Compare and Contrast how feelings of fear and confusion are conveyed

Compare and Contrast how feelings of fear and confusion are conveyed

through the use of imagery and other poetic techniques.

I am going to compare the use of poetic devices to portray fear and

confusion in 3 different poems, they are; Patrolling Barnegat by Walt

Whitman, On the Train by Gillian Clarke, and Storm on the Island by

Seamus Heaney. These poems all portray a feeling of confusion, often

it is linked with the theme of war. In Patrolling Barnegat, Walt

Whitman uses repetition to enhance the power of the storm he is

describing.

"Wild, Wild the storm, and the sea high running"

The repetition of wild in this line helps to enforce the power of the

storm and nature. Whitman also uses personification in this line where

he compares the movement of the sea to a person running, as if he is

saying that the sea will move for nobody. He is also making it sound

as if the sea is rushing to get somewhere as if it is on a mission.

Whitman also incorporates rhyme in his poem. This gives his poem a

strong rhythm and this rhythm ties in with the image of the rolling

sea, and gives this image more effect.

In Storm on the IslandSeamus Heaney also describes a vivid, powerful

storm. He describes the storm like he has learnt from past experience.

He describes preparing for the storm as if he has gone through it many

times before.

"Can raise a tragic chorus in a gale"

Here Seamus Heaney is comparing the storm to a tragic chorus, which

could be associated with an opera - a form of entertainment. Seamus

Heaney is using 2 opposites to help describe the ferocity of the storm

and give the reader a clearer picture of what it would be like to be

where he is. Also Heaney uses no punctuation at the end of his lines,

so it is like reading a continuous sentence. Despite the lack of

punctuation, the poem still has a definite rhythm, and because of the

lack of punctuation, an unusual style.

Gillian Clarke's poem On the Train describes the Paddington rail crash

of October '99 She uses many poetic techniques to describe what it

must have been like for people waiting to find if their relatives that

had been travelling on the train that day were safe or not.

"The wolves howl into silent telephones"

Here Gillian Clarke is talking about the people who have lost someone

in the crash. She uses the metaphor of a wolf to describe the people

trying to phone their loved ones, only to get silence, or an answer