Compare the two poems, Presents from my aunts in Pakistan and
Search for my tongue. Both poems shows people thinking about their
roots and how each poem conveys their thoughts and feelings.
In this essay I will be evaluating two poems from different cultures
and traditions. Both poems 'Search for my tongue' and 'presents from
my aunts in Pakistan' are about true identity and searching for your
roots.
'Presents from my aunts in Pakistan' is mainly about a girl who is of
mixed race and how she describes the gifts of clothes and jewellery
sent to her in England by her Pakistani relatives.
There is no rhyme scheme and the poem is written in free verse. Free
verse simply means that the phrases are arranged loosely across the
page. It is divided into stanzas of varying length.
The girl contrasts the beautiful clothes and jewellery of India with
English clothing. She describes how it feels like wearing the 'salwar
kameez' and how she longed for denim and corduroy. She's drawn to the
loveliness of the gifts but feels awkward wearing them because she is
more comfortable in English clothes.
The poem is full of associated, sometimes contrasting images. An
example of a contrasting image is ' of no fixed nationality staring
through fretwork in the Shalimar gardens.' Fretwork is basically
decorative carving and the Shalimar gardens is an ornamental ark in
Lahore, her hometown.
The girl describes how life in England differs from life in Pakistan.
She talks about the salwar kameez as 'alien' but wanting cardigans
from Marks and Spencer's. The way the women live is somewhat different
from that of England. For example her aunts were in shaded rooms,
screened from male visitors whereas the women in England go o...
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with. The speaker imagines herself there in Lahore - somewhere she has
been only in her thoughts. However she is of no fixed nationality.
This sounds a slightly threatening phrase.
After thoroughly reading the poems, I have arrived at two main
conclusions. Firstly it is important to know where one comes from,
which is perhaps what the girl in the poem was lacking as a child and
it is also important to know what has gone into one's making, even
quite far back, I think it gives you a sense perhaps of richness.
Secondly it is sometimes very difficult knowing two languages but
having to neglect the one that belongs to you. One's mother tongue is
an important link to your family and your childhood.
Last but not least I agree deeply with the statement and I quote '
that's the deepest layer of my identity' which was said by Sujati
Bhatt, the writer.
Early on, poetry was often used with rhyme to remember things more accurately, this still rings true today, even though its use is more often to entertain. However, although it appeals to both the young, in children's books, and the old, in a more sophisticated and complex form, people are bound to have different preferences towards the different styles of poetry. Dobson’s poetry covers a variation of styles that captivate different individuals. “Her Story” is a lengthy poem with shorter stanzas. It’s free verse structure and simplistic language and face value ideas might appeal better to a younger audience. This poem includes quotes with informal language that children or teens would better understand. It’s narrative-based style is easy to follow, and although the poem covers very basic concepts, it’s message is still communicated subliminally. This particular poem is interesting because it focusses on the universal experience of pain and it’s relation to time. Similar to this is “The Householder”, written in a cyclical style, opening with a “house” and ending with a “home”. With only three stanzas, it is
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There are many similarities and differences between the two poems: “When We Two Parted”, written by Lord Bryon, and “La Belle Dames Sans Merci”, written by John Keats. I shall be exploring these poems and seeing connections and differences between them, so that I am able to compare them.
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Hence Kijiner’s use of poetic techniques and video performance of “Dear Matafele Peinam” spreads a very heartfelt and persuasive message on climate change and its effects of a community many people may never visit. It is a call to arms, to me, to you and your friends to fight against the so called blindfolded bureaucracies, to stand up against corporate greed and fight for our world together. This message is new, and wouldn’t have been understood by Shakespeare or McCrae, and is modern in todays world where it is one of the biggest threats humanity currently faces, and will continue to face if things don’t change. Thus it is through poetry that Kijiner has spread this message through the form of video to thousands of people who have since inspired
Imagine you were the rose trying to grow in concrete; would you have made it out or die trying or maybe you just gave up. So think about it, what would you have really done? The poem “The Rose that Grew from Concrete” is about a rose that grew in concrete a metaphor that shows that you have to get past your problems to succeed. And the poem “Mother to Son” is about a mother explaining how hard life is a metaphor. Both poems share the theme of You have to rise above the obstacles, but the way the authors developed the theme was similar and different.
