Look at the different ways in which Shakespeare, Duffy and Clarke present relationships in 'Valentine' 'I wanna be yours' and 'Sonnet 116'
Look at the different ways in which Shakespeare, Duffy and Clarke present relationships in the three poems The poem Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy is an unusual love poem which 'explodes' romantic clichés and replaces them with an onion. The poem I wanna be yours by John Cooper Clarke is light-hearted love poem about a man explaining what he will do for the woman in lots of silly ways. The poem Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare is a typical Shakespearean sonnet which explains all about the 'conditions' of true love. Throughout the poem Valentine, Duffy uses an onion as an extended metaphor for true love. "I give you an onion" Duffy cleverly uses the onion in various different ways to explain her views about love and marriage. She manages to take the idea of cute romantic clichés and turns them 'upside down' by replacing them with the unusual metaphor of an onion. Duffy doesn't use these clichés but tells it how it is "I am trying to be truthful" Duffy starts by comparing an onion to "a moon wrapped in brown paper", because the brown paper suggests the brown, ugly outer skin of an onion, but underneath is the glowing moon which is the actual onion under its skin. This is just like love because on the outside, love can seem a bit ugly but as time goes by you slowly discover that love has a hidden beauty within. In the second stanza Duffy talks about crying "it will blind
The two poems I shall compare are the poems Sonnet 116, by Shakespeare, and Hour by Carol Ann Duffy.
Compare and contrast the poets’ analysis of the relationship between time and love The two poems I shall compare are the poems “Sonnet 116,” by Shakespeare, and “Hour” by Carol Ann Duffy. These two poems are both about the influences of time and love, their themes differ, and are similar in many ways throughout. Sonnet 116 describes love as enduring, unchanged until the “edge of doom”. As well as being “unshaken by storms”, “Love alters not” – it is a constant, an “ever-fixed mark”, just as a “star” is reliably found in the night sky. As well as not changing appearance or position, love “bears it out even to the edge of doom”. Shakespeare is using language associated with extremes to show the power of love, confirming love as a positive force that triumphs over the prospect of “doom”. However in Hour time is compressed, and yet the poem suggests love is forever resourceful, able to find riches in a short amount of time. The pleasures and riches that the couple gather in an hour allow them to feels as if they are frozen in time: “Time slow, for here/we are millionaires, backhanding the night”. The hour spent together in the golden light gives them a sense of power, making them feel as if they can bribe the darkness to hold back, giving the lovers immense joy and wealth. In sonnet 116 we are told that love’s “worth unknown”,
Discuss how the poets of Piano, Remember, Refugee Mother and Child, Funeral Blues, A Case of Murder and On My First Sonne convey the theme of loss and death.
Jemma Jones Discuss how the poets of Piano, Remember, Refugee Mother and Child, Funeral Blues, A Case of Murder and On My First Sonne convey the theme of loss and death. The theme of death is commonly used in the world of literature; it exists as one of the defying elements in the writing of poetry. Maybe because at some point in our lives, we must all face the dreaded idea of death. The poems Piano by the Victorian poet D.H Lawrence, Refugee Mother And Child by the Nigerian poet Chinua Achebe, Funeral Blues by the English poet W.H Auden, A Case of Murder by the illustrious Vernon Scannell, Remember by the romantic Christina Rossetti and On My first Sonne by the English Renaissance poet Ben Jonson, use a selection of poetic techniques in order to convey a broad variety of emotions surrounding the main theme of death. Through the use of direct words with negative connotation, Auden conveys the theme of death, whilst creating a dark, mournful time in the poem, Funeral Blues. The mood of Funeral Blues can come across as quite angry and frustrating, and I find that this anger and frustration towards the world increases, as Auden skillfully uses stronger words with negative connotation towards the end of the poem, ‘the stars are not wanted now: put out every one/ Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun/ Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.’ These words are of
