Discuss the techniques that L.P Hartley and Ted Hughes employ to evoke memory in ‘The Go-Between’ and ‘Birthday Letters’
Discuss the techniques that L.P Hartley and Ted Hughes employ to evoke memory in 'The Go-Between' and 'Birthday Letters' In an unpublished copy of 'Birthday Letters' that Hughes had given to a friend, he wrote 'before us stands yesterday'. In saying this, I think Hughes looked to the future, as the legacy of the past. So, the future is built on the foundations of the past. But, you could read the statement as a reference to how Hughes makes past, present and the future all co-exist at the same time. For example, Hughes wrote these poems presumably some time after events, but he writes them as if he is looking to the future from that point in time. This is evident in 'A Pink Wool Knitted Dress', the poem is about the day he and Plath were married and how he looks forward 'From under her watchtowered searchlit future.' A reference such as this, which also looks at fate and destiny isn't uncommon in the all-transcending style that Hughes wrote in. Hartley in 'The Go-Between' opens with the immortal lines 'The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there'. It is a broad statement that can be read on many different levels. You could look at the obvious technological advances that have changed the way we live in the past one hundred years (the past fifty for Leo), the social differences in class or creed or how two World wars have changed Britain and the way we
In a close reading of 'The Thought-Fox' and 'Roe-Deer', discuss how he uses, the theme of nature. You should analyse his use of language. (Poetry - Ted Hughes)
In a close reading of 'The Thought-Fox' and 'Roe-Deer', discuss how he uses, the theme of nature. You should analyse his use of language. Poetry - Ted Hughes Various poems by Ted Hughes explore the world of nature and describe the power and mystery of animals. Two particular poems that convey Ted Hughes' theme of nature are the celebrated 'The Thought-Fox' and 'Roe Deer'. When Ted Hughes was only a young boy, he had a love for animals as "he spent a good deal of time hunting and trapping". At the age of about fifteen, Hughes' "attitude towards animals changed." He "accused" himself "of disturbing their lives." And ever since then, he began to look at them "from their own point of view." This led to him beginning writing about animals in his poetry shortly after he began writing poetry. Hughes realized from an early time, well before he wrote his first animal poem that the hunting that he did so much was similar to his thought process, "the slightly mesmerized and quite involuntary concentration with which you make out the stirrings of a new poem in your mind, then the outline, the mass and colour and clean final form of it, the unique living reality of it in the midst of general lifelessness." And then the poem created from that thought process was "a new species of creature, a new specimen of life outside your own". This was his way of equating a poem. 'The Thought-Fox
Ted Hughes writes about the world of nature in these poems. Choose two poems to explain what you think about the different ways he writes about nature. How does he use language to make the poems interesting?
Ted Hughes writes about the world of nature in these poems. Choose two poems to explain what you think about the different ways he writes about nature. How does he use language to make the poems interesting? Much of Hughes' poetry explores the human struggle against the natural forces and a comparison between human beings and nature. He uses a variety of techniques to illustrate his ideas and make poetry interesting and engaging. Two poems that particularly explore the world of nature are Wind, and Work and Play. In Wind, Hughes describes the imposing, ruthlessness of the wind and how it doesn't care about anything else apart from its strength. In contrast, work and play describes the comparison between nature and modern life. It shows the length that humans and animals go to, to have a 'pleasurable' time. Both poems reveal his thoughts on nature clearly. Hughes uses language and imagery effectively to illustrate his ideas. In Wind, phrases like 'The fields quivering,' and 'stones cry out' conveys the idea of everything being fearful and in awe of the wind. His use of simile highlights the physical threat of the wind. In addition, passages such as 'Back gull bent like an iron bar slowly' uses alliteration harsh sounds to show the strength and determination of the wind. Work and Play also has many examples of interesting language use. Phrases like 'a fish of the air'
A Critical Analysis of Wind By Ted Hughes
A Critical Analysis of Wind By Ted Hughes Hughes's opening line is sculpted in such a way that it gives the reader an abundance of sensations. The poet achieves amazing efficiency in the line "far out at sea all night" in that the reader is exposed to distance, time and environment. The metaphor of the house being "out at sea" projects the image of a boat "far out" feeling totally isolated. The house faces wave upon wave of inexhaustible pounding from the wind as a boat would from an enraged sea. The time scale of "all night" could literally mean all night or it may refer to the perception that the wind is so acutely intense that it feels prolonged. The words "crashing", "booming" and "stampeding elevate the wind to one of biblical proportions which sounds like an orchestra thumping out a killer crescendo. The line "stampeding the fields" accentuate the brutality of the wind attacking the natural surroundings. In keeping with the oceanic metaphor the house "floundering" evokes a sense futility. The alliteration in "black" and "blinding" impose emphasis upon the words and a heightened sense of awareness in the reader. The second stanza is a witness to the winds legacy. The magnitude of the winds power is illustrated with "the hills had new places". The ultimate measure of the winds potency is that its changed the environment which we would normally imagine reassuringly
Compare Hughes's portrayal of the swallow in 'Work and Play' with that of the hawk in 'Hawk Roosting'.
