Exploration of Family Relationships in The Sick Equation, Looking For Dad, and Long Distance
Analysing the poems "The Sick Equation" and "Looking for Dad" by Brian
Patten, it can be observed that both texts share the theme of loss,
family relationships and separation. Another poem with this theme is
"Long Distance " by Tony Harrison.
In these poems, the writers' feelings and emotions are similarly
conveyed through their use of linguistic devices and techniques.
Although the poems are alike in theme and meaning, the situations,
language, style and structure are very different.
The poem "The Sick Equation" relates how the poet missed out on so
many opportunities with love in his life, as a result of the influence
that his parents' crumbling relationship has had on him. After
experiencing his parents' unhappy marriage as a child, he became
convinced that every relationship would end up in conflict, misery and
hurt. He therefore denies and rejects any love that comes his way.
The poem is written in free verse and every alternate line rhymes.
Gaps between verses are used to emphasise the passing of time. This
reflects how the poet's feeling change in each verse. This particular
structure is effective, because it allows it to be more emotional; if
it were to rhyme, the emphasis would be more on the words, thought and
feelings of the poet.
In the first line, Patten states the obvious: "In school I learned
that one and one make two". The poet is saying that as a child, you
learn the basic rules of love: that one person and another make up a
relationship. However, he then says: "Parental hate is where I learned
that one and one sta...
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...oem. It is like a confession: he tells his father he realised he
could not cope with the reality of her death, admits he looked down on
his father at the time for this and confesses that he now cannot
totally accept his father's death and his way of coping is to ring his
number.
All three poems share the theme of reaction to loss of a loved one and
how people find something or someone to blame for their loss: the
little boy blames himself in "Looking For Dad", the man blames love
for its "sickness", in " The Sick Equation", and the son blames his
dad for not being able to accept his wife's death in "Long Distance".
Although the poems share similarities, "Looking For Dad" stops at his
childhood experience, "The Sick Equation" is a resume of his emotional
life and "Long Distance" is a description of two years of grief.
“Pass On” written by Michael Lee is a free verse poem informing readers on grief, which is one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome not only when losing a loved one, but also in life itself. “Pass On” successfully developed this topic through the setting of an unknown character who explains his or her experience of grief. Despite Lee never introducing this character, readers are given enough information to know how they are overcoming this difficult obstacle. In fact, this unknown character is most likely the writer himself, indirectly explaining his moments of grief. One important piece of information Lee provides is the fact that he has experienced loss twice, one with his grandfather and the other a friend who was murdered by the
This poem reflects on how when you lose someone you truly care about it affects you mentally. When we lose someone who we're really close to, we tend to hold a grudge and start questioning our love for the world. We lose ourselves when we
as told from the point of view of a friend serving as pall bearer. The poem
I will discuss the similarities by which these poems explore themes of death and violence through the language, structure and imagery used. In some of the poems I will explore the characters’ motivation for targeting their anger and need to kill towards individuals they know personally whereas others take out their frustration on innocent strangers. On the other hand, the remaining poems I will consider view death in a completely different way by exploring the raw emotions that come with losing a loved one.
innocence and how it all changed at the end of primary school. inky tadpoles changed from commas into exclamation marks I believe. This symbolizes the change from a child into an adolescent. However, in Piano, the poem shows us how the past will always shape us. tells us how we can never go back to the past I weep like a child for.
Both poems have been written about death dying and the loss of loved ones, in a once thriving Welsh mining community. The first poem by Mike Jenkins is a reflection and remembrance by a Father who tragically and suddenly lost his son in a horrific and unfortunate disaster that happened in Aberfan in 1966, where many young lives were lost.
...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.
From the every begin of the first lines of the poem, the imagery shows that the parents and son are at odds with each other. In the poem, the son is argues that there are 102 gallons of water in his body even though the parents tell him that he has mistaken the words “divide” and “multiply” to come out with a false answer. But, the son insists that he is right about this improbable figure because his teacher said that he was right. The parents argue back by saying do you remember that jug of milk and no way you’re carrying one hundred of those. Even after this the son still doesn’t listen to them. Because of the divide between son and his parents, the son won’t even consider that his parents might be right. The son thinks they are “idiots” without ev...
The first half of the poems’ images are of life, coming of age, and death.
Death is important to both poems because it expresses each character’s reaction and the importance of accepting death. If you don’t you’ll be grieving and angry for a long time. Both poems tie in with each other due to this, but are different because the characters reacted differently.
... they didn’t go. And lastly, she hears more noises until a hole is dug and it’s her old dog. She is happy to see her dog, but even the dog has forgotten her because he merely digs the whole to bury his bone as a hiding place. So, the main themes of loss interpreted in this poem are loss of love, loss of hope, loss of memory, loss of remembrance, and loss of importance.
Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden is a short poem that illustrates the emotions that he is dealing with after the love of his life passes away. The tone of this piece evokes feelings that will differ depending on the reader; therefore, the meaning of this poem is not in any way one-dimensional, resulting in inevitable ambiguity . In order to evoke emotion from his audience, Auden uses a series of different poetic devices to express the sadness and despair of losing a loved one. This poem isn’t necessarily about finding meaning or coming to some overwhelming realization, but rather about feeling emotions and understanding the pain that the speaker is experiencing. Through the use of poetic devices such as an elegy, hyperboles, imagery, metaphors, and alliterations as well as end-rhyme, Auden has created a powerful poem that accurately depicts the emotions a person will often feel when the love of their live has passed away.
As a child, life was great for me. I spent my days being a hyperactive boy, running around and causing general chaos on my two sisters, Kelly and Libby. The world I lived in was a stress free world, I had not had many difficult experiences growing up. Life was beautiful for me, until a tragedy struck my family.
He is saying that poetry should always educate a child or an adult. He also says that
Losing a loved one is one of the hardest experiences every person must go through. The experience does not end with the loss though, but begins with it. The loss of a dear person leads those left behind into a downward spiral of emotions and memories. A poem entitled “Lucy Gray” by William Wordsworth focuses on that loss and the emotions that follow it. By reading the poem one can objectively experience both the grief that Lucy Gray’s death brings on but also her parents’ acceptance of her death.