Poetry from different Cultures
Essay Describing Devices Used in 'Blessing' When we read poems, very few people actually take in the devices used and make sense of the way the poet uses them and still fewer people take the time to decipher why the poet has used that specific device in that specific place. The devises often have hidden meanings, and are used to make the poem flow better. In this essay, I will be describing, analysing and evaluating why and how Imtiaz Dharker has used the devices she has incorporated into the 'Blessing'. The title of the poem alone, 'Blessing' is a strong word which could mean that what happens in the poem is special, almost like a miracle, which helps set the mood of this poem very early on. The first line, 'The skin cracks like a pod' is not only an effective simile, but it's a way of setting the scene and cultural aspects of the poem as the first image of a pod that comes to mind is a cocoa pod, which cracks in the sun's heat or is cracked open to get to the cocoa beans. 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',
If by Rudyard Kipling analysis
If — Rudyard Kipling Summary Kipling’s famous poem about human nature offers a catalogue of thoughtful advice to a young male, consisting of the many qualities he feels are essential to become a man, such as self-belief, modesty, humility and truthfulness. Introducing the poem ‘What advice would a father give to a son who is ready to leave home and venture out into the world on his own? Explore the different areas of life you think the father feels are important enough to guide his son through. Imagine the conversation between them.’ Structure and form Kipling’s guidance takes the form of a series of opposites, for example, ‘keep…lose’ and ‘trust…doubt’. These slowly build up in the course of the poem to reveal only in the concluding line the main reward for doing so, that is, as a symbol of having reached manhood. The alternate rhyme scheme maintains the momentum of the counsel and since this lengthy poem appears to be merely one sentence long, this implies the spiritual and mental journey to manhood is a long, complicated and challenging one. Language/comments • The long list of qualities that Kipling suggests lead to manhood are numerous (and viewed realistically, appear collectively unattainable). This is why the future conditional tense is repeatedly used (signalled by ‘if’) as it expresses the sheer difficulty of the task. Yet
In many of her poems such as Aunt Jennifers Tigers and From a Survivor, Rich deals with difficult and complex themes that are both personal and political.
Adrienne Rich ‘In her poetry Rich deals with complex and difficult themes in a striking and unusual way.’ (2008) ‘Sometimes I feel an underground river Forcing its way between deformed cliffs Moving itself like a locus of the sun Into this condemned scenery’ -Trying to Talk With a Man I found Adrienne Rich’s poetry intriguing and at times difficult to read. In many of her poems such as ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ and ‘From a Survivor’, Rich deals with difficult and complex themes that are both personal and political. Her ability to capture these themes in a series of cinematic, striking and memorable images is admirable. I found her work engaging and I truly enjoyed the work of this feminist writer. ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ was one of Rich’s early poems and was written in 1951, when the poet was only twenty two. It is quite a simple poem, but on the other hand the simplicity is deceptive. On reading the first stanza the poem appears to be solely observational, ‘Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen’. It describes the character sitting at home doing needle work. Simple. Or is it? As one continues to read the poem certain lines leap out from the page like the tigers. ‘The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’ is a powerful and unusual image. A wedding ring is normally shown in a positive light but Rich chose the adjective
In the poem Ballad of Birmingham written in 1969, Dudley Randall chooses to tell the story of the war in Birmingham, Alabama
Ballad of Birmingham (a) Describe the irony of the situation in the poem. (b) How effectively do you see the form of the poem as heightening its meaning? In the poem “Ballad of Birmingham” written in 1969, Dudley Randall chooses to tell the story of the war in Birmingham, Alabama through the eyes of a mother and her child. He chose to tell their story in the form of a ballad, as ballads are poems that can tell a story. A ballad also has a fixed rhythm and rhyme which makes it useful when telling a story and it makes it easier to understand and remember. The first opening stanzas of the ballad is a speech between the mother and her young daughter. From the first four stanzas, we find out that the child wants to go out and ‘march the streets of Birmingham’ rather than go out to play with her friends. This can show how important the freedom march is to her and how the war has led to children to be more committed to their countries than the adults as the mother forbids her to go whilst the young child tells her mother that she won’t be alone as ‘other children will go with me’. It is somehow ironic that a young child would be more concerned of the freedom of her country than her mother, an adult. It is even more surprising that children would be going to the freedom march ‘to make our [their] country free’ and the adults don’t. This can show that the
Hunting Snake is a poem written by an author called Judith Wright.
