Compare and contrast the poems 'East moors' by Gillian Clarke with R.S Thomas' Welsh Landscape.
Compare and contrast the poems 'East moors' by Gillian Clarke with R.S Thomas` Welsh Landscape. Both Gillian Clarke and R.S Thomas were born in Cardiff in 1937 and 1913 respectively. Before becoming a poet, Gillian Clarke had been a part-time lecturer and also an editor, she is very much a poet of place, in her case, Wales, and likes to see herself as being the voice of the Welsh people. All of her stories are true and she portrays her experiences very well through the language used in her poetry. She is now a tutor on the university of Glamorgan's M.A in writing. Thomas was a Welsh clergyman and poet whose lucid, austere verse expresses an undeviating affirmation of the values of the common man. Thomas was educated in Wales and ordained in the Church of Wales (1936), in which he held several appointments, including vicar of St. Hywyn (Aberdaron) with St. Mary (Bodferi) from 1967, as well as rector of Rhiw with Llanfaelrhys from 1973.He published his first volume of poetry in 1946 and gradually developed his unadorned style with each new collection. His early poems, most notably those found in Stones of the Field (1946) and Song at the Year's Turning Point: Poems 1942-1954 (1955), contained a harshly critical but increasingly compassionate view of the Welsh people and their stark homeland. In Thomas' later volumes, starting with Poetry for Supper (1958), the subjects of his
Compare and Contrast John Betjeman's 'Slough' to R.S.Thomas' two poems, 'Soil' and 'Cynddylan on atractor'
Compare and Contrast John Betjeman's 'Slough' to R.S.Thomas' two poems, 'Soil' and 'Cynddylan on a tractor' An Essay John Betjeman's 'Slough' is centred around the town of Slough and is a poem used to express strong political opinions and has discreet commentary on modern life, whereas the two poems by R.S.Thomas are concentrated on ideas about religion and technology but are put forward by using agricultural examples. Both poems by Thomas are slightly irregular in structure; 'Soil' is written in Blank verse and has no rhyming and 'Cynddylan on a Tractor' has no particular structure, but has slight rhyming of the end words at changing intervals. The structure of 'Slough' is more organised, set out in equal verses with a regular rhyming pattern, with the rhyme of the final line continuing into the next verse. This is done to create and enhance the feeling of an on-going routine and almost entrapment throughout the poem. Thomas uses all five senses in his poetry ("The soil is all: his hands fondle it, and his bones are formed out of it...") and in doing so gives the reader vibrant and realistic imagery. Formal yet emotive language is used throughout both of his poems, and in a descriptive context. This is seen especially in 'Soil' where each object is described effectively as how it actually is, "Plying mechanically his cold blade". 'Slough' uses less formal language, but
Thomas Hardy’s “The Workbox”: A Commentary on Mortality
Calvin Teemer Prof. Morell English 122 08/10/03 Thomas Hardy's "The Workbox": A Commentary on Mortality Thomas Hardy's "The Workbox" centers on the connectivity between life and death. The author shows the elusive nature of the confines of our lives (as they relate to death), as well as the abruptness in which these boundaries intertwine. Hardy shows this connectivity through the symbolism of the timber, whose components (a work box and a coffin both constructed of the same piece of oak) represent life and death respectively. Hardy stages a forum on the discussion of mortality in the poem by showing the husband to have a more open attitude, while establishing the wife as a more stubborn and closed minded character. The timber in "The Workbox" represents the continuum of life and death, or in other words, the timeline of the soul. Hardy writes, "The shingled piece that seems to cease against your box's rim, continues right on in the piece that's underground with him." (Lines 12-15) clearly stating his belief that, upon physical death, that while life may appear to end, it actually continues on. The connection is implied; the piece of the workbox is the mate of the piece that is buried in the ground, separated by but a mere saw's width. Although the station and function of each piece may indeed vary, they nonetheless originate from the same piece of timber, in as
The Darkling Thrush By Thomas Hardy
The Darkling Thrush By Thomas Hardy A Centennial Desperation With a fleeting look, The Darkling Thrush appears to be the standard, depressing narrative of a lost and disenchanted poet. Formally, the particulars of the poem are well defined, consisting of four octaves, every stanza including two quatrains in hymn measure. The poem's author, Thomas Hardy, was an English poet, novelist, and architect, whose work often reflected his own enduring and apathetic pessimism, as well as an awareness of misfortune and disaster among human existence. The Darkling Thrush is no different. Through a combination of figurative language, pessimistic metaphors, and depressing similes, Thomas Hardy employs the poetic mechanism of imagery to illustrate a desperate and unpromising centennial change. The poem begins with a plethora of dark and dismal images. Hardy, who is presumed to be the narrative author, "leant upon a coppice gate", the winter's frost was a ghostly gray, which indicates a more dismal and dreary condition then that of pure, white frost. Hardy continues to describe the gloomy scene by illustrating that, as daylight drifted away because of winter deposits, The tangled bine-stems scored the sky Like strings of broken lyres And all mankind that haunted nigh Had sought their household fire Here, Hardy addresses two things. First, he continues his imagery of the
The Escape.