Analysis of conflict in Dulce et Decorum Est" and The Charge of the Light Brigade
English Literature-Poetry and Drama Look at the way conflict is presented in the section of verse you have studied The poem by Wilfred Owen “Dulce et Decorum Est” was written by the poet after his first hand experience of the trenches during WWI, and gives us a small insight to what life in the trenches, during war, was actually like. It gives us a very negative horrific view of war, and is definitely a very anti-war poem. The poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson however, is very pro-war with far more focus being put on the heroism and bravery of the men at war, rather than the death and horror of war, and as a result, gives us an almost romantic view of war. “The soldier” by Rupert Brooke also gives us a similar take on war, but focuses more on the patriotism of the men at war, and even of those at home. In this essay I am going to look at how the three poets present the theme of conflict in their poems. The poem by Owen can rather easily be divided into three sections: a description of soldiers leaving the battlefield, a mustard gas attack and a challenge thrown out to those who glorify war. It opens however, with a description of trench life and the conditions faced by the soldiers. The opening stanza is characterised by language about 'fatigue': the soldiers 'marched asleep', they 'trudge', and 'limped on'. They are 'deaf', 'lame'
Both The Moment by Margaret Atwood and London by William Blake are poems about mans relationship and dependency on nature
Both “The Moment” by Margaret Atwood and “London” by William Blake are poems about man’s relationship and dependency on nature. They both teach the message that you need to embrace nature to survive as a human; and warn against the consequences of not doing so. Where Atwood’s poem is more of a warning about what could happen if we reject nature, Blake let’s us experience what this is actually like, he describes humans trying what Atwood has warned against. The tone of the poems is very different. Blake’s tone could be described as morbid, oppressive and disillusioned with words like “woe” and “blackening,” where the tone of Atwood’s poem is clearer and more didactic, more suited to delivering the political message it aims to, and less personal than Blake’s narrative poem. There are elements of a misanthropic nature in both poems. Atwood’s poem seems to be quite mocking of the human race, showing how oblivious we are to what we are bringing upon ourselves, with the line “house, half-acre, square mile, island, country” sounding somewhat like a politicians speech. Blake is very bitter and condemns man in his outcry against the industrialisation of London. Both poets use equal stanzas and rather simplistic language in their poems. For Atwood, this is to deliver her message to as many people as she can. Blake’s poem takes on a song-like
Nettles and The Fathers Bride are two poems which pursue the subconscious effect of obsession on people.
Tyrone Medford Unit 3a Poetry Response Compare and explore the ways poets present relationships in two poems you have studied Obsession is an inevitable part of almost everybody’s relationships. When someone becomes completely obsessed with something, that persons thoughts are completely taken over, just thinking about that one thing. ‘Nettles’ and ‘The Fathers Bride’ are two poems which pursue the subconscious effect of obsession on people. Scannell’s ‘Nettles’ inspects how being obsessed with protecting someone you love wont indicate that you will save them from any harm, whereas in Mew’s ‘The Farmers Bride’, obsession is treated in a far more different way due to unrequited love. As though it was intended, both Scannell and Mew use obsession as one of the main themes running throughout. In the poem ‘Nettles’, Scannell makes it seem as though the father is completely obsessed with protecting his son. It appears as though the father has become crazy with anger and rage over shielding his son from the devious nettles. When Scannell says ‘and then I took my hook and honed the blade, and went outside and slashed in fury with it’. This is signifying that Scannell wants revenge on the nettles for harming his son. The harsh sounds from the words ‘hooked’ and ‘honed’ could reflect the boxing background and the one he had while
"Porphyria's lover" and "Romeo and Juliet" comparison.