DIVS Summer Work: Hunting Snake Hunting Snake is a poem written by an author called Judith Wright. Judith was an author known for roaming around in the countryside and one time she encountered a snake. During the poem she carefully describes the snake as if she was examining its movements and appearances closely. The main theme of the poem is about nature whilst the subject of the poem is about ‘the great black snake.’ The poem is a traditional four line stanza with a simple rhyme. Wright manages to create a sense of shock and fear but also relief when the snake passes by changing the rhythm of the poem. The author is portrayed as a nature lover in the first two lines as she is described as walking under the ‘gentlest sky’ with others. Wright loves nature so much and respects it that she uses the adjective ‘gentlest’ to help describe the sky. She uses personification to show how the season seems like a pleasant human being by using the phrase ‘late season’s grace.’ The poems rhythm and pace seems steady at this point until the third line where she has the encounter with the snake. Wright introduces the snake in line three but makes the reader wonder whether she stopped because of the fear or beauty of the creature. The narrator could possibly be impressed by the snake. The author uses the word ‘great’ to imply that the snake has a certain power. She
A poem in which the poet takes a pessimistic stance about the world as he experiences it is Hotel Room, 12th Floor by Norman MacCaig
A poem in which the poet takes a pessimistic stance about the world as he experiences it is “Hotel Room, 12th Floor” by Norman MacCaig. The poem is about MacCaig experience of New York as he hears and views it from his hotel room. The poet uses imagery to convey his despairing attitude towards New York society and their lack of care for it’s people. The poet has a cynical attitude towards society’s reaction towards crime and violence. MacCaig desperately feels there is a lack of care for the safety and wellbeing of the people of New York. He feels that the government in New York only care for their buildings and landmarks. Everyone would agree the building are nice but they act as a mask to hide what really lies behind them; the poverty, the drugs, the violence. The poet uses synecdoche to reinforce this idea. “…to broken bones, the harsh screaming from cold water flats, the blood glazed on sidewalks” The use of synecdoche conveys the writer’s idea that the people of New York are dehumanised. The suffering of the people is not a problem to the government, but the mess that they leave behind is. Also, the mention of the blood being “glazed” on the sidewalks as if it has been piled up and dried into the ground. MacCaig continues to express his pessimism towards New York’s society by highlighting the nature of the city, he shows this through his
Poem Commentary On Continuum By Allen Curnow
Alejandra Zimmermann November 5, 2012 Period 1 “Continuum” By: Allen Curnow . The poem is about the thoughts of a writer trying to go to sleep but having trouble being able to. His references to the bed and the moon make you think it about him literally wants to sleep, but it is back his lack of inspiration to write, in which compares in to not being able to sleep as well. 2. The narrator is speaking to himself because in the third line of the poem, the author reveals to the reader that, “I am talking about myself,” in two ways in which he compares him self to the falling moon and that he, him self, is whom he is speaking to. The poet suggests through the poem that he views his thoughts as two different personas, his own and that of “the author”, his “cringing demiurge”; the creative side of the persona and he is in an inner-conflict because one side of him wants to sleep the other one wants to write a poem. 3. A.) The poem conveys this message by describing some actions that he does in order to get some inspiration to write, even though he is sleepy, tired and bored, “It is not possible to get off to sleep.” What I notice about the appearance, just by looking at the poem, is that it is to be read straight through, sort of like a rambling. The shape is straight, having all beginning of lines on top of another and separating when going into
How does Simon Armitages style of writing make "The Convergence of the Twain" such a powerful and moving poem?
How does Simon Armitage’s style of writing make the convergence of the twain such a powerful and moving poem? Simon Armitage explores the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks through a poetic register and with an alternate complexity, causing the poem to be even more powerful and moving. Setting the immediate scene, Armitage uses a range of short and simplistic words to set an even more powerful and vivid image of the atmosphere in the users head. Armitage deals with the change over the length of time with specific events and their outcomes, which resonates through time and induce people affected by the catastrophic event. Armitage uses the precise title, which was used by Thomas Hardy for his poem regarding the historic collision of the Titanic and the iceberg; immediately linking the poem to the context of adversity and ruin. This is will also be the conjoining the idea of two things to be coming together and the impression of collision, thus the idea of forces coming together emerges in the reader’s mind. Armitage also notably structured his poem into 11 stanzas, which would draw a relation to the date of the terrorist attack (11th September). This permeates and espousals the premeditated nature of the disaster. Armitage uses several techniques in the first stanza, to help move and dismay the audience. The first stanza immediately places the reader in the
Explore how Porter comments on life in A Consumers Report. Use examples from the poem to support your answer.
Explore how Porter comments on life in ‘A Consumer’s Report’. Use examples from the poem to support your answer. Peter Porter opens his poem ‘A Consumer’s Report’ with the statement that ‘the name of the product I tested is Life’, implying that the ‘product’ which his poem describes is life in itself. The poem opens in the form of a product review, hinting that Porter believes life to be considered a product by many, and that the poem mimics a report in which people ‘review’ life as a product. The title ‘A Consumer’s Report’ suggests that the poet believes that many people detach themselves from the value of life, hence the bland description of their review, which is simply labelled a ‘report’. Porter maintains the sustained metaphor of life being a product throughout the whole poem in order to comment on people’s perception of life as a whole. Porter first comments on life as ‘[having] it as a gift’, suggesting that he himself did not choose to live life, and comments on the spontaneous nature of life in which people are not able to choose what kind of life they will live in. He also carries on with ‘I didn’t feel much while using it’, suggesting that many people may not value their life while they are still living out the beginnings of it, and Porter gives evidence for this by suggesting that ‘I’d have liked to be more
Analysis of "The Mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks
@14060560 Analysis a Poem. Gwendolyn Brooks The Mother The poem is about a lady prostitute, “The Mother” who due to the character of her work has had multiple abortions. Gwendolyn has wrote about the conventional lady of the night, Theses night lady’s often passed “The Mother” house when she was a teenager, looking back on reflection she found this attractive. Now she is much older and she understands the dangers and pain with the role. You can clearly see from her poem it’s from the heart, but she appears to write it for another lady, this lady had several abortions, we know this because this is how the poem starts. Line one and two “Abortions will not let you forget. “You remember the children you got, that you did not get”. It’s a very powerful sentiment start to the poem, these are whole-hearted words. Gwendoline is a writer and you can feel the torture and sadness of “The Mother” she writes about. Or is it in reality herself she is aiming the poem at. This poem is aimed at a prostitute and the prostitutes’ feelings, the loss of her children that were aborted, the way they were treated. But most prominently of all it gives you a perception into, how these ladies survived through life, how she lived in a poverty deprived city, she had no choice due to circumstances beyond her control. But despite her lifestyle, these babies she loved and
