Compare and contrast the way in which memories and emotions are described in "Digging" and "Mum, dad and me."
Compare and contrast the way in which memories and emotions are described in "Digging" and "Mum, dad and me." In this essay I will compare and contrast the ways in which memories and emotions are described in the poems "Digging" by Seamus Heaney, and "Mum, dad and me" by James Berry. I will do this by exploring the meaning, voice, techniques used and structure of each of the poems. The poem "Digging" by Seamus Heaney is autobiographical, it centres on his choice to become a poet. The poem starts in the present when his father digging beneath his window takes Heaney back to his childhood, twenty years away. He remembers looking up to his father and grandfather, being proud of what they did and how well they did it. There also is an element of Heaney's nationality in debate in the poem. Labouring and digging for potatoes are seen as traditionally Irish where writing poems is not. When he comes back to the present at the end of the poem he is determined to go his own way in the world but also to stay true to the values of his family by being working hard, and taking pride in what he does. In the poem "Mum, dad and me" James Berry compares his childhood in London to the childhood of his Jamaican parents. He shows two images in the poem; a negative one of London and a positive portrait of Jamaica. The poem is ironic as James' parents came to England for freedom, but instead
Is it sweet and fitting to die for ones country?
"It is sweet and fitting to die for ones country" What are Tennyson's and Owen's views on this? 'The charge of the light brigade' was written in 1854 by Alfred Lord Tennyson, to honour those who died in war, in the battle of Balaclava. The poem was written during the Crimean war and published in the Times, newspaper. Tennyson's attitude towards war was based on what he read in the newspapers. He was a poet laureate. Wilfred Owen's also wrote a poem called "Dulce et decorum est" he was born in 1893 and died at a very young age in 1918. He died during the battle; therefore his poem reflects his experiences. Both poems were written in different decades, and therefore are about different wars, and consequently, clearly illustrating the changing attitudes to war these poems are describing. One author saying how war is such a great thing and how brave the soldiers were and how it was a thing they just had to do. In contrast the other author is saying, how terrible war is and also emphasizes the death and injuries. Tennyson describes the glory and heroism of war, rather than the death and stupidity. Starting with the 'Charge of the Light Brigade' Tennyson uses imagery and figurative language creates the tone of exhilaration and the theme of honouring the Light Brigade. 'Charge of the Light Brigade' can be divided down into three different parts, the charge towards the battle, the
The poems "the seduction" and "cousin Kate".
The poems "the seduction" and "cousin Kate" that I will explore both show how women are conveyed as objects to be taken advantage of by men. The poems also talk about pregnancies, how both women were used for sex and then were left pregnant with a broken heart. Both women had to cope with the pain that they had made a mistake and had been deceived by the opposite sex. In both poems the man has been revealed to be manipulative and dominant, taking advantage of the women's position. For example in the poem "The Seduction" he gets the young female intoxicated (drunk) and then took advantage of the situation. The poet Eileen McAuley wrote the poem "Cousin Kate" and Christina Rosseti wrote "The Seduction". With this essay I will be showing how both poems are similar and also acknowledging the differences between them both. I will also like to convey my understanding, thoughts and feelings about these poems to the reader of this essay. Both poems were set in separate times. The poems emphasise at different points throughout the poem that they were set in different time spans. The poem cousin Kate was shown to be in the times of the 19th century. Christina lived in the time of the Victorians. She was a young beautiful woman who was passionate about her work. Christina wasn't a stranger to love and love wasn't a stranger to her. Christina had a number of lovers, at one point
Havisham & Laboratory
"HAVISHAM" In the poem "Havisham", Carol Ann Duffy presents the subject of this poem as an old, embittered woman with "ropes on the back of her hands", while Browning presents the subject of his poem as a strong and determined but very jealous and embittered young woman. The poem is written in the first person in the form of a dramatic monologue, "The Laboratory" by Robert Browning is also written in this form. Miss Havisham is aware of her own stink - because she does not ever change her clothes or wash. She stays in bed and screams in denial. At other times she looks and asks herself "who did this" to her? She sometimes dreams almost tenderly or erotically of her lost lover, but when she wakes the hatred and anger return. Thinking of how she "stabbed at the wedding cake" she now wants to work out her revenge on a "male corpse" - presumably that of her lover. The poem is written in four stanzas which are unrhymed. Many of the lines run on, and the effect is like normal speech. Sometimes the meaning is unclear, but other lines are more open - and there are hints of violence in "strangle", "bite", "bang" and "stabbed". It is not clear what exactly Miss Havisham would like to do on her "long slow honeymoon", but we can be sure that it is not pleasant. "THE LABORATORY" The poem opens with the speaker's putting on a mask, so she can see, with safety, the old man at work.
