1. art and entertainment
2. books and literature
3. poetry

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Poetry – Sample Essays
POETRY ESSAYS- THE ESSENTIALS
Leaving Cert HL poetry questions tend to be general in nature.
Questions essentially look for a candidate‗s personal response to a
poet‗s work. Personal engagement with the text must be supported by
detailed textual knowledge.
For example John Montague ‗A personal response‗
One of the more general questions you are likely to be asked in an
exam is to write a personal response to a given poet
What does personal engagement with the text involve?
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Comment on themes, subject matter.
Comment on the relevance of a poet‗s themes.
Explain why a particular poem/poet is worth reading.
Say why you can relate to or ‗connect‗ with certain themes.
Discuss the impact of particular poems.
Explain why a personal poem has a universal appeal.
Say which poems you most enjoyed.
Comment on aspects of the poet‗s style:
Language: accessible? Simple/complex? Etc.
Imagery: Vivid? Precise? Unusual? Striking? Etc.
Sound effects: alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, rhyme,
etc.
Note: Your personal response must be grounded in the text- support
your points by appropriate reference to and/or quotation from the
poems on your course.
Examples of the language of personal engagement
- I can relate to this poem because…
- This poem remains relevant because…
- I enjoyed this poem because…
- What I liked/disliked about this poem was…
- This is my favourite poem because…
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Poetry – Sample Essays
- This poem opened my eyes to…
- This poem helped me to understand…
- This poem had a powerful impact on me because…
- This poem offers thought-provoking insights into…
- This poem made me think about…
- I particularly liked the image of…
- The image of… effectively conveys the idea of…
- The image of…is particularly striking.
- The vivid imagery fires my imagination.
- I like the way the poet compares…
- The poet employs a powerful metaphor to…
- This unusual simile is effective because…
- The poet‗s use of sound is particularly effective here because…
- The use of everyday language made the poem accessible.
- I love the poet‗s wonderful use of detail.
- The poet‗s eye for detail brings the character/ scene to life …etc. etc.
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It is also important to write in the appropriate form and to employ
the appropriate register (type of language)
For example, you may be asked to write your response to a
poet‗s work in the form of a letter in which you speak directly to
the poet.
If your response takes the form of a speech/talk, use
conversational language/ employ a chatty tone.
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Poetry – Sample Essays
Structure your answer
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Brief introduction, addressing the question and outlining your
response to it.
One point (i.e. theme of X, poet‗s use of imagery etc.) per
paragraph. Brief conclusion referring back to the question.
Remember:
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Avoid summarising poems- remain focussed on your key points.
Aim to be analytical/ discursive in responding to a poet‗s work.
The emphasis throughout your response should be on personal
engagement grounded in the text. Regularly quote from and
refer to text to support points made.
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Poetry – Sample Essays
DEREK MAHON
Q: Why read the poetry of Derek Mahon?
Write out the text of a talk you would give in response to the above title.
Support the points you make by reference to the poetry of Derek
Mahon on your course.
A talk always begins by addressing your audience. In this case it‗s a
general audience (other talks may specify e.g. classmates, peers etc.)
Before beginning you might consider reasons why we might read
Mahon‗s poetry:
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His themes are interesting and varied e.g. explorations of history,
individual experiences, personal narrative, observations about
life etc.
He is capable of writing from many different perspectives, even
unpopular ones.
His use of language is precise and vivid, his metaphors and
images carefully chosen, his use of sound musical and
evocative.
He has a keen sense of place in his poetry.
He raises important questions, directly or indirectly, about
political and moral issues and attitudes.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to welcome you and thank you for
coming here today. It's heartening to know that in a world of deadlines
and demanding schedules, people can still find time for poetry. The
poet I'll be discussing today is Derek Mahon.
Mahon hails from a protestant, unionist background in Belfast, but has
spent much of his life living in the Republic. It has been said that the
raw materials for his work are 'the unresolved tensions and ironies of
harsh, intolerant Belfast'. The landscape of his childhood is very evident
in his work with its images of shipyards, the Antrim hills, dank churches
and bog meadows. Indeed, place is a recurring feature of his poetry
and the relationship between place and history is a very interesting
one.
-3 you might want to address his view of the troubles as
seen in ‗As it should be‗ and compare it with his view of Ireland as seen
in ‗The Chinese restaurant in Portrush‗ the fanatic Vs the calm peace of
Portrush.
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Poetry – Sample Essays
The mindset of the fanatic is explored in 'As It Should Be'. We see the
perspective of those who view violence as a solution to society's
problems. The problem in this case is a 'mad bastard' who is silenced
by death. The speaker does not consider himself an extremist. He easily
justifies his actions with the end result: 'The air blows softer since his
departure.' The end justifies the means for this kind of person, and as
readers we can see the danger of such an outlook. Couldn't we justify
anything if it meant that 'Our children have known no bad dreams'?
However, the fundamentalist who sees violence as a solution is not
capable of engaging in dialogue or debate. The answer is an
authoritative verbatim and allows no discussion: 'This is as it should be.'
A high price must be paid for a 'world with method in it' and if this price
includes human life, then so be it.
In contrast, a gentle voice emerges in 'The Chinese Restaurant in
Portrush'. The setting is 'Gentle and almost hospitable', and a peaceful
atmosphere is established as a girl 'strides past … Light-footed,
swinging a book-bag … And an old wolfhound dozes in the sun.'
Despite its history of invasion, Northern Ireland can be a glorious place
where 'the light/Of heaven upon the hills of Donegal' can be seen. But
like the Chinese proprietor who dreams of home, there is a sense that
the poet is only dreaming of a longed-for ideal.
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Paragraph 4-5 you might want to discuss how ‗Antarctica‗ and
‗After the Titanic‗ demonstrate Mahon‗s ability to adopt personas
and express difficult moral questions.
Paragraph 6-7 You might want to discuss Mahon‗s sympathetic
approach to the forgotten of history as expressed in ‗A disused
shed in county Wexford‗
I hope I'm inspiring some of you to dip into Mahon's work, but if you
read nothing else by this poet I urge you to read 'A Disused Shed in
County Wexford'. This poem has been described as 'a metaphor of all
the persecuted and forgotten peoples in human history'. While it deals
with the past and its legacy, it is a powerful reminder of our own casual
indifference to the suffering of others. If you enjoy poetry which evokes
atmosphere then you must dwell on the first stanza as it is incredibly
atmospheric. The poem begins with places 'where a thought might
grow'.
These places are abandoned, and time here is 'a slow clock of
condensation'. The sounds in these forgotten places generate tension
— 'An echo trapped for ever … a door bangs with diminished
confidence'. The poem takes us from Peruvian mines to the disused
shed of the title. In this shed 'A thousand mushrooms crowd to a
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Poetry – Sample Essays
keyhole'. I want you to consider these mushrooms as a metaphor for all
the forgotten victims of war, violence and atrocities in history. The
relationship between these mushrooms and the world outside is worth
noting. The world is 'waltzing in its bowl of cloud'.
Stop for a moment. We are a wealthy country. To what extent are we
waltzing in our own bowl of cloud while people die needless deaths in
Africa? Are we waltzing in our bowl of cloud when economic migrants
suffocate in containers before they reach our shores in search of a
better life? Mahon does not believe that poetry should be socially
relevant, but few readers will fail to be struck by the direct relevance of
his work to the world we live in. To appreciate this poem is to recognise
our responsibility as world citizens. The mushrooms have learned
'patience and silence'. Isn't this a tragedy? The verbs associated with
the mushrooms and the shed are very telling: 'listening … waiting …
rusting … dusted … groaning'. These are not verbs of action; these are
verbs of passivity and stagnation. The world takes little interest in their
plight; an 'expropriated mycologist' never comes back, a lorry
changes gear at the end of their lane and moves on.
Mahon's depiction of their suffering is intensely moving. The
personification of the mushrooms as they move towards the keyhole
pleading 'Elbow room! Elbow room!' emphasises the human dimension
and reminds us that this is a poem about human suffering and human
indifference. Echoes of the gas chambers and the holocaust can be
felt in the image of people crowded together, groaning for
'deliverance'. Nobody delivered the dead victims of holocaust,
genocide and ethnic cleansing. Yes, history has been a nightmare.
Again and again in this poem Mahon evokes great sympathy for
history's victims. 'They lift frail heads in gravity and good faith?' How
many of us have seen such images on our TV screens, and changed
channels? Aren't we all guilty of waltzing in our own bowl of cloud,
which may be our indifference, our inaction, our failure to 'do
something, to speak on their behalf/Or at least not to close the door
again.' It is difficult to find the 'shining windows, a future forbidden to no
one' in this poem, but perhaps this poem tells us that the onus is on us;
we have the power and responsibility to make it happen.
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Poetry – Sample Essays
Mahon- Key points
After the Titanic
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Key themes are guilt, shame, isolation and moral choices.
The poem is written in the form of a dramatic monologue- Mahon
allows Ismay to speak for himself, enabling him to better engage
the sympathy of the reader.
Effective use of imagery.
Metaphorical language effectively conveys Ismay‗s plight (‗I
sank as far that night…I turned to ice…I drown again‘).
List of various items plunging seawards help us visualize the
chaotic scene.
The detritus that turns up on the shore reminds us that we cannot
escape our history, a haunting sense is created in the poem.
Use of onomatopoeia and alliteration suggests the terrible noise
on board the sinking ship.
As it Should Be
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Key theme is fanaticism and the cyclical nature of violence.
Irony is used to highlight the absurdity of the speaker‗s attempted
justification of the killing.
The short lines in stanzas 2-4 suggest the speaker‗s sense of
absolute certainty.
Use of everyday language gives the poem authenticity.
Mahon invites us to ponder the nature of moral choices and
attitudes to people in this poem.
A Disused Shed in County Wexford
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Key theme is the plight and suffering of those forgotten by history.
Mushrooms are the central symbol of the poem- their
personification is sustained throughout.
Mahon displays an impressive breadth of vision- draws on wide
historical and cultural influences.
A poem rich in symbolism and suggestion.
Sensuous imagery evokes a sense of death and decay.
Memorable sound effects ( alliterative and onomatopoeic‗cracking lock and creak of hinges‘)
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Poetry – Sample Essays
The Chinese Restaurant in Portrush
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Key themes include the special nature of the ordinary, everyday
life and the rejuvenating effects of spring.
An awareness of the Troubles underlies this positive, celebratory
poem.
Memorable visual images, painterly quality of poem.
Interesting metaphor- yacht is described as ‗an ideogram on
sea cloud‘ – Chinese literary influence.
Concrete detail makes the poem easy to visualize.
Effective use of sound- alliterative ‗s‗ sound suggests the
softening effects of the spring.
