Many war poems such as “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae depict the typical war themes of death, despair, and sadness. In Alan Bennett’s book “The History Boys”, the students recite the poem “MCMXIV” by war poet Phillip Larkin who describes the more joyous part of the war, the celebrations held in the days before the men left for war. In this commentary, we will analyze the question the students made to their teacher Mr. Irwin asking whether the poem “MCMXIV” as a piece of art describes the truth
importance of churches, and the change in tone throughout the poem. To start with, the reader is greeted with the speaker of the poem. He strolls into an empty church. Larkin is very descriptive of this church. He describes everything from the little books to the restored roof. The speaker unveils himself here, “From where I stand, the roof looks almost new— Cleaned, or restored? Someone would know: I don't” (Larkin lines 11-12). This state statement is bold. The speakers is showing attitude and his
How do Phillip Larkin and Carol Ann Duffy write about women in their poems? Both Carol Ann Duffy and Phillip Larkin use ambiguity and emotive language in their poetry to express their attitudes towards women. The poets utilize many congruent and contradictory techniques in the way they explore the theme of women which can be showed in Larkin’s Collection ‘’Whitsun wedding (1964)‘’ and Duffy’s collection ‘’Mean Time(1993)’’.The poems I chose from both poet’ collection coevals the theme of women in
"High Windows" is viewed by many as an outcry, a severe description of everyday life that in it's bleakness does not leave space for the finesse or sensuous imagery that is associated with poets such as Wordsworth. However, in his array of supposedly 'harsh' poems one finds many moments of dreamy imagery dealing with an almost religious fascination with the elements, whether in length in "Solar" or as a thought in "Old Fools". What mesmerises him is the continuity of the elements, which constantly
Afternoons by Philip Larkin. A poem which reflects on the subject of marriage is 'Afternoons' by Philip Larkin. The poem deals with Larkin's view on young mothers watching their kids playing in a playground and on this he concludes that marrying young and having children young, lead to the mothers losing their identity and destiny. The techniques used by the poet such as theme, imagery and tone deepened my understanding of the issue. The structure of the poem is simple; there are
John's College, Oxford, and despite the war (Larkin had failed his army medical because of his poor eyesight), was able to complete his degree without interruption, graduating in 1943 with a First Class Honours in English. His closest friends at Oxford were Kingsley Amis and Bruce Montgomery. The first of his poems to be published in a national weekly was 'Ultimatum', which appeared in the Listener, November 28, 1940. Then in June 1943, three of his poems were published in Oxford Poetry (1942-43)
writing since he was a child. He always had a consuming passion to create a myth for England and a desire to make a new language, history, and mythology.(Hazell and Tuma) Before he became famous as an author,Tolkien was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, and he studied the curse of the Roman gold ring also, he studied and researched a cursed Roman gold ring two years before he wrote The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.(Kennedy) Not only was he a professor, Tolkien did military and wartime service as
William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats was born on June thirteenth, eighteen sixty-five, at ten-forty pm, in Sandymount, Dublin (Foster, 13). He grew up lanky, untidy, slightly myopic, and extremely thin. He had black hair, high cheek bones, olive skin, and slanting eyes (Foster, 34). It was presumed he was Tubercular. As a child he was ridiculed, mainly because of his Irish heritage (Foster, 16). He accomplished many things in his life time. His whole family was highly artistic. He was the
blunt totalizing which demonstrated the triumphant ability of "nation" to organize literary study and judgment--as it does still, perhaps more than ever. It remains the case twenty years later that there is a strong hint of the majority of the english poets to rediscover their ‘Englishness’ as a poet, and at the same time the presence of the various other cultures ensures that their remains a deep variety in the crative material. The temptation stubbornly to assert the coherence and power of
cancer on September 9th 1993, aged 72. Oodgeroo is from North Stradbroke Island and is one of seven. She is an Australian poet, political activist, artist, and educator. Not only is she well known to be the first Aboriginal Australian to publish a book of verse, but she is a legacy, a legacy that is highly deserving of this prestigious poetry award. Oodgeroo had a rough life as a child;
fascinating writing. Works Cited Everett, Nicholas From The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamiltong. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press. Kennedy, Richard S. http://www.anb.org/articles/16/16-00394.html; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000. Access Date: Sun Mar 18 12:31:47 2001 Copgyright © 2000 American Council of Learned Societies. Publish by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Constantakis, Sara.
