Understanding Place and Language in Olive Senior's "Gardening in the Tropics"
Understanding Place and Language in Olive Senior's "Gardening in the Tropics" "On a hilltop, at that, you find yourself drowning, a movement of ebbing and flowing. You recognize early (or too late) that you failed to detach From that mooring. Always, cruelty of choice. Here's the knife. Yourself: Executioner Midwife" - Olive Senior, "Leaving Home", Over the Roofs of the World Gardening in the Tropics exploded onto the literary scene from the pen of Jamaican novelist and poet Olive Senior in 1994. A collection of poems, paralleling the Tropical Garden and landscape with European tropes of an Edenic garden, Gardening in the Tropics covers a wide range of themes, inclusive of which are displacement, loss of personal, national and cultural identity, and a response to colonial and imperial oppression. Her exploration of these themes is however layered and multi-dimensional. In addition to being filled of threads of post-colonialism, her literature also surrounds a fixation on migration and the African diaspora- the historical movement of Africans and their descendants throughout the world. This is consequent of Senior's migration to Canada during the 1970's where much of her works were written. From this remote location, she was able to garner a different perspective on Caribbean life and society, and in essence reconcile a Caribbean past with a North American present
Analysis of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How do I love thee?"
natasha Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote the poem ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese XLIII’ shortly after she eloped with Robert Browning and married him. ’ Sonnets from the Portuguese’ was a sequence of poems that readers thought must have been translations from Portuguese but were actually all Brownings’ own work and were given this name, as her husband’s pet name for her was my little Portuguese. With this in mind, it is clear that the poems were written from her to her husband. The poem is a petrarchan sonnet which uses iambic pentameter. The poem has a very feminine tone to it which can be identified quickly through the type of diction used ‘Being and ideal Grace’, ‘every day’s Most quiet need,’. The poem begins with the persona asking a rhetorical question of ‘How do I love thee?’ and then goes on to answer the question herself by listing the different ways in which she loves her husband. The first way describes love to the ‘depth’, ‘breadth’ and ‘height’ that the persona’s soul can reach. The use of tripling is using the soul as a spatial metaphor comparing the soul to a three dimensional physical object as all things in the universe are, meaning the love is real and spans the measurement of the whole depth and length of the universe. The use of tripling could also suggest some sort of reference to the holy trinity taking the
Conjoined by Judith Minty is a poem about a broken relationship.
“Conjoined” by Judith Minty “Conjoined” by Judith Minty is a poem about a broken relationship. Judith Minty uses many similes, metaphors, and analogies to describe an unhappy union of two people and the inseparability of marriage. The sub title is “ a marriage poem” which sets the theme of the poem, but until you start reading you do not realize that it is an unhappy view towards marriage. She uses words with negative connotation such as “heavy”, “deformed” and “accident” to describe the relationship in a marriage. She ends the poem with “We cannot escape each other.” This is a depressing ending to her poem because she talks about marriage as if it is a prison. Minty uses a simile to describe marriage by writing “An accident, like the two-headed calf rooted in one body, fighting to suck at its mother's teats”. She uses the calf with two heads as a symbol of the two people involved in a marriage. Both have two separate minds to think for themselves but are combined in a relationship. When she says “fighting to suck at its mother's teats” she talk about how two people in a marriage fight to get their way and their opinion in against each other. This enhances the poem because it shows how she compares marriage to an accident of a two-headed calf with a simile which shows her negative view towards marriage. Judith Minty uses a metaphor when
The Poem A Bird Came down the Walk by Emily Dickenson describes the simple experience of her watching a bird walk down the path
Analysis on Emily Dickinson’s poem ‘Birds’ The Poem “A Bird Came down the Walk” by Emily Dickenson describes the simple experience of her watching a bird walk down the path. She shows the bird and its actions throughout the poem, providing us with an image of what she’s seeing. The poem makes the reader feel and experience the simple way the bird acts beautiful f nature. Dickenson creates the mood of the poem by detailing the sequence of activities a bird goes through as simple as they may be, she then turns the description into a poetic endeavour though imagery and contrast. The first three stanzas of the poem are reasonably interchangeable since they describe three events that could occur in any order when watching birds. This being said the order they are in works well, provides a strong introduction and produces an enhanced understanding of the poem for readers. Stanza’s four and five describe the speaker offering the bird a crumb of food, the startled response of the bird and the departure of the bird as it takes flight gracefully. These are not interchangeable stanzas as these two events rely on cause and effect as she attempt to provide food and gets a startled response. The poem can be broken up into two sections consisting of the first three and last two stanzas. The first section establishes a mood and tone for the narrative of the poem by detailing
At Mornington and Father and Child are poems which both demonstrate Harwoods distinctive voice
Gwen Harwood’s poetry explores ideas of the rejuvenating powers of memory, the inexorable nature of time and the adversity of advancing through various stages of human psychological development and the extent of life and death. “At Mornington” and “Father and Child” are poems which both demonstrate Harwood’s distinctive voice that transcends the barriers of time and examine universal issues that are pertinent to all. Moreover, the ability for these two poems to provide different interpretations makes them relevant to differing contexts with differing values. This is seen with two variant readings, a psychoanalytical reading and a post-modern reading. ‘At Mornington’ is a reminiscence of the persona’s life, evaluating the extent of life and death through memories, as shown by the first person point of view and past tense. It contains “memories of early childhood” that are described as “light in a sea-wet shell”, fragile and fleeting. The persona also continues to explore a collection of other memories and meandering thoughts, which the persona draws strength from in order to cope, understand and make sense of the present and the inevitability of her future death. The idea of memories in turn leads the poems into a psychoanalytical reading, in conjunction with a post-modern interpretation. The poem starts with the persona stating: ‘They told me that
