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English lit poems (The Manhunt
Simon Armitage (form & structure…
English lit poems
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Mametz Wood
Owen Sheers
born 1974 Fiji but grew up in South Wales
poem about battle in WW1, published 2005
Battle of the Somme 1916 - Welsh soldiers commanded to walk towards Germans w/ aim of capturing Mametz Wood -- soldiers came under fire, many fatalities
- attack was successful but some criticised the Welsh soldiers for showing a lack of determination -- others felt they'd been badly treated; badly trained + their sacrifice had not been appreciated.
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- farmers in France in present find bones + skeletons in their fields when they plough the land
- briefly references the way the soldiers died in battle then returns to grisly discovery of their skeletons in the present.
- discovery partly positive - allows memory of these soldiers to be honoured.
form + structure
- tercets (3 line stanzas)
- third person - tone of distance + detachment
- long sentences + enjambment establish a reflective tone
moves forward chronologically
- 5th stanza mass grave found
- thoughtful tone + slow pace don't change + there are images of past throughout poem -- emphasises lasting effects of war + the time it takes for the earth to heal.
language
personification: earth personified as someone who needs healing + someone guarding the soldiers' memory -- emphasises how long it takes to recover from damage of war + stresses the importance of remembering those who fought.
"turning up under their plough blades / as they tended the land back into itself."
- 'tended' nursing something wounded
- earth can recover but soldiers can't
"even now the earth stands sentinel"
- 'even now' time shifts forward, shows how long healing process takes
- personification suggests earth preserves their bones in a determined but calm way
"like a wound working a foreign body"
simile - earth injured
comparing soldiers to a 'foreign body' emphasises that they shouldn't be there - unnatural that they died so young
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contrasting images: violent images of war contrasted w/ images of human fragility -- reminds reader of the soldiers' humanity + the horrifying conditions they faced.
"the relic of a finger"
'relic' - old object + also part of a saint's body that gets worshipped - suggest admiration for those who died.
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"the notes they had sung" continues bird imagery + human image of soldiers singing contrasts w violence of war
thoughts + feelings
sadness - mournful, lyrical tone suggests a calm sadness for the deaths of the young soldiers
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remembrance - nature makes sure that the dead soldiers aren't forgotten - sense that memory is important + the past shouldn't be forgotten.
"For years afterwards the farmers found them"
'them' soldiers unidentified + nameless - war took away their individuality
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"their skeletons paused mid dance-macabre" dark humour created by image of skeletons dancing but reminds reader of the soldiers being living beings
"this unearthing, / slipped from their absent tongues." (the 'notes they had sung')
- gentle tone - poem ends with a sense of peace
- discovering the soldiers gives them the voice they lacked
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London
William Blake
describes a walk around city of London, everywhere he goes the people are affected by misery & despair, this misery seems relentless, not even the young & innocent can escape it. people in power (e.g. Church, monarchy, wealthy landowners) seem to be behind the problems & do nothing to help the people in need.
form & structure
dramatic monologue - first-person narrator speaks passionately & personally about the suffering he sees.
ABAB rhyme scheme is unbroken & echoes the relentless misery of the city.
regular rhythm reflects sound of his feet as he trudges through city.
iambic tetrameter - repeating metre reinforces relentless suffering
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where there are only 7 syllables in one line (not 8 for iambic tetrameter) metre broken "marks of weakness, marks of woe" reinforces the weakness
written in quatrains (stanzas of 4 lines each so is a ballad - about feelings so would expect poem to lose control but Blake maintains order on his emotions
images of downtrodden, deprived people - first 2 stanzas focuses on people he sees & hears but stanza 3 shifts to the institutions he holds responsible. final stanza looks at people again, showing how even newborn babies are affected
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cyclical structure begins poem talking about those who are suffering, moves on to institutions that cause it then returns to those suffering - their fate is inescapable
context
Blake wrote & illustrated 2 volumes of poetry which explored the state of the human soul - one of positive poems which focus on childhood, nature & love, & the other looks at how that innocence is lost, & how society has been corrupted (including London) published 1793
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language
rhetorical language used to persuade audience/reader of his point of view - uses emotive words & images to reinforce horror of the situation
repetition emphasises number of people affected "In every cry of every Man" and to show how society needs to change
"the charter'd Thames does flow" 'charter'd' even powerful, natural features are owned / under human control & affected by the city's problems
ironic as a river cannot really be controlled.
