'Drummer Hodge' written by Thomas Hardy discussed.

Basing your answer on Extract A and Extract B, you should write a comparison of the ways the writers describe the death of a soldier and say how far you agree with the views that Drummer Hodge is presented in a romantic, idealised way, and that Graves' German soldier is presented with stark realism. Extract A is a poem entitled 'Drummer Hodge' written by Thomas Hardy before the First World War had begun but shortly after the Boer War that took place between 1899 and 1902. The poem is based on a true story about the death of a local boy during the Boer War. The boy is referred to as 'Drummer Hodge' in the poem. Extract B is a poem called 'A Dead Boche', this time written after the First World War had started, and after the Somme, said to be the bloodiest battle of the entire war. The poet, Robert Graves had fought in the Somme and his poem reflects on his experiences as a soldier in the First World War. His poem is centred on his discovery of a dead German soldier referred to as a 'Boche' 'Drummer Hodge' describes the thoughts and feelings of the poet on the death of the young boy and his fate thereafter. 'His homely Northern breast and brain Grow to some southern tree' Hardy believes that Drummer Hodge will forever be a part of the earth after he dies, showing death to be a release from mortality into an eternal rest. 'Drummer Hodge' describes the events taking place after

  • Word count: 1262
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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In this essay, I intend to discuss the ways in which the poems 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' and 'Charge Of The Light Brigade' represent war. I will discuss the themes of death, emotions, conditions and opinion.

In this essay, I intend to discuss the ways in which the poems 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' and 'Charge Of The Light Brigade' represent war. I will discuss the themes of death, emotions, conditions and opinion. In Dulce Et, death is shown as horrific and that of terrible suffering. "His hanging face like a devil's sick of sin." This simile describes the way in which the poet Wilfred Owen saw the men suffering. He uses an effective method of a metaphor, 'Devil's sick of sin', and this metaphor shows just how horrible death is. When a devil is sick of sin, it is no longer a devil, this means that the man described is no longer a human. However, in the Charge, death is shown as quick and clean. This is shown in the quote "While horse and hero fell." Death is not described in the detail of Dulce Et, because the poet wants to show war as glorious and honourable, this could not be achieved if the poet talked about the horrible way in which the men die. The poet uses the word heroes because it shows the men as honourable and glorious, which is the intended message of the poem. In Dulce Et, death has no glory and the men have no sense of dignity. "The old lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori." This quote shows that the statement 'that dying for ones own country' is a complete lie. Wilfred Owen does this to emphasise how horrible and undignified death really is. Owen wants to

  • Word count: 898
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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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

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  • Word count: 2020
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Morals and values learnt in " Under a ramshackle rainbow".

Morals and values learnt in " Under a Ramshackle Rainbow" " Under a Ramshackle Rainbow", is a very deep poem in which the poet uses dark and morbid images and symbols to get across morals and values to the reader. The underlining theme of the poem is how one should treat their surroundings and what the consequences to their actions will be. From the immediate start of the poem, a creepy and eery atmosphere is created by casting a dark image in the reader's mind. ' A dead tree. On a rotten branch sit two wingless birds.' The words 'dead' and 'rotten' show the sincerity of the issue. The mentioning of two wingless birds is very significant as they portray the poet's first message to the reader. The wingless birds basically defy their objective in life. Birds need wings to fly and without wings not only do they not have their freedom, but they have no means of survival; they cannot avoid predators or catch prey. Therefore death is inevitable. After only reading the first two lines the reader may feel confused to why the birds are wingless and why their habit is in such an unusual state. The ending to the first stanza clarify the confusion. ' Among leaves on the ground a man is searching for his hands. It is fall. By this, the poet is explaining the cause of the dead tree and the wingless birds. When saying that the man is ' searching for

  • Word count: 1352
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Dolce et Decorum est

Difference and Similarities in language between 'From War Music' and 'Dulce et Decorum est.' The first of the two poems I am studying is 'From War Music'. This was written by Christopher Logue in 1988. The poem was taken from a long narrative poem from Homer's epic poem 'The Iliad.' This poem describes an incident from the siege of troy, adapted into modern day English. At this moment the Trojans have the upper hand. They have driven the Greeks back to the beach, and threaten to burn their ships. The Greek warrior Ajax is physically massive but slow at thought, he is taunted in the poem by Prince Hector of Troy. In the poem, one of the many literary devices used is onomatopoeia. The words 'Tickered' and 'Slapped' are both onomatopoeia creating sound images. This is used in the poem to paint a picture in the readers mind. The onomatopoeia plays a large part in the poem as it helps bring out the themes. This is because one of the main themes of the poem is noise and, as there are many words, which create sound imagery. Also another one of the themes is movement and most of the words, which create the sound imagery are noises created from movement. An example of this is 'Ajax' helmet slapped his cheeks' this is onomatopoeia and the sound imagery is created from movement. Another device used is Alliteration. An example of this is 'Came clamouring.' This is used to create a

  • Word count: 1473
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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A Network of Comparisons and Contrasts in Dylan Thomas's

A Network of Comparisons and Contrasts In Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" and Catherine Davis's "After a Time," there is a very clear concept of differences and similarities between the two poems. From a reader's standpoint, they seemed to be quite a bit more alike than dissimilar. Through an investigative analysis, "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" and "After a Time" were proven to be comparable in almost every aspect in poetry, such as structure, rhyme scheme, and meter. At a first glance, both poems strike as death related pieces of writing. That is where the contrast of the two is distinguished. "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" sees death as something we can fight to avoid. If one is able to "rage, rage against the dying light," he or she will be able to shy away from this life-ending situation. This author states that no matter the person or circumstances, everyone should envision death as a negative thing and resist as long as possible. This does not necessarily give a positive twist on death, but it does give one some insight into why there is a reason to rage until the end. In a stanza-by-stanza analysis, there was a more complex interpretation of the meaning. First in "Do Not Go...," the first stanza states that one should be able to feel old age creeping up on our bodies, yet we must fight against it. The

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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With reference to the text, what elements of the pardoner's tale make it an appropriate tale for him to tell?

