duffy and pugh

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

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

This notion of female identity as a constructed in masculine discourse but accepted by all, is a recurring theme in Duffy's poetry. She stereotypes many of her characters in order to foreground their incongruous place within a modern society. She also highlights the inadequacies of language as a form of expression in the Lacanian sense that 'no meaning is sustained by anything other than reference to another meaning' (Lacan, p.83). Language, therefore, is an unreliable form of expression and, as such, is deconstructed by Duffy through the use of dramatic monologues to represent speech rather than written forms, and by her juxtaposition of seemingly random nouns and adjectival phrases and her use of compound words. Language is used to create a tension throughout her work, particularly in her insistence on foregrounding the construction of the poem itself.

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.

Journey is an act of travelling from one place to another which can be seeking permanent home in a different country or travelling in the same country. It can affect different people in many different ways as they get emotional, intellectual and imaginative experiences individually in their life. All of these have been explored in some of Bruce Dawe’s meaningful poems ‘migrants’ and ‘drifters’ and a related text ‘Still Life’ which is a short film by Martin Sharpe. The poem ‘migrants’ was about group of European migrants seeking permanent home in a completely different country to escape from war and have better standard of life but the poem ‘drifters’ was about a family journeying in the same country. In comparison, the short film, ‘Still Life’ is about a man who has boring and meaningless life. The composers employ poetic and film techniques to convey the possible positive and negative ramifications of journeys.

William Blake uses the children in both Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience to represent the effects of the by-products left by a society dominated by the concept of providing for an upper class through the notions associated with proto-capitalism. This essay will highlight the various ways in how Blake presents both the physical and psychological effects caused by these by-products (poverty and suffering) to these children and how they as a whole represent this side of society that is affected therefore as a result conveying the ways in which Blake represents poverty and suffering in both of his books.

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.

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

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.

Blake’s two poems are both told from a child’s point of view, which is different from many works and forces adult readers to realize the fault in society’s standards through the bleak eyes of the many unfortunate children.

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

Mental suffering is a theme which Durcan explores in “En Famille, 1979” and “Sport”. Durcan’s intense poetry often focuses on memories of loneliness. “En Famille, 1979” almost appears to be a cry for help, as though the poet has never come to terms with the traumatic effects of his earliest experiences. The “dark school” presents a disturbing metaphor of his childhood. Durcan’s use of the French title meaning ‘with one’s family’ is heartbreakingly poignant. Yet he remains obsessed with the past. His unsettled childhood, particularly his painful relationship with his father, has much marked his poetry. Similarly, “Sport” examines the effects of rejection. The father-son relationship has remained the same all through his life.The devastation he experienced as a young man desperately attempting to impress his father is evident in the bleakness of the phrase “I was fearful I would let you down”. The poet’s fondness of dark humour is emphasised in his exaggerated description of the opposition players. The Mulling team had “gapped teeth, red faces…” They scarcely seemed human. However, despite his use of humour, it disguise Durcan’s continuing disappointment with this