Leisurely rhythm conveys a sense of ease.
Mahon has the ability to enter the life of the restaurant owner,
and imagine what he is thinking, feeling and dreaming.
Antarctica
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Key theme is the human capacity for heroic self-sacrifice and
the nature of moral choices.
Written in the form of a villanelle.
Dramatic setting.
Memorable imagery.
Slow rhythm suggests Oates‗ steady, resolute movement away
from the tent.
Effective use of alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia.
The heart of the poem is repeated for emphasis (refrain) ‗At the
heart of the ridiculous the sublime‘.
Mahon involves the reader by posing a question that sets us
thinking about our attitude towards Oates‗ self-sacrifice, ‗Need
we consider it some sort of crime…?‘
Kinsale
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Key theme is the contrast between Ireland of the past and the
Ireland of the present and future.
Effective use of symbolism and imagery. The rain is symbolic of
the gloom of an earlier Ireland, while the sun suggests hope.
Economic style, a poem rich in suggestion.
Contrasting images and colours imply the contrast between past
and present.
Use of simple everyday language.
Tone is optimistic, celebratory.
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Poetry – Sample Essays
SYLVIA PLATH
The Poetry on Sylvia Plath is intense, deeply personal and quite
disturbing. Do you agree with this assessment of her poetry?
I agree that Sylvia Plath„s Poetry is intense, deeply personal and quite
disturbing. The best poems to explain this experience are: ‗Black Rook
in Rainy Weather„, ‗Mirror„, ‗Morning Song„, ‗Child„, ‗Poppies in July„
and ‗The Arrival of the Bee Box„. There are poems that aren„t quite as
depressing, but an unsettled atmosphere plays a big part in Plath„s
work..
I start with the dominant theme in ‗Black Rook in Rainy Weather„ is that
of Plath„s lack of inspiration. She struggles to imagine a poem to write,
because poetry is the base of her life depression arises not for the first
time in her life. Plath is desperate writing the poem, she describes her
life as a ‗season of fatigue„ with ‗brief respites from fear of total
neutrality.„ Plath is inspired by the most random and boring objects, she
sees her life as empty and her mind is twisted. ‗A minor light may still
lean incandescent out of kitchen table or chair as if a celestial burning
took possession of the most obtuse objects now and then…„ In Stanza
Five, Plath writes that the landscape is ‗dull, ruinous„. The words
‗miracle„ and ‗fire„ show a contrast between the damp weather (the
reality) and the fire of vision (the poet„s imagination).
Plath uses the word ‗portent„ which means an omen or indication of a
future event, this suggests the tradition of seeing the weather as a
warning of things to come. Overall the landscape is quite alike the
mood of the poem, dull and gloomy. This atmosphere allows for a
deeper dark meaning for the poem. Plath writes her poetry about
herself, this particular poem is be a metaphor for her struggle to find
inspiration and poetic vision while suffering from initial depression
coupled with writing from under Ted Hughes„ shadow. This poem is
disturbing, everything is black and dull. Readers of the poem can
relate to it, but its only effect could be to provoke bad memories and
make one feel uncomfortable. Plath„s work acquires a sinister context.
Once again Sylvia Plath„s ‗Mirror„ focuses on a theme of inspiration, it
also deals with struggles. This poem expresses Plath„s fear of appearing
to be an old woman. The mirror projects an accurate image but Plath
sees a distorted an elderly image of herself, she isn„t pleased about
this, ‗She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands„. Plath cries
and fiddles with her hands, this suggests sorrow, regret and an overall
depression. In the poem Plath is looking upon herself in the mirror, she
was still young when she wrote the poem therefore she sees a beautiful
young woman however she is depressed and delusional and she sees
the distorted image of herself: the ‗terrible fish„ that she is referred to.
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Poetry – Sample Essays
We see her loneliness and illness, and we ask: why look to a mirror and
not a friend?
Plath is transfixed on her possible demise, she wishes she was dead; the
flickering candle in the poem could be her life. The poem has a
sombre rhyme, the poem is a great burden to read and the tone is
cold and callous; this reinforces the darkness in the poem to bring out
the disturbing nature of it. The mirror has no preconceptions, this means
it has no doubts and is firm in its image of the person reflected, this of
course is biased because only so much of someone„s personality can
be seen on the outside. Plath sees herself in the mirror, depressed and
alone and therefore thinks of herself as even more so. It is disturbing
that Plath only has that one medium to see her life.
‗Morning Song„ shows us the relationship between a mother and a
newborn baby. There is some joy in the poem, but Plath riddles the
arrival of the baby with negative emotions. There is a suggestion of loss
and separation in the imagery of the poem. The sense of estrangement
is captured in the second stanza where things seem out of proportion,
‗Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival„. The baby is described as a
‗new statue in a drafty museum…„ Why is a baby, whose life has just
started, described as a statue? A statue is something withdrawn,
distant. A newborn baby is none of those things, but that is how Plath
sees it.
The feeling of distance is further developed through another image:
‗I„m not more your mother than the cloud that distils as mirror to reflect
its own slow effacement at the wind„s hoard.„ Plath felt disconnected
from the baby and felt that her own role is now diminished. Thankfully
drawing to the end of the poem, Plath has embraced a slightly more
‗happy„ side of poetry. She devotes herself to the baby ‗One cry, and I
stumble from my bed„. The love of her children is the one positive and
optimistic aspect of her poetry.
‗Child„ and ‗Poppies in July„ are very disturbing. In ‗Child„ Plath loves
her children very much but she feels that she isn„t suited to care for
them, that she can„t grant them the happy life that they deserve:
‗pool in which images should be grand and classical, not this
troublesome wringing of hands, this dark ceiling without a star.„ This
quote shows Plath tragically thinking that she can only offer her child a
life without hope. She has lost all self-belief and strength to endure life,
she has no confidence in her ability to create joy. This poem is a
complete contrast to ‗The Morning Song„. The reader can sense the
pain, disappointment and feelings of failure and despair. ‗Child„ was
written just two weeks before Plath took her own life in 1963, we can
see her giving up on life in this poem. She doesn„t want her beautiful
children to see her in such pain and she can„t seem to turn her life
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around for their sake, so she ended up committing suicide rather than
face her children. Child is an extremely sad poem.
‗Poppies in July„ is poem that revolves around pain, or even lack of it.
The imagery is terrifying, Plath sees the poppies as ‗Hell Flames„ and
she is disappointed that ‗nothing burns„ when she puts her hands
among them. She is unable to inflict pain upon herself, therefore she
expresses a chilling wish for self-annihilation, the fumes of the poppies
would seep into her in her ‗glass capsule„ until her life is drained from
her. The glass capsule could represent Plath feeling trapped. Again the
attractive solution of death is brought up, being the only solution to her
endless depression. She is at a point where the mind is so shocked and
tired that it cannot even feel. The image is of a suffocating emotional
crisis.
‗The Arrival of the Bee Box„ deals with Sylvia Plath„s box of bees that
she is initially afraid of before gaining the courage and confidence to
deal with them. At the beginning of the poem Plath fears the bees, but
she is determined to deal with them, she ponders ‗How can I let them
out„. The box is described as a coffin from the outset; this gives an initial
dark feeling to the poem. I think that image of a moon suit is her
realising that she is mad and the funeral veil is representative of her
suicide attempts.
The bees could symbolize the depressed thoughts in Plath„s mind (bees
in her mind), she wants to let them out and to achieve that she would
kill herself. Again the darkness only dawns when you think about the
poem, the sinister suicide notes are hidden in all Plath„s poems.
Overall, Plath„s poetry is full of ideas, mesmerising images, honest and
deep thoughts with no fancy words or images. Almost all of the poems
are completely and utterly negative, which makes her poetry
disturbing. She rejects hope; picks out the worst aspects in everything,
the only thing that kept her alive were the small pockets of inspiration
from which she drew her poetry.
The intense aspect comes into play with the constant reference to the
same dark, sinister concept of suicide. All of Sylvia Plath„s poetry is
personal, because the source for her inspiration is herself and the things
she interacts with. The story of Sylvia Plath is an extremely sad case; she
suffered from depression as a young girl, developed a talent in poetry
and went to university in Cambridge. She fell in love and married a
man who cheated and abused her and therefore depression arose
once again. It seems as though nothing could have saved her in that
time, but there was always hope...
But Sylvia Plath rejects hope.
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Poetry – Sample Essays
ELIZABETH BISHOP
2002: LC (H) P2;
―The poetry of Elizabeth Bishop appeals to the modern reader for many
reasons
Write an essay in which you outline the reasons why poems by EB have
appeal.
It is not surprising that Bishop's poetry appeals to the modern reader;
her life was modern and unconventional, and she only died as recently
as 1979. An exceptionally well-travelled woman, Bishop experienced
the world in all its vastness and diversity. I think the vastness and
diversity of the world and its people are evident in her work, and this is
very appealing to the modern reader.
'Questions of Travel' is particularly appealing to me, as a modern
reader. In contemporary western society, global travel has never been
easier, and in social circles it is almost mandatory. This is why I found
'Questions of Travel' very relevant to modern life. We take it for granted
that travel broadens the mind, builds character, is an education in
itself, et cetera. But this poem questions the urge to travel is the very
thing which shaped Bishop's lifestyle:
'What childishness is it that while there's a breath of life in our bodies,
we are determined to rush to see the sun the other way around? '
Here the travel bug is portrayed as a kind of madness. The traveler
seems ridiculous, his goal pointless. The repetition of 'inexplicable' in this
stanza suggests that the traveler/tourist sees too much and sees
without insight or understanding. The poet herself seems weary of the
whole process and there is a sense that the mystery is lost when we
see and experience too much of the world:
'Oh, must we dream our dreams and have them too? And have we
room For one more folded sunset, still quite warm?'
Seeing a sunset becomes as wearisome as packing your suitcase — yet
again. The above lines could be a metaphor for the excesses of
modern life. Dreams of exotic places have become so attainable that
'dreams' become 'goals' and are easily added to our list of 'things to do
before I settle down'. Later, they'll occupy space on our CV.
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Despite the world-weary tone of this poem, the poet's depiction of
travel is refreshing. The poem refreshes because it strips the topic of all
clichéd glamour and romance. The rain in Brazil is compared to:
' … politicians' speeches: two hours of unrelenting oratory and then a
sudden golden silence.'
Travel, so often linked with imagination and adventure, is linked with a '
… lack of imagination that makes us come/to imagined places'.
The poem's final word is 'home', and home is an uncertain and
unsettled concept in Bishop's poetry. This is very modern. 'Home' today
does not have the same connotations of stability and security that it
once did. In 'Sestina' we glimpse Bishop's childhood home, devoid of
parents and bathed in tears. Sadly 'tears' predominate in this home,
from outside and within,
' … the teakettle's small hard tears dance like mad on the hot black
stove the way the rain must dance on the house'.
