The poem isn't just based on aesthetics or looks, it has a deeper meaning.
The poem is for a specific person, Sally Amis, which contrasts to many of the poems which are just about general beauty. It is written for his friends daughter, Kingsley Amis.
It has a sentimental tone to the poem and Larkin was named the best post war writer, but recieved the award after death.
The poem is about what it takes to be happy and isn't just about the way you look.
'Tightly folded bud' is a metaphor for the youth. The child is in the nascent stages of life.
'I wished you something, none of the others would' other parents wish different things for their children, mainly about being beautiful.
'Not the usual stuff
About being beautiful,
Or running of a spring
Of innocence and love-' quite unromantic language and down to earth. The language down plays the significance of looks. The use of enjambment makes the list flow. The word 'spring' signifies the start of life, it also uses natural and pure imagery. There is a sense of realism and is quite dismissive of the importance of beauty and innocence.
As you get older looks become less important.
'They will all wish you that' this shows a sense of difference between everyone and shows an older view on love of generally being happy and not just for the beauty.
'And should it prove possible' this phrase shows a sense of doubt towards the poem.
'Well, your a lucky girl' quite a chatty tone. The use of the conjunction 'but' splits the poem and introduces his second line of arguement.
'But if it shouldn't, then
May you be ordinary;' quite insulting.
'Have, like other women,
An average of talents:' you don't want to have to many talents. Also quite sexist. Not as much pressure for boys to feel beautiful. The words ' average' and 'ordinary' are mediocre words to describe the girl.
'Not ugly, not good-looking,
Nothing uncustomary Aliterative repetition on the letter 'N'. Nothing special or unique about her.
To pull you off your balance,
That, unworkable itself,
Stops all the rest from working' if you have all the good talents nothing else will be noticed as you will be the same as everyone else. Conversational tone.
'In fact, may you be dull-
If that is what a skilled,
Vigilant, flexible,
Unemphasised, enthralled
Catching of happiness is called' uses five adjectives in quick succession to show that happiness isn't easy to get. The language structure suggests happiness is difficult to catch, and the last line and the second to last line rhyme. The last three last contrast to the conversational tone of the poem.
This type of poem is an occasional piece. He subverts the fairytale idea of wishing for new and exciting things and instead wishes for useful talents and a genuine happiness.
The poem is written in normal spoken English, which makes the poem more realistic. The poem starts off with an ironic tone and at times cynical and sceptical and he contrasts an extraordinary event, like having a child, with ordinary language and has a sense of tenderness and realism.
Would be good to compare with sonnet 116 as they are both about genuine love. A less obvious link would be To His Coy Mistress, because the structure changes, also the start looks at a wishful side. They both look at peoples values being unrealistic.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Useful Revision Link Videos
Below is a link to a channel on YouTube. There is useful information on the poems and Of Mice and Men.
All of the work has been done by another teacher and students at a different school. A lot of what is on here is useful.
Use it to support your revision and make notes on things you think will be useful to support your analysis...
http://www.youtube.com/user/mrbruff/videos
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
The Farmer's Bride, Charlotte Mew
The Farmer's Bride by Charlotte Mew.
This poem is about a rushed marriage with the sense of a forced marriage. The poet never achieved much success although acclaim from other successful poets. She spent most of her life in poverty.
The two subjects in this poem are the farmer and his wife. The speaker throughout the poem is the farmer. The first three lines suggest that the farmer was too busy with farming to spend time with his wife. The view of this poem and the look towards women is old fashioned and the syntax is unusual due to the dialect. There is a rhyming couplet at the end of every stanza apart from the last stanza.
There is a sense that the marriage depresses her and we learn that the farmer's wife is androphobic. Line 6 suggests the farmer's wife is cold and the use of linguistic techniques such as personification and metaphor suggest that she is like a frightened fairy and not happy with her life. Non-standard english is used to bring the farmer's personality to life and the incorrect language refelects the farmer's accent.
Line 10 suggests that the farmer's wife is out on her own and that the farmer has lost control of her.
The idea of sheep and animals is extended and there is a sense that she is afraid of falling asleep and that she is a fearful person. Metaphorically, the farmer's wife feels trapped and is being hunted. The mention of church and religion promts a Catholic reading re-inforcing the fact that divorce is frowned upon. Divorce appears as not an option and that the farmer will keep her.
