When Wilfred Owen wrote the poem 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' his purpose was to warn us of the effects of war and how it can affect soldiers and their loved ones.
AMDG Folio Piece Breda Sweeney Anthem for Doomed Youth 20-02-02 When Wilfred Owen wrote the poem 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' his purpose was to warn us of the effects of war and how it can affect soldiers and their loved ones. He achieves this by comparing the horror and danger on the battlefield, to the respect we show to our loved ones at their funeral when they die. He list objects such as prayers and candles and twists them into the equivalents of war. Owen splits the poem into two parts, the octave and the sestet. The octave is set on the battlefield. It starts with, "What passing bells for those who die as cattle?" In this the line, the passing bells are signalling what the cannons sounded like on the battlefield. I think this is a good comparison as bells and cannons both have the same rhythm of sound coming from them. He also describes the sound that comes from the riffle, to be like the constant flow and rhythm of prayers been said aloud. The second quatrain contrast the sound of wailing shells with the sound a choir makes. I imagine that Owen tried to describe the wailing shells to be like the high voices in a choir, singing over the rest of the singers just like the wailing shells would block all the rest of the sounds on the battlefield. The octave ends with the word "shires" which leads us on to the sestet. The sestet
Analyse how Seamus Heaney uses language to convey his childhood experiences to the reader in his poems
Analyse how Seamus Heaney uses language to convey his childhood experiences to the reader in his poems "Death of a Naturalist" and "Blackberry Picking." Both poems are similar in their content as they are both written by Seamus Heaney about his childhood experiences. I also believe that both his experiences have a similar content. In "Death of a Naturalist" we find that the poem is about being out in fields collecting frogspawn. In "Blackberry Picking" the poet is speaking again about his childhood experiences in the fields. This time he is collecting blackberries. This is similar to "Death if a Naturalist" as it is in the wild at a young age enjoying nature. The titles are not so similar; "Death of a Naturalist" is a symbolic title. The title is not literal, no one actually dies in the poem. The death is of the way the poet feels about the frogs. In the first verse the poet feels for the frogs but in the second verse he almost fears them. "Blackberry Picking" on the other hand is not a symbolic title it is literal. In the poem the poet goes blackberry picking and this is explained in the title. Although the title could be considered symbolic also as perhaps the simplicity of the title portrays the simplicity and innocence of the child's mind. The mood between the two poems is also very similar. In "Death of a Naturalist" the mood changes between the two verses. In the
Critical Commentary - Mariana
Critical Commentary Mariana 'Mariana', written by Lord Alfred Tennyson - a poet of the romanticist era - revolves around one character only who awaits the arrival of her renegade lover who never arrives: Mariana. She is alluded to the character of the same name and demeanour in Shakespeare's play 'Measure for Measure'. The simplistic title consisting of only the character's name suggests that she is indeed the main subject of the poem. It begins with an epigraph, 'Mariana in the moated grange', taken from the aforementioned Shakespeare play. The epigraph offers the readers a glimpse of what is to come in the poem, and it does shed light on the fact that Mariana is an isolated figure (physically so, because she is surrounded by a moat) on a dilapidated grange. The concept of a dilapidated grange is emphasised in the first eight lines of the poem. The first line paints a picture of a dark, gloomy surrounding, as 'blackest moss' suggests. Not only is there moss, but also it is black. The colour black often connotes evil and strange nightly mysterious deeds. It 'thickly crust[ed]' the flower-plots, suggesting a long time has passed since the garden and the house was tended to, as does 'rusted nails'. Tennyson also describes the 'unlifted' clinking latch, therefore suggestive of the fact that nobody has entered or been out of the house for a considerable length of time.