a world corrupted by humans, critique of human power, exposes distance between those in power & those suffering, suffering inescapable bc of misuse of power by those in control
"mark in every face I meet / Marks of weakness, marks of woe." 'mark' means notice but also everyone is marked by experience + repetition emphasises feeling of bleakness & that despair affects every1 - there is no relief from it
use of senses - sights and sounds stanza 1&2 respectively, last 2 combine visual & aural --> show how everything is affected & nothing pure or innocent remains - contrasts
first-person narrator personalises the poem, seems more real
"I wander thro' each charter'd street" 'wander' sounds purposeless - reflects how he feels powerless to change the situation. 'each' whole city affected, not just one area
'charter'd' mapped - urbanisation destroying what was once natural - Thames also 'charter'd' - everything owned but he 'wanders' suggests people can still be free
speaker hears distressing noises "every Infant's cry of fear' seems like a vivid, hellish experience
"the youthful Harlot's curse / Blasts the new born Infant's tear" contrast between innocence of youth & sordidness of prostitution --> innocence of newborn babies is lost immediately - society damages everyone
'curse' could be the prostitutes
swearing or that he thinks they are a curse on the city.
anaphora "In every cry of every Man, / In every Infant's cry of fear,"
feelings & attitudes
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hopelessness "The mind-forg'd manacles" suggest the people themselves are also to blame as they are trapped by their own attitudes - hopeless as are unable to help themselves
- alliteration - more memorable
- oppression - social hierarchy isn't necessarily real - only works as people respect the people above them
people are trapped in every way, even their thoughts & attitudes "mind-forg'd manacles"
"blights with plagues the Marriage hearse." powerful language of illness and disease 'blights' 'plagues' destruction implied + hints at something that is uncontrollable
oxymoron 'Marriage hearse' links happy image of marriage with death - any chance of happiness is doomed / everything destroyed / destined to be destroyed - overwhelmingly negative image
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The Soldier
Rupert Brooke
context
written 1914 - year that WW1 broke out, many men eager to enlist to serve their county - poem captures this early idealism however as war progressed & people realised the true nature of war, optimism began to fade. Brooke died 1915 on a Royal Navy ship on the way to battle from malaria so never saw the front line,
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talks about possibility of dying in a foreign country & says the area where he dies will be "for ever England" --> describes England as a mother who gave birth to & raised him.
- believes that death will be comforting & he will be able to give back the things that England gave him - thoughts & memories won't be lost. (patriotism)
could mean the land is literally English from victory of war or could mean figuratively as his body will be buried there, a part of England will remain there.
'some corner of a foreign field / That is for ever England" - 'some' could be anywhere
form & structure
sonnet - a form traditionally used for love poetry & about another person - the object of the narrator's affection - here the love is for England--> elevates his emotions & shows how strong they are -- worships England -- repetition of England throughout poem emphasises that his country is the most important thing to him, it dominates his thoughts
- narrator appeals directly to reader as his voice is confident but becomes more reflective in 2nd stanza.
"And think, this heart, all evil shed away," commas slow pace down, creating a more reflective tone/mood.
in traditional sonnets, the octave presents one idea & the sestet another - Brooke follows this convention & in the octave shows how England has enriched his life & in the sestet he considers how after his death he will return the gifts given to him by England.
language
personification - use of extended metaphor of England as a mother reflects how speaker feels that his country has shaped him as a person - mothers often associated with comfort (nurture) which would explain why thinking about his country during war would be reassuring.
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of nature - England's idyllic nature & landscape - a love of the English countryside is part of his devotion to the country.
"breathing English air, / Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home." nature is a positive force/image - gives the soldier a sense of wellbeing.
- ending the stanza with the word (noun) 'home' emphasises his love for England even more, not just where he comes from but his home.
lexical field of religion - speakers feels 'blest' by England & refers to the 'eternal mind' (God) - thought of heaven gives him comfort when he reflects on his death .
"all evil shed away" death would bring him closer to God & His 'eternal mind - death is purifying for him.
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"If I should die, think only this of me" narrator addresses reader directly using imperative making reader feel responsible for carrying out the soldier's request/wishes.
feelings + attitudes
patriotism - narrator's passion for his country is clear - first stanza (octave) contains a list of everything England has given him - proud.
