Critical Essay of 'In the Snack Bar
Critical Essay of the poem "In the Snack Bar" by Edwin Morgan "In the Snack Bar" by Edwin Morgan provides the reader with a sensitive yet bleak insight into the pitiful side of human existence. Morgan's poem deals effectively with how urban society unfairly treats those who are old and disabled, leaving the reader with a sense of despair as they reflect on society as a whole. Focusing on the pathetic figure of a blind, hunch-backed old man, the speaker in the poem unveils the grim reality of the human condition. The language of the poem is matter-of-fact and everyday, thereby mirroring the unromantic nature of the scene it depicts. And yet, even the language, in its bare simplicity, creates such vivid imagery, which reminds the reader that, even in the darkest, most depressing aspects of life, the human spirit struggles on. Through its use of language and poetic technique, the poem explores the miserable side of life. The opening line of 'a cup capsizing on the formica' and the use of the descriptive word 'slithering' instantly gains the attention of the reader, showing contrast that despite the noise created in this greasy spoon cafe 'few heads turn'. This is followed with a detailed description of the old man for whom every movement is a momentous effort; the poem conveys a sense of exclusion and horror. The simile of a "monstrous animal" with his "face not seen"
By referring to at least two poems, discuss by what means Larkin illustrates the disparity between reality and illusion in his poems.
By referring to at least two poems, discuss by what means Larkin illustrates the disparity between reality and illusion in his poems. Larkin lived in a time when ideals and touchstones were falling apart and capitalism had put an emphasis on individual effort. Larkin, therefore, reflected the essence of his times in sarcastic tones; his main concern was life and its discontents and his ability to write about the impossibility of understanding psychological reality (illusion) in a general social reality, is what made Larkin him. Illusion and reality are two very important themes that run throughout Larkin's poems and are going to be discussed in the following; 'Essential Beauty,' 'Sunny Prestatyn,' 'Wild Oats' - and in the first two poems, Larkin deals with the way in which we torment ourselves with images that we cannot translate into reality, although in the latter, gives us an attempt by Larkin at a mature relationship. Sunny Prestatyn is a poem, much like Essential Beauty, is a poem where advertising hoardings are employed to test the distance between idealised vision of perfection and the uncombed world we actually live in. The opening stanzas of both present us with these unattainable images of 'how life should be.' The attractions of 'Sunny' Prestatyn; the girl on the poster, "Glad in tautened white satin," dominates as the coastline and hotel behind her, "...expand
Ithaca: A Journey-Not a Destination
Ithaca: A Journey-Not a Destination The poem "Ithaca," by Constantine P. Cavafy expresses his outlook on life. Cavafy was born with Greek citizenship on April 17, 1863, in Alexandria, Egypt. After the death of Cavafy's father in 1870, his family moved to Liverpool, England. Cavafy developed a love for writing in England and indulged in the works of William Shakespeare, Robert Browning, and Oscar Wilde. After problems with the family business, the Cavafy family moved to Constantinople. It was there that Cavafy began his love affair with poetry. The first version of "Ithaca" was written in Greek in 1894. The first English translation was published in 1924, and there have been a number of different translations since then. Along the road in Cavafy's poetic life, he expressed many important themes dealing with his roots from Egypt and Greece. When Greece was under Turkish rule in the eighteenth century, Greek literature virtually disappeared. It was awakened following the Greek War of Independence in 1821-1827. As Greek national pride grew, there was a strong movement amongst writers to use the demotic or the ordinary form of the Greek language. Thus, the influence of this movement is seen in Cavafy's poem "Ithaca." The city of Alexandria is where Cavafy wrote "Ithaca" and is probably one of the unnamed Egyptian cities in the poem. Cavafy's "Ithaca," offers its
Ted Hughes's Examination at the Womb Door
EXAMINATION AT THE WOMB DOOR Ted Hughes . Explain the use of the term "womb-door". The word "womb door" at first seems to have very sexual connotations. The voice of God's nightmare gestates and begins to acquire a physical state. But before it is born, there is yet a trial that the embryo has to go through. This is the embryo's examination at the womb door, a final assessment that the crow must undergo before being born and before entering the world. Womb door signifies the point of crossing into the physical world- a gate where all souls shall gather before they step into life. In my opinion, examination at womb door reminds me of the promise that all souls make to God before coming into the world that He- God is their creator and they shall return to Him. In our poem, however, the crow is a clever embryo and the examination that follows is a unique one. 2. What effect is created by the repetition of the word "Death"? There is a lot of emphasis on the word Death. This emphasis is brought out by putting the word in italics, placing it a few spaces away from the normal sentence and by making it the only answer that the Crow gives throughout the poem. It is repeated sixteen times by the Crow emphasizing that Death is indeed the ultimate reality of life. The time and place of our death is decided even before we are born and that, in a way, makes death a stronger aspect than
An Analysis of The Piano has been Drinking by Tom Waits.
