The Recurring Theme of Death in the Poetry of Philip Larkin.
The Recurring Theme of Death in the Poetry of Philip Larkin Priti C. Prabhakar English 774 Paper #2 Due: April 9, 2004 In reading the poetry of Philip Larkin for the first time, one is struck by the characteristically glum atmosphere that pervades most of his poems. The vast majority of his verse is devoted to what is generally taken to be negative aspects of life, such as loneliness and dejection, disappointments, loss, and the terrifying prospect of impending death. Evidently, there are uplifting and humorous sides to his work as well, but for certain reasons Larkin is invariably identified with a downhearted, pessimistic temper and tone of voice, conveying a constant sense of failure and of disappointment that underlies all the more specific emotions and reflections of individual poems. Frequently, Larkin is just sad, and one is amazed then at the wide range of things and events, from money ('Money': 'I listen to money singing...It is intensely sad.' (198)), to a delayed plane ('Autobiography at an Air-Station', where the person obviously had hoped to leave before sunset, but cannot, because his machine is several hours delayed. When he says: 'I set...So much on this Assumption. Now it's failed' (78), this response would appear a little oversensitive, did not the title indicate that something more is being dealt with here than just an afternoon at the airport),
Explore how the theme of love is presented in Birdsong and a selection of poems by Wilfred Owen.
Jennie Patrick Explore how the theme of love is presented in Birdsong and a selection of poems by Wilfred Owen. Loving attitudes, though perhaps not as prominent as themes such as violence and pride, are intimately observed and explored in Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong and in many of Wilfred Owen's War poems. Each aspect of love, as seen through the eyes of this First World War soldier and Faulks' characters, is as interesting as it is diverse, allowing an impervious insight into the psychological effects that the War had on these men. Such a formidable event as war has a devastating effect on all parties involved. In total, the First World War saw the deaths of 420,000 English, 450,000 German, and 205,000 French civilians. Through the bleak and most shattering of ordeals, love will show itself in the strangest fashions; surfacing in new and unforeseen places, and overriding all tribulations. I believe the two texts I have selected support this view, portraying clearly many different features of the love that war made apparent, love that was forced to survive horrendous difficulties, and the love which was occasionally lost. Propaganda for The Great War sold a message of equality, duty and devotion, striking a patriotic chord throughout England with slogans such as: "Everyone should do his bit", and "God bless dear daddy who is fighting the Hun and send him HELP". This image
Exploration Of Poetic Technique In 'HuntIng Snake' By Judith Wright
Exploration Of Poetic Technique In 'HuntIng Snake' By Judith Wright Discuss 'Hunting Snake' in detail commenting on the ways in which the poet presents the hunting snake. Sun-warmed in this late seasons grace under the autumn's gentlest sky we walked on, and froze half-through a pace. The great black snake went reeling by. Head-down, tongue flickering on the trail he quested through the parting grass; sun glazed his curves of diamond scale, and we lost breath to watch him pass. What track he followed, what small food fled living from his fierce intent, we scarcely thought; still as we stood our eyes went with him as he went. Cold, dark and splendid he was gone into the grass that hid his prey. We took a deeper breath of day, looked at each other, and went on. Judith Wright presents "Hunting Snake" in a simple manner, one that corresponds to the content of the poem. The simplicity of style employed is similar to the simplicity of the moment narrated. The snake itself, despite being widely regarded as deadly and venomous, is portrayed simply in the poem- straight, of one soled colour and moving in one direction. Throughout the poem, a contrast is set up between the stillness of the onlookers and the movement of the snake. This contrast seems to be the reciprocal of most notions held today, for it is mankind that has the power to act, while nature stands
Childhood - Frances Cornford. Grown ups are old on purpose. Grown ups are grand on purpose. This is what the speaker first thinks in Cornfords Childhood. But as the poem goes on he reaches an epiphany; realising that grown ups are no more in con