"If I should die" first-person narrative only apparent in first line so poem could be about any soldier
"A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware [...] A body of England's, breathing English air" - repetition of words connected to England makes the narrator's love for his homeland seem overwhelming
- personified as a nurturing mother.
"Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given" - progression from 'gives' to 'given' makes this line cyclical - reflects idea that in death the soldier will give back the things that England provided for him initially.
idealism his view of dying can be seen as idealistic bc it doesn't reflect the gruesome reality of war & what the soldiers experienced during WW1 - poem may be a way for the poet to reassure himself with the idea that part of him will live on after he dies.
"Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day / And laughter, learnt of friends" alliteration creates an echo effect which could reflect how these happy memories will not disappear, they will be passed on.
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Cozy Apologia
Rita Dove
hurricane approches, speaker takes refuge in her study & thinks about her partner.
compares him to everyday objects
then reflects on a range of topics e.g.modern life, the hurricane & old boyfriends - says the love in her current relationship is ordinary but genuine.
questions whether it is just for her love to feel 'cozy' - images of knight in shining armour juxtapose her independence as a woman
form & structure
- written in free verse, makes it sound conversational
- number of syllables in each line varies creating sense that poem reflects speaker's train of thought.
- first stanza uses regular rhyming couplets so reader might expect that it is a traditional love poem but rhyme scheme is disrupted in middle of 2nd stanza perhaps to reflect disorder caused by hurricane but a new ABAB rhyme scheme established in last 4 lines.
begins with personal description of speaker's feelings for her partner, ends by describing their ordinary, happy relationship. #
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language
humour:
prevents poem from becoming too sentimental - done through exaggerated or clichéd images of love & poking fun at them while reinforcing her domestic, happy relationship at the same time.
doesn't take herself or partner too seriously.
colloquial language:
colloquial phrases make poem seem personal - contribute to poem's humour & stop it from being too serious.
"This post-post-modern age is all business" sudden change of pace & subject - digressions (temporary departure from main subject) give poem a casual tone.
"a do-it-now-and-take-no-risks / Event" hyphenation creates a sense of urgency which reflects modern communication.
stanza 2 has lots of caesura & enjambment - creates a stop-start effect which mirrors the speaker's thought patterns.
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everyday images of love:
links partner to domestic objects - emphasises that their relationship is ordinary - not an unrealistic image of love.
"I could pick anything and think of you - / This lamp, the wind-still rain"
ordinary, domestic images contrast with with imagery found in traditional love poems.
"the glossy blue / My pen exudes, drying matte, upon the page." detailed, vivid image shows importance of writing - part of the narrator's identity.
feelings + attitudes
love:
imagery
references to previous 'worthless' boyfriends show contrast with her current, happy relationship.
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"I could choose any hero, any cause or age / And, sure as shooting arrows to the heart.." introduces traditional cliché of the romantic hero & refers to Cupid's arrows.
speaker's tongue-in-cheek tone shows she isn't taking herself too seriously.
"Astride a dappled mare, legs braced as far apart / As standing in silver stirrups will allow - / There you'll be, with furrowed brow / And chain mail glinting"
stereotypical images of chivalry are used in quick succession - there is humour in her exaggeration.
"And chain mail glinting, to set me free: / One eye smiling, the other firm upon the enemy.: speaker's partner is associated with freedom + safety.
reminisces about teenage crushes "worthless boys / Whose only talent was to kiss you senseless. / They all had sissy names" playful language shows that she did not take these relationships seriously.
"Were thin as liquorice and as chewy, / Sweet with a dark and hollow center."
light-hearted extended metaphor shows that these relationships lacked substance.
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"And yet, because nothing else will do / To keep me from melancholy (call it blues), / I fill this stolen time with you."
- 'And yet' emphasised at start of line - brings change of tone which is stronger & more decisive.
- contrast between 'melancholy' - formal and 'blues' - colloquial
- use of brackets makes poem feel more personal + informal as if we hear the speaker's thoughts as she thinks them.
- 'you' deliberate, final emphasis is on her partner.
safety - speaker feels safe & protected, rather than afraid, as the hurricane approaches.
"Today a hurricane is nudging up the coast, / Oddly male: Big Bad Floyd"
'nudging' hurricane sounds gentle rather than dangerous.
speaker mocks the hurricane (they traditionally had female names - 'oddly')
humour undermines the danger.
