duffy and pugh

In order to be happy, people must have a purpose in life. This theme is demonstrated through both symbolism and mood in the passages “Andy Lovell” by T.S. Arthur and “The Song of the Old Mother” by William Butler Yeats. Through these literary devices, the authors show that by not following your passion, you will eventually become miserable. Because of their powerful words, the reader gets a firm grasp on the importance of objectives in life.

A common theme throughout the poem is the coping mechanism used for his troubled relationship. He does not view his alcoholism as a fault, but as a comfort and an escape. He yearns “to sleep beneath a patchwork quilt of rum”. (Clarke 6) Furthermore, he wishes to drink until he is unaware that his relationship is troubled. He wishes for “the slow collapse of language / [w]ashed out by alcohol.” (Clarke 7-8) He desires to detach, and isolate himself from the situation mentally, rather than remove himself physically. This suggests that he has no wish to recover from his alcoholism, and no desire to leave his

The young man in the poem loses his identity as he develops into the ruthless world of adulthood with its dehumanizing competition of ‘money-hungry, back-stabbing’ and ‘so-and-so.’ These exaggerated words and clichés

In conclusion, Gwen Harwood deals with the constant relevant issues of loss and consolation by the enduring power of poetic treatment of age and youth. In my opinion, on the most profound of universal truths, there is no certainty in life and we must deal with events and situations as we encounter them. Harwood’s poetry distinctly presents a

The poem talks about a man- an anonymous “he”- a perfectionist whose poetry was understandable and who, himself, understood “human folly” and the human psyche like “the back of his hand”. He was

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.

The poem suddenly becomes much darker in the last stanza and a Billy Collins explains how teachers, students or general readers of poetry ‘torture’ a poem by being what he believes is cruelly analytical. He says, “all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it”. Here, the poem is being personified yet again and this brings about an almost human connection between the reader and the poem. This use of personification is effective as it makes the

Equally essential as the narrative in poetic writing is the overall effect of language structure and description. Although there is no distinct rhythm or rhyme to this poem, it is through language and structure that the text is made inviting. In the blank verse, “Why are you still seventeen.../ dragging a shadow you’ve found?” (1), this metaphor for a borrowed lifestyle facilitates a feeling of lost identity and nostalgia for the past. By incorporating such language, and by choosing a self-proclaimed rhetorical question, the speaker adds to the effect of personal obscurity. An immense component of the entire poem are the combined stanzas: “that's not the road you want,/ though you have it to yourself.” This emulates the feeling of regret. In continuation of the metaphorical self-evaluation of the poem, it supports the idea

Poetry can follow your life all the way through, from the innocence of a child, to the end of your days. The comfort, seduction, education, occasion and hope found in poems are elaborated in Poetry Should Ride the Bus by Ruth Forman. As the poem reads on, you not only travel through the life of a person from adolescence to being elderly through vivid imagery, but also hit on specific genres of poems through the personification of poetry as the characters in the stages of life. This poem’s genres hit on what poetry should do and be, by connecting the life many of us live.

Yuriana Hidalgo Introduction to Literature Prof. Paula Cameron Poetry Assignment November 11, 2014 Identity and Rites of Passage In the poems “Anorexic” by Eavan Boland, “The Journey” by Mary Oliver, and “Carrying a Ladder” by Kay Ryan, the three poets described the struggle that society is going through. Each poem is full of meaning, as the reader keep going can see the images, can sense the tone, the language that makes the reader feels identified with the poems. Everyone lives in a society full of problems and struggles, even though we tried to fight; there are always obstacles in the way. Nothing in the life is easy and never will, but we can’t give up we have to keep fighting to survive.

These connotations come across well and it is striking for the reader, meaning they always have the thought of speech in their minds. The first section of the poem is mainly dialogue between his teacher and Harrison. He remembers a school production: 'I played the drunken porter in Macbeth'. Harrison's teacher tells him 'Poetry's the speech of kings.

Clare does a fair job in capturing how it is to be a lonely, melancholic soul, grieving the loss of friendship in love, all while making it clear that the speaker has a vast knowledge of self awareness. The simplistic seeming set up of the stanzas lends to a much deeper understanding of the human condition. “I Am” is written with precise punctuation, purposeful repetition, as well as a distinct rhyme scheme which helps to create the morose but understanding atmosphere that exists in the speaker 's head.

Possibly the saddest feature of the poem is the fact that, although both Harrison and his father himself know that the father isn’t coping very well, neither of them can bring themselves to talk about it. This exposes the inability of men (especially old, proud Yorkshire men like Harrison’s father) to speak openly about their feelings. Harrison’s father would see it as a sign of weakness to openly show his great sorrow and his “still raw love” to his son. The word raw is used to describe his love as an undressed wound and the pain is still constant. The poem is therefore painfully well observed and frustratingly honest. We feel very sorry for Harrison’s father and indeed for Harrison himself, who allowed his father to carry on the pretence without ever feeling able to help. His father is now dead, his phone number is “disconnected” and it is too late for Harrison to “call”. The final verse presents the reader with an antithetic juxtaposition. Harrison begins with stating that, “I believe life ends with death, and that is all”, (this contrasts to Donne, as he doesn’t believe in the afterlife). However, his actions do not support his statement, as although his parents are both dead, he still keeps their memory alive in his “new black leather phone book”, still “calling” their “disconnected number”. Harrison’s behaviour is hugely ironic, given the almost critical way in which he exposed his father’s frailties in the opening three verses, now, just like his

The problem that needs to be solved here is the seniority versus performance issue based on the current

‘Poem at Thirty-nine’ is a free verse structured poem by Alice Walker. There is sadness in the poem and it is presented by