The child's perspective is captured skillfully, objects are personified ('the
almanac hovers … above the child'), and the adult's pretence of
normality fails to reassure.
The way in which the child absorbs the atmosphere of her home, and
the emotion of the 'old grandmother' is unsettling and full of
foreboding. The rain and 'hard tears' which surround this child, find their
way into her picture:
'With crayons the child draws a rigid house and a winding pathway.
Then the child puts in a man with buttons like tears and shows it proudly
to the grandmother'.
The child's environment has clearly left its imprint on her consciousness.
The last stanza is chilling as a childhood memory prepares to inform the
future, 'Time to plant tears'.
Bishop's portrayal of childhood and environment is far from nostalgic or
comforting but the modern reader can learn much from it. In today's
world of therapists, counselors, popular psychology and self-help
manuals, much emphasis is placed on the influence of childhood
experience on adult life. This makes 'Sestina' especially relevant to
modern readers.
'First Death in Nova Scotia' recalls a child's bewildering first impression of
death. Death, of course, is a universal theme, so any reader may find it
relevant. The young Elizabeth cannot comprehend death. Bishop takes
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Poetry – Sample Essays
us into the 'cold, cold parlor' and we see what she sees — pictures of
the royal family, a stuffed bird, a marble-topped table. While the child
may not fully comprehend death, she seems to perceive its essence:
'Arthur was very small. He was all white, like a doll That hadn't been
painted yet'.
The child's perception may seem simplistic, but it certainly conveys the
sense of a life cut short, of unfulfilled potential. The fear of the unknown
and the pain of losing are expressed with childlike simplicity in the final
lines:
'But how could Arthur go, clutching his tiny lily, with his eyes shut up so
tight and the roads deep in snow?'
'The Fish' is a wonderfully uplifting poem, and like so much of Bishop's
poetry, it tells an engaging story. The sea and sea-life were of great
interest to Bishop and here a 'tremendous fish' commands the reader's
attention. The fish's appearance fascinates Bishop with his 'brown skin
hung in strips/like ancient wallpaper' and 'shapes like full-blown
roses/stained and lost through age'. But that's not all! This poem
becomes a visual spectacle and at times it seems she has painted the
poem. The poet conjures up images of the fish's
' … coarse white flesh packed in like feathers, the big bones and the
little bones, the dramatic reds and blacks …'.
Gradually, the fish's presence overcomes the poet and a grand climax
is reached in an explosion of colour 'until everything/was rainbow,
rainbow, rainbow!' The poet's final act of letting the fish go is a powerful
resolution to the poem's narrative. Like 'Nova Scotia', this poem ends
with a form of letting go, but in 'The Fish' we see that letting go can be
an exhilarating and empowering experience.
Empowerment is also reached in 'The Prodigal'. The dejection and
misery of the addict are conveyed in images of squalor and filth —
'brown enormous odor …glass-smooth dung … the sow that always ate
her young'. Bishop was writing from her own experiences of alcoholism.
The isolation of the alcoholic/prodigal is described as 'exile' and the
eventual attempt at recovery is suggested in the 'bats' uncertain,
staggering flight'. This poem ends with empowerment, I believe,
because the prodigal 'finally' makes his own mind up to go home, and
he takes control of his destiny. Bishop made many difficult choices in
her lifetime, and one can only wonder where the journey home would
have taken her.
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Self-questioning, gritty realism, courage, survival and wonder are all
present in Bishop's poetry. These are only some of the aspects which
appeal to me as a modern reader. I am confident that Bishop's work
will be just as appealing for future generations as well.
2001: P2 HL―Introducing EB‖
Write the text of a short presentation you would give to a class group
under the above title….support etc…
Good afternoon, friends and classmates. I am very pleased to open
the first of our lunchtime lectures for Arts Week at St Jude's. It gives me
great pleasure to introduce you to the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop.
I'd like to begin with an overview of the woman and her life, as I
believe this will enhance your understanding of her work. Bishop
experienced a rather sad and troubled childhood. At the age of five,
she was estranged from her mother who was placed in a mental
hospital for the rest of her life. Bishop was then raised by her
grandparents and other relatives. 'Home' is not a source of stability or
happiness in the poems which I will be discussing today. In her adult
life, Bishop was very well-travelled, even by today's standards,
spending a large portion of her life in Brazil. Naturally, her travels fuelled
much of her poetry and I'd like to address the impact of her travels on
her poetry today.
But first, let's take a look at Bishop's depiction of her childhood. In
'Sestina' we are shown Bishop's childhood environment, devoid of
parents and bathed in tears. In this poem an adult tries to shield a child
from pain, but fails. Something 'foretold' has brought sadness to the
family home, but we are not told what this is. Sadly, 'tears' predominate
this home, from outside and within,
… the teakettle's small hard tears dance like mad on the hot black
stove the way the rain must dance on the house.
The child's perspective is captured skillfully, objects are personified ('the
almanac hovers … above the child'), and the adult's pretence of
normality fails to reassure. The grandmother seems resigned to
something painful but inevitable. Even the familiar objects seem to
know this: 'It was to be, says the Marvel Stove.' The way in which the
child absorbs the atmosphere of her home, and the emotion of the 'old
grandmother' is unsettling and full of foreboding. The rain and 'hard
tears' which surround the child, find their way into her picture:
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With crayons the child draws a rigid house and a winding pathway.
Then the child puts in a man with buttons like tears and shows it proudly
to the grandmother.
The child's environment has clearly left its imprint on her consciousness.
The last stanza is chilling as a childhood memory prepares to inform the
future, 'Time to plant tears'.
It is clear from Bishop's work that childhood experience can have a
lasting impact on one's adult life. 'In the Waiting Room' depicts a form
of upheaval in a child's consciousness and sense of identity. The poem
depicts Elizabeth, the child, perusing National Geographic magazine
and being fascinated by images of other cultures. The photographs
are not picturesque, and they depict some horrific images A dead man slung on a pole — 'Long pig,' the caption said … black,
naked women with necks wound round and round with wire like the
necks of light bulbs. Their breasts were horrifying.
Elizabeth is jolted back into the real world by a scream from her Aunt
Consuelo in the dentist's room. However, despite this intrusion from
reality, the images from National Geographic persist in the child's
consciousness. Reality becomes strangely distorted, as does the child's
sense of self. Suddenly her aunt's voice is her voice, and they are
'falling, falling/our eyes glued to the cover/of the National
Geographic'. The moment has taken on a surreal, nightmarish quality
and becomes a bizarre fusion of child, aunt and the people in National
Geographic. Amidst this chaos, the child seems compelled to question
the very essence of her being:
I scarcely dared to look to see what it was I was.She is in a mundane,
ordinary setting, surrounded by mundane, ordinary people yet she
knows instinctively 'that nothing stranger/had ever happened, that
nothing/stranger could ever happen'. In questioning her sense of self
and identity, Bishop must question herself in relation to others. She
wonders what 'similarities' connect her to all of humanity, what 'held us
all together/or made us all just one?' Part of the beauty of the poem is
that this experience is not explained or demystified by the adult poet.
The experience is simply recalled and the reader shares in the loss of
control and the sense of 'sliding/beneath a big black wave, /another,
and another'.
As you can see, startling and unexpected sensations seem to lurk
beneath the veneer of the everyday, ordinary world. This is also
apparent in 'The Fish' which, like 'In the Waiting Room', engages the
reader and builds up to a powerful climax. Here, Bishop catches a
'tremendous fish' whose appearance fascinates her with his 'brown skin
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hung in strips/like ancient wallpaper' and 'shapes like full-blown
roses/stained and lost through age'. This is no ordinary fish! This one
carries the marks of a survivor: grim, wet, and weaponlike, hung five old
pieces of fish-line, or four and a wire leader with the swivel still
attached, with all their five big hooks grown firmly in his mouth.
Perhaps Bishop saw something of herself in this fish who seemed to
have survived a lifetime of trauma, yet carried his wounds 'Like medals
with their ribbons/frayed and wavering'. Something in this fish
compelled her, just as the images in National Geographic once did, 'I
stared and stared/and victory filled up/the little rented boat'. The fish's
presence overcomes the poet and a grand climax is reached in an
explosion of colour 'until everything/was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!'
The poet's final act of letting the fish go is a powerful resolution to the
poem's narrative.
Survival in the face of adversity was no mean achievement for Bishop.
She spent much of her life battling with alcoholism, and in 'The Prodigal'
she depicts the exile and isolation of the addict with sympathy and
understanding. The prodigal son finds himself living among squalor and
filth - 'brown enormous odor … glass-smooth dung … the sow that
always ate her young'. The prodigal resembles the addict who is cut off
from family and friends, living a base and degraded life, unable and
unwilling to change. However, change does come and is
foreshadowed by 'the bats' uncertain, staggering flight'. The prodigal
makes his own decision (it has to be his own decision) to return but this
is not glorified or idealised. The poem makes it very clear that the road
to recovery is not an easy one.
Finally, we come to my favourite poem, 'Questions of Travel'. Many of
you in this room are probably aching to travel, to experience other
cultures and learn from them. I know I am. Luckily for us, global travel
has never been easier. This was not the case in Bishop's day and she
travelled the world at a time when most people could only dream of
broadening their horizons. 'Questions of Travel' presents the perspective
of a world-weary traveler who has seen it all, and now questions the
urge to travel, the very thing which shaped Bishop's lifestyle. She
portrays the travel bug as a kind of madness:
What childishness is it that while there's a breath of life in our bodies, we
are determined to rush to see the sun the other way around?
The traveler is portrayed as irrational and frenzied in her conquest of
newer frontiers. The repetition of 'inexplicable' in this stanza suggests
that the traveler/tourist sees too much and sees without insight or
understanding. The poet herself seems weary of the whole process and
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there is a sense that the mystery is lost when we see and experience
too much of the world:
Oh, must we dream our dreams and have them too? And have we
room For one more folded sunset, still quite warm?
The traveler becomes a sort of greedy consumer who would turn a
beautiful sunset into a portable item if she could. Travel, so often linked
with imagination and adventure, is linked with a ' … lack of imagination
that makes us come/to imagined places not just stay at home'. Despite
its bleak and cynical tone, I found this poem refreshingly honest, and I
urge you all to read it.
In conclusion, I urge you to read much more of Elizabeth Bishop's
poetry. I hope I've given you some insight into the woman and her
works, and I wish you well on your journeys and adventures in the
wonderful world of poetry! Thank you for listening.
