"Ambulances" by Philip Larkin.
CRITIACAL EVALUATION "Ambulances" by Philip Larkin uses the every day incident of someone being taken away in an ambulance to convey the ideas of human life. The poem discusses the idea of the closeness of death; it's randomness and its inevitability. I am going to look at how effectively Philip Larkin uses this everyday occurrence to lead to the general or universal statement: death will come to us all at some point no matter who you are. I will show this by discussing the use of word choice, theme and setting. In stanza one, the impression that an accident can happen anywhere at any time is created by the feeling of menace. This is shown by the thought that ambulances can "come to rest at any kerb" suggesting that it doesn't matter where you are an accident can happen. The use of the word "any" helps to emphasise this point and convey the theme of the randomness of death. The idea that death comes to us all is suggested by "All streets in time are visited". The word "All" emphasises the fact that everyone dies, and the word "time" indicates that it is just a matter of time. I think that Larkin wanted to portray the idea that everyone will make their journey in an ambulance at some point. The ambulance is only symbolic for the doorway to death. At the beginning of the stanza the ambulances are described as "closed like confessionals," this sets the feeling inside the
Comparison between John Donne and Emily Dickinson's poems: How each of them expresses himself/herself on a problematic subject such as death?
Comparison between John Donne and Emily Dickinson's poems: How each of them expresses himself/herself on a problematic subject such as death? John donne- Holy sonnet 10 "Death be not proud, though some have called thee" Death be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow, Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery. Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well, And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die. Emily Dickinson "Because I could not stop for Death " Because I could not stop for Death He kindly stopped for me The Carriage held but just Ourselves And Immortality. We slowly drove - He knew no haste And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For his Civility. We passed the School, where Children strove At Recess - in the Ring We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain We passed the Setting Sun Or rather - He passed Us The Dews drew
Poetry Comparison - "The Charge Of The Light Brigade" and "Futility".
Poetry Comparison - "The Charge Of The Light Brigade" and "Futility" Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Wilfred Owen both write about events during war, but their poems are presented very differently. By using different form, structure and language, "The Charge Of The Light Brigade" comes across as a very public poem. This compares to Owen's private poem "Futility". In these poems, the soldiers are presented as brave during battle. Tennyson's "The Charge Of The Light Brigade" is comprised of six verses or stanzas, varying in length from six to twelve lines. Each line has two stressed syllables, called dimeter, and each stressed syllable is followed by two unstressed syllables. This rhythm gives the effect of hoof beats, helping the reader to imagine horses galloping, charging into battle. The use of the "falling" rhythm, in which the stress beat comes first, and then "falls off", shapes the underlying message of the devastating fall of the Light Brigade. The poem is largely effective because of the way it conveys the movement and noise of the charge, through the strong and repetitive falling meter. "Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward," This gives the impression of the whole brigade obeying a command to charge rather than concentrating on the individual efforts of a soldier. The rhyme scheme in "The Charge Of The Light Brigade" varies with each stanza, as does the
Out, out..." by Robert Frost.
"Out, Out..." Essay Jamie Gavin "Out, out..." by Robert Frost is a narrative poem that outlines, in a certain way, the dangers of letting a child do a man's work. The boy, whom we find to be young, has an unfortunate accident with a buzz saw resulting in the boy's death. The poet uses language structure and characterisation to convey the tragic circumstances in which the boy is killed. I found the poem to contain a lot of information, with almost half the poem devoted to describing just a few seconds around the accident. The unexpected ending to the poem was thought provoking and made me aware of how a fatal accident can arise from a moment's lapse in concentration - I felt this was good. The poet characterises the boy to emphasise the circumstances leading to the boy's death. The use of a narrator makes the poem more personal, almost as if the poet was there. The poet includes regular references to the boy's young age. For example: "Doing a man's work, though a child at heart" The use of the word "child" shows us just how young the boy is and how he is doing work that is better suited to a man. The boy's immediate response to the accident was one of sadness, a "rueful laugh". The boy knew instantly that the accident was serious enough to affect his life, " he saw all spoiled". I felt the poet, through the use of word choice and sentence structure, cleverly
Comparing poems Exposure and Anthem for Doomed Youth
Comparing poems - 'Exposure' and 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' Both these poems are similar but also different in many ways. Although they both explain about the hardships of war, they do it in different contexts. 'Exposure' is about how the weather in a war situation can be like an enemy, with its sly winds and harsh ice which kills like the enemy ,the weather is as cold and bitter as war, acting like '...merciless iced east winds'. While 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' is more of a warning poem, showing how war really is behind all the propaganda and how war is not how it seems and how each life is worth less than the first, most soldier's seem to '...die as cattle'. Both poems also have different tones when compared. The tone and mood of 'Exposure' is very sombre, and dull almost melancholic due to the weariness of the soldier's, how they stand defeated by Mother Nature. For example in the poem Owen uses the phrase 'but nothing happens' 4 times, showing the mood to be dull and weary. While the tone of 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' is very bitter and scornful, as it is about how underappreciated the soldiers are, and I think it reflects how he feels about war, and his warning for the future generation. The tone is showed, on lines 4-5 were it is written, 'Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, -The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;' especially on line 5, as it is almost