Grown ups are old on purpose. Grown ups are grand on purpose. This is what the speaker first thinks in Cornford's "Childhood". But as the poem goes on he reaches an epiphany; realising that grown ups are no more in control of their destiny as he, a child is. The speaker's perception is limited by their understanding of the world and growing up. It is only after an encounter with an aunts friend does she come to a realisation. Cornford uses rhyming and varies the line length to help convey the childlike style of the poem. In the first part of the poem, Cornford uses descriptive language to paint a picture of adults. They are described as "choos[ing]" to have "Stiff backs and wrinkles" and "veins like small fat snakes". These simple descriptions help trigger reader memories and remind them of old aged people in their lives; while the verb "chose" shows the speakers inexperience with the world. Cornford then uses a short line "On purpose to be grand" I think Cornford only uses the adjective "grand" to keep the rhyming pattern, though it can also infer that the speaker views old age as a bit upper class. Cornfords uses rhyming and simple language to create a childlike feel to the opening, the rhyming patterns evoking memories of nursery rhymes. However, as soon as the speaker comes to his realisation, the rhyming stops and the diction also becomes more complex. This suggests the
One Flesh
"One Flesh" Elizabeth Jennings has produced this poem with an extraordinarily deep meaning that has seldom been seen in other poems of this genre. The poem in itself is pessimistic while the message is the exact opposite. The first thing that I wish to discuss is the sole title of this poem. It is of great significance because it can be related to several times within the poem. One Flesh is biblical and it is meant to say that when a man (or woman) marries, he or she becomes one with the other. In actual fact this poem can be compared to William Shakespeare's 116th sonnet. Before we actually commence with the poem there are a few facts about Elizabeth that we should include as they may be useful later on when interpreting this poem. Elizabeth was a well-educated woman who was born in 1926 and died just three years ago. She worked in publishing and as a librarian. Most of her poems were based on spiritual and emotional topics and they were often quite person as is "One Flesh". Her poems included suffering, relationships, loneliness and religious faith. This is highly peculiar because "One Flesh" has every single one of those characteristics. Our first concern before explaining the actual meaning of the poem is the diction used. We can clearly observe that it is simple. This could be linked to the way in which Elizabeth has decided to demonstrate a very boring lifestyle. This
Sylvia Plath,
A commentary of "Daddy" by Sylvia Plath "Daddy", one of Plaths most famous and detailed autobiographical poems, was written in the last years of her life and is saturated with suppressed anger and dark imagery. The sixteen stanza poem, through Plaths use of ambiguous symbolism, arguably is bitterly addressing Plaths father, who died when she was only eight, and her husband Ted Hughes, who had broken her "pretty red heart in two" (st.12, line 1). The poem is intense with once suppressed emotion, setting an aggressive, desperate, almost psychic tone and is highly concentrated on the theme of death. With Plath's application of various techniques including diction, imagery, enjambment, contrast, repetition and oxymoron, the poem comes across as shocking with the intensity of feeling and the passionate sadness that highlight the suicidal messages conveyed. As is pointed out, the context of the poem "Daddy" is that of Plath's husband's affair with another woman. Grieved to the point of psychotic anger Plath's use of imagery throughout the piece accentuates the hopeless despair of the speaker at the conflicting male relationships in Plath's life: first her father and then husband. "Any more, black shoe In which I have lived like a foot..." The metaphor of 'black shoe' possibly used to denote a person, suggests a stifling image. The speaker claims to have lived in that shoe,
Compare and Contrast Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est and Shakespeare's Speech From Henry V.
Compare and Contrast Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est and Shakespeare's Speech From Henry V It is terribly ironic that in the current international crisis over war I may be analysing two pieces with very contrasting views on the subject. Where Shakespeare glorifies the art of war and the honour surrounding it, Owen devalues a respected Latin phrase, which tells of the honour of war. I will first interpret Owen's poem (Dulce et Decorum Est), and later move on to Shakespeare's piece, and finally compare the two. Owen, himself fought and died in the First World War, and in all his poetry, (which is all war poetry) he conveys the terrifying horror of war. Owen said "The poetry is in the pity" meaning that he did not worry about the popularity of his poems, it was just his means of communication to the public allowing him to transmit the lasting pain caused by war, and dispel any thoughts that war is full of pride and shining uniforms. He starts the first stanza describing the terrible state of the men, he conveys the men as gender less and old. The contrast of this from when they left, with boots gleaming, mood high and now "bent double like old beggars", and "cursed through sludge". This also contrasts greatly with the image of the men marching confidently, shoulders back and chest puffed out, instead they are bent over like old women. He also mentions "hags" this word
Compare and contrast views of the First World War as presented by the poets of that era and by Pat Barker in "Regeneration".