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PATRICK KAVANAGH
Sample Question: Imagine you have invited Patrick Kavanagh to give
a reading of his poems to your class. What poems would you ask him
to read and why do you think they would appeal to your fellow
students?
Introduction
If Patrick Kavanagh was to come to my school for a poetry reading the
poems I would ask him to read would be Inniskeen Road: July Evening,
Shancoduff, A Christmas Childhood, Lines Written on a seat on the
Grand Canal, Dublin, Epic and Advent. These poems contain such
qualities as providing an insight in rural Irish life, celebration of the
ordinary and familiar world, the transformation of the ordinary into the
exceptional, varying moods and atmospheres, as well as the use of ―I‖,
all of which I feel would appeal to my fellow students, as they have
done for myself.
Personal
The first appeal of Kavanagh„s poetry I will examine is his use of ―I‖. The
appeal of this characteristic for my fellow classmates is obvious. Using
―I‖ includes the reader and he/ she can feel affinity with the poem
knowing it means something to the poet, for they have placed
themselves in the poem for a reason. My class-mates would thus realise
the poem has some worth; not only for them, but for Kavanagh also. As
said above, Kavanagh feels an affinity with nature in Lines Written on a
seat on the Grand Canal, Dublin. He says ―O commemorate me
where there is water,‖ and shows his new-found love of simplicity and
nature, after his spell in hospital in the 1950„s. In Epic Kavanagh„s use of
―Iis crucial to the poem as his being a poet is of relevance to the ghost
of Homer, the famous epic-poet, visiting him. Homer tells him ―I made
the Iliad from such/ A local row. Gods make their own importance.
Elsewhere, the poet-Kavanagh is at the centre of Inniskeen Road: July
Evening. Apart from him, only ―Alexander Selkirk knew the plight/ of
being king and government and nation. There are no inhabitants for his
―mile of kingdom for all are dancing. Isolation affects Kavanagh in
Shancoduff too. While he corrects the cattle-drovers about his ―Alps,
Kavanagh remarks ―I hear and is my heart not badly shaken. He is
content with his lot, but his being left-out is notable.
Kavanagh„s presence in another poem, Advent, adds to another
poem„s credibility again. Here self-inclusion validates the criticism that
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―We have tested and tasted too much. He and others must repent
and he tells his lover that ―we„ll return to Doom/ The knowledge we
stole but could not use.
Wonder
In Lines Written on a seat on the Grand Canal, Dublin Kavanagh does
not only celebrate the familiar world, but he turns things ordinary into
the extra-ordinary. I feel my classmates would find this unique method
appealing; it is striking and adds to the poem, yet is clear and easy to
identify. Here the canal water has redemptive qualities and he asks
―commemorate me when there is water,/ Canal water preferably, so
stilly/ Greeny at the heart of summer. The canal setting is turned from
the ordinary everyday to the heroic with the juxtaposition of the hero„s
tomb and the ―canal-bank seat for the passer by at the end.
Elsewhere in his poetry, Kavanagh recreates the irrelevant fight and
surroundings of Epic so he can remark that he has ―lived in important
places, times/ When great events were decided
Also, in A Christmas Childhood, Kavanagh remoulds his childhood farm
into an Eden-like scene, saying ―The light between the ricks of hay and
straw/ Was a hole in Heaven„s gable. Mention of the apple tree ―With
its December-glinting fruit we saw alludes to the Tree of Knowledge.
Even the familiar act of milking cows is depicted as making ―the music
of milking. As general as the milking of a cow is the footfall in Inniskeen
Road: July Evening which Kavanagh believes is ―tapping secrecies of
stone. The empty countryside devoid of people who are at the dance
is his ―mile of kingdom while all are at the dance. Another object of
equal regularity, a hill in Shancoduff, has been climbed by the poet,
but he tells us ―I have climbed the Matterhorn.
Rural
Kavanagh„s poetry would appeal to all those with an Irish connection,
not just my fellow students. His early poems provide an insight into rural
Irish life, a period unthought-of nowadays. Therefore his poetry is an
historical device; it has a sense of history and patriotism to it. In
Inniskeen Road: July Evening we hear of the dances that the Catholic
Church disapproved of in the 1930„s as they considered them immoral
and dangerous: such dances are the one ―in Billy Brennan„s barn
tonight, The reader of the poem is also given insight into the role
of the poet in Kavanagh„s time, as we hear from Kavanagh that ―I
have what every poet hates in spite, that ―I am king/ Of banks and
stones and every blooming thing. In the 1930„s the poet, while
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respected, was avoided by the rural Irish. Kavanagh called the poet
―a stranger within the gates. Here we see this; Kavanagh cannot
partake in the dances. The repetition of ―and in the first stanza shows
his compounding misery for the multitude of activities he is missing out
on.
Poetry in rural Ireland is again exposed in Shancoduff. Kavanagh, tired
of the pastoral and sentimental imagery produced by Irish poets up to
and around his time, presents a realistic portrayal of the land. Here we
see another aspect of rural Irish life; the difficulties facing farmers with
the poor land symbolised by Kavanagh„s ―black hills which ―have
never seen the sun rising, Shancoduff consisted of seven, watery hills
bought by the Kavanagh family in the 1920„s which were later to be
inherited by Kavanagh. The outsider even remarks of Kavanagh ―by
heavens he must be poor. The dilapidated state of rural Ireland
continues to be Kavanagh„s focus in Advent. Here the land is again
poor. The ―spirit-shocking wonder for a child is simply a ―black slanting
Ulster hill, possibly alluding to one of Kavanagh„s hills. Also present in the
poem are ―bog-holes, cart-tracks, old stables, again creating a picture
in my classmates„ minds of rural Ireland, an important and interesting
part of the development of Ireland to its current state today.
Imagination
In my opinion Kavanagh„s imagination and in particular his ability to
vary mood, tone and atmosphere would greatly appeal to my
classmates. This transformation of the hill to ―the Matterhorn in
Shancoduff shows Kavanagh„s affection for his hills. However tone
varies from poem to poem and my classmates would encounter a
different message, setting, tone and theme in every Kavanagh poem
into which they immerse themselves.
Even in Shancoduff we are given confliction of tone. Kavanagh„s
affection is countered by the cattle-drovers condemning tone, who
believe of the poet who owns the hills: ―by heavens he must be poor.
They are not poets, and cannot see what Kavanagh can see, that his
―hills hoard the bright shillings of March/ While the sun searches in
every pocket. Further opposition of tone is seen in Inniskeen Road; July
Evening. The opening octet contains a tone of partial envy with missing
out on the ―wink-and-elbow language of delight. However envy is
replaced by self-consolation in the concluding sestet as he realises and
accepts what his being a poet will bring. Pride and frustration combine
as he is ―king/ Of banks and stones and every blooming thing. Similarly,
ambiguity of tone is shown .
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in Advent. Self-disgust pervades the opening stanza as the poet
recognises his and others„ gluttony; the ―chink too wide has allowed
everything to be known and now ―no wonder enters. Then hope enters
the poem as he believes ―penance will charm back the luxury/ Of a
child„s soul. Another tone, celebratory, is present in A Christmas
Childhood. He praises even the frost the partially covers the potatopits: ―How wonderful that was, how wonderful! Contentment is the
poet„s adopted tone in Lines Written on a seat on the Grand Canal,
Dublin where Kavanagh feels at one with nature, asking
―Commemorate me thus beautifully.
Celebration
The final feature of Kavanagh„s poetry which I feel would appeal to my
classmates is Kavanagh„s celebration of the familiar and ordinary
world. We see that Kavanagh does not deal with abstract issues but
with ones that mean something to him and hence his poetry gains in
credibility. The ―bog-holes, cart-tracks, old stables from Advent adds to
his recreation of childhood innocence as Kavanagh will go and watch
these as they are ―where Time/ begins. Initially in the poem he remarks
that ―we have tested and tasted too much and realises that he, and
others, must abandon the life of luxury to fully experience life. He sees
in the final stanza that there is ―no need to go searching for beauty as
it is present all around him, in ―dung in gardens under trees,/ Wherever
life pours ordinary plenty.
Likewise in Inniskeen Road: July Evening Kavanagh turns the ordinary
village where ―The bicycles go by in twos and threes into a magical
setting with ―the half-talk code of mysteries/ And the wink-and-elbow
language of delight. Adding to the wonder of the scene is the mention
of ―A footfall tapping secrecies of stone. Outside the town of Inniskeen
were Kavanagh„s hills of Shancoduff where more celebration of the
ordinary is seen. The hills are nothing to look at. Kavanagh himself
remarks they are ―my black hills. We even hear of an outsider
remarking of ―them hungry hills/ That the water-hen and snipe must
have forsaken? However the hills are majestical in the eyes of the poet
with Kavanagh„s calling of them ―my Alps and even the ―sleety winds
of the area are described in a warm manner; they ―fondle the rushy
beards of Shancoduff.
The farm attached to Shancoduff is another ordinary setting that
Kavanagh acclaims for the reader in A Christmas Childhood. Here
Kavanagh celebrates the family farm where he spent his childhood.
When his father played the melodeon, above the farm ―There were
stars in the morning east/ And they danced to his music. As the poem
concludes the farm is alluded to the birthplace of Jesus Christ as he
remarks that ―I had a prayer like a white rose
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pinned/ On the Virgin Mary„s blouse. Again a place in Monaghan is
glorified in Epic. Kavanagh celebrates the mundane argument over
half-a-rood of rocky Monaghan land and compares it to the 1938
Munich Crisis which had a hand in the beginning of WW2. He asks
―Which/ was most important? Homer„s ghost reminds him ―I made the
Iliad from such/ A local row. Gods make their own importance.
Monaghan seems to be preferred.
Setting switches to Dublin for the poem Lines Written on a seat on the
Grand Canal, Dublin. Again the banal, here the canal and its
surroundings, is presented as astounding. Kavanagh„s simple joy in
being so close to nature is clear with the soothing sounds of the words
―stilly and greeny. ―Mount Parnassus is mentioned and such is the
power of this serene setting that ―no one will speak in prose when they
are present, only poetry
Conclusion
As shown, Kavanagh„s poetry contains many features which would
appeal to my classmates. Through reading Kavanagh„s poetry, they
are transported back to rural Irish life and given a taste of life not just
for the poet, but the common inhabitant of the time. Devices of
Kavanagh stretch from the celebration of the familiar world to the
making the ordinary exceptional. Variance of mood and atmosphere
circle his work, intruding when Kavanagh sees fit, creating wonderful
poetry. He would appeal to any reader, including my classmates
Imagine you have invited Patrick Kavanagh to give a reading of his
poems to your class. What poems would you ask him to read and why
do you think they would appeal to your fellow students?
