Extended Metaphors In Nettles

544 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Adults have an influence on young people's lives

The poem ‘Nettles’ and ‘Born yesterday have many similarities in how they represent the difficulty in a parent and child relationship; in ‘Born yesterday’ the extended metaphor is based around the idea that to achieve happiness one must not thrive for perfection or happiness will never be accomplished. “Nothing uncustomary to pull you off your balance” supports the extended metaphor of how happiness is achieved. Philip Larking (PL) uses enjambment to show that the course of life is continuous and is about “balance”, this metaphor allows the reader to realise that something “uncustomary” will ruin that balance. Thus showing that although the advice is harsh and uncustomary it is the advice of experience and the advice that will allow the receiver …show more content…

Vernon Scannell (VS) uses the quote “and went outside and slashed in fury with it” to show the overprotectiveness of a parent and the fury they are faced with when their child is attacked by anything and in this case something as trivial as nettles. The military language used throughout the poem “regiment” “recruits” and “fallen dead” shows that protecting a child is like a war for the parent, a constant war that can never be won “my son would often feel sharp wounds again.” VS has done this to show the reader the difficulty of being a parent and how no matter how hard they try and shield him from the harm of the world it was inevitable and would happen “again”. VS has also used this quote to show the acceptance, the acceptance of the parent that they will not always be able to stop the harm of the “nettles”. The poem ends with this quote symbolising the acceptance and metaphorically representing that the parent will not always be there to sort everything out as the child grows up. VS has done this to shows the painfulness of being a parent as they will have to stand by and watch their child in trouble and won’t be able to help

Show More
Related

  • Gwen Harwood: Changing Of The Self

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Gwen Harwood’s poetry, the changes in an individual’s perspective and attitudes towards situations, surroundings and, therefore transformations in themselves, are brought on by external influences, usually in the form of a person or an event. These changes are either results of a dramatic realisation, as seen with shattering of a child’s hopes in The Glass Jar, or a melancholy and gradual process, where a series of not so obvious discoveries produces similar reformation. An example of the later case would be Nightfall, the second section of Father and Child, where the persona refers to her forty years of life causing “maturation”. For the most part these changes are not narrated directly but are represented by using dynamic language techniques to illustrate constant change in the universe of the poem.

    Read More

  • Olds’ Effective Use of Linking Devices in The Elder Sister

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Literary Analysis Of 'A Story' By Li-Young Lee

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    The poem is written in the father’s point of view; this gives insight of the father’s character and

    Read More

  • The Simple Gift and “The River that wasn’t ours”

    1242 Words  | 3 Pages

    The verse novel, ‘The Simple Gift’ explores how relationships and place can impact detrimentally on one’s identity and sense of belonging. Herrick uses Billy to highlight how social issues such as dysfunctional families can lead to isolation and loneliness. Using first person narrative, “I”, Herrick in the poem 'Sport' establishes the barriers to belonging. Herrick uses flashback and hyperbole “he came thundering out” to highlight detachment from home prompted by Billy’s abusive alcoholic father. Detailed repetition of “I was ten years old” intensifies the poignant loss of Billy’s innocence and his displacement from a childhood sanctuary. Consequently the poem ‘Longlands Road’, uses personified enjambment, “rocks that bounce and clatter and roll and protest”, to capture the image of an angry boy who is searching for a sense of belonging. Imagery created through vivid descriptive language, “rundown and beat / the grass unmown around the doors”, depicts the impoverishment and disrepair of “Nowheresville”. While Billy’s description of “Mrs Johnston’s mailbox on the ground...” expresses his contempt and frustration. Subsequently, the ramifications of Billy’s discontent, portrayed by the sarcastic statement “It’s the only time my school has come in ...

    Read More

  • The Poet With His Face In His Hands By Mary Oliver Analysis

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Therefore, Oliver’s incorporation of imagery, setting, and mood to control the perspective of her own poem, as well as to further build the contrast she establishes through the speaker, serves a critical role in creating the lesson of the work. Oliver’s poem essentially gives the poet an ultimatum; either he can go to the “cave behind all that / jubilation” (10-11) produced by a waterfall to “drip with despair” (14) without disturbing the world with his misery, or, instead, he can mimic the thrush who sings its poetry from a “green branch” (15) on which the “passing foil of the water” (16) gently brushes its feathers. The contrast between these two images is quite pronounced, and the intention of such description is to persuade the audience by setting their mood towards the two poets to match that of the speaker. The most apparent difference between these two depictions is the gracelessness of the first versus the gracefulness of the second. Within the poem’s content, the setting has been skillfully intertwined with both imagery and mood to create an understanding of the two poets, whose surroundings characterize them. The poet stands alone in a cave “to cry aloud for [his] / mistakes” while the thrush shares its beautiful and lovely music with the world (1-2). As such, the overall function of these three elements within the poem is to portray the

    Read More

  • Poetry Closed Reading Assignment:Billy Collins

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    Billy Collins has used a specific metaphor, simile, rhyme and personification in his poem ‘Introduction to poetry’ in order to show how one should better understand a poem. This poem focused on what the poem actually mean and how a poem should be clearly understood. Throughout the poem, Billy Collins has presented a clear way of understanding the poem by using a very interesting imagery, symbolism, metaphor and a very sensitive sound. The words used in this poem are so powerful that the readers are convinced to think about the issue presented in the poem.

