Atonement and 'in Memory of W. B Yeats'

All times, the disappearance of cherishable beings brings people unbearable agony. Eventually, they cry, and then suffer more heartache, yet the attitudes when confronting a farewell vary dynamically within individuals. In Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” and Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art”, both speakers experience a painful loss. However, while Thomas strongly opposes the undeniable fact of his father’s death process, Bishop reluctantly accepts the departure of her beloved. The two speakers react differently to recover from the ineluctable sadness, to regain inner peace. In the end, the poems’ comparison concludes losing valued relations is distressingly unavoidable, and that there is no ideal way to cope with losses. Therefore,

When deconstructing the text ‘W;t’, by Margaret Edson, a comparative study of the poetry of John Donne is necessary for a better conceptual understanding of the values and ideas presented in Edson’s ‘W;t’. Through this comparative study, the audience is able to develop an extended understanding of the ideas surrounding death. This is achieved through the use of the semi-colon in the dramas title, ‘W;t’. Edson also uses juxtapositions and the literary device, wit, to shape and

“At Mornington” is about the acceptance of death and the transient nature of life. The poem conveys the richness and complexity of life ranging from naïve confidence of the child to the mature wisdom of the woman who gains fulfilment from a moment of shared friendship and can look calmly into the future. The poem is littered with biblical references and other literary techniques to outline this idea of a constant time and its effect and the change this has on a person’s identity and their reassessment. These concepts are further expanded upon in the first stanza and is utilised in

As one of the most frequently used themes, death has been portrayed and understood differently throughout modern history as well as by poets Christina Rossetti and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in “Remember” and the “Cross of Snow.” It appears in literature as the preeminent dilemma, one that is often met by emotions such as grief, hopefulness, depression, and one that can encompass the entire essence of any writing piece. However, despite Rossetti’s “Remember” and Longfellow’s “Cross of Snow” employing death as a universal similarity, the tones, narratives, and syntaxes of the poems help create two entire different images of what the works are about in the readers’ minds.

The soldiers who had attended the war were shown to have died brutally, like “cattle”, yet when reaching the home front, it is seen that they are laid to rest in a much more civil and dignified manner. The concept of this can be seen as an extended metaphor throughout the entire poem, with the battle front seen as a world filled with violence, fear and destruction, where as the home front is perceived as a place marked by order and ritual, a civilized world. The second sonnet opens with “What candles may be held to speed them all?”, invoking a more softer and compassionate tone towards the audience, more specifically through Owen’s use of a rhetorical question. It captures the readers’ attention, engaging them to feel empathetic and notice the shift of energy from anger and bitterness to a sadder and more somber tone. Owen’s use of descriptive language, as simple as it seems, such as ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ provokes the audience to view the horrors of the war as if they had been placed onto children, because in reality the ‘men; who had signed themselves into war to fight in glory for their country had really only just been boys themselves.

Gwen Harwood’s poetry endures to engage readers through its poetic treatment of loss and consolation. Gwen Harwood’s seemingly ironic simultaneous examination of the personal and the universal is regarded as holding sufficient textual integrity that it has come to resonate with a broad audience and a number of critical perspectives. This is clearly evident within her poems ‘At Mornington’ and ‘A Valediction’, these specific texts have a main focus on motif that once innocence is lost it cannot be reclaimed, and it is only through appreciating the value of what we have lost that we can experience comfort and achieve growth.

Cecilia said, “Come back,” (pg. 44) to Briony when she had nightmares, however, Cecilia uses the same phrase towards Robbie in a number of places in the novel, such as in her letter and when Briony visits them. Cecilia used to pull Briony back to reality from her nightmares when she was younger yet her relationship with Briony changes when she accuses Robbie of rape. Cecilia knew Robbie was innocent and she uses “come back” as a way to describe how she yearns for Robbie as she once cared for Briony. “Come back” also develops Cecilia’s nurturing character, as she is shown, “being everyone’s mother” (pg. 107). With her mother constantly ill, Cecilia has to take her place, eventually leading Cecilia to feel as though she has no one to care for her. As Robbie is the only one who cares for her, Cecilia tells him to “come back” from prison and war so that she can feel loved again. Furthermore, reality and the imagination are also developed because Cecilia says “come back” to pull Briony and Robbie out of their imagination and bring them back to reality. In other parts of the novel the repetition of significant words by Robbie such as “he had” and “chance” (pg. 203) also emphasises how Robbie, “had to survive,” (pg. 203) for Cecilia. He reminisces about the letters she sent him while he was at war as “the rest of her letters were buttoned into the inside pocket of his greatcoat” (pg. 203). The theme of chance is repeated to represent Robbie not having the chance to prove his innocence when accused of rape. To survive meant Robbie had a chance to prove he was innocent and that he truly loved Cecilia. Repetition in Atonement expresses how the love between siblings and lovers is fragile and

