Comparing Poems 'Follower And Praise Song'

The question merits consideration because ‘Follower’ and ‘Praise Song’ both consider parent-child relationships from different cultural perspectives, in similar and different ways. In this essay, I will examine the various ways in which parent-child relationships are presented in these poems. Firstly, I will look at how strength, security, admiration and a sense of inferiority inspiring aspiration are conveyed in ‘Follower’. Secondly, I will explore how Nichols discusses the similar themes of protectiveness, nourishment and nurturing, but in different ways and against the backdrop of a different culture, in ‘Praise Song’.

Seamus Heaney presents the child’s father in ‘Follower’ as a source of strength. Through the imagery of the father exerting

Through this change, the reader is reminded that all grow old and the once highly respected mentor becomes a liability. The final words ‘and will not go away’ sound strict, as if Heaney finds his father a pain to be around. Now his father is old and frail and now he is the nuisance, despite the fact that his father put up with him when he was a young boy, getting in the way. It seems egotistic, however it shows how people do find it difficult to care for their elderly

Through the metaphor of a sunrise, Nichols portrays her mother’s love as ‘rise and warm and streaming’, suggesting that it gives her great comfort and that she is literally being raised from nothing by her mother’s love. This builds her strength every day. Throughout Praise Song, the parent-child relationship is presented as something founded on a mother nourishing her child. In addition to the protective and caring connotations of the warmth her mother provided, Nichols’ references to food that her mother presumably cooked reinforce this. A feeling of homeliness is conveyed by the sensory description of ‘crab’s leg’ and ‘fried plantain smell’, which evoke memories of Nichols’ childhood in Guyana. This and the reference to water and warmth create an organic metaphor of growth that runs through the poem - the love that Nichols feels for her mother stems from this nourishment. The metaphor of the sunrise in the third stanza, besides reflecting the warmth that represents the love between parent and child, also suggests the dawning of a new day. This reflects another important aspect of the parent-child relationship that Praise Song considers: the role of the parent in advising, inspiring and properly preparing their child for their future