"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
Analysis of "The Sick Rose"Written by William Blake.
Analysis of "The Sick Rose" Written by William Blake. O rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm That flies in the night, In the howling storm, Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy, And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy. In this essay, I chose to write a bout "The Sick Rose", which is a short poem written by William Blake, focusing on the metaphorical language and the symbolism used in it. Though this poem is difficult, I like its deeper meaning and the symbolism. I think that Blake succeeds in giving us a very brilliant work in a few lines. This short poem is a narrative poem made up of two stanzas; each stanza has four lines, rhyming a b c b. The language of it is pretty easy though it is written in 18th century English. The poet uses the present tense to indicate that what he is talking about might happen anytime and anywhere. The tone in the poem is sad. It is set at night, in the "howling storm." It has a double meaning. It is full of figurative language. The whole poem is a metaphor. It seems to be about a rose that has been destroyed at night by a worm, and this is the surface meaning of the poem, but it also can be seen as a tale of a rape. In the first line, the poet addresses the rose; I think that he anthropomorphizes the rose as a beautiful girl by doing this. This rose is already in a state of decay and the sickness of the rose, which is a
The poet Robert Browning of 'Porphyria's Lover' and the writer of 'First Love', John Clare, both delve into the complexity of love in many ways, some similar and others contrasting.
Explore and explain the similarities and differences between the way each poet deals with the theme of love in 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'First Love'. How do you account for these differences? The poet Robert Browning of 'Porphyria's Lover' and the writer of 'First Love', John Clare, both delve into the complexity of love in many ways, some similar and others contrasting. The most apparent similarity is that both poems are written in the style of a monologue. Throughout these poems the reader is enlightened only to the man's perspective; therefore as a reader, we never encounter the woman's emotions and can only guess by analyzing the text of what these could be. Throughout the monologues both lovers' characteristics are revealed. In 'First Love' the reader encounters a man who is unthreatening and we experience the innocence of him falling in love for the first time. This contrasts with 'Porphyria's Lover' where the reader is subject to the mind of a lover who has a jealous and obsessive nature. The reader is immediately aware of this lover's obsessive character in the opening line. The poet Robert Browning uses the imagery of a storm to imitate the lover's emotions. The violence of the storm 'tore the elm tops down for spite', warns the reader that his emotions are indeed negative and volatile. The use of personification is present when describing the storm. This is shown
Commentary on Seamus Heaney's "Scaffolding".
Mrs. Guezalova English IB 11 Commentary on Seamus Heaney's "Scaffolding" Jennifer Wang Block C Feb. 5, 2004 Seamus Heaney's "Scaffolding" is a simple yet dense poem. The poem uses metaphor to suggest that relationships are not naturally exist but are built over a period of time. Once this relationship has formed its shape, the endurance of such can be reached at eternity. With a determined, confident and very inspirational tone, Heaney emphasizes the importance of trust between the two people through five neat couplets with rhyme. "Masons" in the very first line of the poem is a metaphor suggesting the two people who share the same interests that are determined to establish a friendship. "When they start upon a building / Are careful to test out the scaffolding" depicts the two person's first try to build a friendship. The word "careful" and "test" shows the uneasiness of getting to know a person well at the beginning of the meet due to human's cautious nature. The process towards relationship building is instilled in the next two stanzas. "Make sure that the planks won't slip at busy points" can be interpreted as when mutual difficulties arise, the two people would join together to solve the problems and the relationship won't fall from it. "Ladders" represents the essential stages to reach the height of the relationship and to "tighten bolted joints" refers to the
Analysis of "Seven Ages of Man" by William Shakespeare.
Seven Ages of Man By William Shakespeare. Seven Ages of man is a poem written by William Shakespeare. It's actually a speech given by one of his characters named Jacques in his play As You Like it. Jacques is a pessimistic character who the poet uses to portray the life of a man in seven different parts. The first line of the poem "All the worlds a stage is a metaphor in which the world is associated with a stage. It is also the central metaphor around which the entire poem revolves. The next few lines also use similar terminology related to theatre. The word "All" in the first line establishes universality and we are told that men everywhere go through the same phases of life. The next line "...Just like actors, men and women in this world are not free to do as they will and are directed and controlled by their destiny. And just like actors in a play, the people make their appearances and go away i.e. they are born into this world and die. Because Jacques looks more towards the negative, he mentions death as in "exit" first and then birth or "entrance". This is because he looks at life's negativities closely. And so, this man, a player who has probably made an entrance plays seven main parts in his life. These parts are referred to as acts as in the line "And one man in his time plays many parts. His act being seven ages." When the child is born, he is an infant who
Romantic Poetry Analysis. John Keats On First Looking into Chapmans Homer reflects the many aspects of Romanticism
Poetry Analysis The romantic era rose out of and in response to the logical, more retrained forms of literature composed in the age of reason. It promoted the exploration of creativity in thinking, the joys of discovery and the enthusiasm and wonder evoked by mans complex relationship with nature. John Keats "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" in the latter part of the Romantic period yet accurately reflects many of the above mentioned ideas. In this poem, the excitable young poet passionately recounts his joyous response to "looking" at the ancient works of Homer (as translated by an Englishman). Typically for the Romantics, Keats uses comparisons, imagery and tone to demonstrate his feelings and reflects the aspects of Romanticism through the use of poetic techniques. As this essay will now show. The poem expresses the intensity of Keat's experience and reveals his love of poetry. "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" opens with the phrase "Much have I travelled in the realms of gold". "Realms of gold" is a metaphor implying world riches. This phrase also symbolises the world of literature and imagination which symbolises the world of literature and imagination which Keats is greatly passionate about. The term "godly" in the phrase "many godly states and kingdoms seen" gives a pleasing appearance and raises its standards to a high level of appreciation. "Round many
William Wordsworth, known as one of the first generation of romantic poets lived from 1770-1850.