If Patrick Kavanagh was to come to my school for a poetry reading the
poems I would ask him to read would be Iniskeen Road: July Evening,
Shancoduff, A Christmas Childhood, Lines Written on a seat on the
Grand Canal, Dublin, Epic and Advent. These poems contain such
features as providing an insight in rural Irish life, celebration of the
ordinary and familiar world, the transformation of the ordinary into the
exceptional as well as the use of “I”, all of which I feel would appeal to
my fellow students, as they have done for myself, as I shall detail below.
Kavanagh‟s poetry would appeal to all those with an Irish connection,
and hence my fellow students. His early poems provide an insight into
rural Irish life. Ireland‟s very roots are in rural surroundings, yet the
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growing modernization of Ireland has had the result that even those
living in outside of cities no longer experience conventional rural life:
indeed it is unthought-of nowadays. I therefore feel this aspect of
Kavanagh‟s poetry would interest all in my class because the Ireland
Kavanagh depicts, rural Ireland, is a drastically different one from the
Ireland that my classmates live in and know, and would therefore
arouse their attention as they see an Ireland which they may never
have thought of before. In Iniskeen Road: July Evening Kavanagh
comments upon the common rural ritual of the village dance, that the
Catholic Church disapproved of in the 1930‟s as they considered them
immoral and dangerous. Such dances are the one “in Billy Brennan‟s
barn tonight,”. The reader of the poem is given insight into the role of
the poet in rural Ireland (in Kavanagh‟s time), as we hear from
Kavanagh that “I have what every poet hates in spite” and that “I am
king/ Of banks and stones and every blooming thing.” In the 1930‟s the
poet, while respected, was avoided by the rural Irish: Kavanagh called
the poet “a stranger within the gates.”
Here we see this, as Kavanagh cannot partake in the dances. The
repetition of “and” in the first stanza shows his compounding misery for
the multitude of activities he is missing out on. The role of poetry in rural
Ireland is again exposed in Shancoduff. Kavanagh, tired of the pastoral
and almost georgic imagery that celebrated the physical landscape
of rural Ireland, produced by Irish poets up to and around his time,
presents a realistic portrayal of the land. Here we see another aspect
of rural Irish life: the difficulties facing farmers with the poor land,
symbolized by Kavanagh‟s “black hills” which “have never seen the
sun rising,”. Shancoduff consisted of seven, watery hills bought by the
Kavanagh family in the 1920‟s which were later to be inherited by
Kavanagh. The outsider even remarks of Kavanagh: “by heavens he
must be poor.” The dilapidated state of rural Ireland continues to be
Kavanagh‟s focus in Advent.
Here the land is again poor. The “spirit-shocking wonder” for a child is
simply a “black slanting Ulster hill”, possibly alluding to one of
Kavanagh‟s hills. Also present in the poem are “bog-holes, cart-tracks,
old stables”, again creating a picture in my classmates‟ minds of rural
Ireland. Such details mentioned in this paragraph would, I am sure, not
be in the forefront of my fellow students‟ minds when they consider the
country of Ireland and I feel their therefore radical nature would attract
the attention of my students.
Another feature of Kavanagh‟s poetry that I feel would appeal to my
classmates is his celebration of the familiar and ordinary world.
Kavanagh does not deal with abstract issues which may appear
foreign to my classmates: rather he focuses on the world around him, a
world which my classmates may not know of, but can comprehend. I
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am sure they would appreciate it as many poets on our Leaving Cert
course feature complex, complicated issues which my class struggle to
understand. Kavanagh‟s poetry, on the other hand, is easy to explore
because of his focus on the world that is not only familiar and ordinary
to him, but is also easy to understand for the likes of myself, as I am sure
would also be the case for my class.
The undistinguished “bog-holes, cart-tracks, old stables” from Advent
add to his recreation of childhood innocence as Kavanagh will go and
watch these as they are “where Time/ begins.” Initially in the poem he
remarks that “we have tested and tasted too much” and realizes that
he, and others, must abandon the life of luxury to fully experience life.
He sees in the final stanza that there is “no need to go searching” for
beauty as it is present all around him, in the most mundane of places,
such as the “dung in gardens under trees,/ Wherever life pours ordinary
plenty.” Likewise in Iniskeen Road: July Evening Kavanagh, in an effort
to make the most of his dire situation (as he cannot attend the village
dance), turns the ordinary village where “The bicycles go by in twos
and threes” into a magical setting with “the half-talk code of mysteries/
And the wink-and-elbow language of delight.” Adding to the wonder
of the scene is the mention of “A footfall tapping secrecies of stone.”
Outside the town of Iniskeen were Kavanagh‟s hills of Shancoduff
where more celebration of the ordinary is seen, in Shancoduff. The hills
are nothing to look at. Kavanagh himself remarks they are “my black
hills”. We even hear of an outsider remarking of “them hungry hils/ That
the water-hen and snipe must have forsaken?” However the hills are
majestical in the eyes of the poet, as they are his: Kavanagh calls them
“my Alps” and even the “sleety winds” of the area are described in a
warm manner: they “fondle the rushy beards of Shancoduff.” The farm
attached to Shancoduff is another ordinary setting that Kavanagh
acclaims for the reader in A Christmas Childhood. Here Kavanagh
celebrates the family farm where he spent his childhood. When his
father played the melodeon, above the farm “There were stars in the
morning east/ And they danced to his music.”
As the poem concludes the farm is alluded to the birthplace of Jesus
Christ as he remarks that “I had a prayer like a white rose pinned/ On
the Virgin Mary‟s blouse.” The worlds that Kavanagh celebrates are
easy to recognize, imagine and explore, as he uses these to explore
various issues and situations, a basic method, but one which would be
appreciated by my classmates who would be able to explore
Kavanagh‟s poems in worlds that they can comprehend due to their
habitual quality.
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SEAMUS HEANEY
The Language Of Seamus Heaney`s Evokes The Texture Of Rural Life.
Seamus Heaney„s richly evocative poems are often played out against
imagery, situations, descriptions and a background that constantly
evoke the texture of Irish rural life. Often the focus is on the act of
writing itself as in ‗the forge„. Heaney`s childhood world, true to life on
an Irish farm in the forties, also forms the nostalgic backdrop to his
poems. The Language Of Seamus Heaney`s poems evokes the texture
Of rural life and the myth of Ireland.
He returns to the stability and contentment of his rural childhood at
Mossbawn in Sunlight. The daily routines and simple domestic tasks of
his aunt in her "floury apron" are imbued with a sense of warmth and
security. But, as we learn in A Constable Calls, even the child soon
internalises the fear and guilt of the community in which they live, in this
case the community of Catholics living in a Unionist state.
If the child's observations are drawn to images of security in Sunlight,
they become riveted to images of threat in A Constable Calls. The
aunt's "floury apron" is replaced here with the policeman's intimidating
uniform and the child's fear and inherited guilt are palpable as he
imagines the legendary "black hole in the barracks", where his father
might disappear for having made false returns.
A Constable Calls is the second in a sequence of six poems entitled
'Singing School' which concludes Heaney's fourth collection 'North'
(1975). The poem is a vivid description of an incident from the poet's
childhood - a policeman making an official visit to his father's farm at
Mossbawn to record tillage returns. The constable is an agent of this
repressive sectarian regime. The Royal Ulster Constabulary has always
had a predominantly Protestant membership and has
traditionally been unequivocally pro-Unionist. In the opening
movement of the poem the constable's bicycle is described in
language that is detailed, unemotional. His bicycle stood at the
window-sill,
The rubber cowl of a mud-splasher Skirting the front mudguard, Its fat
black handlegrips Heating in sunlight, the 'spud' Of the dynamo
gleaming and cocked back, The pedal treads hanging relieved Of the
boot of the law. However, its different component parts are subliminally
associated with the repressive power of an alien law. The 'handlegrips'
suggest handcuffs and the 'dynamo gleaming and cocked back'
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becomes a gun primed for firing. The second verse climaxes with the
pedals 'relieved Of the boot of the law', hinting at the brutal physical
force used by the R.U.C. against Catholics at different periods in the
troubled history of the Northern Ireland State, but particularly during the
Civil Rights marches of 1969.
In the sonnet, the forge, Heaney evokes a picture/ image of traditional
rural life. On a literal level, Heaney portrays a traditional craft in the
making of farm parts out of iron. (P)The purpose of the poem is to
describe in vivid detail the recycling of ‗old iron„ and ‗rusted„ iron into
‗real„ or ‗new„ horseshoes. The emotive tone of the poem is childhood
wonder at the process of the forge. (I)He sees the ‗dark„ ‗door„ and
the ‗fantail of sparks„ emanating from within.
(T)Heaney is renowned for his poetic language and this poem reflects
in sound the wonder of his childhood. He uses alliteration and
assonance to echo the
‗pitched ring„ of the hammer on the anvil. As described in the simile,
the anvil itself seems to the young Heaney as a mythical unicorn.
I discovered deep in the poem, at the centre of the anvil, that the
poem is actually an extended metaphor. Heaney is figuratively
describing the art of creation. He shows ‗old„ iron being transformed
into ‗real„ iron. The blacksmith is creating ‗shape and music„ in his
work. The process of writing I understand to be difficult and
occasionally the writer, like the blacksmith needs a break. The poem is
showing how hard work can lead to the production of something
beautiful, almost religious.
According to Michael Parker, author of Seamus Heaney: The Making of
the Poet, Heaney instead is able to ―insinuate through his descriptions
of the bogland, the use of mythology and history, and the allpervading religious atmosphere the images of prejudice, violence, and
intolerance Heaney uses archaeological symbols to show the
―prejudice, violence and intolerance of the Irish government in many
of his poems.
In Bogland. To discourage the children from playing in the bog, the
adults told them, "The wet centre is bottomless". For the adult Heaney,
this image of the bog, with its infinite strata is suggestive of the Irish
consciousness. The Irish identity, like the bog, is constituted by layers of
mystery and memory and is shrouded in superstition and magic. The
bog is the Irish version of the American Prairie but its frontiers draw one
"inwards and downwards", in a "bottomless" excavation, each layer
yielding secrets which tell us something new about ourselves. The elk
and the bog butter are excavated.
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This idea is reflected also in The Tollund Man, inspired by the preserved
body of a prehistoric man, put to death as part of a sacrificial rite,
which was discovered in a bog in Denmark. The discovery gives us
insight into the customs and rituals of the past but, for Heaney, this
body that the earth has yielded also becomes a symbol for the acts of
violence that are part of the customs and rituals of present day
Northern Ireland.
