Views Of Society Presented Through Poetry

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How are views of society presented through poetry? Poems can show a lot about society as they are from the view of writers that have seen how society has grown and evolved throughout their lifetime giving a wide range of views. Since poems have been around for hundreds of years it also gives an insight into how society has changed through the ages. Poets present society as being cruel. This is portrayed in MacNeice’s “Prayer Before Birth”. “Prayer Before Birth”, uses the point of view of a foetus to show the harmful elements of society. An example of cruelness in society portrayed by MacNeice is given through “tall walls wall me”, this demonstrates that people are trapped and unable to give their own views as they are being surrounded by those …show more content…

The idea that you are always learning is presented through Okara’s “Once Upon a Time” as he uses a father, moulded by society asking his son to help him “relearn” what has been overridden by society. By using “relearn” Okara implies that the father has already learnt what he is wishing to be taught, but he is unable to do it by himself as he has conformed to society’s ways and is following everyone around him. Showing that his son is the only one that he can depend on to teach him how to laugh and smile. The use of a son symbolizes that only the young are pure and unchanged by society. As the father was once like his son it means that as you grow older you become more pressured by society to follow their regulations. Alice Walker also presents education in society through a daughter remembering all the things her father taught her. Walker does this by repeating “He taught me”, this shows that the father has been a great teacher to his daughter and she uses lots of his skills in her life. This shows the passing of information through the ages and how you can miss those that have had a great impact on your …show more content…

This suggests they are giving a false persona just like society has taught them to do. The father shows an importance for being taught by his son as he says that he has ‘bare fangs’. This suggests that he the things that society has taught him have overridden what he previously learnt causing his teeth to be bare and as he has snake fangs it suggests that society’s teachings have removed all of his old feelings and replaced them with cold and shadowed ones. As Okara says that people ‘shake hands without hearts while their left hands search my empty pockets’. This suggests that people show no feelings or care for others and are always trying to see what other people have. This presents a link to society as people are always hiding their true emotions and trying to make themselves better than other people. MacNeice also presents the cold side of society, as the foetus talks about being “dragooned” into work and also having their humanity “frozen”. This shows that some people in society don’t care about you and will try to force you into doing work by taking your identity, this refers to forced labour which is a big problem in third world countries. The use of “dragooned” presents force and power, this could mean that MacNeice wants to show that people are constantly under

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