The Escape A few miles east of Toronto the dirty, dark river drops in close to the wide side bank. The water is cold. On one side of the river there is a road, which runs from the east, and on the other side of the trees are lined up. The road drops into a big place surrounded by an electrical fence. Behind the electrical fence there is a building, which looks like a fortress. It has three big towers, one tower is on top of the middle of the building, and the other two are based at the sides. The building is a prison for people who ruined someone else's life. It looks old and dirty all the windows are smashed. The prison consists of several building, which is also dirty. In the middle of the prison there is a big recreation area with several benches to sit on. Thee exercise area is covered with sand and dark earth. Police officers circled the area walking holding dogs on leashes. The dogs were black like the night sky. The police officers Police officers hats hid their cold eyes. The prison looked lonely, and the earth had been unloved by rain. The day started with little wind moving among the electric fence. The shade climbed up the towers towards the top. In the recreation area the dogs lay quietly like black stones. Then, from the direction of one of the main buildings came the sound of footsteps, men were heard shouting. They were approached the recreation area. The
How does Thomas Hardy's poetry relate to his Life.
How does Thomas Hardy's poetry relate to his Life An extraordinary man was born on the 2nd of June 1840. He was born in higher brockhampton in Dorset, near Dorchester. The man was Thomas hardy. Leaving school as an architect he went to London to study with a master architect. He began writing, but his poems were rejected by a number of publishers. Hardy was forced to return to Dorset because of poor health. In 1870 Hardy was sent to plan a church restoration at St. Juliot in Cornwall. There he met the gorgeous, bewitching Emma Gifford. Hardy had second thoughts about his poems but Emma encouraged him in his writing with Emma's help Hardy gained more confidence. Hardy and Emma were married in 1874. Shortly after 1874 he became successful and she became less important to him. He was embarrassed by her. He began to neglect her. He stopped taking her out. As the years past Emma protested that she was ill. She longed for Hardy's love as it had been in the early days of their marriage. On the 27th November 1912 Emma died suddenly. Hardy grieved extensively because her sudden death. Thomas realized how too late much he loved her. He also realized the only person who really cared about him was Emma. After December 1913 he wrote over a hundred of poems about her. These were released to the public later on. In his poems he was honest about the stages he went through with her. He
The poem "Neutral Tones" (by Thomas Hardy) is written from a man point of view where as the poem "Absence" (by Elizabeth Jennings) is written from a woman's point of view.
The poem "Neutral Tones" (by Thomas Hardy) is written from a man point of view where as the poem "Absence" (by Elizabeth Jennings) is written from a woman's point of view. The two contrasting points of view give us a good knowledge as to what the end of a relationship feels like for a man and a woman but one of the poems may be more effective in getting the message that the writer intended to across. Thomas Hardy writes about the reasons why his relationship broke up and he reflects on the impact this had upon him. Elizabeth Jennings also looks at her emotional loss but is more concerned with the extent to which she has recovered from it. The first verse in Neutral Tones is the scene setting: "We stood by a pond that winter day, And the sun was white, as though chidden of God, And a few leaves lay on the starving sod, -They had fallen from an ash, and were grey." In this verse the Thomas Hardy tells us that it was a winter day, which are normally cold and dark, and that the sun was white as though chidden of God. The words chidden of mean scolded or rebuked by. The writer conveys a sense of coldness in this verse. The starving sod and the fallen leaves from and ash tree had died and begun to rot. These lines give us the sense of death and darkness. The beginning of the poem "Absence" is somewhat different: "I visited the place where we last met. Nothing was
Examine the literary presentation of political/religious events in the text you have chosen. I have chosen Thomas D'Urfey's, Sir Barnaby Whig.