―The Tollund Man was written about four brothers whose near-perfect
corpses were found by a turf-cutter as seen in these lines from Heaney,
―Those dark juices working/Him to a saint's kept body, /Trove of the
turfcutters' (Heaney). The four brothers have been ambushed for no
apparent reason other than for sacrifice like the Tolland man„s sacrifice
to a fertility goddess. Heaney compared this type of killing and sacrifice
to the violent actions that had been going on in Northern Ireland. A
great deal of violence was going on between the Protestant and
Catholic citizens of Northern Ireland and Heaney used the case of The
Tollund Man to highlight this in a subtle way.
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ADRIENNE RICH
2008- Leaving Cert Higher LevelA personal response to Rich‘s poetry
The poems of Adrienne Rich spoke to me in a powerful way. She was
definitely one of the most original and thought provoking poets on my
course. Rich speaks for both herself and her generation in the throes of
great change. The poems that I have studied represent many of the
new ideas that emerged during her life. Rich deals with a variety of
themes in her work including the role of women, marriage, feminism,
power and identity.
‗Aunt Jennifer„s Tigers„ speaks to me on many levels. It is an overtly
feminist poem exploring the position of married women in society.
However, it is also a great piece of writing. Rich creates contrast for
maximum effect; the tigers are ―proud and unafraid unlike Aunt
Jennifer who is ―terrified. The nervousness of the aunt is perfectly
conveyed through sound and movement; her ―fingers are ―fluttering
through her wool. Her creativity and personality is being suppressed by
the marriage she is in: ―The massive weight of Uncle„s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer„s hand.
There is a sense that her marriage is ‗weighing„ her down. The
dominance of her husband is suggested through the capitalisation of
―Uncle. It is clear that this marriage is an unhappy one; even when her
aunt is dead she is ―still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
Unfortunately, even though this poem was written over fifty years ago, I
can still recognise women like Aunt Jennifer.
However, the poem is not completely pessimistic. I think it does a lot to
celebrate the potential of women. Aunt Jennifer may have been
repressed and timid but she produced tigers that were ―proud and
unafraid. These tigers live on beyond her death. I think this poem hints
at the changing position of women that we see today.
A poem that deals with change and power in a slightly less dramatic
way is ‗Living in Sin„. This poem really spoke to me because I could
easily relate to it. As a big fan of the movies, I am consistently
bombarded by idealised depictions of love that would probably be
impossible to recreate in real life. Rich„s poem gave me an insight into
the difference between our romantic expectations and the reality of
everyday life.
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The poem tells the story of a woman who decides to live with her
boyfriend. From the first lines of the poem, we realise that things are far
from perfect: ―She had thought the studio would keep itself; No dust
upon the furniture of love.
It is clear that the woman had not even considered the mundane
realities of domestic life. She feels guilty about her resentment of
domestic chores because in that society it was ―half heresy not to
embrace what was seen as ‗women„s work„. I enjoyed the wry humour
in the poem as the woman is disturbed by the reality of her new life
when ―a pair of beetle-eyes would fix her own. The pressure on women
to conform is conveyed by the fact that her ―minor demons jeer her as
she cleans the apartment.
It is interesting that the man whom the woman is tending to seems very
far from a romantic hero. In fact, he hardly seems worthy of her. He fails
to see the problems in the house. He is lethargic and lacks personality.
She ―writhes under ―the milkman„s tramp, a metaphor for life and
even though ―by evening she is back in love again, it is not as ―wholly
as before. I believe this poem acts as a warning to women everywhere
to beware of slipping into a life of domesticity where your needs
become subservient to others.
Another poem that deals with relationships is ‗From a Survivor„. This
poem is a lot more directly personal than ‗Living in Sin„. Rich uses the
first person in this poem and it is obvious that this is about her failed
marriage to Alfred Conrad. After seventeen years of marriage, the
couple separated. Months after their separation, Conrad committed
suicide. This poem spoke to me because it is very sad and I think it was
courageous of Rich to publish it.
The poem expresses itself simply and the language used is almost
conversational. Rich reflects on the ―pact of men and women in those
days. The use of the word ―pact suggests some sort of battle, perhaps,
referring to the shifting balance of power between the sexes at the
time. Rich shared the view of all newly weds that herself and her
husband were ―special and could withstand the ―failures of the race.
The poem addresses the fact that her husband is now ―wastefully
dead. There is real pathos in the lines:
―Your body is as vivid to me As it ever was: even more since my feeling
for it is clearer.
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Now that their relationship is over and he is dead, Rich can assess what
they had together. When they initially married, the status between man
and wife was unequal. The husband was a ―god with the ―power over
his wife. This poem really interests me on many levels. It is a very
personal reflection on Rich„s life but it also documents a life that has
been left behind. I believe, as a result of pioneering women like Rich,
my own generation will not suffer such inequalities in our marital
relationships.
All of Rich„s poems spoke vividly to me but the time constraints of this
examination will permit me to discuss just one more. Rich wrote ‗Power„
in 1974. From the beginning of that decade, she had devoted her life
increasingly to feminism. Certainly, the conflict of an influential woman
existing in a patriarchal society is explored in the poem. The poem first
interested me because I had learned about Marie Curie in my science
class. She was a fascinating woman who was the first person ever to
win two Nobel prizes for her discovery of the radioactive elements
plutonium and radium. Her work with these elements led to her
eventual death from leukaemia.
The poem follows a ‗stream of consciousness„ method that I found
both challenging and interesting. It opens with the discovery of ―a
hundred-year-old cure for fever or melancholy a tonic. This bogus
―cure contrasts with the real cures Curie found in her research.
I was really moved by the description of Curie„s suffering. Rich conveys
a vivid picture of the scientist„s ―body being ―bombarded by
radiation, her eyes developing ―cataracts and her skin ―cracked and
suppurating. The final image of Curie being ―unable to ―hold a testtube or pencil is particularly poignant.
There is a sense that she was forced to deny ―her wounds because
they came ―from the same source as her power. It is highly ironic that
the work that Curie did made her both famous and sick. One wonders
if Rich is making a broader political point here. Is she saying that in a
male dominated world, a woman must make serious sacrifices to be
successful? The poem brought to mind the problems that many
women who have both children and demanding jobs experience
today. There is always a sacrifice that has to be made in some way.
Whatever the ultimate message, this poem is a powerful testament to
both Marie Curie and Rich„s powers as a poet.
Rich said that she had written ―directly and overtly as a woman, out of
a woman„s body and experience. The fact that I am a woman helped
me to relate to her but her ability to speak to me went far beyond
shared gender. Her work was both challenging and thought provoking.
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I was continually excited by her unusual perspectives and striking
imagery. It has been a pleasure to study her poetry.
‗the desire to be heard, – that is the impulse behind writing poems, for
me‘ (Adrienne Rich)
Does the poetry of Adrienne Rich speak to you? Write your personal
response, referring to the poems of Adrienne Rich that do/ do not
speak to you.
The poetry of Adrienne does speak to me, as it makes me aware of the
hardship that women have faced in the past which, while focused on
by many in the past, is something I have not thought much about.
However Rich‟s poetry shows me that this is an issue which deserves
some attention, as it effectively presents the undue and unfair struggle
and hardship that the female sex experienced and still experience. This
is achieved with several features of her poetry, such as her variety of
register, variety of theme, the seriousness of her poetry and imagery.
The poems I shall use to show how Rich‟s poetry speaks to me in
aforementioned manner are LIVING IN SIN, DIVING INTO THE WRECK,
AUNT JENNIFER‟S TIGERS, THE UNCLE SPEAKS IN THE DRAWING ROOM,
THE ROOFWALKER and OUR WHOLE LIFE.
As I read through her poetry I noticed Rich‟s poetry features unusual
images which seems not to serve a purpose, but which are heavily
focused on, such as a coffee-pot boiling over, or several tigers
prancing. These images served two purposes: they caught my eye due
to their apparent irrelevance, and then easily presented their
messages to me, as they display various instances in which the females
are dominated by males, cruelly and unfairly.
In LIVING IN SIN Rich shows how relationships are approached and
experienced differently by women and men. She focuses on a
relationship where the woman and her husband are not equal; in the
poem images are used to show what each member of the relationship
faces. While these images are mundane and appear unimportant at
first glance, they effectively show the female in an inferior position. The
woman is confronted with stressful duties, seen with the images of „the
sheets‟ which need to be pulled back and to „let the coffee-pot boil
over the stove‟. The man is confronted with much less challenging and
trivial duties; this is shown with the „dozen notes upon the keyboard‟
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and the relatively unimportant task of rubbing at „his beard‟. In
contrasting what the man and woman face in their relationships
through such images, Rich shows the need for equality and thus her as
a feminist; while the man‟s version of where they live is the image of the
„studio‟, where he can simply puruse his pleasures, in contast for Rich
the studio becomes a place of work, where such images as the dusty
„furniture of love‟ need to be taken care of.
A similar image of apparent worthlessness is seen in AUNT JENNIFER‟S
TIGERS, however once more it serves to show the oppression of a
female. The image of „The massive weight of Uncle‟s wedding band‟
which „Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer‟s hand‟ at first glance seems to
provide evidence of a marriage but on closer examination shows
again the need for attaining rights for women. The Uncle dominates
and controls the woman, emphasized explicitly by the weight of said
image which does not allow Aunt Jennifer to move away from the
Uncle and live her own life; the image of the weighty wedding band is
used to explictly represent the emotional and psychological hold the
Uncle has over Aunt Jennifer.
In another poem, UNCLE SPEAKS IN THE DRAWING ROOM, Rich focuses
again on seemingly insignificant images to present the inferior male
and the superior male. Here the world of the poem contains images of
prosperity, with whom masculinity is associated. In the drawing room
we see„crystal vase and chandelier‟, „antique ruby bowl/ Shivered in a
thunder-roll‟. Masculinity is associated here with the top spectrum of
society, while females reside below and are attributed the social role of
„the mob‟. In presenting such contrasting images Rich shows how
different the conditions are for the masculine and the feminine, and
thus stresses the need for equality. By presenting images, shown above,
which are noble but also images associated with the past, Rich shows
how antiquated and long-lasting this divide is and thus the femininst
belief that such a situation should not be happening in the world they
live in; that it is out of sync and should not occur in her time.
Rich communicates her overriding message, of the oppression of
females, through different themes in her poetry. This was an effective
way to communicate this message to me: it showed the same
message but in different contexts, which prevented it from becoming
stereotypical or over-analysed in my eyes.
In OUR WHOLE LIFE Rich encompasses a political theme to
communicate her feminist manifesto. The poem is set against the
backdrop of political fighting which included France and Algeria
during the time she wrote the poem, shown with the image of the man
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who burned himself alive as a form of political protest, with „his whole
body a cloud of pain‟. However this can still be related to the need for
female equality, as such an extreme form of protest may be seen to be
included by Rich to show how extreme the need and thus the form of
action taken by the feminist movement will have to be to attain female
equality, such is the one-sided masculine dominance in the world she
lives in, shown through the creation of a political world in the poem
where the male is the „oppressor‟ and the female the colonised, whose
„dead letters‟ have been „rendered into the oppressor‟s language‟,
much like the colonzied of a country must learn their conquerers‟
language, customs etc.
