Genre Essays

One of the most moving and the most emotional works by Seamus Heaney is ‘Clearances’. A brilliant sonnet sequence published in ‘The Haw Lantern’ collection (1987) written in memoriam to Heaney’s mother, Margaret Kathleen, who died in 1984. These sonnets are not only infused with the still lively and vivid memoirs but also depict the […]

Seamus Heaney was born in the townland of Tamnairn at Mossbawn, county Derry, Northern Ireland on 13th April 1939. Heany was the eldest of nine children one of whom died in a road accident. Heaney’s father was a farmer therefore, he lived his life on a farm. Most of his experiences came from the farm. […]

I have decided to look at the poems “Mid Term Break” by “Seamus Heaney” and “Out, Out” by “Robert Frost”. Both of the poems are about the tragic death of a young boy. However, they are written in different ways and both have conflicting viewpoints. “Mid Term Break” is an autobiographical, a personal account of […]

Seamus Heaney and Sylvia Plath both approach death and ageing in their poems. Seamus Heaney wrote a poem about blackberry picking. It has a meaning to it. It explains in his words how things age and die. I shall refer another Seamus Heaney poem and two of Sylvia Plath’s poems to “Blackberry Picking. ” Seamus […]

Robert Browning’s fame rests today with his dramatic monologues, such as “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover”. Unlike soliloquies, the point of a dramatic monologue, are not the words that are directly spoken, it is what the speaker subtly gives away. Both “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” are dramatic monologues, that are therefore centred […]

The poems ‘Half-Caste’ by John Agard and ‘Unrelated Incidents’ by Tom Leonard both explore different prejudices and social attitudes regarding their culture. The poets both use different methods and means to show the reader their thoughts, they use different techniques for different reasons to help convey their message. Both of the poems use mainly non-standard […]

I am going to compare two poems from diverse cultures. The first is called ‘This Is The Six O’clock News’. It is by a Scottish poet called Tom Leonard. A Caribbean poet named John Agard writes the second, called ‘Listen Mr Oxford Don’. The two poems are not written in a ‘Standard English’ way. The […]

The Poems Hawk Roosting and The Windhover are both about birds as their titles already suggest. Even though tey are of the same subject they have many differences and contrasts. One tells us about a bird who thinks allot of himself and is almost some kind of a show off. In the other hand, The […]

I have studied five poems written by Ted Hughes. There are two poems that contrast two opposites and there are two poems that illustrate the power of nature and how it defeats man. The last poem is completely different to the others. It is narrated not by Ted Hughes but it is written as if […]

Thomas Hardy was a profound poet and novelist of his time, being influenced by writers such as William Wordsworth. He was born in 1840 on the Egdon Heath in Dorset. His interest in Latin poets was influenced by his Mother, who provided for his education. He began reading, more intensely, studying French and Latin, as […]

It indeed aims to expose the war-time propaganda of World War One. It almost appears comical when the moroseness of Owen’s exposure is contrasted to the pro-war propaganda of the time. Owen is a monotone and sobering voice to the romanticised perceptions of war at the time. Society was largely ignorant of the realities of […]

In these poems each poet portrays love in a very different way, and each with a different attitude to love. As the saying says, “one word frees us all, of the weight and pain in life. That word is love. ” The two poems which I shall analyse and explore are, “Shall I compare thee […]

The poem ‘”No, Thank You, John”‘ by Christina Rossetti, is about a conflicting love relationship. Throughout this poem she uses catharsis, consonance and a rhythm and rhyming device, to convey her theme. The poem expresses her true feelings towards a friend who wishes to have a deeper relationship with her although she does not have […]

The poem ‘The Sick Equation’, by Brian Pattern is one of the many poems which comes from the book ‘Armada’, which was published in 1996. The book is dedicated to his mother. This poem is in retrospect and is about his childhood. The poet uses enjambment in this poem. ‘The Sick Equation’ focuses on the […]

“Porphyria’s Lover” is a Victorian poem written by Robert Browning and narrates the occasion in which a man strangles his lover to death as consequence of his rather special outlook on love, action catalysed by the climaxed situation they were both engaged in. The poem transmits an overall tone of honesty, as if it were […]

The sonnet “Remember” by Christina Rossetti was written in 1849 when Rossetti was just 19 years old, in this sonnet the themes of love, loss, and reaction to death are portrayed. Christina Rossetti was born in London in 1830 and died in 1894 a well-known poet. The sonnet, “Remember”, is written to a lover and […]

In ‘The Sun Rising’ by John Donne, the poet is awakened by the sun’s rays streaming through the curtains into his bedroom, where he lies with his lover. Wishing to prolong the pleasure of lying in, cuddled beside her, he tells the Sun not to disturb the peace of the bedroom. The fact that the […]

Both the poems I have been asked to read to about love and both poems are written by women. The speaker in the poem is constant always staying the same. The poems were written a long time ago so women’s views about men are much different and there is a more of an equal chain. […]

In his poem, ‘With how sad steps’ Sydney is addressing the issues of love together with rejection and depression. He has adopted a Shakespearean sonnet form, which immediately indicates that the poem is about love. It is apparent from the first line that the speaker in confiding in the moon. The speaker is expressing his […]

Each poem displays a different attitude to love: “Our Love Now” explores the end of love; “I wanna be yours” depicts the almost ‘slavish’ side of love; “To His Coy Mistress” is concerned with more sexual side of love. What is most enjoyable about all of these poems is that they depict a variety of […]

These two poems show very different attitudes to love and relation ships. In the poem ‘To his coy mistress’ the poet is talking about his lust for her. ‘In how do I love thee’ the poet is talking about her love and emotion for him. Section 1 I will firstly look at the poem by […]

Patrick Kavanaugh in his ballad “Raglan Road” conveys through beautiful metaphor his disappointment in love. The poem sings with its iambic heptameter and the AABB rhyme scheme combined with the internal rhyme of the even-numbered lines. The lilt of its music is enhanced by Kavanaugh’s alliteration and overall melopoeia. Kavanaugh combines the pang of attraction […]