. Examine the literary presentation of political/religious events in the text you have chosen. I have chosen Thomas D'Urfey's, Sir Barnaby Whig. Whilst there is no direct formula for a restoration comedy, there are certainly identifiable themes and characters that tend to appear often and with particular purpose. Holland describes the genre thusly "[Restoration comedies] are about the conflict between "manners" [i.e. social conventions] and anti-social "natural" desires."1 This is certainly reflected in the adulterous intentions of most of the cast of Sir Barnaby Whig, since it is the desperate and farcical attempted seductions that provide the strongest elements of humour in the piece. Though we may observe an incisive and vicious wit such as Mr Sneer in Sheridan's The Critic, or indeed Wilding in Sir Barnaby Whig, the seductive figures of Townly and Benedick providing the images of both carnal obsession that are easily identified with post interregnum comedy, and the enforced and constant wit that was served to highlight a return to aesthetic concerns of taste. In short they were the figures of Charles II's court that represent a return to style and elegance in opposition to the strict regime imposed by Cromwell. Yet in the case of this play by D'Urfey, it is the obviously satirical figure of the title character Sir Barnaby Whig that provides the most poignant political
This essay will compare and contrast two ghost stories: "Harry" and "The Superstitious Man's Story." It will analyse the story genre, the typical conventions of ghost stories and also the different literary techniques used by the two different authors.
Compare and contrast the following essays: "Harry" and "The Superstitious Man's Story". This essay will compare and contrast two ghost stories: "Harry" and "The Superstitious Man's Story." It will analyse the story genre, the typical conventions of ghost stories and also the different literary techniques used by the two different authors. Ghost stories provide us with ways of thinking about death, dying and grieving. They also help us to explore our uncertainties about the supernatural and whether there is any form of life after death. Authors build on the fact that, whatever we believe, no one can be definite of what happens to the spirit when our bodies die. This creates an element of mystery and often keeps the reader guessing whether the characters in the story have actually seen a spirit or are being driven by grief or fear to imagine that they have. Ghost stories portray the meeting of two worlds, the world of the living and the world of the dead, and tension is created about whether a character will step over the borders from one world to another. Authors enjoy including dramatic twists at the end of the stories, as readers are usually misled up to this point. Many ghost stories contain a lot of direct speech, with people telling the story 'in their own words'. The relevance of the story being written in first person is because the reader is led to believe that the
Under Milk Wood By Dylan Thomas - "There's a nasty lot that live here, when you come to think." To what extent is the play an indictment of human society?
Under Milk Wood By Dylan Thomas "There's a nasty lot that live here, when you come to think." To what extent is the play an indictment of human society? In 1954, one year after Dylan Thomas' untimely death on November 9th, 1953, Under Milk Wood, a "play for voices" which describes the citizens of the fictitious town Llareggub (a name which, spelt backwards, is "bugger all"), was published. From the beginning, the audience is called to listen in on the dreams and innermost thoughts of the people living in Llareggub, people who soon appear as dreadfully and, to a certain extent realistically, eccentric characters. While the play presents us with various somewhat appalling oddities, the townsfolk we are introduced to throughout Thomas' work each possess traits of human society's own individuals. Under Milk Wood does, at first, appear to condemn humanity as each character's sins and crimes are revealed. However, as the play progresses further, each person's crimes appear less terrible and one finds oneself accepting each of Llareggub's townsfolk as "not wholly bad or good" (p.18) in that, despite (or perhaps due to) their imperfections, they are interesting and lovable to the same extent to which they are bizarre and mad. Under Milk Wood is, therefore, a depiction of the truth and Dylan Thomas' colourful and vivid work at the same time recognizes our faults and celebrates