Rich continues her message in another poem, AUNT JENNIFER‟S TIGERS.
Here the theme of life stopping for no one is initially examined. No
matter who dies, life will not stop and this is evidenced by the mention
that even when Aunt Jennifer dies, her „tigers in the panel that she
made/ Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid‟. However this can
again be linked to the feminist aspect of Rich‟s poetry. The tigers can
be seen as members of the uncaring, masculine-dominated world who
turns a blind eye to the sufferings of the female. Even though they
acknowledge the presence of women (they are Aunt Jennifer‟s tigers),
in the wider sphere of things they are uncaring, „prancing, proud and
unafraid‟. Aunt Jennifer‟s death can be seen as an example of female
suffering, and that even when this occurs, the masculine-dominated
world is still uncaring.
Elsewhere, in UNCLE SPEAKS IN THE DRAWING ROOM the attempt of the
higher classes to keep in place the hierarchy which has elevated them
to their position is focused on. The Uncle, spokesperson for his upper
class, makes such declarations as that the lower class have „follies that
subside‟ and that „these treasures handed down/ From a calmer age
passed on/ Are in the keeping of our kind.‟ However again there can
be a link to feminism and female oppression as „the mob‟ are
associated with the females. That the upper class, the males, see the
need to preserve order and prevent the possibility of disorder shows
that they realize they are creating a forum where „follies that subside‟
will turn to unrest. The males are here shown by Rich to be attempting
to not only create a world where they dominate, but where they
preserve the possiblity of this being challenged, thus explicitly revealing
a need to challenge this and attain rights for the female.
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Wordsworth
. ―There are many reasons why William Wordsworth still appeals to a
modern audience‖.
In response to the above statement, write an essay on the poetry of
Wordsworth. In your essay, refer to aspects (theme and style) that
contribute to this appeal.
Although the poetry of William Wordsworth was written in the early
1800s, it still has much appeal for a modern audience. Wordsworth‘s
references to nature found in most, if not all, of his work is what gives his
poetry a timeless quality. The poems ‗Lines Composed Upon
Westminster Bridge‘, ‗The Stolen Boat‘, ‗To My Sister‘ and ‗A Slumber Did
My Spirit Seal‘, all demonstrate various styles, from sonnet to blank
verse format. The poems deal with themes with which we are all
familiar. This fact means that the work of Wordsworth has a permanent
relevance, and is appealing to a modern audience.
The poem ‗To My Sister‘ acts as a reminder of the intrinsic beauty of
nature. As the title suggests, the poem is addressing Wordsworth‘s sister.
In it, he invites her to come outside with him to embrace nature‘s
beauty. He claims that nature is better than literature and tells his sister
―bring no book: for this one day / We‘ll give to idleness‖. Wordsworth
also sees God‘s presence in nature. He believes in a divine drivingforce and says ―There is a blessing in the air‖.
Presented in verses of four lines each, the poem engages the reader
and is written in a conversational tone. Wordsworth uses effective
imagery of nature and reminds us of its ubiquitous presence; ―The
redbreast sings from the tall larch / That stands beside our door‖. The
use of strong verbs give the poem a energy. Wordsworth addresses his
sister and tells her to ―Make haste, your morning task resign; / Come
forth and feel the sun‖.
Dealing with the timeless theme of oneness with nature, ―A Slumber Did
My Spirit Seal‖ is an appealing poem. The second of the ‗Lucy‘ poems,
this elegy deals with nature and our symbiotic relationship with it.
Wordsworth speaks of a vision he had of Lucy after her death. Now one
with nature, she cannot ―feel / The touch of earthly years‖.
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The poem is composed of two verses of four lines, and has an effective
use of alliteration in its opening line - also its title. The ‗s‘ sound in ―A
Slumber Did My Spirit Seal‖ conveys the idea of sleep. Wordsworth uses
interesting imagery to communicate Lucy‘s final resting place. He does
not make her death sound tragic and immortalises her in the poem‘s
closing line: ―Rolled round in earth‗s diurnal clock / With rocks, and
stones, and trees‖.
‗Lines Composed Upon Westminster Bridge‘ is another poem with
appeal for a modern audience. In it, Wordsworth describes the beauty
of London city as he approaches it while travelling to France. He sees
beauty in the city and in the fields which surround it. Wordsworth
speaks of the city ―like a garment, wear / The beauty of the morning;
silent, bare‖. He reminds us that the beauty of nature surrounds urban
areas like London, and all are ―bright and glittering in the smokeless
air‖.
The octet serves to vividly describe the cityscape of London.
Wordsworth describes the city and its surrounding area as a ―sight so
touching in its majesty‖. The city is personified and described as being
asleep in the early morning, its ―mighty heart is lying still‖. The poem
engages the reader and opens with the assertion that ―EARTH has not
anything to show more fair‖. This assertion catches our attention and
gives us a sense of expectancy.
The poem ―The Stolen Boat‖ prompts us to reflect on our experience as
children through the use of an anecdote. The anecdote speaks of the
experience, shared by us, of acting without thinking and suffering the
consequences. Wordsworth relates a childhood experience in which
he took a boat without asking in order to go rowing on a lake. There is
the theme of natural beauty in the poem, but also that of nature‘s role
as a mentor. The boy learns quickly through the rising of guilt he
experiences. This poem appeals to a modern audience because it tells
of and experience we have all had; ―a troubled pleasure‖.
The anecdote is related in a blank verse format and is delivered
through simple, conversational language. The tone is one of
contemplation. Wordsworth reflects on the joyful experience and
subsequent guilt of taking the boat. The imagery of this boat is
effective, and in it Wordsworth ―went heaving through the water like a
swan‖. The feeling of guilt is conveyed as ―a huge peak, black and
huge‖.
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Through his varied style of verse and conversational language,
Wordsworth communicates the enduring theme of nature. The poems
‗Lines Composed Upon Westminster Bridge‘, ‗The Stolen Boat‘, ‗To My
Sister‘ and ‗A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal‘, prompt the exploration of our
inherent fascination with nature. The fascination is mutual among all
people, and it is this fact that contributes to the poems‘ lasting appeal.
2. Wordsworth is constantly preoccupied with the influence of nature on
human beings, particularly on himself. Discuss the meaning and
significance of nature in his poems.
In all of the Wordsworth poems that I have studied nature is the key
aspect. Nature is what brings Wordsworth from imagination to
inspiration, to individuality, to intuition and to idealism. All of these help
to break down his poetry and see what lies beneath the words. I will
look at these aspects in Wordsworth's poetry to show how much nature
influences Wordsworth and later on other human beings.
When Wordsworth was young his mother and father died. When his
father died Wordsworth looked, maybe unintentionally to nature. His
poem, The Stolen Boat is what happened to him when he first explored
nature and saw the significance of it. "I dipped my oars into the silent
lake", he rowed and rowed into the tranquillity, into the unknown. He
rowed until he stopped and dawned on the thunderous mountains. He
was scared. He rowed as fast as his swan like oars could get him there.
Nature was around him and he hadn't ever noticed the soul of it until
that day. The significance of that day was huge on Wordsworth. He felt
the Earth (nature) at its prime. He went on to live his life, every day in
awe at nature.
In Wordsworth's poems we see in most cases the imagination prevail
first. Wordsworth sets about making us believe the wonders of nature
and the life that he lives in. He imagines the spirit of nature creeping
into his soul and pumping around his body, from his head to his heart.
All of this is imagination but also crosses over to into idealism. Nature to
him is like a god and to him everything should be stripped back, "from
Earth to man, man to Earth." The connection between people and
Earth is direct and should be treasured. In Wordsworth's poem Upon
Westminster Bridge he states that he thinks you are dumb if you don't
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see this beautiful sight of the city asleep. His imagination describes the
city with the use of personification and similes. The imagination is
significant to Wordworth because it allows him express himself on his
feelings of nature. Nature is the key to what he wants to show.
Inspiration is probably the biggest factor in all of his poems. Without
inspiration we wouldn't have a piece. Wordsworth is inspired by nature.
In every text he looks to nature for inspiration. In the poem "To My Sister"
he looks to nature to allow him to get her out of the house and to give
the day to idleness. Nature inspired him to do this. Nature is what he
looks to on days of loneliness. We see this in Tintern Abbey. Here he
reflects back on the beautiful sight and tells us that on many of days he
would reflect back and be immersed in the sight of Tintern Abbey.
Nature inspires him to be different, to produce writings that are
different to anybody else‟s and nature through himself inspires others to
feel the spirit in later years. Inspiration is nature. The significance of
nature is that it inspires people.
Wordsworth in his time was an individual in embracing nature. He
wasn't the first person to call on it, " man was born free." This was a
phrase that showed that man was first immersed with nature and
freedom to explore. Wordsworth in The Stolen Boat was an individual
and at that time it would have been a very dangerous thing to go out
into the wilderness. Nature, Wordsworth feels is an individual spirit
meaning there is nothing like this spirit anywhere else. This shows huge
significance to nature and to what it means.
Intuition in Wordsworth's text shows the impact nature has on
Wordsworth. Wordsworth is always in awe of nature and the emotion
he shows for it is great. In many of his texts he states that he's blessed to
have nature. In Tintern Abbey he says " of all this intelligible world, is
lightened- that serene and blessed mood, in which affection gently
leads us on." These emotions show how Wordsworth feels. The spirit of
nature in many ways referred to almost like a god has made
Wordsworth to believe he is blessed and gifted to have this spirit on
him. Intuition in nature is a big part of Wordsworth poems because no
one before this had ever really put feeling down on paper. Wordsworth
paved the way forward to emotions. Without emotions nature would
have not been able to show the greatness of it. Wordsworth use of
personification in nature just gets deeper when he brings the emotion
to it.
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Idealism I think brings all of the above together. Idealism makes him see
the world in a completely different way to anyone else. Idealism is
shown in all of his texts, especially in the text Tintern Abbey where he
goes so far into the depths of the spirit where he states he is just a soul.
It starts with the blood pumping the spirit around and then he states
he's become a living soul. It was a Zen moment. There may have been
lots of moments like this but this is the first one that displays the
enormous power nature has over Wordsworth.
As stated nature has a huge significance to Wordsworth and it shaped
his life and who he is. Wordsworth inspired many people in the late
1960's. These people wanted to feel what he had felt so they took
external measures but still the significance and meaning of nature on
these people also shaped their lives. This intern shaped the history
around then, all from breathing in nature.