Compare and contrast views of the First World War as presented by the poets of that era and by Pat Barker in "Regeneration" The First World War was looked upon as a heroic and courageous task to perform for your country. The young men of that era were influenced by propaganda to fight in the war as it portrayed true chivalry. These views were also opposed by many but expressed by similar means which were poetry and novel writing. Although these were the main forms of literary pieces there were those who wrote diaries and extracts. This essay will look at the views of the First World War poets in contrast to Pat Barkers Regeneration. Regeneration is a war novel which looks at the harsh reality of the First World War as experienced by young men from the United Kingdom. Although barker had no direct experience of the World War 1, her writing strongly shows her opposing view which is similar to Sassoon and Owen. Regeneration is set in a mental hospital where a series of realistic and fictional characters are interwoven. Two of the main characters included Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, who were admitted into Craig Lockhart where Dr. Rivers treated them for the psychological injuries they both attained throughout the duration of the war. Regeneration is a novel which looks at the psychological damage in which war has on the soldiers. Rivers diagnoses their illness to
Choose 3 poems by Wilfred Owen that look at different aspects of war. Compare how Owen deals with each aspect and consider what his overall message might be.
Choose 3 poems by Wilfred Owen that look at different aspects of war. Compare how Owen deals with each aspect and consider what his overall message might be. Wilfred Owen was born the 18th of March 1893 in Oswestry. He was the eldest of four children and was brought up in the Anglican religion. He studied at the Birkenhead Institute, at Shrewsbury Technical School and at the University of London. He enlisted for war in 1915 and later that year was sent to France. In 1917 he was diagnosed as being shell-shocked after being wounded three times and was sent to the Craig Lockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh. Here he met with the war poet Siegfried Sassoon. This meeting seems to have been exceedingly valuable to Owens career as a poet. Sassoon's pacifism reaffirmed Owen's views about the war and influenced his poetic style, encouraging him to write in a more colloquial and ironic style much like that of Sassoon's. Later, Owen was sent to Scarborough and had more time to write and work on his writing technique. His style developed using both assonance and half-rhyme which was greatly admired by his peers. In late 1918 Owen was sent back out to his former battalion and a month later was awarded the Military Cross for bravery. The war ended on the 11th November 1918 at 11 O'clock, just a week after Owen had been killed in one of the last and most futile battles of the First World
A Comparison of the poem "Disabled" by Wilfred Owen and the song, "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" by Eric Bogle.
A Comparison of the poem "Disabled" by Wilfred Owen and the song, "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" by Eric Bogle. The poem "Disabled" and the song, "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" both show the horrors of the war from a soldier's perspective, describing from the day they joined the war and how this affected their lives after the war. The soldier in "Disabled" lived a joyous life in his youth. He liked to play football with his pals and then used to go out and get drunk together. He had a girlfriend and joined the war to please her and also because "someone had said he'd look a god in kilts". He was not yet 19, and legally a minor for the war, but this never concerned him, nor did it concern the authorities who knowingly wrote down his lie, "Smiling they wrote his lie; aged nineteen years." He was silly enough to lie about his age, not thinking about the consequences that awaited him and what war really meant, "And no fears of Fear came yet"; he wasn't afraid of death because he was too young to understand the horrors of war. He only thought about how smart the soldiers look while they salute and other such army etiquette ("For daggers in plaid socks; of smart solutes"), and how he would be marching amongst them. But the war changed him. In the present he is in hospital and is crippled by the war, "Legless, sewn short at elbow". He can no longer play football or party
