GCSE: Other Poets
- Marked by Teachers essays 3
- Peer Reviewed essays 1
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Commentary on 'The Wasps Nest'
5 star(s)within this bastion of strength, where people appear to be in control of their own destiny, they are instead at their weakest. This idea is reinforced as Rosenberg is describing the idea of "love"- something that man should be in control of, because it is their emotion and often the bedrock of our lives, yet which every reader knows is just as fickle and unpredictable as anything else, something over which am has no control. This idea of weakness within apparent strength is the fundamental theme of the poem, which is a contrast highlight of the conflict between these two positions.
- Word count: 1308
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Continuum by Allen Curnow
4 star(s)Curnow is referring to himself. The image of the moon may be interpreted as a symbol of his unsteady train of thought. This and the contradiction thus serve to establish the confusion and indecision in the poet?s mind. Also, the moon is a symbol of poetic muse. Thus the falling moon becomes a metaphor for his sinking poetic abilities. The moon is supposed to be steady but it has lost its balance, as if to suggest that poetic inspiration is not a steady source; it waxes and wanes like the moon.
- Word count: 1066
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Base Details is a war poem written by Siegfried Sassoon in 1918. The year of 1918 was a crucial one in the First World War, and Base Details seeks to explore some of the bitterness and cruelty
3 star(s)Most notable is perhaps how the author chooses to purposely understate serious issues, in order to suggest patriotic and sympathetic feelings for the reader. An example of such an understatement would be line 7 which says: "Yes we've lost heavily in this last scrap." "Scrap" in this context means "battle". However, we'd normally see "scrap" used in context with normal, unimportant fights, and even used as another term for "junk" or "garbage". This implies that the 'major' who articulates this line is obviously understating and fails to acknowledge the consequences, dramatic events, and horrors of the particular battle, thus making the reader feel disgusted about this 'major' character.
- Word count: 698
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Poetry from different Cultures
5 star(s)The cocoa pod is from somewhere like Africa. In the second line, the way the words are placed really emphasises the word 'never' as it catches you out when reading out loud. You would normally say that phrase as 'is never', but in this poem, to emphasize the rhythm and the word 'never' the sentence is 'never is'. In the second stanza, onomatopoeia plays a fairly big part, taking over 3 words, 'drip', 'splash' and 'echo'. I think this not only gives a strong visual image, but allows the reader/listener of the poem to really imagine what's going on.
- Word count: 873
