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
Critical Analysis- Praise Song for my Mother by Grace Nichols
This poem is a lyrical ballad written with a simple rhyme scheme of a-b-c. ab-c. The poem, as the name suggests is a song where the poet is rejoicing her relationship with her mother by making use of simple but powerful imagery. It is important to note that unlike the commemorative poems that are usually written by Western writers, "Praise for My Mother" does not have a requiem like elegiac mood. The overall tone of the poem is pleasant. "Praise Song" is a panegyric on the writer's mother. in which she celebrates a woman who gave her both roots to grow from and wings to fly with. Writing about her own mother, Nichols once commented that she was a '... warm, intelligent, loving woman who was full of stories, anecdotes and songs from her own childhood. People loved being around her and I can't remember a single day when our home wasn't visited by some friend, neighbour or relative who had dropped in "just fuh [sic] minute" but ended up staying hours.' Starting with the vocabulary, it is vivid but hard-hitting. The writer uses the images of water, moon and sun- all powerful symbols of nature, to describe her mother's character which shows her strength of personality and the extent of her love and affection towards her. The red colour of the fish's gills is reminiscent of the maternal love; a break from the clichéd usage of the colour red in "standard" English literature
Critical appreciation of the poem "Old Ladies' Home" by Sylvia Plath with reference to the presentation of old age
Dealing with old age and loneliness can be both complicated and perplexing. Sylvia Plath shows us this through her poem "Old Ladies' Home, where she shares her views on the harsh reality of growing into old age and awaiting death alone. In this poem, the omniscient speaker employs a detached tone to describe the old ladies in the home as fragile, lifeless and neglected. The poem takes place in a home for aged women, as can be inferred from the title of the poem and contains several images and metaphors that bring out the poem's main theme of death. Several symbols are used to represent death in this poem. A few such examples would be "black fabric", "ghosts" and "coffins". These symbols present death as dull and eerie, rather than as the celebration of a life well lived, hence building a sombre and gloomy atmosphere in the poem. This in turn reflects the old ladies' melancholic state as they await their death in the home. Death, for these old women, is also presented as being unpredictable and as an issue that lingers in their mind every night. For example, the last stanza of the poem says, "And Death, that bald-head buzzard, / Stalls in halls where the lamp wick/ Shortens with each breath drawn." Metaphor is used here to compare death to the buzzard which is a scavenging bird, similar to the vulture. Death is described as something that lurks within the home, waiting for
Journeying in Hardy's "At Castle Boterel"
After Emma's death Hardy embarked on a journey to some of their old haunts in Cornwall to rediscover their old love. Considering in detail one poem, discuss ways in which Hardy uses the symbol of journeying in his poetry. "At Castle Boterel", one of the greatest of Hardy's Poems of 1912-13, is an intensely personal poem, yet expresses universal truths on the subjects of loss, reclamation and time. An example of Hardy at his most emotionally evocative and philosophically profound, it chronicles his spiritual, intellectual and emotional journey following the death of his wife. The background to the composition of "At Castle Boterel" is that of a physical journey itself - Hardy's pilgrimage to Cornwall. In the poem this journey is juxtaposed with a past journey, separated by time but not space, taken in a parallel March many years before. The comparative weather conditions belie Hardy's nostalgia for the past: the bleakness of the present "drizzle" and "fading byway" draws a sharp contrast with the "dry March weather" of the former journey. The use of the vivid present in "We climb the road" emphasises the clarity of the memory, blurring, as in many of the Poems of 1912-13, the boundaries between past and present, memory and reality. Hardy's pilgrimage was not just a literal journey, for it was a quest to overcome the boundaries of Time and death through his poetry, an
Happy is England Now
'Happy is England Now' Sophie Thompson The poem 'Happy is England Now' was written by John Freeman in 1914 at the beginning of the First World War. The poem shows significant evidence of patriotism and propaganda which were common in the early war poems before the realities of the brutal war were known about. John Freeman was a Georgian poet who was influenced by inter-war literacy circles. The poem has a formal structure of four stanzas and has a regular syntax of six lines in each stanza with lengthy sentences. In the opening line we immediately get a sense of the tremendous patriotism in the poem 'There is not anything more wonderful, Than a great people moving towards the deep' the phrase has a patriotic attitude of proud, glorified people sailing out to the sea to war. Freeman uses the word deep to describe the journey to war as an unknown adventure which is supported in the third line 'Of an unguessed and unfeared future,' The phrase is suggesting that the soldiers are curious to explore and do not fear for what is to some. The theme of idealism can be seen in the phrase 'As the new passion stirring in their veins, When the destroying dragon wakes from sleep.' In the phrase England is personified to have passion building in its blood and body which is also ironic as during war there is a lot of blood shed. There is use of alliteration in 'destroying dragon' which is
Compare: 'The Soldier' by Rupert Brooke, 'Futility' by Wilfred Owen, and 'Anthem For Doomed Youth' also by Wilfred Owen, are all on the theme of war.
