Comparing Hurrican Hits England and Not my Business
The two poems I am to compare are Grace Nichols “Hurricane Hits
England” a poem that shows that the whole world is one world and how a
storm reminds a Caribbean woman of home. The author obviously misses
her home country and feels it in the storm which she wrote about, the
violence of the storm is harsh and causes some damage. The second
poem, with which I will be comparing “Hurricane...” is Niyi Osundare’s
“Not my Business”. This poem describes the violent and horrific nature
in which the Nigerian Government treated those people who disagreed
with the state. It describes the pain and suffering they forced upon
these people and how the pain and suffering is then brought to the
narrator.
This poem is about shared responsibilities and the way that tyranny
grows if no one opposes it. It is composed, simply, of three stories
about victims of the oppressors, followed by the experience of the
speaker in the poem, in which he has not done anything, but the fact
that he knows makes him a target. The poet is Nigerian but the
situation in the poem could be from many countries, there are words
used like “yam”, and the names of the people which tell you this. The
poem echoes, in its four parts, a statement by Pastor Martin
Niemöller, who opposed the Nazis. Speaking later to many audiences he
would conclude with these words, more or less:
“First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because
I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I
did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came
for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then
they came for me, and there was no one left to speak...
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...oem.
The last lines of this poem emphasise the confusion surrounding why
they are there. The line,
“The jeep was waiting on my bewildered lawn” is personification which
suggests that no-one, not even his lawn, knows why it’s happening. And
then a repetition of the word “Waiting” makes it seem as though the
men have to do a lot of waiting and that time maybe seems to go so
slowly because of these things that are happening.
Both of these poems are excellent at enforcing their own point in
their own ways, “Hurricane…” through tactile emotional words and
beautiful yet violent images of the storm, and “Not My Business.”
through blatant disregard for human life depicted through the eyes of
a hunted man, who is hunted because he knows what is going on. All in
all two excellent and well thought out poems, each with their own
perfectly presented message.
"It was illegal to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am
“Victorian poets illustrated the changeable nature of attitudes and values within their world and explored the experiences of humanity through these shifts.”
native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his
Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology. 3rd ed. Ed. Helen Vendler. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
You must analyse at least six poems, ensuring you include at least one pre-1914 poem.
England has given him birth, her "flowers", "ways to roam", "air", "rivers" and "suns" and made him like every other English person: special, privileged and worthy. In the line "In that rich earth, a richer dust concealed," his is the "richer dust", made by England. Here his physical being created and nurtured by England is gratefully returned to her. His appreciation and gratitude to England ring sincerity as reflected by h... ... middle of paper ... ...
Ultimately, we have two poems which can be compared on the grounds of their subject, but are poles apart regarding their message. The structure of these poems is not what would be typically expected from a war poem, but are structured on the basis of these typical structures in order to create some sense of familiarity. Brooke’s poem expands on this familiarity while Owen attempts to deliberately sabotage it. In regards to content, Brooke shows throughout his perception of the nobility of dying for one’s country, whilst Owen uses all of his poetic techniques to show the opposite.
In “Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey,” we find the purest expression of Wordsworth’s fascination with friendship.
-Sixteenth Century English Poetry. N.E McClure Ed. Ursinus College, New york, Harper and Bros (1954)
This portrayal of Earth as a natural force can be read in two ways. On one hand, the Earth can be viewed as a natural source that produces the life of a human. But one cannot ignore the fact that Masters deliberately placed the words your and you in these lines. With these words Masters sets up a dialogue between the reader and the speaker of the poem. This dialogue that Master’s puts forth further contributes to the poem’s intent to capture the value of perspective because the purpose of dialogue is to promote a convers...
Rudyard’s poem seemed to have gained a lot of popularity because of his tone of nationalism. In the poem, he basically says that in order to be respected as one of the greater nations, America has to do some charity work and help some of the less fortunate (Rudyard).
The poem is not said to of been set in a particular place but I
Shelley, Percy. Selected poems found in The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Volume 2, 7Th edition (2000): 698-798.
Time can feel as an illusion, something untouchable. Time can also fly by when attention is not being paid. On the contrary, waiting in life can make time feel as if it is slowly stopping. So do not waste time waiting, but act instead. Time is one of the most precious things in life and every second counts. No one can control the time, but time can control people.
As previously mentioned this poem was written during the Romanic Era. It connects to Romanticism in several ways. Wordsworth is a romantic poet who wrote this poem in response to the industrial revolution. Romanticism originated in the end of the 18th century and peaked between 1800-1850. In romantic literature and poetry there is typically a heroic person who is trying to make society better which is what Wordsworth is doing in this poem. The literature is usually about an escape from the modern reality of this time period. Romantics embrace the unfamiliar and they focus on the importance that is placed on powerful emotions.