Compare Hughes's portrayal of the swallow in 'Work and Play' with that of the hawk in 'Hawk Roosting'. In this essay I will look at the different aspect of the birds in two Ted Hughes poems. 'Hawk roosting' is a poem that portrays a Hawk that feels in control. The poem is set-out in a very formal and regimented way. This shows the Hawks authority within the poem just by looking at it on the page. Another way that he has shown that the hawk is in control is that in the last verse each line ends with a full stop, this shows the end of the poem and stamping the hawks authority over the Woodland area. 'Work and Play' is another poem. It is a poem about a swallow that is observing human life when they are working and when they are playing. This poem is set out in long lines when the swallow is being described, then shorter machine like lines when the cars are being described. Both poems use the set-out of there poem to help with the message that the poem's are sending out. From the very outset of the poem, it is clear that the hawk is in control. The poem begins assertively with the pronoun 'I'. The hawk is so secure in his position that he is able to announce the fact that he is resting, with the action of his eyes being closed. The swallow in 'Work and Play' however flies around to make his position secure. Both birds are written with a sense of superiority over anything else
A poetry commentary on The Jaguar, by Ted Hughes
A poetry commentary on The Jaguar, by Ted Hughes The Jaguar is a descriptive poem by Ted Hughes. It tells the story of a jaguar and its life at a zoo. The poem very much describes the atmosphere of the zoo and how this particular jaguar overcomes this enclosed surrounding. I think the authors words are very passionate and strongly link to the character and behaviour of the jaguar. I think he expects the reader to visualise this scene and have the same thoughts as the jaguar. I think he also expects us to really stress key words and read it in a flowing way. Just like the jaguar's movements. The tone varies between the stanzas. The first two stanzas suggest a very negative tone, and then this is followed by a quick transmission word and alters to a triumphant and strong tone. Overall the sound of the poem portrays strength and admiration. The poem is written in free verse. The poem uses many enjambments; which suggests that the rhyming words are not so noticeable. I think this structure is linked to the life of the jaguar. The jaguar is in no way disturbed about the fact that it is locked up in a cage. Instead it follows its own imagination and way of life. The first stanza suggests to me that it is trying to set the tone and describe the setting. One example of describing the setting is when the word 'shriek' appears. As it is onomatopoeia its sound reflects the sense of
African American and Anglo Culture in Poetry
African American and Anglo Culture in Poetry When we think of home, everyone has similar thoughts about the subject. Home is a place to live, to sleep, to raise children, to have fun, a place to call your own. Even though all of these descriptions ring true for all people, each person or groups of people have gone through different situations within their community that makes their definition of home unique. Speaking from the African-American point of view, the Sunday dinners with family, the daily rituals, family coming over to watch important sporting events, and many more things makes the African-American home different from the typical Anglo home. Lucille Clifton (p. 286) and Langston Hughes (p. 124) do an excellent job at briefly describing some of defining events and present them in a way that makes the reader active in the experience. In reading Clifton's poem "For de Lawd," I recalled some of the stories that my grandmother told me about her childhood. The old-time music playing in the back while the family goes about it's daily routine and the mother of the house being the backbone of the house and supporting it too, both of which were briefly covered in the poem. Clifton describes the characteristics of the black woman by telling us that she "come[s] from a line of black and going on women who got used to" surviving the hard times. As the poem progresses, it more
