After Making Love In Winter And Still Life In Landscape

When I think of a poet, images of scowling, mustached men whose 19th century wardrobe could use an update spring to mind—a somber Edgar Allen Poe type whose ink strokes inquire of unrequited love interests and dreary days alone in the snow. I certainly do not imagine modern, multi-ethnic women who live in the same state as me. However, as soon as I read Natasha Trethewey’s poetry, I immediately admired the way her words so effortlessly danced on the page, my mind’s eye watching the elegant choreography with each syllable read. Moreover, when I learned of her tragic history, and the strength and resilience she possessed to carry on, I could not help but to respect the way she turned pain into beautiful art. The right words carry great power

Furthermore, Sharon Olds and Molly Peacock convey the Tone of the poems to describe the characters emotions. In “Parents' Day” Olds stated “To see that woman arriving and to know

Writers have their own “special touch” as to how they will sway peoples’ emotions and thoughts with every work they release. In the poem “Those Winter Sundays,” poet Robert Hayden takes advantage of different types of imagery to display deeper levels of emotion. The imagery changes from being cool in nature to warm in nature as the poem’s growth changes. The reader will find, with the use of visual and auditory imagery, that Hayden may understand the force behind his father’s actions, but the father has not and will not be forgiven in the end. With the use of specifically visual and auditory imagery, Hayden is able to effectively display his emotions from

Poetry can sometimes allow one to explore the unknown. However, in some works of poetry, one can realise that some known ideas or values remain relevant to current society. This is certainly applicable to T.S. Eliot’s poems, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Rhapsody on a Windy Night. Eliot’s manipulation of poetic techniques in both these poems allows the responder to realise that some ideas prevail in both modern and post-modern society. These poems explore the unknown phenomena of the obscurity regarding the purpose and meaning of life. This unknown phenomena causes the persona in both texts to resort to a sense of isolation or alienation. Eliot uses poetic techniques such as metaphors and personification to convey his ideas.

In my thoughts, Harwood’s poetry engages readers through its poetic treatment of loss and consolation throughout relationships as well as its exploration of universal themes about human existence and processes of life. Harwood’s poetry validates the consoling influence of childhood experiences upon adult development evident in both At Mornington and A Valediction where they both explore one sense of loss and consolidation. Harwood cleverly includes personas with their own feelings and anxieties to outlook on the present and future and the power of memories held with past relationships. Relationships link within Harwood’s poetry as throughout life she experiences suffering and includes her personal voice and life within the story of her poem.

W.H. Auden and Bruce Dawe, in their respective poems ‘Stop All The Clocks’ and ‘Suburban Lovers’, depict two different reactions to love. Auden’s use of an A, A, B, B, rhyme scheme creates rhythm through each of his 4 stanaz. Contrastingly, Dawe uses syllabic rhythm such as “on the fleet diesel that interprets them, like music on a roller-piano as they move, over the rhythmic rails”. Dawe also uses alliteration to create this similar pattern such as “breeze blowing”, “cliff of kissing” and “sandstone sustaining”. Both of these techniques create tone within each poem allowing the reader to reflect the mood of each poem. Auden’s rhyme scheme portrays a tone of sadness and grief in its simple structure and Dawe reflecting a tone of joy and longing

Unlike other forms of literature, poetry can be so complex that everyone who reads it may see something different. Two poets who are world renowned for their ability to transform reader’s perceptions with the mere use of words, are TS Eliot and Walt Whitman. “The love song of J Alfred Prufrock” by TS Eliot, tells the story of a man who is in love and contemplating confessing his emotions, but his debilitating fear of rejection stops him from going through with it. This poem skews the reader’s expectations of a love song and takes a critical perspective of love while showing all the damaging emotions that come with it. “Song of myself”, by Walt Whitman provokes a different emotion, one of joy and self-discovery. This poem focuses more on the soul and how it relates to the body. “Song of myself” and “The love song of J Alfred Prufrock” both explore the common theme of how the different perceptions of the soul and body can affect the way the speaker views themselves, others, and the world around them.

The theme of nature is featured in a variety of texts. "Australian Tiger" written by Rhys Edwards represents nature in being a negative destructive force so as Touching The Void (2003) directed by Kevin Macdonald."A Secret Place" written by Vivtor Kelleher describes nature in a positive light being the key to survival. All three text use different languages to describe the theme represented.

Jane Kenyon once said, “The poet's job is to put into words those feelings we all have that are so deep, so important, and yet so difficult to name, to tell the truth in such a beautiful way, that people cannot live without it.” Many poets take the bottled up feelings everyone feels and puts them into their writing. Kenyon often did this in her poetry, telling her difficult story in powerful ways. Her writing represents her truth and difficult emotions with an obsessive nature. The important feelings Kenyon felt are always shown in her poetry. Jane Kenyon’s poetry reflects her religious views and her grandmother’s influence, her life in New Hampshire, and her battle with leukemia.

Poetry is the creative means in which emotion is expressed through the literary art of rhythm, rhyme and repetition. Over time, the distinctive style of poetry has been altered to create great diversity branching from the traditional poetic style of writing. Missouri born author, Naomi Shihab Nye, provides a great example of a unique style of writing. Nye is a poet, songwriter and novelist whose style incorporates everyday objects in her writing to create a spontaneous, yet thoughtful connection between these everyday items and the reader. In the most basic form, Nyes’ poem is about fame. She implies that it is essentially “these little things that we overlook – all these everyday, seemingly unimportant things – are really what deserve

Poetry has a role in society, not only to serve as part of the aesthetics or of the arts. It also gives us a view of what the society is in the context of when it was written and what the author is trying to express through words. The words as a tool in poetry may seem ordinary when used in ordinary circumstance. Yet, these words can hold more emotion and thought, however brief it was presented.

In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by

It’s clear to whoever is reading, I Go Back to May 1937, written by Sharon Olds, that the author of the piece mustn’t have had the easiest early life, and upon further investigation those assumptions are proven. After years of denial, Olds began starting to admit that her pieces were reflections of her own feelings and experiences as she got older. The fact that her poems are based on personal events make them even darker and harder to read.

poem is not merely a static, decorative creation, but that it is an act of communication between the poet and

Several poems in the anthology explore the intensity of human emotion. Explore this theme, referring to these three poems in detail and by referencing at least three other poems from your wider reading.’