"Dunbarton" by Robert Lowell is one of the poems from his "Life Studies" book. It's a short poem of only two pages but it has very deep meaning. The poem alludes to the poet's relationship with his grandfather. In this essay I will analyze this piece in detail and talk about the author's connection with his grandfather.
Robert Lowell prefers the use of free verse for his poems. He doesn't use a specific style for this piece; it is more free styled. He uses poetic language but there is no metered rhythm in the poem. Lowell even said once in an interview: "Prose is in many ways better off than poetry...I thought poetry was getting increasingly stifling. I couldn't get my experiences into tight metrical forms" (J. Myers and D. Wojahn, p. 154). He was also the first poet who wrote about his family to tell the truth about them, and "took the laundry out on the public." In "Life Studies", the author talks about his parents and the family members. Lowell writes about himself as well as his family members in a very critical way, which was unheard of at that time. Though some of the facts are not true and are exaggerated, his poems satirize the family. He does a lot of character description, and he performs it with a great irony. Many metaphors and details make his works very twisted. In a way, he confuses the reader but at the same time, he interchanges that with some sentences that are short, sharp, and very direct. Sometimes, they are even too straightforward: "He was my father. I was his son" (Line 10). He didn't seem to have much love for his father; however, he had a great connection with his grandfather.
The poem opens with the following:
"My Grandfather found
his grandchild's fogbound solitudes
sweeter than huma...
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...owell is a great poet and writer. Although I do not like reading books that have a depressing mood like Lowell's, I appreciate the work he has done. As I read in one book: "'Life Studies' broke new ground with its despairing yet elegant lucidity" (J. Myers and D. Wojahn, p. 194), I agree with the saying. His poems are very complex, profound, and are even unresolved. It can be discussed unlimited number of times and still have a charming mystery about it. In "Dunbarton", which is a very short piece, Robert Lowell was able to express the great love he had for his grandfather and I think that it takes a great amount of talent to do it with such ease and flow.
Works Cited
Lowell, Robert. "Life Studies". 1967. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Myers, J. and D. Wojahn. "A Profile of Twentieth Century American Poetry". 1991. Southern Illinois University Press.
The informal language and intimacy of the poem are two techniques the poet uses to convey his message to his audience. He speaks openly and simply, as if he is talking to a close friend. The language is full of slang, two-word sentences, and rambling thoughts; all of which are aspects of conversations between two people who know each other well. The fact that none of the lines ryhme adds to the idea of an ordinary conversation, because most people do not speak in verse. The tone of the poem is rambling and gives the impression that the speaker is thinking and jumping from one thought to the next very quickly. His outside actions of touching the wall and looking at all the names are causing him to react internally. He is remembering the past and is attempting to suppress the emotions that are rising within him.
The Norton Anthology: American Literature, Volume A: Beginning to 1820. New York City: Norton & Comany, 2007.
... Works Cited Everett, Nicholas. From The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamilton.
On the surface, "life" is a late 19th century poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The poem illustrates the amount of comfort and somber there is in life. Unfortunately, according to Paul Laurence Dunbar, there is more soberness in life than the joyous moments in our existence. In more detail, Paul Laurence Dunbar demonstrates how without companionship our existence is a series of joys and sorrows in the poem, "Life" through concrete and abstract diction.
The poem is written in the father’s point of view; this gives insight of the father’s character and
Ferguson, Margaret W., Salter, Mary J., and Stallworthy, Jon. The Norton Anthology of Poetry. fifth ed. N.p.: W.W. Norton, 2005. 2120-2121. 2 Print.
The poem told the story of a man who is inhibited by language, and has never quite had the ability to articulate his thoughts and feeling through words. It is said that his family members have tried
As Carter opens the poem, he tells how at this point in his life, he still has this essential want for things his own father presented him growing up. In the beginning, he expresses he has this “…pain [he] mostly hide[s], / but [that] ties of blood, or seed, endure” (lines 1-2). These lines voice how he longs for his father and just how painful it is without him at his side. In addition, he still feels “the hunger for his outstretched hand” (4) and a man’s embrace to take [him] in” (5). Furthermore, Carter explains how this “pain” he “feel[s] inside” (3) are also due to his “need for just a word of pr...
Allison, Barrows, Blake, et al. eds. The Norton Anthology Of Poetry . 3rd Shorter ed. New York: Norton, 1983. 211.
Robert Burns, a poet and lyricist in the Romantic Age, was born in Alloway, Scotland on 25 January, 1759. “The son of a hard-working and intelligent farmer, Burns was the oldest of seven children, all of whom had to help in the work on the farm” (The Columbia Encyclopedia). His first poem was written when he was fifteen; which was written for Jean Armour, whom he would later marry. “Burns fathered fourteen children with Jean Armour. They settled in Ellisland on a leased farm, forty-five miles from Mauchline, where Burns began his duties as a tax inspector, which was his profession until the end of his days” (Encyclopedia of World Biography).
Jarrell, Randall. ?Fifty Years of American Poetry.? The Third Book of Criticism. NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969.
Toward the end of the poem, it shown how shock Olds was to understand her dad “At the end of his life his life began to wake in me” (Olds 440). It was a new beginning for her and her dad. She tried to create a bond within her dad when she realized that her dad was actually a lovely and caring man. She informed her readers at that she hated her dad but
Parini, Jay. Editor. The Columbia Anthology of American Poetry. New York: Columba University Press, 1995.
Southard, Sherry. "Whitman and Language: Great Beginnings for Great American Poetry." Mount Olive Review 4 (Spring 1990): 45-54.
Robert Frost is one of America’s most loved and respected poets. He did a great job capturing the hearts of his readers with his natural imagery and ability to use metaphors to reveal the truths that he was trying to convey. Frost’s life was filled with many struggles including several losses in his family. His early struggles would continue through his educational period, as he wouldn’t graduate from college. