Sheenagh Pugh is for me, a passionate and powerful poet; the majority of her poetry has contained the themes of the earth and how it will be ruined if we are not careful.
Sheenagh Pugh is for me, a passionate and powerful poet; the majority of her poetry has contained the themes of the earth and how it will be ruined if we are not careful. Even within her children's poetry, these themes are prominent. The other major theme within the poetry of Sheenagh Pugh is 'the bible' this theme is quite often in association with divine love for earth. She deals with this in a startlingly refreshing and compassionate way, often with the sense of melancholy but never with depression. Sheenagh Pugh refers in the title of 'The craft I left in was called Esau' that the pilots name is Esau and she is suggesting that mankind has made a bad bargain like Esau did in the bible. The settings of the poems are different from each other; 'The craft I left in was called Esau' is set in an spacecraft while 'Do you think We'll ever get to see Earth again, Sir?' is set in a classroom on a different planet evoking memories of home. In 'Do you think we'll ever see earth again, sir?' the setting is in a classroom and the teacher referring about earth. Sheenagh Pugh has set this poem in another world and in a class because she wants to show how it would make us think of home. She is uprooted from her culture or roots and she speaks 'I can't fancy a tour through the ruins of my home' which suggests that she has no intentions of seeing her old traditions and earth. The theme
How the Author Conveys Tragedy in Out, Out
How The Author Conveys Tragedy in "Out, Out" "Out, Out", is a poem written by Robert Frost that covers the tragic story of a death of a young boy as a result of bleeding from a heavy injury and the lack of treatment. The author, Robert Frost, manages to convey this sense of tragedy very successfully by utilizing a few literary techniques such as personification and direct speech. In the story, a young boy is introduced, working on a saw in a yard. He has no other choice, as he needs to earn money in order to support the family, even if he is only of young age. He is described as a "boy", telling the readers that he is in fact very young, and most probably not even in his teenage years yet. He is working and his very stereotypical sister comes along and announces that dinner is ready. At this point, his hand becomes "fed" into the saw as depicted and because of this; he suffers heavy injuries and eventually dies of what seems to be a lack of blood within the body. Although this event in itself is already very tragic, the author manages to augment this greatly by using a number of literary techniques. The author uses personification in the story in order to emphasize the violence and danger of the machine. In the story the boy is seen working with a saw and it is depicted as very violent. "...And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled..." The words "snarled" and
Analysis of "Harmonium" by Simon Armitage
Reading Record: Harmonium Main ideas/Message/Feelings/Attitudes: The poem 'Harmonium' explores the relationship between a son and his father. Taking this into consideration, I feel that Armitage has made this poem specifically for parents and children since they would be able to relate to the bond being portrayed in the poem. In the poem 'Harmonium', Armitage is able to take the love he has for an inanimate object and personify it in a way where it is able to reflect the love he has for his father. In the beginning of the poem, the narrator specifically states that he was in 'Marsden Church' to possibly make the poem more realistic - seeing as 'Marsden Church' is a genuine Church located in the West of Yorkshire. The church's harmonium has been left in the church porch, ready to 'be bundled off to the skip'. The narrator asks his elderly father to help him carry out the harmonium out of the church. As the two men carry the harmonium the father makes a joke where that the next time the son carries a heavy weight out of the church in a box it will be his coffin. The persona of the poem tries to respond but he is unable to, perhaps due to the emotion he feels at the thought of his father's death. Structure/Shape of the poem/Form: The poet has chosen to use the repetition of structure in a number of places throughout the poem. For example, in the last stanza on the fifth
Sonnet 29. This sonnet by Edna St. Vincent Millay is attempt to explain her worry of time aging her beauty away, resulting in her lover to loose interest in her.