"You're bunkered in your / Aerie, I'm perched in mine / (Twin desks, computers, hardwood floors"
- 'bunkered' associated w/ safety + security.
- 'Aerie' 'perched' bird imagery links couple together - emphasised by 'twin' in next line.
- ordinary objects in their lives contrast w/ clichés earlier in the poem.
apology: title indicates that the poem is written in defence of her contented relationship - 3rd stanza speaker suggests that she is embarrassed by their love but her happiness is obvious - ends poem by deciding that focusing on her lover is the most worthwhile thing to do.
"We're content, but fall short of the Divine. / Still, it's embarrassing, this happiness - / Who's satisfied simply with what's good for us, / When has the ordinary ever been news?"
- adjective 'content' emphasises that their love is 'ordinary' but real - contrasts w/ idealised love which is often considered 'Divine'
- 'embarrassing' speaker is self-aware, pokes fun at their love - happy but sees funny side of it.
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context 
September 1999 Hurricane Floyd hit east coast of USA - heavy rainfall caused extreme flooding & devastation.
Valentine
Carol Ann Duffy
Scottish poet, first woman to become Poet Laureate 2009.
published 1993
gives gift to partner - onion, explains why it is a more appropriate symbol of love than other stereotypical/traditional gifts.
form & structure
different to traditional love poems: stanzas of irregular length, several of only one line, make poem feel disjointed.
some lines with few words give emphasis to forceful tone of speaker.
free verse - no consistent rule governing line length or rhyme - suggests an idea of the chaos + disorder that characterises love: partners behave unpredictably + unclear if/how relationship will end - uncertainty.
this bleak depiction of love contrasts with traditional love poetry, such as sonnets, which tended to idealise a lover or idea of romantic love.
list of ways the onion symbolises love.
words & ideas built up & repeated throughout poem, could mirror different layers of an onion as poem's meaning is revealed gradually,
tone initially playful but speaker's repeated insistence that their partner accepts the gift could be read as either encouraging or confrontational.
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language
extended metaphor - 'I give you an onion.' speaker sees the onion as an honest symbol - symbolises joy & intimacy of love but also the pain.
- unusual metaphor that contrasts with more stereotypical romantic symbols
- e.g. 'Not a red rose or a satin heart.' --> she implies these are clichéd and lack meaning.
- 'not' immediately clear that this is not a traditional love poem.
'It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.'
- 'moon' traditional symbol of love & fertility
- suggests the relationship is passionate
- 'brown paper' emphasises that the onion is a plain, unsentimental gift.
- highlights the idea that love stems from inner beauty
repeated later, presenting Duffy as insistent & forceful, establishing a sense of unease.
'Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, / possessive and faithful / as we are, / for as long as we are.'
- suggests that love can be possessive & dangerous
- love described in physical terms
- 'for as long as we are' echoes wedding vow 'for as long as we both shall live.'
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first person & directly addresses unknown partner as 'you' - personal pronouns - very personal/intimate - highlights that the poem is for a specific person.
uses imperatives "Here.' 'Take it.' forceful & have their own lines for effect.
'take it' offer of onion changes to a command - Duffy could be encouraging her lover to accept the gift or her tone could be interpreted as confrontational, making the mood darker - forceful.
- create sharp, harsh tone that captures a sense of awkwardness or anxiety in the relationship - could allude to lover's reluctance to accept the gift.
'Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring, / if you like. / Lethal.'
- reference to wedding ring could be a proposal but undermined by sense of hesitation in next line.
- by placing 'lethal' alone on an end-stopped line emphasises idea that onion symbolises danger & death - shocking & unexpected in a love poem.
'Its scent will cling to your fingers, / cling to your knife.'
- repetition of 'cling' on 2 separate lines emphasises the inescapability of its 'scent' - also has a dark double meaning, shows that love can be possessive & suffocating.
- 'knife' disturbing & powerful final image - hint that it refers to something more sinister than an onion but what it could be is left unsaid - implies that love has the power to wound.
love and onion comparison used to capture the grief + violent urges love can generate but also conveys a sense of wonder & physical intimacy that love produces.
dangerous language - unusual amount of negative language for a love poem 'blind' 'fierce' 'lethal' dark undertone.
speaker implies that this is a possessive relationship while 'knife' at the end hints that it could be dangerous.
feelings + attitudes
love - poet explores different forms of love - emotional, physical, can be 'fierce' & possessive, and cause pain
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'It will blind you with tears / like a lover.'