You can physically see the wife's fear and she is not emotionally attached to her husband. There is a big semantic field of hunt and capture due to the sinister tone of the lines 18 and 19. Society has strong sexual views and there is a reading that she is scared to be the 'wife' of the time and have sexual relations. The wife does the housework which makes the male perspective of the poem clear. There is continuous animal imagery but she does complete part of her womanly roles.
Her timid nature comes through with her reluctance to have sex. The language used in this poem is very basic as it reflects the speaker's personal dialect and voice. This suggests that the farmer is unintelligent. Line 25 suggests the idea of begging or pleading with imagery. The wife could be seen as anti-social to the point of being depressed and she is withdrawn of general conversation. The reader feels a sense of sympathy towards the wife.
The farm animals trust the wife which suggests a sense of jealousy from the farmer. There is also no communication between the couple and a sense of awkwardness is presented. This poem is masculinely driven and there is a clear male undertone. The wife gains a sense of escapism and freedom with the animals that she aspires to have with her husband. Line 30 engages the reader by the use of similie and rhetorical question. Time is also presented in this poem with the poem going through the seasons. The time of their marriage is personified by the time of seasons passing.
The trees in Autumn lose their beauty which presents the idea that the farmer's wife is losing her appearence and beauty. The use of dark imagery suggests the marriage is breaking down and the reference to magpies on line 37 suggests that their marriage holds lots of bad luck.
The following reference to Christmas sparks positive thoughts although the poem suggests Christmas is a lonely time for the couple and that they just want to be alone. Christmas won't be as good because she is with the farmer.
The farmer's wife is compared to a 'maid' and the use of enjambent emphasises his frustrations. The farmer is aware of her physical presence which suggets a sense of fustration and insanity. There is a violent tone to the end of the poem and a sense that he has lost control. There is an irregular rhythm to the last stanza which reflects his behaviour and emotions. His connection to his wife is only physical and nothing deeper. You could also argue that he is longing for her.
There is a sense of exasperation from the farmer and that positionally he is there taking what he wants.
The Farmer's Bride coud be compared to 'In Paris With You', 'To His Coy Mistress' and 'Hour'.
This poem is about a rushed marriage with the sense of a forced marriage. The poet never achieved much success although acclaim from other successful poets. She spent most of her life in poverty.
The two subjects in this poem are the farmer and his wife. The speaker throughout the poem is the farmer. The first three lines suggest that the farmer was too busy with farming to spend time with his wife. The view of this poem and the look towards women is old fashioned and the syntax is unusual due to the dialect. There is a rhyming couplet at the end of every stanza apart from the last stanza.
There is a sense that the marriage depresses her and we learn that the farmer's wife is androphobic. Line 6 suggests the farmer's wife is cold and the use of linguistic techniques such as personification and metaphor suggest that she is like a frightened fairy and not happy with her life. Non-standard english is used to bring the farmer's personality to life and the incorrect language refelects the farmer's accent.
Line 10 suggests that the farmer's wife is out on her own and that the farmer has lost control of her.
The idea of sheep and animals is extended and there is a sense that she is afraid of falling asleep and that she is a fearful person. Metaphorically, the farmer's wife feels trapped and is being hunted. The mention of church and religion promts a Catholic reading re-inforcing the fact that divorce is frowned upon. Divorce appears as not an option and that the farmer will keep her.
You can physically see the wife's fear and she is not emotionally attached to her husband. There is a big semantic field of hunt and capture due to the sinister tone of the lines 18 and 19. Society has strong sexual views and there is a reading that she is scared to be the 'wife' of the time and have sexual relations. The wife does the housework which makes the male perspective of the poem clear. There is continuous animal imagery but she does complete part of her womanly roles.
Her timid nature comes through with her reluctance to have sex. The language used in this poem is very basic as it reflects the speaker's personal dialect and voice. This suggests that the farmer is unintelligent. Line 25 suggests the idea of begging or pleading with imagery. The wife could be seen as anti-social to the point of being depressed and she is withdrawn of general conversation. The reader feels a sense of sympathy towards the wife.
The farm animals trust the wife which suggests a sense of jealousy from the farmer. There is also no communication between the couple and a sense of awkwardness is presented. This poem is masculinely driven and there is a clear male undertone. The wife gains a sense of escapism and freedom with the animals that she aspires to have with her husband. Line 30 engages the reader by the use of similie and rhetorical question. Time is also presented in this poem with the poem going through the seasons. The time of their marriage is personified by the time of seasons passing.