WITH REFERENCE TO THE TEXT, WHAT ELEMENTS OF THE PARDONER'S TALE MAKE IT AN APPROPRIATE TALE FOR HIM TO TELL? There are many connections between the Pardoner's tale and his own character. He too is guilty of many of the sins committed in the story. One wonders whether the Pardoner might actually behave in the same way as the men in the tale. These connections are what make the tale appropriate for the Pardoner to tell it to the Pilgrims. The first obvious connection between the Pardoner and his tale, that makes it appropriate for him to tell, is "avarice" or the greed of money. The Pardoner preaches against "avarice", whilst openly admitting to the rest of the Pilgrims that he himself is guilty of this sin, "That I wol live in poverte wilfully. Nay, nay, I thoughte it nevere trewely!" In fact, his whole life is based around avarice, as being a Pardoner is more than a job to him, it is a way of life. It seems that he has spent a long time perfecting his preaching techniques of rhetoric to enable him to take as much money from people as possible. He demonstrates his greed for money (and possessions) several times, "I wol have moneie, wolle, chese, and whete,/...of the povereste widwe in a village/ Al sholde hir children sterve for famine." This is extremely cruel, but we have to wonder how many of the Pardoner's comments are bravado rather than actual truth. We also wonder if

  • Word count: 1841
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Compare The Poets Attitudes Towards Death In Sonnet 73 And Crossing The Bar.

Compare The Poets Attitudes Towards Death In Sonnet 73 And Crossing The Bar. The poems that are being compared are, 'Sonnet 73' written by William Shakespeare in the late 16th century and 'Crossing The Bar' written by Alfred Lord Tennyson in the 19th century. Shakespeare's Sonnet 73, consists of fourteen lines, of which three quatrains and a couplet. Each line holds ten syllables and contributes to a regular line scheme. Shakespeare's syntax is because of the sonnet, as he has to constrain himself, as there is only a certain amount of syllables he can use in each line. Shakespeare fully utilises the quatrains and couplet, which traditionally form a sonnet. These allow him to shape his three metaphors into each quatrain, narrowing the time span in each, in a process of focusing down to his deceptively simple final couplet. Sonnet 73 is not simply a procession of interchangeable metaphors; it is the story of the speaker slowly coming to grips with the finality of his age and his impermanence in time. Shakespeare may have written this poem for a close friend as he uses the word, 'thou' which indicates that he had known the person very well. The 'friend' may have been male as Shakespeare addresses 126 of the 154 sonnets to the male sex. It seems as if Shakespeare wrote this poem to prepare his friend, not for the approaching literal death of his body, but for the

  • Word count: 2738
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Discuss the impact that the place in which people die and the type of death may have upon the quality of dying. Use examples from the case studies in section 12 of Workbook 1 to illustrate your answer.

Sophia Nichol W6077263 Discuss the impact that the place in which people die and the type of death may have upon the quality of dying. Use examples from the case studies in section 12 of Workbook 1 to illustrate your answer. In this essay I will define what is meant by the term 'A good death'. Using course material I shall discuss way in which people die and also the places where they die and whether this affects their quality of dying. People see the way people die and the place in which they die as affecting their quality of death. There are many ways in which people die for example, illness disease, accidents, and suicide. There are a myriad of different terminal illnesses and diseases that people die from and where and how each is treated can impact on the quality of death. The definition of a good death varies depending on people's different cultures and beliefs (Workbook1, p96). This can be illustrated by looking at the Chinese culture where the belief is that people are reincarnated and that there is life after death; death is performed as a ritual and rather than wearing black at their funerals, as the British culture does, they wear white which is a pure colour. All there deaths are seen in a positive manner and therefore is

  • Word count: 1520
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Comparison between Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop For Death" And Whitman's "Come Up From the Fields Father"

Comparison between Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop For Death" And Whitman's "Come Up From the Fields Father" Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman were two of the best poets in America, during the nineteenth century. They were both rebellious each in his own way. The shared some features, especially their abandonment of the usual form of poetry and their use of free verse instead. In comparing the poems "Because I Could Not Stop For Death" by Dickinson and "Come Up From the Fields Father" by Whitman, we can notice some similarities. Both poems have some kind of music though there is no rhyme scheme, due to the use of free verse. They both use repetition of some words. Dickinson repeated the words "we passed". While Whitman repeated several words such as "waking", "longing", "withdraw" and "better". They both used descriptive language. Dickinson described the "Dews" that "drew quivering and chill", her "gown" which was made of "Gossamer", her "Tippet" which was "only Tulle". She also gave us a description of the house of death, which was "A swelling of the ground, The roof was scarcely visible, The Cornice in the ground". Yet Whitman used more descriptions in his poem. He described the fields of Ohio's villages in autumn and their beauty. He described the "apples ripe", the "grapes on the trellis'd vines", "the sky so calm, so transparent after the rain". He made us

  • Word count: 567
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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