- 'it' unclear whether speaker means onion or love itself.
- 'blind' onion symbolises the way that love can cause pain - negative language - violent connotations, brutal --> foreshadows poem's dark ending
- enjambment breaks the similes up ('It promises light / like the careful undressing of love.') making the poem feel disjointed. separation also emphasises how unpredictable the similes are - the comparisons don't end in the way the reader might expect.
- love will inevitably bring grief to your life
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'I am trying to be truthful.'
- this line is unconnected from any others & almost divides the poem in 2, could represent the 'heart' of the poem - speaker is trying to find the meaning of love.
'Not a cute card or a kissogram.'
- alliteration makes these seem overly sentimental & makes the narrator seem disdainful of them.
takes pride in being honest about love, suggests that traditional images of love don't say anything about real love.
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extended metaphor of onion shows that love involves many different emotions as it "promises light" but will also "blind you with tears" onions also have many layers, implying that love is made up of various elements
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Hawk Roosting
Ted Hughes
context
poem caused controversy when first published - some people thought it was an allegory for human nature - they thought that the hawk could symbolise a murderous tyrant who rules using violence & fear. Hughes has denied this & explained that he intended the voice in the poem to be nature expressing itself.
1930-98 born West Yorkshire
poem published 1960
served as British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death & received the Order of Merit from the Queen
- focuses on a hawk boasting about its power - it thinks it is the most important & powerful creature in the world & that it controls the universe.
- hawk describes how it likes to kill its prey in a particularly violent way
some people interpreted it as an allegory for the behaviour of political leaders or people in general.
could also be showing the brutality of nature.
"my hooked head and hooked feet: / Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat."
- repetition 'hooked' highlights hawk's powerful features.
- hawk's violence emphasised as it thinks of killing even when asleep
- only rhyming couplet in poem - emphasises how precise + perfect its kills are.
form & structure
- dramatic monologue from point of view of hawk (individual character addresses a silent audience - audience here could be mankind)
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- first-person narrative voice gives the hawk authority over the poem's ideas while the use of end-stopping gives several lines a decisive tone, reflecting the hawk's complete control.
poem begins w/ hawk in a meditative state, then talks about God & nature + asserting that it has authority over both of them.
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monologue ends w/ a confident statement about the future, emphasises the hawk's sense of power & control.
6 regular quatrains - implies rigid control that the hawk has over its dominion
structure is balanced like the hawk's ability + interaction w nature is balanced.
language
violent language: poem contains powerful images of violence & death which emphasises how efficiently the hawk kills its prey - hawks seems to take delight in its ability to kill.
rejects subtlety & deception in favour of violent tactics
lexical field of power: first-person pronouns appear in each stanza, establishing the hawk's dominance & control.
- uses formal language e.g. 'sophistry' & political language like 'my right' -- hawk presented as an articulate speaker which emphasises how powerful it is
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"The sun is behind me." double meaning of 'behind me' - hawk thinks the sun works with it, reinforcing its self-importance.
- preposition 'behind' shows that it is no accident, nature is set out for his use/benefit
"Nothing has changed since I began. / My eye has permitted no change. / I am going to keep things like this."
- '...began' emphasises the hawk's control - suggests it has had absolute power throughout its whole existence - tyrannical.
- 'my eye' parts of hawk's body are addressed throughout poem - it is perfectly adapted to be powerful.
- end-stopping in final stanza gives the statements a matter-of-fact tone.
- framing device - beginning & ending poem with 'I' reflects hawk's arrogance.
- 'I am going' creates a sense of certainty - hawk believes it can keep the whole world as it is, this is ironic as the reader knows it cannot control everything (& will eventually die, therefore losing all of its power).
feelings & attitudes
power: hawk presented as powerful & destructive, merciless killer, its power has been unchallenged & it is confident that nothing will change but since the hawk is a part of nature, it will inevitably lose its power when it dies - the fact that the hawk doesn't seem to know this could suggest it isn't as powerful as it thinks.
"I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed."
- first-person narrator - hawk controls the poem
- hawk is physically up high, symbolising its powerful position over the rest of nature.
- 'eyes closed' suggests the hawk is at peace as it knows it is so powerful that it doesn't have to fear anything.
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"My manners are tearing off heads - "
- oxymoron juxtaposes politeness w/ extreme violence shocks reader
- dashes slow down pace - hawk seems relaxed + confident.
