preview

Comparing Three Poems 'The Buried Life And' This Moment

Decent Essays

Poetry is a form of art that can serve many functions, depending on what point the poet is trying to convey. A poet can use functions such as humor, sadness, or hope to convey a message that can transcend eras. However, the most often used function in the world of poetry is the use of inspiration. Often poets use short, but powerful, lines to inspire their readers into a specific way of thinking or acting. In the poems, "Sadie and Maud", "The Buried Life", and “This Moment”, three poems from three different time periods, three poets use the function of inspiration to inspire readers to follow their passions and to recognize that they come in many shapes and sizes.

In the poem, Sadie and Maud (1945), by Gwendolyn Brooks, two sisters are compared …show more content…

This entire poem is an example of the poetic function inspiration. Brooks uses two sisters, one who took the ‘right path’ and one who didn’t, to show us, the readers, that the status quo isn’t always what is best for us. This poem is to inspire us to follow our hearts, and not to fall into the same vicious life cycle that so many fall victims to.

The poem, “The Buried Life” (1852), by Mathew Arnold, written nearly one hundred years before “Sadie and Maud”, communicates a similar message of inspiration as the one we just discussed. In the poem, the speaker is torn as he discovered that his life, goals, ambitions, and desires are all one big hoax. But once he discovers this hoax, he feels a burst of energy that inspires him to make a life he can be happy about. In the poems most polarizing lines, the speaker discusses this sudden wake-up call after he realizes how he wasted his life;
“But often, in the world's most crowded streets,
But often, in the din of strife,
There rises an unspeakable desire
After the knowledge of our buried life;” …show more content…

Boland is drawing attention to how to often these tiny moments happen and we fail to realize their significance. Everything described before the moment is still, as if time is stopped, and it’s not until the moment is over that everything begins to move again, the moment when time resumes. Boland uses the poetic function of inspiration to inspire us all to take time to appreciate the tiny things in our lives because something as simple as holding a small child can be the most magical.

Poetry is a timeless form of art, where a function of poetry can be used to share a message, idea, or perspective that was written hundreds of years ago with the world we live in today. In the poems “Sadie and Maud”, “The Buried Life”, and “This Moment”, we witnessed three poems, written in three very different time periods, by very different poets, all portray very similar messages by using the poetic function of inspiration. Inspiration is something that surrounds all of us, and having the ability to find inspiration in timeless pieces of poetry is a tool we all can use, no matter what part of society, culture, or background we come

Get Access