William Wordsworth, known as one of the first generation of romantic poets lived from 1770-1850. Apart from romantic poems Wordsworth covered sonnets and poems expressing the child-like features of natural and man-made landscape. Two of his most famous works that fit into this genre are 'The Daffodils', a poem looking at the beauty of nature and 'Composed Upon Westminster Bridge Sept. 3, 18' a petrachan sonnet looking at natures contrast-man-made beauty. He was influenced by all elements of the world, and also, closer relations like his sister, Dorothy Wordsworth. Many times Dorothy contributed to his masterpieces, recorded through Dorothy's diary, now known as the 'Grassmere Journals'. Another patron that helped Wordsworth along the way was Sir George Beaumont, a friend and comrade of Wordsworth who frequently shared thoughts in letters. Many of his pieces reflect the beauty of the world and Wordsworths' amazement at this. His ability to see the world through the wonder and freshness of a child allowed him to write some of the best and most unforgettable poems of our time. The poem 'The Daffodils' derived from a trip to Eusmere with his sister, Dorothy. On the journey they passed a field of daffodils, described by Dorothy as to be 'dancing' and in 'gayety'- recorded in the Grassmere Journals. This famous poem has been described as a 'beautiful expression of joy'. The
Death Of A Naturalist comment on how appropriate the title, "Death of a Naturalist", is and comment on how it changes meaning.
"Death Of A Naturalist" I have been asked to comment on how appropriate the title, "Death of a Naturalist", is and comment on how it changes meaning. The poem is set out in two sections of blank verse (unrhymed lambric pentameter lines). In the first section the poet. Seamus Heaney, notes the festering in the flax-dam, but can cope with this familiar scene of things, rotting & spawn hatching. Perhaps as an inquisitive child he felt some pride in not being squeamish. He thinks of the bubbles from the process as gargling "delicately". He is confident in taking the frogspawn. It's something he does every year and watches the "jellied-specks" become "fattening dots" then turn into tadpoles. He almost has a scientific interest in knowing the proper names ("bullfrog" and "frogspawn") rather than the teachers patronising talk of "daddy" and "mammy". Especially the idea of forecasting the weather by looking at the frogspawn because it's not very helpful as it is blatantly obvious if it is sunny or raining and so there is no need to look at the frogspawn. Seamus Heaney uses onomatopoeia more lavish here than in any poem - and many of the sound are very in delicate: "gargled", "slap and plop" and "farting". The lexicon is full terms of putrefaction, ordure, generally unpleasant things such as "festered", "rotted", "slobber", "clotted water", "rank with cowdung" and "slime kings".
Analysis or Owen's "Dulce et decorum est".
The poem 'Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori' is the name of a poem written my Wilfred Owen, a wartime Poet. The title was taken from an ode by Horace. The title literally means 'It is sweet and right to die for your country'. It was written specifically to stress the fact that the government's Propaganda was a lie, "The Old Lie" as it states in the final stanza of the poem. Propaganda is a word generally used in a war, meaning advertising, promoting and spreading information towards the public. They were generally based around that if you join up, you would get the women! The government wanted, young, fit and red-blooded men to enlist, to fight and die for their country. Thousand's of patriotic men enlisted. Wilfred Owen described the conditions endured by the men in the first stanza in more of a physical manner, emphasizing the men's appearance, positions and actions. From reading this stanza, I can identify that the men were clearly pushed to their physical limits, for example, "drunk with fatigue" or "men marched asleep" both suggest how extremely exhausted they were. Special camps were used in the war; a phrase that suggests this is "and towards our distant rest began to trudge". As the men slowed down with physical and mental drainage, their distant rest seems prolonged. A very serious and saddening mood is used in the poem. If spokes, one would use a very somber
How Do You Respond To Mid-Term Break? What techniques does Heaney use? Having read the title 'Mid-Term Break', I assumed that the poem
How Do You Respond To Mid-Term Break? What techniques does Heaney use? Having read the title 'Mid-Term Break', I assumed that the poem was about a student's holiday abroad or something similar, however as I progressed through reading the play, I realized that it had a different meaning. The poem has a very deceiving title, a mid-term break is supposed to be a joyous time of holiday but here Heaney must deal with the death of a family member. This misleading title is the first technique used by Heaney to attract the attention of the reader. The poem is also told in first person and this gives the effect that the emotions come straight from the boy to the reader. We respond directly to the boy, which provokes greater sympathy in us when we find out that his brother dies. The first stanza is telling us that the boy is away from home, isolated, upset and waiting. It is made up of short sentences to build up tension and create shock as though the reader is expecting something to happen. One phrase that struck me was 'our neighbors drove me home'. This suggested to me that something had happened as usually a student's parents take them to and from school. We then find out that the father, apparently always strong at other funerals, is distraught, while the mother is too angry to cry. Also the euphemism used by 'Big Jim Evans' - 'it's a hard blow'. Having read this I