"The allotment of death. / For the one path of my flight is direct / Through the bones of the living."
- ironic contrast between life + death - shows hawk's constant pursuit of killing things.
- violent image of hawk swooping in on its prey.
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arrogance - hawk's attitude is egotistical & arrogant, it believes it is superior to God & nature - unclear whether its confidence is legitimate or not.
"The convenience of the high trees!"
seems as though nature has been designed to suit the hawk.
- exclamation mark shows the hawk enjoys its position of power.
"The air's buoyancy and the sun's ray / Are of advantage to me; / And the earth's face upward for my inspection."
- 'upward' hawk looks down on everything literally & figuratively.
- 'inspection' sounds sinister + tyrannical.
"It took the whole of Creation / To produce my foot, my each feather: / Now I hold Creation in my foot"
pride egotistical - suggests that God has had to work hard to create the hawk but now nature & God are presented as tiny prey at the hawk's mercy.
- speaks as of he is the master of all Creation - sense of authority + arrogance
"Or fly up, and revolve it all slowly"
refers to 'Creation' - ideas about power flow from one stanza to the next through enjambment, emphasising that power is the hawk's main concern.
"I kill where I please because it is all mine." simple, mainly monosyllabic language creates a sense of control.
"No arguments assert my right" frequent use of negative statements suggest the hawk is rejecting rules of society.
To Autumn
John Keats
English Romantic poet, contracted tuberculosis causing his health to deteriorate quickly + died 1821.
published six odes 1820
narrator directly addresses autumn, personified throughout
describes plentiful nature of start of autumn - there is an abundance of produce then moves to describe the work people do during the harvest & final stanza reflects on passage of time as autumn fades & winter approaches.
"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!"
- 'season' directly addresses autumn
- soothing alliteration 'm' makes autumn seem gentle
- exclamation mark hints at narrator's awe
"Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun"
- 'bosom-friend' already suggests closeness so adjective 'close' is not needed & instead exaggerates the closeness, reflecting the overflowing abundance in the first stanza.
- 'maturing sun' morning
form + structure
- ode (serious, written in praise)
- iambic pentameter but rhyme scheme changes slightly
- first 4 lines of each stanza ABAB pattern but rest of 2nd & 3rd stanzas is different to the first.
Keats' other odes have 10 lines per stanza but this one has 11, emphasising the plentifulness nature of autumn.
each stanza, aspect of autumn introduced in 1st line before expanding
each stanza is made up of two parts: first line is one part & rest of stanza forms the other, 2nd part is a long sentence which reflects the idea of abundance
structure can be seen as showing the passage of time:
- 1st stanza links morning w/ early autumn
- sleepy mood in 2nd could be mid-autumn + the afternoon
- 3rd stanza approach of winter + sunset
"Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours" repetition of 'hours' makes the line sound sluggish, reflecting the slow passage of time
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"full-grown lambs loud bleat"
- lambs born in spring are bigger now - reflects passing of time.
- lambs' bleating show that even though winter is coming, the natural world is still rich with life
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language
lexical field of excess: abundance - shows how autumn can produce a bountiful harvest but the harvest is just beyond the point of perfection - speaker hints that it is too much.
- language of excess could symbolise start of death.
"the moss'd cottage-trees" poem rich w/ adjectives + details, mimics abundance of autumn
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personification: 2nd stanza autumn personified as a woman - shows that it is hardworking but also relaxes - autumn ages throughout the poem in the same way a human does - seems to be mourned in the final stanza
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sensory language: each stanza appeals to a different sense: 1st focuses on touch, 2nd sight, 3rd sound - reflects abundance of autumn - it is present all around.
images of poem described in detail, underlining the richness of the season.
thoughts + feelings
awe: narrator admires the power of nature, taking delight in its beauty + abundance.
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autumn is praised for filling "all fruit with ripeness to the core: then speaker later describes how "the light wind lives or dies" - images of life + death shows that time has a cyclical nature
"gathering swallows" shows that time's cyclical nature provides a reason to be hopeful - swallows move with the seasons, despite their departure in winter, they always return in the spring.
Afternoons
Philip Larkin
born Coventry 1922-85. published 1964, much of his poetry explores the ordinary events that occur in people's lives.