distinct patterns of stress and suggests that these patterns might "fingerprint" individual writers. In addition, the analysis shows that the variations of metrical patterns are in accord with the prevailing verse aesthetics of the period in which poets are writing. Introduction In English poetry, the single most compelling discriminator of that genre--that which defines a poem as a poem--has traditionally been its meter. Meter defines the length of the line, and thus the distinctive look of
Frost Robert Frost is one of the few twentieth century poets to receive critical acclaim and popular acceptance (Magill 728). His simplistic style appeals to the novice and expert poetry reader alike. Robert Frost's understated emotional appeal attracts readers of all literary levels. Frost develops subtly stated emotions and a clever use of imagery in his poetry. Influences on his poetry include his family, work, and other life experiences (Oxford 267). Frost also works to develop iambic
February 21, 1907, in provincial York, England. Over the next sixty-six years, he became one of the most prolific poets of the twentieth century. He was a versatile poet who felt that poetry was "a game of knowledge." He boarded at Gresham’s School in Norfolk and in 1925 went to Christ Church at Oxford. Although he initially studied biology, he quickly switched to English. From there he embarked on a literary career that covered almost fifty years. Auden’s influences were plentiful: T. S. Eliot, Emily
original verse with the cliched, something that made his style very unique; never before had anyone so daringly put the common language and the esoteric together in such a fashion. Prufrock effectively presen... ... middle of paper ... ...ng Company, 1996 Anderson, Chester, James Joyce. New York, Thames/ Hudson, 1967. Brownstone, David and Irene Frank, Timeline of the Twentieth Century. Canada, Little-Brown and Company, 1996. Daniel, Clifton, editor, Chronicle of the Twentieth Century. United
History of English Literature I. INTRODUCTION English literature, literature written in English since c.1450 by the inhabitants of the British Isles; it was during the 15th cent. that the English language acquired much of its modern form. II. The Tudors and the Elizabethan Age The beginning of the Tudor dynasty coincided with the first dissemination of printed matter. William Caxton's press was established in 1476, only nine years before the beginning of Henry VII's reign. Caxton's achievement
For generations creative people have dealt with the stigma of mental disorder often attributed to them. The "mad" scientist, frenzied artist and profoundly intense writer; all have been common judgments of these professions for years. Despite the prevalence of these beliefs, psychological studies in this field have been sparse and often inadequate. To fill this investigative void, Ruth Richards and Dennis Kinney, Nancy Andreasen, and Kay Jamison developed studies to examine the link between creativity
The Life and Work of Katherine Mansfield Born as Kathleen Mansfield Beauchamp in Wellington, New Zealand in the year 1888, Katherine Mansfield has long been celebrated as New Zealand’s most influential and important writer. Daughter of Annie Dyer and Herold Beauchamp, Mansfield was born to a wealthy businessman and a mother who was often thought to have been “aloof”. Attending school at a young age, Mansfield went to Wellington GC as well as Miss Swainson’s private school before being sent
in his 1961 study The Early H. G. Wells: A Study of the Scientific Romances, argued to great effect that these works deserved to be ranked among the classics of the English language. SYNOPSIS: [Verne is acknowledged as one of the world's first and most imaginative modern science fiction writers. His works reflect nineteenth-century concerns with contemporary scientific innovation and its potential for human benefit or destruction. In the following excerpt from an interview with Gordon Jones, he
1942 - Shillington, PA Dear Diary, New Book and Discoveries Mother bought me a book today. A mystery titled The Case of the Drowning Duck. It’s a new one, by my all-time favorite Author, Erle Stanley Gardener ("John Updike Bio-1”). I was able to start reading my new book on top of Mt. Penn at the pagoda, earlier today. I particularly enjoyed seeing the views of Reading, PA down below. I discovered that the irritable red patches on my arms are psoriasis ("John Updike Bio-1”). Just another issue I’ll