The trees in Autumn lose their beauty which presents the idea that the farmer's wife is losing her appearence and beauty. The use of dark imagery suggests the marriage is breaking down and the reference to magpies on line 37 suggests that their marriage holds lots of bad luck.
The following reference to Christmas sparks positive thoughts although the poem suggests Christmas is a lonely time for the couple and that they just want to be alone. Christmas won't be as good because she is with the farmer.
The farmer's wife is compared to a 'maid' and the use of enjambent emphasises his frustrations. The farmer is aware of her physical presence which suggets a sense of fustration and insanity. There is a violent tone to the end of the poem and a sense that he has lost control. There is an irregular rhythm to the last stanza which reflects his behaviour and emotions. His connection to his wife is only physical and nothing deeper. You could also argue that he is longing for her.
There is a sense of exasperation from the farmer and that positionally he is there taking what he wants.
The Farmer's Bride coud be compared to 'In Paris With You', 'To His Coy Mistress' and 'Hour'.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Sonnet 43, Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Barrett Browning was heavily influenced by her husband Robert Browning.
Love is mixed with religious imagery.
Starts with a rhetorical question, directly addresses the reader.
Her love is far reaching in 'depth' 'height'.
'Soul' suggests a spiritual love and gaining a sense of 'being' through her love.
She loves him 'freely' suggests she wants nothing in return.
Plosive alliteration 'passion put to use' and 'purely' and 'praise'.
Repetition of 'I love thee' emphasises her love and suggests it has several dimensions.
As a child she had religious faith and she loves him this purely.
The love spans across her life and into her death.
'And if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.'
Religious overtone to the poem. Is her love for God? or for a male?
Could compare it to: Sonnet 166, In Paris With You, To His Coy Mistress.
Love is mixed with religious imagery.
Starts with a rhetorical question, directly addresses the reader.
Her love is far reaching in 'depth' 'height'.
'Soul' suggests a spiritual love and gaining a sense of 'being' through her love.
She loves him 'freely' suggests she wants nothing in return.
Plosive alliteration 'passion put to use' and 'purely' and 'praise'.
Repetition of 'I love thee' emphasises her love and suggests it has several dimensions.
As a child she had religious faith and she loves him this purely.
The love spans across her life and into her death.
'And if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.'
Religious overtone to the poem. Is her love for God? or for a male?
Could compare it to: Sonnet 166, In Paris With You, To His Coy Mistress.
Sonnet 116, William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and wrote a range of plays and poetry. And sonnets traditionally are about love.
This poem looks at eternal love and love is the most important thing and his love for the woman is real or genuine. The speaker argues that his love is true and won't change. He talks about constant love which won't be diminished through age or circumstance.
An impediment is something that stops something or holds it up. The word impediment is also used in traditional marriage services. The language here links to a wedding or marriage.
In the first three lines, love doesn't change in difficult circumstances. It is written in iambic pentameter (ten syllables per line) and is a sonnet.
The repetition of the word remove is an indication that the love is constant and doesn't change the way that appearances do. The first quatrain (four line verse) talks about the way love doesn't 'alter'.
The fifth line uses metaphor which compares love to the Pole Star which stays in the same place.
The love will stay constant even in 'tempests' (huge storms).
There is an extended metaphor with the use of the star. The stars height can be measured but its value cannot. This links to the idea that their love is immeasurable.
"love's not Time's fool" - Time is personified, this is similar to the poem 'hour'.
"though rosy lips and cheeks" - even when time takes away her looks, he will still love her.
A sickle is used as a reference to time.
Lines 11 and 12 suggests that his love will carry on eternally and will not change in weeks or hours.
Final couplet is saying that what he says is true and if it isn't true then he never wrote anything, even though the reader knows that Shakespeare wrote lots. Therefore his love is true!
This sonnet can be compared to;-
the poem 'Hour' because of its references to time.
'To His Coy Mistress' as an opposite.
This poem looks at eternal love and love is the most important thing and his love for the woman is real or genuine. The speaker argues that his love is true and won't change. He talks about constant love which won't be diminished through age or circumstance.
An impediment is something that stops something or holds it up. The word impediment is also used in traditional marriage services. The language here links to a wedding or marriage.
In the first three lines, love doesn't change in difficult circumstances. It is written in iambic pentameter (ten syllables per line) and is a sonnet.
