Analysis Of Frank O ' Hara 's On The Lonely Odyssey Of Life

O'Brien's The Things They Carried O’Connor remarks “The Things They Carried” is a short story that is written “as an experience not an abstraction” and that “the meaning has been embodied in it”. These quotations are truly pure in description and interpretation of the short story as the reader, must look beyond the crude physical properties of the objects and actions chronicled and focus more upon their hidden meanings and messages. O’Brien uses the physical characteristics of weight to make an impact upon the reader to relate with the men. In emphasizing the soldier’s everyday burden, the reader can easily relate to the situation in general. As the story progresses, the main attention of the

Charlotte Mew explores the theme of lack of intimacy during the course of her poem, The Farmers Bride. Various techniques are used to represent the stilted relationship the speaker and his ‘maid’ succumb to. Likewise, The Manhunt, written by Simon Armitage uses various metaphors and semantic fields of war and anguish to illustrate the speaker’s yearning to ‘feel the hurt’ her partner is experiencing and take the pain away. Although, the ambiguous ending doesn’t satisfy this.

Our identity is inimitable, yet ironically it is affected by society and enigmatic forces that define our external relationships. This inextricable link between identity and social environment not only shape our identity, but gives us a sense of purpose, however when we fail to establish our sense of congruity with society through metaphysical acceptance, as a result of social isolation we can feel an abyss within our lives often forcing us to look into our inner self, as exemplified in Gwen Harwood’s poetry, especially her poems “At Mornington” and “Mother Who Gave Me Life”. These also reflect and force us to explore the impact time has on people and how this can inevitably lead to a reassessment of one’s life.

Psychoanalysis can be inscribed in many poems subliminally. Authors tend to use psychoanalysis to solve the concern of a psychological issue or dysfunction problem that they have encountered. It is the conscious awareness of not knowing what the problem is that gives it so much control of our destructive behavior. As human beings, we often repress our deepest fears, emotions and experiences that tend to unfurl in the future beyond our control. Until we can acknowledge and openly admit to ourselves the cause of this, we will continue to disguise the problems unconsciously. It benefits our mental state for a certain length of time, but we ultimately suffer from it in the end. In her poem, Surprise, Jane Kenyon utilizes fear of betrayal, the double and being forced into a regressive state that creates her fear to be intimate.

Society often fail to understand and see the mental pain that individuals carry throughout their lives. Some people bear its burden, while others suffer greatly because of it, to the point of choosing self-destruction. The narrators from “The Gargoyle” (Davidson) and “Walk to Morning” (Boyden) both experience this pain that ultimately sets them on a course to a deep pit. They survive their near-deaths and later encounter unique life-changing people. As a result, they become better individuals.

The further the poem is read, the more consuming the impacts of separation becomes to the narrator until they now desire to recede from their past. The title of the poem confirms this desire through insinuating that the path of separation that they are on is perpetual and therefore, shows no clear destination. This ending consequently leaves a feeling of hopelessness for the reader that is meant to mimic the hopelessness that the narrator feels over their situation. However, in the conclusion of my personal response, I recognize the impacts of separation and the need to correct them. Whilst not wanting to vanish from society, I admit to the difficulty of returning to society due to now being accustomed to the feeling of separation and the nothingness that it creates within me.

Loneliness is the state of being alone with no human or living creature near you; the emptiness inside a person. Katherine Mansfield’s short story “Miss Brill” and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” use similar literary element of situational irony, and provide insight into the protagonists’ own conflicting struggles with society through social norms. Both short stories protagonist characters in “Miss Brill” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” struggle with their identity, their place as a woman in society, and loneliness in different ways because of their age. The two short stories are similar in their use of irony and conflict.

So we ask ourselves, how does poetry gain its power? To answer this question, we examine the work of poets Harwood and Plath. ‘The Glass Jar’, composed by Gwen Harwood portrays its message through the emotions of a young child, while the poem ‘Ariel’, written by Sylvia Plath, makes effective use of emotions to convey artistic creativity and inspiration.

Suffering is part of the human condition in which one undergoes pain, distress or hardships. When most people suffer from any sort of distress, they experience terrible agony. Depression, at times, is their end result. However, others attempt to escape suffering and become stronger individuals. They begin discovering inner strengths, which allows them to get past suffering rather than becoming weaker. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano and A Narrative of the Captivity by Mary Rowlandson are both narratives written by two individuals in which they are faced with the challenge of overcoming obstacles that refrain them from growing stronger and detaining from the affliction they are met with. These obstacles include of distress, struggles and difficulties.

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.

“Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.” It is said that the worst things in life happen happen to everyone to appreciate the good things in a whole new light. In the novel of Elsewhere by author Gabrielle Zevin, the main protagonist, 15 year-old Elizabeth Hall, is confronted with an internal conflict of coming to terms with her death. She questioned her mortal existence on earth and her days in the land of Elsewhere were consumed by depression and anger. Yet, throughout Liz’s struggles and her journey through a proverbial dark tunnel, there are three main themes which arise in Elsewhere. Zevin’s themes are happiness lies

struggle is never resolved, others take most of a lifetime. For a lucky few, they are

Introduction: Conflicting perspectives are different points of view expressed and influenced by ones context and values. “Birthday Letters” by Ted Hughes is an anthology of poems challenging the accusation that he was responsible for his wife, Sylvia Plath’s death. The three poems The Minotaur, Your Paris, and Red are an insight into Hughes justification of the death of Plath using a very subjective and emotive poetic form. The poems possess many deliberate techniques such as extended metaphors, connotations, diction and juxtaposition to encourage the audience to accept his argument that he was not the one to blame for this world renown tragedy. The poem Daddy by Sylvia Plath also displays conflicting perspectives of the

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) and Anne Sexton (1928-1974) both explored similar themes such as tone, structure, and symbolism. Many of their poems were cries for help, which resulted into metal illness, depression, and suicide. In 1958, Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath met, and much to their surprise had a few things in common. They both were fascinated with death and suicide. Both Sexton’s and Plath’s poetry are considered as confessional poetry in which they were very honest, depressed, and had suicidal or homicidal tendencies. Sylvia and Anne’s views on what happened in their life and on independence, are what nearly separates them from other confessional poets. Sexton and Plath’s poetry range over a variety of topics such as death, suicide, rage, and mourning. They both utilize a convincing use of symbolism, deep image, metaphors, and soul-searching. Plath’s “The Colossus”, “Full Fathom Five”, “Daddy”, and Sexton’s “And one for My Dame” and “All My Pretty Ones”, are very enraged and different feminist perspectives, giving different views on the relationships with a father and a husband.

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.’