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Poetry – Sample Essays
Gerard Manly Hopkins
―Hopkins‘ poetry does not show any grasp of the concerns of the
everyday person. In fact, his poetry is outdated‖ In your answer
consider Hopkins‘ ideas, techniques, and the reception in different
contexts.
.
Hopkins‟ poetry shows the responder eternal messages that correspond
to everyday life and its experiences. This is because Hopkins uses
various devices of language and a wide array of themes which appeal
to undisturbed human nature. For example, there are contrasts of
happiness and sorrow, along with observations of nature and our
ultimate relation to it. This allows the responders to not only relate, but
also to engage in what Hopkins presents. In addition, Hopkins‟ poetry is
not outdated. Everyone will know the eternal issues raised and will
always influence the chain of thought. Three of Hopkins‟ poems which
demonstrate concern of the everyday person are: “Gods Grandeur”,
“Bindley Poplars” and “No worst, there is none
, Hopkins does show grasps that concern the everyday person by
exploring God‟s loved presence in nature and the immense
destruction of the relationship with god. The themes that arise in this
poem relate to our lives in one way or another by linking the beauty of
nature, our progression yet our regression with God.
Hopkins firstly explores God‟s presence in the natural world which is
further amplified of its greatness with use of emotive words such as
„grandeur‟. Also, the opening line „the world is charged with the
grandeur of God‟ declares what is to be understood as God‟s world in
which we find beauty of natural observations and in what we „trod‟ on.
Secondly, Hopkins begins the descent to man‟s careless destruction of
nature and hence the failure to connect with God and see his
message. It is the asking of a rhetorical question („why do men then
now not reck his rod?‟) which addresses it onto the responder, who is
responsible for the destruction of the connection with symbolised God
(„rod‟). With this, the responder is left to think, and Hopkins recognises
our „trade‟ of „seared‟, „bleared‟ and „smeared‟
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. It is with this we are reassured of our habit of treading, smudging and
spoiling nature. Further observations follow on, and the abrupt flatness
and lands limit is connected to our feet, our walking(„is bare now, nor
can foot feel…‟).The observation of something grand and „charged‟ is
applied to human senses, and were to see these observations all
around us, as a part of life and nature. Whether it be a man from
primordial time, or a man of everyday, observations drive humans
thought, and the extent of beauty withheld in such vast quantity is
what we have instilled our „smudge‟ and „smell‟. However, the
divergent view is shown when humans „trod‟ and the responder is
bought to awareness. This awareness is vital for the understanding the
damage carelessly performed by each and every one of us,
consciously or subconsciously. It is the breakage of a relationship with
nature and hence god himself that affects our grasp of the meaning of
our lives. It is therefore evident that by writing a poem on the beauty of
the world hence god and the vital relationship with god, Hopkins does
show a grasp for the concern of the everyday person. In the poem
„Binsley Poplars‟, Hopkins does show a grasp of the concerns of the
everyday person by exploring universal concern for nature and how it is
responsible to individuals. Hopkins shows themes such as nature and
the fragility, or in our case
The beauty from the fragility found in small yet powerful movements. It
also connects this to warning, that we receive when something bad is
happening, or is about to happen. Hopkins initially observes the frail
and „quelled‟ nature, particularly the Poplar trees. The one observation
of the trees is so highly regarded, Hopkins uses personification („quelled
or quenched in leaves the leaping sun‟) to affect their image of
neglect and survival. The observation is of the moving leaves,
alongside the water that „shadow that swam or sank‟ (contrast). Even
though this is image is admired, there is a sense of lament from Hopkins.
This lament is signaled with the use of repetition and monosyllables in
„all felled, felled, are all felled‟. After the Volta (or turn of the next
theme), Hopkins declares his concern of this destroyed nature and
hence man‟s ignorance in doing so. In a way, it is the concern of the
future („after-comers‟). Again, the fragility is being referred to („country
so tender‟) yet it‟s a sense of warning to what we ignorantly and easily
(„ten or twelve…‟) do without looking back. The main feature used to
direct this to people is the use of first person in „O if we but knew what
we do‟. It allows the direction to the person reading and also to everchanging humanity. The everyday person cannot be distinctly defined,
as humans share different characteristics. However, the characteristics
remain unchanged and can always be divided between common
characteristics. This common division allows at least a fairly common
path to thought. “Binsley Poplars” is the ultimate observation of
touched nature but at the same time the warning and popular
comparison to humansand human pain. Nature is common in all ways,
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and so is pain and mourn over all things that are cared about. Hence,
the themes conveyed in “Binsley Poplars” are consequently related to
the emotions and observations of the everyday person. In the poem
“No Worst, there is none”, Hopkins does show a grasp of the concerns
of the everyday person by exploring the theme of human emotion and
character. Themes explored rely on Hopkins‟ personal despair and his
will to explore depths of its consumption yet retaining the limits of
human character: the highs and the lows. Without pause, Hopkins starts
with the words „no worst‟ setting the grounds of negativity and stillness.
It is the comfort he searches for, in depths of the biblical references
through symbolism of a medium of the world („on an age old anvil
wince and sing‟). However, his cries are „pitched past pitch of grief‟, in
a way continuing further and further (alliteration), bound by the force
of rejection. It is finally labelledintense („forepangs‟), and universal
(„world-sorrow‟).
Following this, contrasts to minds „mountains‟ and the thought‟s „cliffs‟
which resulting the fall and an array of thought. The exploration of
human character and the search for the reasoning behind this varying
distress is the main aim of this theme, and Hopkins conveys this with his
weakness in life, yet asking for the responder to experience it for
themselves, with a sense of empathy („durance deal with that steep or
deep‟).The areas of human emotions and their power to consume over
us are unknown and instinctual for all. Hopkins experiences moments of
his despair, sharp pains („forepangs‟).
The empathy he puts forward is there for the responder to feel, or try to
feel as Hopkins view towards this is puzzled, and he cannot
comprehend the fact largeness of our own emotions. Humans have
instinctive right is to feel and express our emotions, separating us from
the division. Yet, the consumption of it can be so great that the division
is lost between depths of highs and lows. Emotions do not only concern
the everyday person, from a daily basis, but every human from now on
to the time before.
Hopkins‟ poetry does show the concerns of the everyday person as
previously discussed, but at the same time succeeds in analysis through
modern ideas such as feminism and the important things Hopkins has
left behind for the 20th
century. It is seen in the variant readings “She rears herself” by Lesley
Higgins and “Gerard Manley Hopkins: a legacy to the twentieth
century” by Elaine Murphy. Feminism is the modern movement which
occurred from the nineteen sixties and to which it still continues today.
Its main aim (in Hopkins‟ poetry) is the „comprehension, dramatisation
and dissemination of absolute truths‟. As seen in the feminist reading,
the composer is able to search and hence explore modern thoughts
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still surviving in the 20thand 21stcentury. The feminist reading sets and
argument in which realms of „womanisation‟, and proof to how
Hopkins, whether intentionally or unintentionally, set examples of
women in his poetry. This is seen in the exploration of „linguistic
dexterity‟, where interestingly we see Hopkins‟ „need to mark gender
differences and to invoke female signs to express weakness, anxiety or
instability‟. This is evidently seen in “Binsley Poplars” in the use of female
Mother Nature being so fragile („since country is so tender‟).
It is the discovery of this that shows modern understanding of modern
concepts applied to poetry more than a hundred years old. Flowingly,
masculine texts were also introduced by the feministic reading. For
example, “Hurrahing in Harvest” is an extremely masculine text, with
reference to the summertime and its „barbarous beauty‟. Suggestively,
Hopkins has retained stereotyping of women, and the amplification of
masculinity in the Victorian times, while allowing flexible room to
investigate the effect of his time era on our current era, with different
ways of valid interpretations. Lastly, the argument of whether his
„manliness‟ was forced and the opposite of his poetry was undertaken
arises. As we see, Hopkins uses the strict guidelines of the Italian sonnet,
follows the celibate life of a priest and gives up his literature and
expression to go through the severe order of Jesuits. It is ironic to see his
writings so feministic, yet his life so ordered by that very fact of it.
Hence, the information presented to responders, researchers and
analysts still continues to be understood, and the ideas presented give
its value, even at the present age. Legacy is the word used to describe
Hopkins valued poetry along with his „power and profound‟. The
introduction in the article of appreciation is the praise of his daring yet
underappreciated dynamics of his poetry. The despair is felt of the
ignorance of his strength in the past but is renewed with the current
century, proclaiming 20th The
Century the deserved period of finding Hopkins‟ greatness. The aspect
of outdate in Hopkins poetry does not occur as suggested by this
article but along with its ways of expression in themes and techniques
will be forever admired, and the gratitude will always be given to him.
In advance, views of his techniques and inspiration are further
discussed. It is seen through the in-depth discoveries of inscape and
instressthat shaped his poetry and influence yet reached the
conclusion of „unreadable‟ in that time period. His inspiration came
from the heart of himself, but further from hisreligion (Catholicism which
did not popularly fit within England Victorian times) which is the main
spark of his recurring rejection unfairly through his life. Whilethere is the
sadness of his misunderstood and „unreadable‟ work in the Victorian
era, we can live and learn to appreciate the presence of the poetry
and maintain its longevity of more than 100 years. Even though his
poetry was disregarded and scrutinized, Hopkins still survived in the
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current century, with applaud from modern writers and interpretation
from modern ideas. In other words, Hopkins‟ poetry stays young, and
hence not outdated.
Demonstrated, Hopkins‟ poetry does show a grasp of the concerns of
the everyday person and his poetry is not outdated. This was evidently
seen through poems such as “God‟s Grandeur”, “Binsley Poplars” and
“No Worst, There is None” where themes of god, nature and human
emotion were concerned and related to the everyday person.
Moreover, the articles by Elaine Higgins and Lesley Murphy showed
strong modern interpretations of ideas such as Feminism and at the
same time labeled Hopkins as the legacy to the 20
The
Century and beyond. With the above evidence, relations, comparisons
and so forth Hopkins and his poetry importantly can be seen as
concern for ourselves, and understood through the eyes of a modern
audience while retaining its longevity of more than 100 years of
unprecedented progress only recently discovered. As Gerard Manley
Hopkins said: “The poetical language of an age should be the current
language heightened.”
2004
„There are many reasons why the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins
appeals to his readers.‟
In response to the above statement, write an essay on poetry of
Hopkins. Your essay should focus clearly on the reasons why the poetry
is appealing and should refer to the poetry on your course.
2000
„Hopkins conveys deep personal experience in a style which is both
refreshing and dramatic.‟
Discuss this statement in its entirety, supporting your answer by
reference to the poems by Hopkins on your course.
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