Sonnet 29 Commentary This sonnet by Edna St. Vincent Millay is attempt to explain her worry of time aging her beauty away, resulting in her lover to loose interest in her. Millay explains that this natural happening; is not her fault. Therefore, she wishes that it were easy to learn from her passed love experiences of blindly following her heart. As she starts the first line with 'pity me not', she uses reverse psychology since she is actually saying that she wants people to pity her for her aging and her love life. This is repeated again in the 3rd line and throughout the sonnet to emphasize its effect. The connotation to death is made in 'at close of day' you conclude that the women is near to death, which leads us to think that she is old. Therefore, the phase 'passed away', which implies that something is gone or that it disappeared, showing us that what was 'passed away' was her youth. Furthermore, in the phrase 'field to thicket', 'field' illustrates that something free and limitless; representing her when she was young. In this case the 'thicket' is old age; Millay is explaining to us that old age overcame their youth and that is the reason it ended. Her reference to 'wreckage' represents destruction of her beauty; suggesting she was exposed and vulnerable to it. The tone of this sonnet is painful and regretful. Millay's voice can be heard as calm and exhausted
Compare and contrast Tony Harrisons poems Bookends and Long Distance 2
Zoe Nunn Compare and contrast Tony Harrison's poem's "Bookends" and "Long Distance 2" In both Tony Harrison's poem's "Bookends" and "Long Distance 2" the main idea of the poems follow the relationship between the three people in his family: him, his father and his dead mother. The poems concern the loss of his mother, and how both he and his father grieve over her, and how they try to accept and deal with her death in very different ways. Harrison also conveys the strained relationship he has with his father, which was held together by his mother before she died. This comes across very strongly in "Bookends" where he uses the title as imagery in the form a simile to depict the differences between his father and himself. They are "like book ends", they "sit, sleep, stare", facing away from each other, and never seeing eye to eye. When Harrison refers to the "books" which separate them, the books represent Harrison's education, which his father always resented. This was due to his belief that his son the "scholar" would be led into the illusion that he was in a higher class or rank than his father who was "worn out on poor pay". His father believed you were born into a certain class, and that you should seek a profession and education within that class. Another image portrayed in "Bookends" is that of his mother and the "apple pie" which they are "chewing". It is as though
How the narrator is portrayed in "Nettles" by Vernon Scannell.
Nettles In Nettles poem the narrator seems to be hating plants, I really disagree with him as plants provide us with life but because "nettles" are harmful plants and he described them as enemies saying "green spears" shows that they are sharp and dangerous and it's a metaphor to give the impression of conflict and war as the poet was in the military, that's why we find too many war images in the poem. The narrator uses very violent descriptions in the poem. "Regiment of spike" its personification shows that the plants are soldiers and the father feels compassion for his son. He is a really protective father and he should back him up, and he wouldn't leave his son injured like that, "It was no place for rest" he has to help him, he is motivated and sensitive. He feels worry about his son "sobs and tears" it's a metaphor to show he is upset and he would cry for his son who shows an example of loyalty and love. The narrator uses an imagery of the war showing that "nettles" are the enemies describing them as "blisters beaded" it's alliteration using heavy "b" to show how harmful the pain is to carry for an young child "his tender skin" shows that his son is soft and slender, the a connotations of war contrast with his son innocence and the fierce nettles. "we smoothed him" he has an experience to treat people injuries as he was in the military .He feels so angry
Thomas Kinsella - A personal response Thomas Kinsella is a poet that is very aware of transience.