Compare the ways poets reveal feelings in Nothing(TM)s changed(TM) and What were they like?(TM)
Compare how poets use language and imagery to portray war in 'Dulce et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen and 'MCMXIV' by Philip Larkin. In the poem 'Dulce et Decorum Est,' Owen uses vivid imagery and language to create a graphic description of the gas attacks to emphasise and dramatize the effect of pathos to the reader. 'MCMXIV' by Larkin, portrays war by vivid imagery and strong use of language; Larkin retrospectively describes the preparation made as the people of England leave their homes to battle in the First World War. War is portrayed effectively in 'Dulce et Decorum Est' when Owen places realism amongst the poem; 'GAS! GAS! Quick, boys!' Emphasis is placed on the word 'boys' as this creates an insight as to how soldiers addressed one another in a frantic situation, it also conjures an image of the soldiers being young, thus producing an emotion of sadness at such innocence. However, Larkin begins the poem with a sense of naivety, by describing the awaiting to be enlisted as a somewhat enjoyable daily event; 'Grinning as if it were all An August Bank Holiday lark;' The word 'grinning' suggests the soldiers are unaware of the reality of the situation, or perhaps choose to be ignorant in acknowledging the truth, therefore allowing the reader a perception of the soldiers' emotions and once again presents - similarly to 'Dulce et Decorum Est,' - an authentically closer
‘Cousin Kate’ and ‘The Seduction’
I am going to compare the two poems, 'Cousin Kate' and 'The Seduction'. In both poems, the main characters are female and single. In 'Cousin Kate' the poet narrates is first person thus adopting the perspective of the young cottage maiden featured but in 'The Seduction' the poet narrates in the third person and tells a story, however she does communicate with us the intimate thoughts and feelings of the schoolgirl. 'Cousin Kate' begins by setting the scene and so does The Seduction. The girl in 'Cousin Kate' has little or no education and yet seems to have a quite high standard of life whereas the girl in 'The Seduction' is about to do her O Levels (G.C.S.E s) and seems under-educated with a poor quality of life. Eileen McAuley (author of 'The Seduction') uses idiomatic, conversational speech and is not governed by a rhyming scheme, although one is present. An example of her idiomatic speech would be 'She was three months gone...' An example of a rhyming scheme would be 'He spat into the river, fumbled in a bag...and he muttered "little slag"' but on lines 30-32 a half-rhyme is found: - 'Listerine...Magazines'. In both poems the poets begin by setting the scene and telling you what has happened previously (a short time beforehand) and both express vividly the emotions of the main characters. For example, in 'Cousin Kate', a 19th Century poem, we can pick up that the main
"Make a Detailed Comparison of Two Poems About Betrayed in Love"
"Make a Detailed Comparison of Two Poems About Betrayed in Love" I have been analysing the two poems, "Cousin Kate," by Christina Rossetti, and, "The Seduction," by Eileen McAuley. Both of these poems share the same theme. The two poems are both based on betrayed love but they each deal with a different aspect. "Cousin Kate," is set in the eighteenth century. It is the tale of a poor "cottage maiden" who gets found out by a wealthy lord. She then falls in love with him and has his child before being dropped as the lord moves onto "Cousin Kate." The poem is set out as the maiden telling us the story of how she was used and how he exchanged her for another woman. A good line that describes this is, "...He wore me like a silken knot, he changed me like a glove." This tells us that he felt he could use her like an item of clothing and discard her when he wished due to his wealthy position in life. "The Seduction," is also a poem about a man taking advantage of a girl but it is very different. Whereas in "Cousin Kate" he attracts her by his wealth and treating her well this is not the case in "The Seduction." As the title suggests the poem is about a seduction but not in the normal manner you'd expect for a seduction. There is no romance or romantic settings. In fact, the poet almost tries to make it feel dirty with such lines as, "...Towards the frightening scum on the water."
