed round a box of tools which is shown in the simile 'like a medal case' to have been treasured. Yet, Harrison broke the convention and the 'chain' something which he attempts to battle with in the cause, his literature. In the line, "The gap his gift acknowledged then 's as wide as /eternity" enjambment creates a gap in sentence emphasising the gap between his family forced by education. There is also a lack of alternate personas and voices which diverges with his usual style when portraying guilt. This suggests that the guilt he feels here is purely his own for
