The Theme Of Remembrance In Poem At 39 And Remember

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The theme of remembrance is something we always are able to find in poems. Remembrance can present courage, feelings of warmth and most importantly, memories. The poems ‘Piano’, ‘Poem at 39’ and ‘Remember’ clearly do show the features of remembrance. In ‘Piano’, the persona of the poem gets reminded by music of his (D.H.Lawrence) childhood and weeps at his loss of it. In ‘Poem at 39’, the persona remembers her (Alice Walker) father and all the good things about him. The persona also remembers what his father was like when he was younger. Finally in ‘Remember’, the persona seeks to be remembered after her (Christina Georgina Rossetti) death, but is conflicted by the fact that memories of her will cause sadness.
The poem ‘Piano’ was written by D.H.Lawrence. Structurally, it is written in quatrains with 3 stanzas, which shows that it is an organised poem. The structure of 3 stanzas divides the poem into 3 different parts. The stanzas create a clear space in time. Through the use of stanzas, you see the emotional differences between his location in his childhood memories and the aftermath. Also, the poem is defined chronologically, which show that the first stanza shows the present tense, second stanza shows the past tense and the third stanza present again. This way, it makes it easier for the reader to understand. Each stanza in this poem would represent a different moment the poet had. With the change from the second to the third stanza, the persona’s great memories were just put aside with reality settling in. At that point, the persona breaks down in anger, crying about the loss of his childhood.
Lawrence uses several language techniques, but the one that is the best fit is his choice of diction. With his choice of diction ...

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...th it you can become happy but yet be pained by it. These poems show it all. ‘Piano’ shows its power to overwhelm a full-grown man and drive him to the point of tears. ‘To My Mother’ and ‘Digging’ show the admiration it can arouse. ‘Poem at 39’, ‘Digging’ and ‘Follower’ all show how memories remain in the deeds of others. Last but not least ‘Remember’ shows that remembrance can bring pain to others. Personally I believe in the power of remembrance. Through remembering the past and reflecting upon it, I see what I can do to improve myself and be a better person. I can draw upon my memories for happy times when I feel sad. Yet I have my regrets as well. Those memories hurt, keep me awake at night and make me think about life and everything that is happening. It is a normal part of life. Live with it, do not look at the past memories, but instead, create some new ones.

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