    Read More

  • In The Park Analysis

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    These final words sum up her feeling of helplessness and emptiness. Her identity is destroyed in a way due to having children. We assume change is always positive and for the greater good but Harwood’s poem challenges that embedding change is negative as the woman has gained something but lost so much in return.

    Read More

  • Sorrow Of Sorrow

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the process of growing up, we are taught to believe that life is relatively colorful and rich; however, if this view is right, how can we explain why literature illustrates the negative and painful feeling of life? Thus, sorrow is inescapable; as it increase one cannot hide it. From the moment we are born into the world, people suffer from different kinds of sorrow. Even though we believe there are so many happy things around us, these things are heartbreaking. The poems “Tips from My Father” by Carol Ann Davis, “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith, and “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop convey the sorrow about growing up, about sorrowful pretending, and even about life itself.

    Read More

  • Comparing Wilfred Owen's Poem, Dulce et Decorum Est and Sting's Song, Children's Crusade

    2117 Words  | 5 Pages

    As in other effective poetry, Sting uses strong language to convey the world's cruelty toward the innocent. He describes the soldiers in the war using the phrases "Virgins with rifles" (3), "Pawns in a game" (5), "Marching through countries they've never seen" (2). These phrases appeal to parental nature and sense of decency. "Virgins" suggests not only a feeling of inno-cence, but a feeling of virtue about to be lost. Sting uses the phrase "the flower of England, face down in the mud" (11), giving us a beautiful, fresh image to symbolize these young soldiers. He t...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Poem 'Dulce Et Decorum Est'

    602 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...are a repeat of the title, and also and added line to clarify the actual meaning of the poem. Owen mocks the idea of war being an honorable and nationalistic way to support ones country as he describes a situation in which death is detailed in gruesome detail. This poem is harsh, yet effective in displaying the acts of war and the affect the it has on all of the people involved, especially the foot soldiers who served in the front line, the trenches.

    Read More

  • A Parent’s Elegy

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the early seventeenth century, poets were able to mourn the loss of a child publicly by writing elegies, or poems to lament the deceased. Katherine Philips and Ben Jonson were two poets who wrote the popular poems “On the Death of My Dearest Child, Hector Philips”, “On My First Son”, and “On My First Daughter” respectively. Although Philips and Jonson’s elegies contain obvious similarities, the differences between “On the Death of My Dearest Child” and “On My First Son” specifically are pronounced. The emotions displayed in the elegies are very distinct when considering the sex of the poet. The grief shown by a mother and father is a major theme when comparing the approach of mourning in the two elegies.

    Read More

  • Desire of Escape

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Dubliners, James Joyce tells short stories of individuals struggling with life, in the city of Dublin. “It is a long road that has no turning” (Irish Proverb). Many individuals fight the battle and continue on the road. However, some give up and get left behind. Those who continue to fight the battle, often deal with constant struggle and suffering. A reoccurring theme, in which Joyce places strong emphasis on, is the constant struggle of fulfilling responsibilities. These responsibilities include; work, family and social expectations. Joyce writes about these themes because characters often feel trapped and yearn to escape from these responsibilities. In “The Little Cloud”, “Counterparts”, and “The Dead” characters are often trapped in unhappy living situations, often leading to a desire of escape from reality and daily responsibilities.

    Read More

  • Parent and Son Relationship in one of Nye, Naomi Shihab´s Poems

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    In a typical family, there are parents that expected to hear things when their teenager is rebelling against them: slamming the door, shouting at each other, and protests on what they could do or what they should not do. Their little baby is growing up, testing their wings of adulthood; they are not the small child that wanted their mommy to read a book to them or to kiss their hurts away and most probably, they are thinking that anything that their parents told them are certainly could not be right. The poem talks about a conflict between the author and her son when he was in his adolescence. In the first stanza, a misunderstanding about a math problem turns into a family argument that shows the classic rift between the generation of the parent and the teenager. Despite the misunderstandings between the parent and child, there is a loving bond between them. The imagery, contrasting tones, connotative diction, and symbolism in the poem reflect these two sides of the relationship.

    Read More

  • Philip Larkin And Wilfred Owen: Common Misconception Of War

    102 Words  | 1 Pages

    There are many things in this world that are impossible to understand without first hand experience.This can be especially irritating for people who have the knowledge, but see everyone else with the wrong idea. Philip Larkin and Wilfred Owen show this in their poems about the common misconception of war glorification. Through imagery and the use of similes, they explain what it's really like for a person to go into battle. To outsiders, fighting in war is a noble cause worthy of envy and praise, but from the inside perspective the only thing war does is take away the innocence of

    Read More

  • Childhood

    1788 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the poetry of William Blake and William Wordsworth, this difference between children and adults and their respective states of mind is articulated and developed. As a person ages, they move undeniably from childhood to adulthood, and their mentality moves with them. On the backs of Blake and Wordsworth, the reader is taken along this journey.

    Read More

More about Extended Metaphors In Nettles

Open Document