An Analysis of ‘The Piano has been Drinking’ Quazi Mohammad Faisal Tuesday, December 22, 2009 ‘The piano has been drinking’ is written by Tom Waits, an American singer-songwriter. This piece of writing is actually one of Tom Waits' songs which use several poetic conventions. Due to the factor it doesn’t give this one the shape of a true poetry. Still this one is an interesting piece of writing and has several conventions used where it can be analyzed stylistically. The poem is about a drunken pianist who’s sitting behind his piano late at night in a restaurant and blaming his piano, not himself, for his drunken state. First thing to note about the poem is the title- “The piano has been drinking”. A piano is not a living element and it can’t drink. So, when someone goes through the title, it gives the idea that the poem there is someone behind that piano who is trying to tell a story through the piano. The scenario described in the poem took place late at night in one of the bars where the addresser is playing a piano. The whole poem was written in a second person tone, describing various elements of the place and it’s not until the last line we get the idea that it’s being told by the pianist: “The piano has been drinking, not me”. This also invites the readers to equate the narrator with the writer. The poem has a tone of irony and it was
Charles Simics Butcher Shop is a poem of four-line stanzas that shows how the poet and subsequently all humans are caught in a solitary existence. However, through a poets perspective, people can reach across the distance of solitude toward co
Vlad Mirona , American Studies 1st year MA BUTCHER SHOP - Creation reflected in a dark mirror Charles Simic's "Butcher Shop" is a poem of four-line stanzas that shows how the poet and subsequently all humans are caught in a solitary existence. However, through a poet's perspective, people can reach across the distance of solitude toward communication. Regarding this poem, we can talk about a minimalist level. It doesn't seem that much happens within the scene itself. Instead, the action takes place in the poet's act of making poetry-in turning the simple though gruesome effects of the butcher's shop into something surreal. This transformation allows the poet and the reader to speculate on the worldly phenomena that allow humans to reach across the distance of space, time, and language to speak to each other. In this poem, the vocabulary is accessible. Of all the different words used in the poem, "continents" and "imbecile" are the only words longer than two syllables. Simic uses a four-line stanza made up of free-verse lines with approximately four beats per line. Also, only two lines have four syllables or less ("Where I am fed" and "To be healed"). Generally, the lines are neither overly long nor too short. Overall, Simic seems to reach for a kind of transparency in his language, where the things named will become what they signify when read. Other
Larkin - a look at the mood poems were written in by Larkin
Larkin is an established poet and was cherished by people all around the world. He won the respect of many readers, critics and non-critics. He was gifted in his writing and through this gift he bought us the poems we have today. Larkin therefore can be said to be a memorable poet and this will now be investigated. How is he memorable? And what makes him memorable? To start the investigation off I am going to look at the mood poems were written in by Larkin. Each poem is set in its own mood and the mood can help the reader to understand the poem. "Dockery and Son" is the first poem. It is about Larkin going to a funeral and remembering one of his university colleagues called Dockery. Larkin has found out that his son now attends the university and this leads on to the general image of the poem. "...In '43, when I was twenty-one. If he was younger, did he get this son At nineteen, twenty? Was he that withdrawn..." (Larkin page 152 Dockery and Son) This quote shows the awe that Larkin shows at this point in time. The poem was written in a sad mood as it is a remembrance poem. He then continues the poem in much the same way showing his point of view and talking about a popular concept for him, life. "Life is first boredom, then fear. Whether or not we use it, it goes....." (Larkin page 153 Dockery and Son) Life is a matter that Larkin talks about a lot of the time.
The Death of Marilyn Monroe, by Sharon Olds, on the surface speaks about the events that occur after the death of Marilyn Monroe
Quadri Ayesha F. Quadri Professor Tulacro English1B 5 November 2012 Death of a Beauty Star In the world today, we, the public, spend so much time admiring stars and many of us want to be like them. Yet, there is so much pressure placed on them and sometimes this becomes all too much for them to cope with, and they end up taking away their lives. This is the unpleasant and tragic side of being famous as we are all made to believe that fame will make you happy. In this poem, “The Death of Marilyn Monroe”, by Sharon Olds, on the surface speaks about the events that occur after the death of Marilyn Monroe. The mood of the poem is very depressing as the diction is very heavy-hearted, with words and phrases like “cold”, “heavy as iron”, “closed”, “caught”, “flattened”, lend themselves to create a very apt depiction of death ( 1-7). The poem interestingly revolves around the men, the “ambulance men” (1) who carried Monroe’s body “down the steps” (10). The ambulance men tried and continued with their daily routine “as they always did” (12), but found themselves traumatized such that they could not even meet each others’ eyes because one had nightmares, the second one looked different at his wife/kids and the last one stood there in the doorway listening to a women breathing. The next stanza is double spaced before it is continued, giving
"Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note Analysis
"Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note" Analysis It seems to me that almost all our sadnesses are moments of tension, which we feel as paralysis because we no longer hear our astonished emotions living. R. M. Rilke Reading a poem can trigger strong emotions, rendering us defenseless and often times confused. The experience of a poem may impact a reader in ways which are not immediately clear, compelling one to understand what generated such a reaction. One may begin to navigate the poem and seek to connect one's life experiences with those he sees in the poem. In doing this, the search to understanding one's emotional experience of the poem is bound up with the reader's introspection. Amiri Baraka in "Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note" explores dark emotions such as sadness and discouragement. While hope seems to be reflected in some parts of the poem, the text mostly emphasizes the speaker's sensation of being trapped in his pessimism. In the title, for instance, it is easy to be drawn to the word "suicide" and assume the speaker feels emotionally defeated. The fact that the title tells the reader to expect a "Twenty volume Suicide Note" may imply that the speaker does not truly intend to kill himself; it would take him a lifetime to finish such a project. He is so enthralled by his own despair that the idea of suicide is life sustaining. The poem's
With reference to "The Telephone Call" and "Telephone Conversation" discuss and compare the effectiveness of the poet's choice of form, style and use of poetic techniques in order to convey their messages.
With reference to "The Telephone Call" and "Telephone Conversation" discuss and compare the effectiveness of the poet's choice of form, style and use of poetic techniques in order to convey their messages. The overall message carried in Wole Soyinka's poem "Telephone Conversation" is the fact that blacks are treated with unbelievable ignorance. I believe that Soyinka conveys this message very effectively through the use of form, style and poetic techniques. The form of "Telephone Conversation" seems to almost represent a dramatic monologue. This is quite ironic because there are actually two people speaking. Perhaps by giving the poem this form, Soyinka is trying to suggest that the African man feels like he's talking to himself, since the landlady is almost ignoring what he says. I believe the continuous form of the poem can reflect the continuing ignorance of white people towards black people. Soyinka's style exposes racism in a fairly critical, yet humorous way. This is clearly shown with the comical line of "You mean - like plain or milk chocolate?" When reading this for the first time, we are amused by this comparison; however, working on a different level, we can appreciate the critical sarcasm that Soyinka conveys towards the ignorance of the white landlady. Soyinka's humorous sarcasm is also seen when the man says "West African sepia" and "Down in my passport."