Comparing Poems
Rising Five and Mid-Term Break Both Mid-term Break, by Seamus Heaney and Rising Five, by Norman Nicholson deal with the irreversible loss and wastage of life. Norman Nicholson in particular came very close to losing his own life as a young man. He expresses his deep regret over the manner people waste their life by rushing through it, in pursuit of future aspirations. This is unlike Mid-term Break, whose main theme is the incomprehensible loss of a young child and the contrasting reactions of all the family members involved. The theme of Mid-term Break focuses around the grief and shock following the death of a very young sibling whose life was brutally ended and wasted by a car accident. On the other hand, the theme of Rising Five has a more broad application as it critiques a way of living that leads to a wasted life not so different from the case in Mid-term Break. In effect, Mid-term Break is rather one dimensional because it merely focuses on a single case of wasted life and does not attempt to consider moral or philosophical aspects of either life or death unlike Rising Five. Mid-term Break focuses on the tragic death of a four year old sibling and the reactions of the main character and other personalities involved. The sudden and brutal understanding of the death is expressed strongly with the last line, 'A four foot box, a foot for every year.' This line emphasizes
How are changing attitudes to the First World War reflected in the poetry of the period?
Patrick Thompson 61959 8th September 2009 How are changing attitudes to the First World War reflected in the poetry of the period? Task: Studied the literary tradition of war poetry. Studied a range of poems from Tennyson and Newbolt through to Sassoon and Owen. Conditions: Done in class and own time War has been written about for hundreds of years from ancient epics hundreds of years ago to sonnets of the modern conflicts of today. Times and attitudes have changed a lot since then. In the ancient Anglo Saxon story of Beowulf. A warrior named Beowulf attacks and defeats an evil dragon name Grendel. Beowulf is praised for his bravery and heroism. His people deeply respect and honour him this attitude is then carried on for the next few hundred years, the warrior deserved and got glory for risking his life to save others.Then in the medieval period the chivalric code came along. Knights replaced warriors as the most honorable and righteous people of their masters kingdom. Their master to whom they would lay down their life's for nobly. The knights were thought of as doing god's will on earth and fighting evil, they were almost godly in their actions and were known for protecting the weak, honouring the land and worshipping god. When the Renaissance came there was a rebirth in the interest of classical literature from the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome.
The Planners and the City Planners
"The Planners" (Boey Kim Cheng) and "The City Planners" (Margaret Atwood) "The City Planners" by Margaret Atwood and "The Planners by Boey Kim Cheng" are two poems that are very similar in their ideas and images about human hand in nature. Both of them are critical to this, so both poets make references about what they think and feel while writing them. In the poem "The Planners", we can see the author's response to and assessment of city planners, architects and designers and their way of doing their jobs. He brings out how these people plan perfectly every building and makes great use of space and how society is blinded by this particular perfect order. The growth of the cities takes place at any cost: "they build and will not stop even the sea draws back and the skies surrender" Natural resources are paying the costs of the expanding cities. But nature is not the only one paying for the consequences of the behaviors of planners, history as a whole is also being destroyed: "They erase the flaws". The planners have decided that what has been achieved in the past is not appropriate and to some extents not perfect enough. He also compares the planning as mathematics with some kind of irony. He introduces an enumeration where he describes a narcotic effect of the planning: "Anaesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis". The poet finishes his poem saying that he will not be pessimistic