Critical Commentary on London and Jerusalem by William Blake
The poetry of William Blake is well known for its metaphysical language and profound symbolism. In his two poems, entitled “London” and “Jerusalem” his use of these techniques, alongside many others, is crucial in his portrayal of the corruptive tendencies of man and his perspective on religion and England during the Industrial Revolution. Throughout these poems Blake reveals his strong dislike for the Industrial Revolution and its effect on London, expressed particularly in his poem “London”. His poem “Jerusalem” focuses very much so on the natural beauty of England and religion in England. Blake, much like many Romantic poets, bases his writings on emotion rather than intellect. This is evident throughout these poems as Blake appeals to the senses and stirs readers to question their resolve with regards to England and its natural beauty. The poem “London” by William Blake begins with a cynical portrayal of the authority figures during the Romantic era, these being the church and the King. This is evident in Blake’s use of the word “chart’d” which implies that the “streets” and “Thames” are owned by the state, exposing the oppressive nature of capitalism in England during this era, this also proposes that nature is controlled by the wealthy. A Marxist reading of this shows the relationship between the Church or King and the land over which
Cheng's poem "Reservist": An analysis
Reservist: An analysis What would we do if we were stuck doing the same things years on end with no respite? What if what we did was futile and showed no signs of bringing any changes? Cheng presents a similar picture in his poem. Although the poem is metaphoric, has many layers and can meaning anything from war to life itself, the title of the poem makes many things clear for us: firstly that the persona is one of the reservists, the military reserves. Secondly that the enforced labor is that of the yearly training that is forced upon them and which results in nothing. The poem begins with Cheng comparing the Singaporean government with a feudalistic system. Cheng works this theme into an extended metaphor, with the entire first verse containing reference to feudalism. The "annual joust" referred to in the first line of the poem is the annual training for the reservists. We also know that this training is mandatory or enforced as it is "upon the pain of court martial" to "tilt at the old windmills", a reference to the story of Don Quixote and an example of the foolishness of it all. Cheng uses asyndeton to effect throughout the poem. As the poem is about a person or people stuck in a rut and getting nowhere, the series of events in which the weariness clearly show. Along with these, there are words that, in more direct words present the weariness, like "battle-weary
Describe the significance of some key events in Christina Rossettis Goblin Market.
Describe the significance of some key events in Christina Rossetti's 'Goblin Market'. I believe one key event that is significant in 'Goblin Market' is within the first stanza - as it introduces the reader to the main characters of "maids" and "goblins", which together contrast and are both typically seen as lower class. Maids suggest purity and honesty, whilst goblins create connotations of mischief and evil. This also implies the poem may be related to fairytale and fantasy, which is usually used in children's stories, so it could have hidden morals. The list of fruits are set out in an AABB rhyme scheme, and this is important as it makes the "goblins cry" to sell the fruits, even more enticing and inviting, leading the poem to flow smoother. The list begins with "Apples" which are a suggestive symbol of sin, linking to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which is significant to the time period - as it refers to women being oppressed, like Eve herself. This could be seen as a warning to the Maidens, of what may happen if they become tempted by the forbidden fruits, or could be suggestive to the audience of what is to come. The fruits, like "greengages/Damsons" would have been seen as exotic and decadent, making them delicacies to the maidens and more desirable. In the next stanza, darkness forebodes "evening by evening", which may either be warning the audience or
Analysis of "Because I Could Not Stop For Death" by Emily Dickinson
Nancy Zhang “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” Death is one of the most prominent themes in the world of poetry, yet each poem concerning it is completely different from the next. The poem “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” is perhaps one of the most enigmatic poems regarding the topic of death. In it, Emily Dickinson explores the psychology death through a young woman who has been buried for centuries. The poem is a reflection of the passing of time and one’s life while living, and although Dickinson portrays death as a lonely thing, it is neither frightening nor painful. The first two stanzas is a recollection of when the young lady was first taken away by Death, which has been personified into a gentlemanly figure. In a way, the relationship between Death and the young lady is almost like a courtship. The first two lines of the poem - “Because I could not stop for death he kindly stopped for me” - implying that young lady was not yet ready for Death, but nevertheless “betrothed” to him, like a young woman who is too polite to refuse her courteous suitor. Dickinson’s use of the word “kindly” gives the reader the impression that, although Death swoops in unannounced, he is very civil - “For his Civility”. The young lady is escorted onto a “Carriage” by Death, with only “Immortality”, also personified, as company, ironically
The Convergence of the Twain by Thomas Hardy,
The poem “The Convergence of the Twain”, by Thomas Hardy, tells the story of the Titanic in n different way to how most people would tell the story. Instead of focusing on the loss of lives and ‘who’s to blame’ Hardy focuses on the Titanic and the Iceberg. Throughout the poem he uses different poetic techniques to show his interpretation of the sinking of the ship. Firstly, Hardy tells the story by using rhyming triplets, when reading the poem it gives the reader a feeling of calm and peaceful waves, this ironically juxtaposes the situation as the ‘convergence’ between the Iceberg and the Titanic was not a peaceful collision. Moreover, Hardy uses alliteration in most stanzas’ to emphasise that it is fate that is drawing the “shadowy silent” Iceberg and the “gaily great” Titanic together. Secondly, by using roman numerals at the beginning of each stanza’s; this gives it a sense of chapters in a book. I also think he used roman numerals instead of numbers to give it a feel of a mythic story, knowing the story will be told forever. In the first stanza, like in any story Hardy sets the mood of the poem in the deep, dark, peaceful ocean floor. As a reader, this foreshadows what is to come and gives us the feeling of anticipation as we know how the poem is going to end but leaves us to question how the Titanic gets to the “solitude of the sea”. On