1960s Britain: gender roles more defined, women expected to dedicate themselves to raising children & looking after the home, while men typically expected to have a job & provide for the family.
government taking steps to get rid of old, run-down housing & replace it with new, modern estates w/ plenty of green spaces.
"Young mothers assemble
/ At swing and sandpit / Setting free their children."
- the women only referred to as 'mothers' - restricted by gender stereotypes
- sibilance creates a sense of repetition, hinting that this happens regularly
- 'setting free' language of imprisonment suggests domestic life is restrictive
"An estateful of washing"
groups the people of the estate together - makes the narrator seem dismissive of them.
observational - narrator describes an ordinary scene - children playing while 'Young mothers' stand by.
narrators paints a picture of the women's restricted lives for the reader, describing routine chores e.g. laundry & ordinary objects e.g. televisions.
poem ends by showing that the women's lives have changed & now they are no longer in control of their own lives - there is a sense that the next generation will follow the same pattern.
form + structure
- 3 equal stanzas
- no regular metre, makes poem feel stilted, suggesting lack of excitement in the mothers' lives.
- narrated in 3rd person but tone unclear - speaker could be belittling the women or pitying them.
"the hollows of afternoons"
'hollows' suggests their daily routine is empty -- 'afternoons' plural so hollowness applies to all afternoons - infinite
speaker establishes setting first then focuses on the women's lives starting w/ their present then examining their past identities as young 'lovers' - allows reader to contrast what the women's lives were like with what they are like now.
final stanza returns to present & implies that nothing will change & there is no hope for the future.
"Their beauty has thickened."
only standalone sentence in poem - emphasises how the change in tense connects their past + present.
- suggests their looks have deteriorated, revealing that time has passed -- implies that youth is short-lived - speakers slightly cruel tone reflects harsh nature of time
"Something is pushing them / To the side of their own lives." end-stopping in line 22 (previous) makes the last 2 lines feel separate from the rest of the poem - also makes reader think about what the 'something' is.
language
generalisations speaker uses specific objects e.g. wedding albums to make sweeping statements about working-class women & their lives.
"Behind them, at intervals, / Stand husbands in skilled trades"
- 'them' women are anonymous - have no individuality
- caesura emphasises separation between the women + their husbands
- 'skilled trades' suggests the people in the poem are working-class
"Before them, the wind / Is ruining their courting-places"
- 'behind them' & 'before them' highlight the separation between the women + their previous identities as 'lovers' - the fact that their 'courting-places' are being ruined 'before them' hints that this is a permanent change.
- also suggests their opportunities are being taken away by something they can't control.
"That are still courting-places / (But the lovers are all in school)"
enjambment over the stanzas coupled with repetition of 'courting-places' suggests that even though the 'lovers' change, their lives still follow the same pattern.
domestic imagery: images of domestic life reinforce gender roles of the era which appear to be the cause of the women's repetitive existences.
- these images also show how the marriages have lost their spark over time & how love has settled into something ordinary.
"And the albums, lettered / Our Wedding, lying / Near the television"
- 'lettered' focus on letters makes the words themselves seem meaningless
- "Our Wedding" quoting the name of the album in italics makes the speaker sound patronising.
- 'lying near the television' implies their love has become ordinary + neglected.
their children "Expect to be taken home."
'expect' emphasised at start of line - suggests that the children are restricted by routine & could also hint that the children's expectations contribute to their mothers' restricted lives.
shows how relationships are unappreciated - wedding day considered as best day of one's life but the fact that the memories are 'lying' next to something as ordinary as a 'television' implies that the women's priorities have changed.
natural imagery: nature used to mirror the change in people's lives - arrival of autumn suggests that a new phase of the women's lives has started & the best part is over - the way the wind ruins their 'courting-places' makes it seem as though nature is actively working against them.
"Summer is fading" change in season mirrors a change in people's lives - suggests that the people in the poem have peaked & now their lives are 'fading'.
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reflects transitional moment the women are at in their lives - summer represents their finest days as 'young lovers' while the arrival of autumn has negative connotations for their future - the women are 'fading'; losing their vibrancy
'behind them' and 'before them' emphasises that the women aren't the 'lovers' that they were - their only focus now is being mothers
thoughts + feelings
sympathy - speaker's word choice + imagery convey the monotony of the women's lives which may suggest that the speaker feels sympathy for them.
superiority - speaker's tone seems to mock the women at times e.g. describing their beauty as 'thickened' & belittling the title of the wedding album.
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