‘Going away and returning’ and ‘First visit to the Seaside’
‘Going away and returning’ by Raymond Wilson and ‘First visit to the seaside’ by Phoebe Hesketh share as a central theme a day trip to the seaside. They create vivid images and recollections as we remember our own visits to the sea, but are used within the poems in different ways.
The title ‘First visit to the Seaside’ immediately tells you what the poem will be about. The fact that it is the ‘first visit’ of the author to the seaside shows that the poet is recounting childhood memories, and as such the poem takes on a child-like quality in its portrayal of the innocent beauty of the first visit to the sea. This contrasts with the far more cryptic title ‘Going away and returning’, which is a far more forbidding, less cheerful hint at a theme of travel.
Both poets give a chronological account of their day, while differing greatly in their enjoyment and enthusiasm for it. In Wilson’s poem, everything is distinctly colourless, ‘grey’ and lifeless; no excitement evoked by the view of the sea. Hesketh’s poem, however, is full of exuberance and anticipation, happiness on arrival; all colourful, with ‘blue’, ‘silver’ and ‘green’, all of which are bright and cheerful colours one would expect to see on a good, sunny day. This recognition of the incredible beauty of the sea and seaside shows a child’s view of the sea as an ideal destination, and one associated with fun, joy and holidays. Both poems are structured clearly to reflect the passing day, with a new verse after arriving, one for the main part of the day and a last verse for the leaving and returning home.