"The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke: Language, theme and treatment of the subject matter
"The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke: Write a critical appreciation of the poem, paying special attention to the language, the theme and the treatment of the subject matter. "The Soldier" is an Italian sonnet written in iambic pentameter. It has an English rhyme scheme for the octave and an Italian rhyme scheme for the sestet. The sonnet is about a soldier's somewhat idealistic view of war of how people should not mourn for the dead of a war but instead be proud that they have done their country proud. The mood of the poem is blissful and reminiscent. The two main themes of the sonnet are about patriotism and war. At the beginning of the sonnet, the poet states that one should "think only this of me". The choice of the word "only" shows how the poet believes that the following is what is worth thinking about and that they should not bother about anything else concerning his death. This already shows how he ignores the fact about the cruelty of war and how he believes that personal loyalty to the country overrides everything else, even the losing of large numbers of young men's lives. In the next line, he writes about how, if he dies, there would be "some corner of a foreign field/ That is for ever England". The use of "corner" and "foreign" brings with it a sense that the area is hidden and insignificant and this makes the reader feel distant from that place. However, this
The Lady Of Shalott Feminist Reading
IT CAN BE ARGUED THAT "THE LADY OF SHALOTT CHALLENGES THE ROLE OF WOMEN WITHIN A VICTORIAN SOCIETY." DISCUSS. Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott portrays the role for women during the Victorian era and the desire for the main character of the poem to relinquish her female restraints and enter a male dominated society. The Lady of Shalott is set during a period when society was restrained by the Victorian chain-of-being which deemed women to unequal to the supreme male dominance for example they had limited access to education and married women of higher classes were forbidden to work. It can be argued that Tennyson uses his main character to represent the increased activity of women activists who were petitioning for equality between the genders and most importantly the right to vote and were ultimately punished for doing so. The character's rejection of the Victorian values of femininity leads to her ruin as she refuses to accept the boundaries her gender enforces upon her. As a result, the male dominated society destroys her because there is no place for an assertive female. Tennyson presents the Lady of Shalott as an outsider who is to remain on the verge of a patriarchal society, isolated on her own "silent isle" through use of setting. With the use of dismal imagery, Tennyson constructs the setting to resemble a prison with "four grey walls, and four grey towers" entrapping
Dulce Et Decorum Est and The Soldier: A comparison
Dulce Et Decorum Est and The Soldier: A comparison It is quite possible that never have two poems offered such contrasting opinions on one subject as Dulce et Decorum Est and The Soldier. And the subject, war, is their only connection. Whether or not it is right to die for your country, both poets are vehement in their convictions. It is through the various facets of poetry writing that the authors show their opinions. This is what I shall explore in this essay: which poem more effectively lays down its author's stance on war. In both poems, use of language is paramount to their effectiveness. However, Dulce Et Decorum Est uses a particularly stylised form of tactile language. Where The Soldier is more reflective, Dulce Et Decorum Est is as graphic as it is bitter. Its vivid images stun the reader with one intense depiction after another: "He plunges at me, guttering, choking". This vivid imagery is reinforced by the poet's almost excessive use of onomatopoeia. This onomatopoeia is in keeping with the dark, bitter tone of the entire poem. Words such as "writhing", "sludge" and "trudge" all convey this sense of resentfulness from the poet. The negative comparisons used in the poem correspond with the tone. Lines such as "knock-kneed, coughing like hags", evoke this bitter tone. Another difference in Dulce Et Decorum Est is that it is a lot more emotive because of
Compare "The Drum" by John Scott and "Vitai Lampada" by Henry Newbolt.
Pre 1914 War Poems The two poems that I am going to compare are "The Drum" by John Scott and "Vitai Lampada" by Henry Newbolt. The poems have greatly contrasting views of war. "The Drum" has a negative perception of war whereas "Vitai Lampada" portrays a very positive image of war. A drum is a musical instrument that was used during war times to recruit men to sign up and join the army. The drum would be banged to get people to notice that the army was recruiting outside, people would then leave their houses and 'sign up' in the street. The first line of the poem tells the reader about the poet's view on war, "I hate that drum's discordant sound". Discordant - meaning disagreeing, at variance in respect to sounds. The word "hate" meaning to dislike intensely used as the second word in this poem, showing the strength of the feelings about war felt by the writer John Scott. The beginning of "Vitai Lampada" is very different to the beginning of "The Drum". "There's a breathless hush in the Close tonight - Ten to make and the match to win". There is no strong negative or positive emotive word like the word "hate" used at the start of "The Drum". The word "Close" is given a capital letter, implying that it might be the name of a stadium or pitch, not just the literal meaning of the word "close" - an enclosed space. "Vitia Lampada" starts by describing the tense atmosphere of
Referring to several of the poems studied, show how Wilfred Owen uses language and imagery to communicate his attitudes of war.
Referring to several of the poems studied, show how Wilfred Owen uses language and imagery to communicate his attitudes of war. Wilfred Owen was concerned to emphasise the hardships and trials of the soldiers who fought in the First World War. Wilfred Owen, who died subsequently after receiving mortal wounds while in combat in the war, had some strong viewpoints and messages about war which he tried to convey through his poetry. He had three main viewpoints which included most or all of his feelings. These were firstly, that war is futile and pointless; secondly that men lose their humanity and dignity through war; finally, he wants combat the Government propaganda that painted a sweet picture of war. He wanted to convey a message expressing the reality, horror and futility of war. He also felt strongly towards the idea that the generals and offices treated the ordinary soldiers with contempt and didn't care for them. He also felt that the soldiers were treated like insignificant pawns in a game which they didn't know the rules to. Further he tried to attack the blind patriotism or jingoism, which is basically people who believe in the idea that their country and leaders are always right that they are happily willing to die for them. Owen highlights the horrific conditions in which the soldiers fought to show the futility of war. In the poem 'The Sentry' he describes the
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
