The theme of child and parent relationships is often explored in literature. The poems: ‘Poem at Thirty-Nine’, ‘A Mother in a Refugee Camp’ and ‘If’ all examine the theme of parent and child relationships. Relationships, however, are not always loving but can also cause strong emotions of hatred, as seen in ‘Daddy’. Poets can use various techniques such as semantic choice, structure, rhyme and literary devices in poems to help support a theme. Though poems may have similar themes, the way in which the poet presents his or her ideas can create totally different meanings, and that is what makes poetry so interesting to read.
‘Poem at Thirty-Nine’, written by Alice Walker, and ‘Praise Song for My Mother’ by Grace Nichols both examine a child’s relationship for their parents and the different love that exists between them. Walker writes nostalgically about her father who had passed away and focuses on their relationship together. Walker writes “He taught me” to tell the reader that her father’s care and love for her guided her to be the person she is today. Nostalgia is also shown in ‘Praise Song for My Mother’, when Nichols writes “You were water to me”. Nichols uses this metaphor to underline the love for her mother and to show that she can’t live without her, similar to the way one can’t live without water. This nostalgic remembrance puts emphasis on the closeness of the relationships, when love is unconditional. In ‘Poem at Thirty-Nine’ we learn the life lessons taught by her father. Walker is perfectly capable of “chopping wood” and we understand that her father would be “proud of the” way she has matured, showing that though she may miss her father, she is an independent women, and does not necessarily need a man in her life...
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... creates a certainty of the phrase, proving that one of her actions were sure to have caused serious pain to her father. Because of this, it is clear that Walker was remorseful for what she had done.
Throughout these six poems the relationship between parent and child are all expressed in unique ways. While ‘Daddy’ by Sylvia Plath displays the hatred towards her father through the use of metaphors, the other five poems examined all show strong bonds between the parent and the child, though it may not seem so all the time. All these poets express their themes through the use of mood and tone, structure, language, literary devices (such as metaphors, similes, alliteration) and through the use of polysemous words or phrases. This specific theme can evoke many emotions in a reader, and can make them reflect on their own relationships towards a parent or child.
Presentation of Family Relationships in Carol Anne Duffy's Poem Before You Were Mine and in One Poem by Simon Armitage
The overall general theme of both poems is about the author’s father. Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” and Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” may both reference their fathers, but their relationship and attitudes towards them differ immensely. “My Papa’s Waltz” features a theme of fear and love towards the father, while “Daddy” features hatred and loathing towards her father. Roethke uses imagery and diction that makes the reader feel different emotions. The imagery of a father with whiskey on his breath and battered knuckles paints a picture of a scruffy, rugged man.
In American society, the common stereotype is that the father has the role of the dominant figure in the household. Sylvia Plath and Sharon Olds may come across as two seemingly different poets, however, they are really quite similar, especially in their driving forces behind their writing styles in poetry. The lives of Plath and Olds are both expressive of the realities of a father-dominated family, in which both of these poets lost their fathers at a young age. This is significant because both poets have faced a similar traumatic event that has had everlasting effects on their adult womanhood, which is reflected in their writings. For both these woman, their accesses to father-daughter relationships were denied based on life circumstances. Ironically, their fathers were their muses for writing and are what made them the women they are today.
...nal family. The second poem uses harsh details described in similes, metaphors, and personification. The message of a horribly bad childhood is clearly defined by the speaker in this poem. Finally, the recollection of events, as described by the two speakers, is distinguished by the psychological aspect of how these two children grew up. Because the first child grew up in a passive home where everything was hush-hush, the speaker described his childhood in that manner; trying to make it sound better than what it actually was. The young girl was very forward in describing her deprivation of a real family and did not beat around the bush with her words. It is my conclusion that the elements of tone, imagery, and the recollection of events are relevant to how the reader interprets the message conveyed in a poem which greatly depends on how each element is exposed.
Football has been in the making for over 150 years. The foundation of football comes from rugby, a British sport and also incorporates war tactics. In the beginning, the game was unorganized because there were few rules and it was new to the players. But by the end of the Civil War, football had taken on a whole new look; it started to become the modern version that we are familiar with today (Kennedy 7-9). The development of football has changed the culture because, “Every town in America has at least one high school, football team that draws a big crowd” (Buckley 4). Therefore, without fall football, high school students and even parents would have nothing to do on Friday nights. Football games have added to the world of entertainment and continue to grow as a place for social gathering.
...s the theme of family. For example, when you truly love someone in your family, you make sure that you show them you truly love them by not only giving them a hug but also telling them that you love them. I can relate to this situation because whenever I notice that my mom is feeling down, I make sure that I tell her that I love her and she is the best mom in the world. Another theme that is present in this poem that I can relate with my life is the theme of mortality. For example, the man is obsessed with not only how but also why Annabel died. I can relate to the man in this situation because after my mom’s dog passed away about nine or ten years ago I was wondering for the longest time why she had to pass away. She wasn’t always the nicest dog, but I still loved her anyways. This poem celebrates the child-like emotions with the ideals of the Romantic era.