As Edgar Allan Poe once stated, “I would define, in brief the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of beauty.” The two poems, “Birthday,” and “The Secret Life of Books” use different diction, theme, and perspective to give them a unique identity. Each author uses different literary devices to portray a different meaning.
All the poems you have read are preoccupied with violence and/or death. Compare the ways in which the poets explore this preoccupation. What motivations or emotions do the poets suggest lie behind the preoccupation?
The speaker reflects on the teenage girl’s childhood as she recalls the girl played with “dolls that did pee-pee” (2). This childish description allows the speaker to explain the innocence of the little girl. As a result, the reader immediately feels connected to this cute and innocent young girl. However, the speaker’s diction evolves as the girl grew into a teenager as she proclaims: “She was healthy, tested intelligent, / possessed strong arms and back, / abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity” (7-9). The speaker applies polished language to illustrate the teen. This causes the reader not only to see the girl as an adult, but also to begin to grasp the importance of her situation. The speaker expresses what the bullies told this girl as she explains: “She was advised to play coy, / exhorted to come on hearty” (12-13). The sophisticated diction shifts towards the girl’s oppressors and their cruel demands of her. Because of this, the reader is aware of the extent of the girl’s abuse. The speaker utilizes an intriguing simile as she announces: “Her good nature wore out / like a fan belt” (15-16). The maturity of the speaker’s word choice becomes evident as she uses a simile a young reader would not understand. This keeps the mature reader focused and allows him to fully understand the somberness of this poem. The speaker concludes the poem as she depicts the teenage girl’s appearance at her funeral: “In the casket displayed on satin she lay / with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on” (19-20). The speaker elects not to describe the dead girl in an unclear and ingenuous manner. Rather, she is very clear and
The central theme of both the poems is old age. Sylvia Plath and Jenny Joseph express their ideas of old age through the poems Mirror Mirror and Warning Introduction The central theme of both the poems is old age. Sylvia Plath and Jenny Joseph express their ideas of old age through the poems ‘Mirror’ and ‘Warning’. The intention of Sylvia Plath and Jenny Joseph are different. The message they want to get through to us differs.
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In the second half of the poem, a new facet of the speaker's attitude is displayed. In line 17, she wants to improve the ugliness of her "child" by giving him new clothes; however, she is too poor to do so, having "nought save homespun cloth" with which to dress her child. In the final stanza, the speaker reveals poverty as her motive for allowing her book to be sent to a publisher (sending her "child" out into the world) in the first place. This makes her attitude seem to contradict her actions.
and so this could be the reason for the content of her poems. I think
The speaker in the poem uses images to help to support the theme. For example the statement that "sometimes the woman borrowed my grandmother's face" displays the inability of the children to relate the dilemma to themselves, something that the speaker has learned later on with time and experience. In this poem, the speaker is an old woman, and she places a high emphasis on the burden of years from which she speaks by saying "old woman, / or nearly so, myself." "I know now that woman / and painting and season are almost one / and all beyond saving by children." clearly states that the poem is not written for the amusement of children but somebody that has reached the speaker's age, thus supporting the idea of the theme that children cannot help or understand her or anybody of her age. In addition, when the speakers describes the kids in the classroom as "restless on hard chairs" and "caring little for picture or old age" we can picture them in our minds sitting, ready to leave the class as soon as possible, unwilling and unable to understand the ethics dilemma or what the speaker is feeling.
In class we have been studying poetry, and the two poems I have chosen to compare are “In a Brixtan Markit” and “Not My Business”.