Compare and Contrast the Ways in Which the Two Poets Present Their Memories

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Compare and Contrast the Ways in Which the Two Poets Present Their Memories

                 “Parliament Hill Fields” and “I Remember, I Remember” are poems involving memories of the poets. They approach nostalgia in different ways, however, therefore producing contrasting results within the poems. In “I Remember, I Remember” the situation he is in forces the poet into his memories, whereas, in “Parliament Hill Fields”, the poet is looking back of his own accord. This results in a difference between the moods of the poems, giving “I Remember, I Remember” a more resentful tone that comes from being forced into his memories by visiting his birthplace. This is ironic, as, the title suggests “I Remember”-a voluntary act, but the feeling given is that the poet does not want to remember these things. Also, the repetition in the title suggests a certain level of wistfulness that demonstrates yet more irony, as these are definitely not fond memories for the poet.

                 

               The tones of the two poems contrast one another for the duration of the poems. “I Remember, I Remember” is a bitter poem, depicting the poet’s unhappy memories of childhood or even his sour feelings towards his memories. These feelings were apparent at the start of the poem as Larkin travels “by a different line for once”. The use of “for once” was not a necessary phrase in his description of the journey but insinuates that his childhood was monotonous and dull. There is another phrase, “come to that” that is also unnecessary to the meaning of the poem or sentence it is in. This gives the impression that it is said angrily as an aside. Larkin uses negatives to emphasise what he “did not” do and the experiences in life that he was “never” a part of. By concentrating on these negative memories, he gives a harsh tone to these few verses. The poet also qualifies all these memories. It seems as though he has dreamt about how he could have done things, for instance, he talks of the “blinding theologies” he “did not invent” and the “splendid family” that he “never” had. These adjectives show that the poet has thought a lot about his regrets and the things he missed out on, perhaps indicating that he has to live with his memories forever and cannot escape them.

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                   In “Parliament Hill Fields”, the poet looks more fondly back upon his earlier life, showing that it was more enjoyable. Betjeman makes his surroundings seem grander than they really were. An example of this is when the train he is watching “puffed its sulphur to the sunset where that Land of Laundries stood”. By using the image of “puffed its sulphur to the sunset”, Betjeman uses a commonly known beautiful sight to hide the fact that the train is really ...

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