We’ve all wondered and wracked our brains over the questions and nature of humankind, to which we have no true and final answers: how every moment lived and this moment you live right now, will simply be a memory, the daunting inevitability of death, life’s transience, the irreversibility of time, the loss of innocence with ages…it is in the human condition to question such things; and this mutual similarity in wonder, to me, is beautiful. I intertwine these universal topics into my poetry, particularly Father & Child and the Violets, to transcend time and provide meaning to a range of different contexts, whilst reflecting my own context and values.
While most of us think back to memories of our childhood and our relationships with our parents, we all have what he would call defining moments in our views of motherhood or fatherhood. It is clearly evident that both Theodore Roethke and Robert Hayden have much to say about the roles of fathers in their two poems as well. While the relationships with their fathers differ somewhat, both men are thinking back to a defining moment in their childhood and remembering it with a poem. "My Papa's Waltz" and "Those Winter Sundays" both give the reader a snapshot view of one defining moment in their childhood, and these moments speak about the way these children view their fathers. Told now years later, they understand even more about these moments.
The simultaneous distance and closeness within the relationship between the father and the child are inevitable even in the most tragic and happy events in life. The poems “Not Bad, Dad, Not Bad” by Jan Heller Levi and “In the Well” by Andrew Hudgins are both about the closeness and distance in a father and child relationship. Both poems are written in first person, or in the child’s point of view to emphasize the thoughts of distance and the experience of childhood thinking to the readers. The poems both use similar literary devices such as motifs and imagery to illustrate and accentuate the ideas of each event that the narrator, a child, experiences. Similarities between both poems are the use of water as a motif of the barrier to being farther away from the father, and the use of different synonyms for the word, father, to indicate the amount of distance at each point in the poems. On the other hand, each poem takes its route of distance in completely opposite directions. “Not Bad, Dad, Not Bad” by Jan Heller Levi and “In the Well” by Andrew Hudgins accommodate the similarities for the use of the same motif, water, and the use of several synonyms for “dad” throughout the poems, but also differentiate because they proceed in opposite directions from the beginning to the end.
When writing poetry, there are many descriptive methods an author may employ to communicate an idea or concept to their audience. One of the more effective methods that authors often use is linking devices, such as metaphors and similes. Throughout “The Elder Sister,” Olds uses linking devices effectively in many ways. An effective image Olds uses is that of “the pressure of Mother’s muscles on her brain,” (5) providing a link to the mother’s expectations for her children. She also uses images of water and fluidity to demonstrate the natural progression of a child into womanhood. Another image is that of the speaker’s elder sister as a metaphorical shield, the one who protected her from the mental strain inflicted by their mother.
Through love we can see that an everlasting relationship can be built. While reading this poem, the reader starts to feel a growing connection to the mother, father, and child line by line. By the end of it, one may feel as though they are so closely connected, that they can see themselves as the characters in the story. This poem speaks the truth about a relationship that is universal for any human
Sylvia Plath’s jarring poem ‘Daddy’, is not only the exploration of her bitter and tumultuous relationship with her father, husband and perhaps the male species in general but is also a strong expression of resentment against the oppression of women by men and the violence and tyranny men can and have been held accountable for. Within the piece, the speaker creates a figurative image of her father by using metaphors to describe her relationship with him: “Not God but a Swastika” , he is a “… brute” , even likening him to leader of the Nazi Party; Adolf Hitler: “A man in black with a Meinkampf look .” Overall, the text is a telling recount of her hatred towards her father and her husband of “Seven years” and the tolling affect it has had on
In the modern day United States the sport American football has become not only entertainment but also a tradition whether it’s watching the BCS college championship or watching the super bowl with the family. The sport of American football is unique to the United States and has grown and became iconic over the years and has become a part of many Americans lives. American Football was made in 1869 and was modeled after the sport of rugby. They took the basics of rugby and changed it to make it fit better for them. The game has changed over the years but it also affected many Americans as the tradition of Monday Night football has begun. The game has had problems with the United States government as it was said to be too dangerous to play, this lead to an upgrade in the equipment and they tried very hard to make the equipment well ensuring player safety throughout the sport.
Over 114 million people watched the championship game of the NFL, also known as the Super Bowl, in 2015, but very few probably know how football itself began (Breech). American football is one of the oldest sports in the United States and began being played in 1869 (Pro Football Hall of Fame). I have played the game for about 10 years of my life, and am currently playing at Central Michigan University. With all my knowledge of the game, I still did not have the greatest knowledge about the history and startup of football. After researching, I found this topic to be extremely interesting and I believe it would be very interesting to anybody interested in sports. Football is an extremely fast and exciting game. There are eleven players on each
Sylvia Plath has brought the attention of many Women’s studies supporters while being recognized as a great American poet. Most of her attention has come as a result of her tragic suicide at age thirty, but many of her poems reflect actual events throughout her life, transformed into psychoanalytical readings. One of Plath’s most renowned poems is “Daddy”. In this poem there are ideas about a woman’s relationship with men, a possible insight on aspects of Plath’s life, and possible influences from the theories of Sigmund Freud.