Compare and Contrast a 20th Century and non-20th Century Animal Poem
Adam Wright 14th Nov 2001 Compare and Contrast a 20th Century and non-20th Century Animal Poem . Introduction/brief explanation 2. Themes 3. Structure and form a. Stressed/unstressed, iambic pentameter etc b. Form on page, reasons for. 4. Language and Poetry techniques 5. Personal preference and reason For this essay I need to compare and contrast a pre 20th Century and 20th Century piece of poetry that share animals. The Two poems I have chosen are Horses be Edwin Muir for my pre 20th century piece. For my 20th century text I have chosen jaguar Ted Hughes. The Two poets are using their poetry to inform their audience about their beliefs and thoughts of certain issues. In Horses by Edwin Muir the poet is informing the audience about his thoughts on the beginning of the industrial revolution and the effect it will have on the countryside and In particular the shire horse. In the jaguar Ted Hughes makes us aware of his dislike of zoos and the imprisonment of animals and the feelings they encounter, boredom, hope and loneliness. Within horses the poet informs us about his fascination with the shire horse. He describes them as 'like a magic power'. This fascination has been lifelong, from some 'childish hour' to the present time. The poet is fascinated with their strength and
"Hawk Roosting" by Ted Hughes
"Hawk Roosting" by Ted Hughes "Hawk Roosting" is written in six regular stanzas, each consisting of four lines. The poem seems to have a regular metrical pattern, as it is laid out in regular blocks. However it does not appear to fit a specific rhyme scheme. The visual presentation of the poem on the page is known as its typography. In "Hawk Roosting" each line of the poem is marked with a capital letter regardless of sentence grammar. In metrical poems there is a tendency for each stanza to end with a full stop, but this is not he case in "Hawk Roosting". The poem only shows this aspect in the opening two stanzas and the final stanza. The poem is mostly written in short sharp sentences, which makes the language and images more powerful and direct. This can be seen in the last stanza, where each line is a short sentence: "The sun is behind me. Nothing has changed since I began. My eye has permitted no change. I am going to keep thins like this." As can be seen above, the language and the images in the final stanza are more direct and powerful. There is a simple direct style of writing with constant use of everyday language throughout the poem. For example, "I sit in the top of the wood", "The sun is behind me", and "I am going to keep things like this". However in order to suit the character of the Hawk, Hughes uses rather more sophisticated or elegant expressions such
"Hughes thinks more highly of animals than humans." How far does his poetry support this statement?
"Hughes thinks more highly of animals than humans." How far does his poetry support this statement? I have studied three poems that were written by Ted Hughes. They are called "The Warm and the Cold", "Work and Play" and "Hawk Roosting". "Work and Play" is about a swallow and comparing it to humans. "Hawk Roosting" is about the feeling of power and authority of the Hawk and "The Warm and the Cold" is describing all the different animals being safe and warm at night. I am going to prove that Hughes talks through his poetry about his love of animals and dislike of humans. In "The Warm and the Cold" he uses a strict structure with the first section describing the night and in the second part about the animals. He uses a lot of similes when describing the animals like; "The hare strays down the highway Like a root going deeper" as this repeats it gives the poem a continuous rhythm. He also uses metaphors, in the segments of the verse, where he describes the night. Such as "The past and the future Are the jaws of a steel vice". Hughes also uses personification about the animals. He describes the deer being on the hill "like smiles on a nurse". This both gives the deer a human side and puts down the nurse suggesting that they rarely smile. In this poem Hughes also emphasises that animals are in their rightful place and are comfortable "the badger in its bedding like a loaf in