Thomas Kinsella - A personal response Thomas Kinsella is a poet that is very aware of transience. He also shows me through his poetry that the things we remember as children take on a different meaning when we are older and also that when someone passes away, we also look at the memories of that person in a different way. His poetry has a harsh outlook on aging, getting old and even gaining knowledge to a degree, however he is not all doom and gloom (as we see in 'Model school, Inchichore' and 'Dick King'), he can also take a positive view on things, even death! My favourite aspect of his poetry is the way he can show you a new perspective while still using simple, everyday language for the most part. Sometimes, his poems can be read in a number of different ways! Kinsella is unique from other poets in the fact that he was influenced by theories of Carl Jung. No other poet I have studied on the leaving cert course that uses outside inspiration as strongly. He also writes a good deal about people in his life, or who were in his life, in his poetry and I think that stands to him as a person. It shows that even in his work, he thinks about those who mean a lot to him. A poem that has a very strong sense of transience is 'Mirror in February'. The poet has an epiphany while shaving in the mirror one day. He realizes that he is the same age as Jesus when he died,"reach the age of
Poem Analysis : The First Day at School by Roger McGough
Critical Poem Analysis: First Day at School by Roger McGough The 'First day at School' takes us through the vast stretch of a child's mind on his first day of school. It voices the feelings of the child; his unknowing mind of the perplexing new world and how that has aroused a sense of anxiety and insecurity inside him. The poem also lets us delve into the child's misapprehending of his new phase of life; his misinterpretations and how he had gotten the wrong idea. With that many qualities are conveyed to portray all this. In this poem it proclaims to have a main theme, use of literary devices, tone and mood plus raised issues and concerns. The poem is basically about the child's confusion in facing the bamboozling world he yet has to explore and discover. His many observations and his deductions on what he sees enacts to the discovery of his naivety and obliviousness. Feelings of apprehension, first -day jitters and diffidence is felt as he went through this life-changing experience. It is shown through his repeated misspelt words ('...lessins','...glassrooms') and wrong understanding of the ringing of the bell; 'Waiting for the bell to go. (To go where?)'With that, this would be the theme. There are many use of the literary device diction in this poem. Reason so is that the poem is written in a child's viewpoint, where a child (still in his early years)
In Paris With You. Paris is referred to as the city of love, which may indicate that this is a love poem. The narrator of the poem sounds like a woman.
In Paris with You The title of the poem establishes that the poem is set in Paris. Paris is referred to as the city of love, which may indicate that this is a love poem. The narrator of the poem sounds like a woman. The poem starts with a morose tone and imagery suggestive of a break-up. The speaker starts with the negative imperative 'don't talk to me of love' which immediately tells the reader that love is a difficult subject for the speaker. The speaker goes on to explain how they get tearful when they have had a drink, punning the phrase 'walking wounded' which is a military phrase referring to someone who is hurt but can carry on fighting, with the phrase 'talking wounded' implying that despite their broken heart and bruised feelings, the speaker will continue to look for love, or at the very least, some company. The speaker continues to develop the theme of surviving heartbreak by comparing his or her situation with that of being marooned or being a hostage. Presumably, the reference to being marooned invokes a sense of isolation and vulnerability, just as the word 'hostage' suggests that they are trapped, perhaps trapped in their feelings for an old relationship. The last line of the stanza, 'But I'm in Paris with you' suggests a contrasting set of emotions, whereby the speaker's unhappy feelings are somehow tempered by the fact that he or she is with someone special
Analysis of 'But These Things Also'
Analysis of "But these things also" The poem 'But these things also' by Edward Thomas was written in 1915. Thomas describes the transition period between Winter and Spring. The focus of the poem is on Spring, however the reader is reminded that Winter is not quite over. This seems to be sending a mixed message, suggesting Winter and Spring are used as more than just seasons, but are perhaps symbolic of death and hope, or rebirth. Amongst the themes of this poem are death, denial, hope and perhaps war. The tone seems very down beat and pessimistic throughout. There are slight crescendos occasionally, followed by bathos. For example, in the first line Thomas mentions Spring, which seems very fresh and positive, a couple of lines later the grass is described as 'long-dead' which doesn't fit most peoples idea of Springtime. Enjambment forces the pace to speed up at points assisting this crescendo effect, for example, in the last stanza 'the starling flocks by chattering on and on keep their spirits up in the mist'. These three lines are without punctuation; it seems for a moment free and unrestrained like the birds that he describes. At other times use of caesura, usually colons or semi-colons, create a broken up, list like effect - 'In the grass: chip of flint; and mite of chalk; and...'. These short, sharp phrases regulate the pace of the poem when set aside the