The repetition of the word remove is an indication that the love is constant and doesn't change the way that appearances do. The first quatrain (four line verse) talks about the way love doesn't 'alter'.
The fifth line uses metaphor which compares love to the Pole Star which stays in the same place.
The love will stay constant even in 'tempests' (huge storms).
There is an extended metaphor with the use of the star. The stars height can be measured but its value cannot. This links to the idea that their love is immeasurable.
"love's not Time's fool" - Time is personified, this is similar to the poem 'hour'.
"though rosy lips and cheeks" - even when time takes away her looks, he will still love her.
A sickle is used as a reference to time.
Lines 11 and 12 suggests that his love will carry on eternally and will not change in weeks or hours.
Final couplet is saying that what he says is true and if it isn't true then he never wrote anything, even though the reader knows that Shakespeare wrote lots. Therefore his love is true!
This sonnet can be compared to;-
the poem 'Hour' because of its references to time.
'To His Coy Mistress' as an opposite.
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Harmonium, Simon Armitage
The narrator heads to church to pick up a church organ.
The class decided that it was the narrator and his father.The poem looks at how time has affected the organ and his father.
The poem is written in free verse and much of the language is unromantic. The effects of time are described through the damage to the organ.
The make of the harmonium and the place are given; this adds a sense of reality to the poem. Onomatopoeia is used when describing the sound of the harmonium.
The poem uses a pun and internal rhyme to show the father and his dark humour. Some of you suggested that the father may be ill; 'the dottled thumbs'.
The harmonium is personified. Humour is used but the poem is bleak; the father joke about his own death. There is a sense of awkwardness, the narrator doesn't respond to the 'joke'.
Repetition emphasises the passing of time.
Much of the poem uses ordinary language, therefore line 17 stands out.
The poem deals with family relationships; Nettles could be used for comparison.
The class decided that it was the narrator and his father.The poem looks at how time has affected the organ and his father.
The poem is written in free verse and much of the language is unromantic. The effects of time are described through the damage to the organ.
The make of the harmonium and the place are given; this adds a sense of reality to the poem. Onomatopoeia is used when describing the sound of the harmonium.
The poem uses a pun and internal rhyme to show the father and his dark humour. Some of you suggested that the father may be ill; 'the dottled thumbs'.
The harmonium is personified. Humour is used but the poem is bleak; the father joke about his own death. There is a sense of awkwardness, the narrator doesn't respond to the 'joke'.
Repetition emphasises the passing of time.
Much of the poem uses ordinary language, therefore line 17 stands out.
The poem deals with family relationships; Nettles could be used for comparison.
Ghazal, Mimi Khalvati
Mimi Khalvati was born in 1944 in Tehran, she later moved to study in London.
The poem uses the old form of poetry, a ghazal to declare feelings to a loved one. A ghazal is an ancient form of poetry which originates from the Middle East; they often express beauty and pains of love. The final word in each couplet is identical, and the last but one word in each stanza rhyme.
The stanzas traditionally don't have to be connected. The poem explores types of love from the 'iron fist', to the controlling 'snake charmer; to 'good friends' (an unusal end to a love poem).
There is sexual imagery in the poem and the use of metaphor is obvious, as is the reference to Cupid.
Note the reference to the 'serpent'.
We are given a range of images and ideas in quick succession. The use of natural imagery makes the poem seem timeless.
Intense love is presented, as is the pleasure of being in love.
The poem presents physical desire and could be compared to Hour and To His Coy Mistress.
The use of natural imagery links to The Famer's Bride and Nettles.
The poem uses the old form of poetry, a ghazal to declare feelings to a loved one. A ghazal is an ancient form of poetry which originates from the Middle East; they often express beauty and pains of love. The final word in each couplet is identical, and the last but one word in each stanza rhyme.
The stanzas traditionally don't have to be connected. The poem explores types of love from the 'iron fist', to the controlling 'snake charmer; to 'good friends' (an unusal end to a love poem).
There is sexual imagery in the poem and the use of metaphor is obvious, as is the reference to Cupid.
Note the reference to the 'serpent'.
We are given a range of images and ideas in quick succession. The use of natural imagery makes the poem seem timeless.
Intense love is presented, as is the pleasure of being in love.
The poem presents physical desire and could be compared to Hour and To His Coy Mistress.
The use of natural imagery links to The Famer's Bride and Nettles.
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