Kathryn Garnham 10T April - May 2002 English Literature Coursework: A Comparison of Three Sonnets on the Same Theme A sonnet is a poem fourteen lines in length. Sonnets follow various rhyming patterns, such as the idea of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet, as was promoted by the sonnets written by William Shakespeare. The Iambic Pentameter, the idea of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, is a common feature of sonnets, as are elevated themes such as love, death, war and honour. The three poems I have chosen to compare: 'The Soldier' by Rupert Brooke, 'Futility' by Wilfred Owen, and 'Anthem For Doomed Youth' also by Wilfred Owen, are all on the theme of war. The most striking difference between these three poems is the manner in which they portray war. Whilst 'The Soldier' seems to glorify war, making the soldiers who fought appear as heroes, the other two sonnets depict the apparent pointless of war. In 'Anthem for Doomed Youth', the title alone presents a feeling of the worthlessness of war: the word 'doomed' shows that the young soldiers are not yet in danger, but by fighting in a war they are approaching an imminent death. The word 'anthem' is a contradiction, an example of irony. Anthems are glorious, celebratory songs, and by no means is the poem joyous. Naturally, the title 'Futility' also leads the reader into an expectation of a poem
Explore how Heaney writes about childhood experiences in Death of a Naturalist and in one other poem of your choice. In your Response you should include discussion of the following:
Explore how Heaney writes about childhood experiences in Death of a Naturalist and in one other poem of your choice. In your Response you should include discussion of the following: * Descriptive elements * Use of language and structure Heaney writes about childhood experiences in Death of a Naturalist and Blackberry-Picking. Death of a Naturalist is concerned with growing up and loss of innocence. The poet vividly describes a childhood experience that precipitates a change in the boy from the receptive and protected innocence of childhood to the fear and uncertainty of adolescence. Similarly, Blackberry picking is about hope and disappointment and easily becomes a metaphor for other experiences. Both poems are organised in two sections corresponding to the change. Death of a Naturalist opens with an evocation of summer landscape which has the immediacy of an actual childhood experience. There is also a sense of exploration in which is consistent with the idea of learning inevitable leading to discovery and troubled awareness of experience. In the second section everything changes and the world is now a threatenting place, full of ugliness and meance. There is still a strong emphasis on decay and putrefaction, but now its not balanced by images suggesting profusion of life. Similar to the Death of a Naturalist, Blackberry picking begins with the description of the
Aftermath Poem Analysis
Aftermath by Siegfried Sassoon Poems written by Siegfried Sassoon express the World War I experiences and the horrible memories attached with it. All his poems contain a deep meaning and an important message. His poetry has a passionate expression of outrage at the horrors of war and feels pity for the young soldiers who sacrificed their life. His diverse use of imagery and techniques is what makes him an exceptional war poet. His poetry evokes the reader about the hardships during the war. Sassoon's conveys his messages very proficiently. The poem, "Aftermath," is a perfect example of his work and conveys a very important message. In the first stanza he talks about the war, in the second stanza, he describes all the events and shows frustration in the third stanza. The first stanza talks briefly about the life after the war and the memories attached with it. Sassoon asks the reader a question, "HAVE you forgotten yet?..." (1) He wants people to remember the past events and uses ellipsis to create a pause in the poem and make the reader think. "HAVE," is capitalized because the poet wants the reader to pay extreme attention for past events and his words. He asks a question to remember the soldiers who sacrificed their lives. Sassoon compares our daily lives to "traffic checked while at the crossings of city-ways:" to portray people moving on and not remembering the past.
Discuss the use of symbolism in the novel Fly Away Peter
Yr 11 English Lit. Long Essay Emma Bright Fly Away Peter Discuss the use of symbolism in the novel Fly Away Peter Effective use of symbolism enables the reader to gain a greater understanding of the concepts the author wishes to portray. Malouf cleverly demonstrates this within the novel Fly Away Peter and transforms it from a story about Australian involvement in the First World War into an analysis of society, the effect war has on people, friendship and what it is to be an Australian. On closer examination of the text Malouf's symbols become apparent, which are then able to provide further insightful information about the characters, the circumstances that are faced and the themes and messages presented to us throughout the novel. These symbols come in various forms, although the most prominent recurring symbol within Fly Away Peter is that of the birds. The birds are first presented to the reader at the beginning of the novel where we find the main character Jim, bird watching in the swamplands of the Australian coast. They are described as "A vast population of water birds lived in the swamp / lorikeets, rosellas and the different families of pigeons - fruit-pigeon, bronze wings, the occasional topknot or squatter - and high over all stood the birds of prey, the hawks and kestrels." (Pg. 1 - Chpt. 1) In Jim's eye, the swamplands seem to be a good representation of
Follower is a poem written by the renowned poet Seamus Heaney. The poem relates back to Heaneys past memories which he had experienced when he was at a younger age.
'Follower' is a poem written by the renowned poet Seamus Heaney. The poem relates back to Heaney's past memories which he had experienced when he was at a younger age. The text is spoken through the first person narrative of a child's perspective and the use of diction and metaphors further conveys the poet's relationship with his family. The poem, although sounding very simplistic, manages to convey Heaney's relationship through memories that he had with his father. In the first half of the poem the poet draws a vivid portrait of his father as he ploughs a field. The poet, as a young boy, follows his father as he goes about his work and, like most boys, he idolizes his father and admires his great skill, 'An expert. He would set the wing and fit the bright steel - pointed sock'. For a substantial amount of the poem, Heaney devotes his time to praising his father. Through this entire appraisal, the young Heaney becomes more attached to his father, making their relationship stronger. The father is, more than anything else, a skilled and energetic farmer. He is the source of admiration for Heaney for which he praises him in a physical and metaphorical standpoint. In the physical standpoint, his father's strength and fortitude are described effectively by the use of a simile. Heaney describes his shoulders as "globed like a full sail strung". The image of a full sail strung