This poem Spring Sorrow by Rupert Brooke might have connected with Ireland because of his somewhat lonely childhood. He lost both his parents by the age of 15, and lived both world wars. This seems like a sorrowful lifetime. The subtle dissonance in the piano part illustrates the meaning, but it goes a step farther to highlight specific words in the text, like “pain,” “heart” and “spring.” This dissonance also often comes at the end of lines, showing that the sorrow will never truly end, but will be dreaded until it inevitably comes back next spring.

This poignant dichotomy is seen explicitly in two poems in Seamus Heaney’s Field Work. One poem, “The Strand at Lough Beg” is written for “Heaney’s cousin Colum McCartney (ambushed and shot in a sectarian killing)” and is rich with pastoral scenery, dark tones, and religious imagery (Vendler 60). Another poem, “A Postcard from North Antrim” is about “his friend the social worker Sean Armstrong (shot by a ‘pointblank teatime bullet’)” (Vendler 60). These two elegies, both with a strong presence of Heaney’s personal voice, are imbued with a sort of ambiguity as Heaney struggles with the death of two people who were both very close to him. In both poems, Heaney “tries to converse with and question the dead” in an attempt to rationalize, or at least display his sentiments on the untimely deaths (Parker 159). It is interesting to watch Heaney oscillate in imagery, tone and diction as he progresses through both poems. This wavering can be seen as a result of Heaney’s background.

William Butler Yeats was the major figure in the cultural revolution which developed from the strong nationalistic movement at the end of the 19th century. He dominated the writings of a generation. He established forms and themes which came to be considered as the norms for writers of his generation.

In “Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone” by W.H. Auden the author uses different literary devices to portray the theme of overwhelming grief and loss. In the poem, the speaker is someone who has recently lost a loved one. The person is so distraught that they start issuing harsh demands. The speaker wants everything to stop and all noise to seize. He or she then starts revealing more personal details by telling how much the loved one meant to them. This poem is dramatic and successfully uses literary devices to show how the speaker is feeling in their time of grief. W.H. Auden uses metaphors, personification, and overstatements to reveal the effects of overwhelming grief.

Wyston Hughes Auden, or WH Auden, was a British poet, often considered by critics to be one of the best England has ever produced. Auden’s work is known, not only for its remarkable poetic calibre and craftsmanship but also for his skilful portrayal of myriad themes- ranging from the political, social, ethical, to the moral and even the individual.

Throughout Wilfred Owen’s collection of poems, he unmasks the harsh tragedy of war through the events he experienced. His poems indulge and grasp readers to feel the pain of his words and develop some idea on the tragedy during the war. Tragedy was a common feature during the war, as innocent boys and men had their lives taken away from them in a gunshot. The sad truth of the war that most of the people who experienced and lived during the tragic time, still bare the horrifying images that still live with them now. Owen’s poems give the reader insight to this pain, and help unmask the tragedy of war.

Margaret Atwood creates a haunting and beautiful piece describing the experience a sad child goes through. She structures her poem by using five stanzas; two stanzas consisting of five lines, then one stanza with ten lines, and ending with two stanzas consisting of five lines. She uses simple yet powerful diction, tone, metaphors, similes, symbolism, and imagery to show the unknown speaker giving advice to a sad child. Her message/theme is sadness is a part of life and there are different ways to deal with it, but when death comes the thing that one is being sad about doesn’t matter.

Robert Browning and Alfred Lord Tennyson are celebrated authors and poets in the field of field of literature. A deeper analysis of some of their works displays particular similarities and distinct differences that make each one of them unique. For instance, Browning’s My Last Duchess and Tennyson’s Ulysses show similarities in the overall theme, death, but each brings it out in different styles. This essay explains the comparison of the two poems in detail and the respective significance of use of stylistic devices.