How is power portrayed in porphyries lover and Romeo and juliet The audience is clearly aware of the abnormally possessive personality the persona possesses when the poet writes “at that moment she was mine”Could also possibly suggests he won her heart fair and that only he is worthy of the love of porphyria could suggest he went through a lot of efforts and challenges to win her over and acquire her love, he didn’t “cheat” anyhow. By the use of the word “fair” he could be insinuating that the upper class men would possibly “cheat” to obtain porphyria’s love through other techniques like money and impressively high lifestyle to acquire her love and to win her over. This emphasises the possessive nature of men which could reflect the typical Victorian beliefs and ethics of the time. During the Victorian era the reader/audiences wouldn’t regard this much of a surprise as it was common belief, and it was believed women were possessions of men while on the other hand the audience today may be slightly shocked this is clearly due to the different time period resulting to a very different views of society and therefore different belief, this belief of possession no longer exists nowadays. Doesn’t want to miss opportunity to trap her into this eternal love state. Perfect timing. Both pieces are Paradoxical as both personas portray strength and power and
Compare how poets present the theme of love in; Havisham, Valentine, My last Duchess, Sonnet 18, Sonnet 116 and Piano
Compare How Poets Present The Theme Of Love The theme expressed through these chosen six poems is the nature of love. This can be positively presented in for example, sonnet 18, sonnet 116 (William Shakespeare) and Piano (D.H. Lawrence). Sonnet 18 is about how the imperfections of summer compares with the perfection and completeness of his lover. Sonnet 116 is concerned with how true love is like a long journey and marriage- being a metaphor for true love will guide you through it. Additionally, Piano is about the power of memory of his late mother striking the man at a concert he went to, which brings about a light and sensual approach on the topic of love. Whilst others view love negatively, like Havisham, Valentine (Carol Ann Duffy), and My Last Duchess Ferrara (Robert Browning). Valentine provides a mutual, more realistic interpretation of love, and discusses the matter that it’s not always like a “red rose or satin heart”. Havisham is about a depressed woman who has been stood up at the altar and has been lying in bed ever since in a terrible, emotional state, indicating the destructive nature of love. And lastly, My Last Duchess is a dramatic monologue in which we hear the story of a duke looking for a new wife and throughout the story we get the idea that he has had her previous wife killed. Shakespeare’s sonnet 116 and sonnet 18 represent different
Valentine, Romeo and Juliet and Sonnet #18 all address love and death hand in hand. Why do you think they do this?
Sara Guslov 11A 23/09/12 English homework: ‘Valentine’, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Sonnet #18’ all address love and death hand in hand. Why do you think they do this? William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Sonnet #18’ and Caroline Duffy’s ‘Valetine’ all address love and death hand in hand. Caroline Duffy’s ‘Valetine’ addresses love as a temporary, yet possesive love and death as an emotional death in which love turns to hate. Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ addresses love as a youthful, consuming and almost possesive love and death as an emotional and physical death in which without the ‘love of their lives’ they have no reason to be alive. Shakespeares ‘Sonnet #18’ addresses love as an eternal and unconditional love which holds a place above all things, and addresses death as the only means to an end to that irrevocable love. Caroline Duffy writes ‘I give you an onion. Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, possessive and faithful as we are, for as long as we are.’ This implies that her ‘fierce kiss’ is an experience that will stay with her lover as long as they both remain faithful and as loving as they have been, for as long as they are faithful and loving. This means that the death that is hand in hand with love is a
english poem essay
Connor Hills Compare the ways poets present powerful characters in ‘My last duchess’ and ‘The river god’ In ‘my last duchess’ and ‘the river god’ we find two characters that are powerful, possessive and want control over women. In ‘my last duchess’, the duke implies that he killed his last duchess because he thought she was flirtatious with other men. In ‘the river god’ the narrator directly tells us that he killed a woman and now keeps her on his river bed. Neither of the male characters seems concerned about the death of these women. Both poems use possessive language to suggest how powerful the men are. In my last duchess, the duke controls who looks at the duchess’s portrait. He comments, ‘none puts by / the curtain I have drawn for you, but I’, which suggests his possessive nature, and his need to control becomes more sinister when he says, ‘I gave commands; / then all smiles stopped’. He seems proud of his power though he does not actually say what he has done; the chilling ‘all smiles stopped’ only implies that he killed her. His power is highlighted by his polite yet forceful tone when talking to his guest. He says, ‘nay, we’ll go / together down, sir’ which shows that he is very much in charge. Unlike the Duke, the river god admits that he killed the woman, saying ‘I brought her down here’ which is a euphemism for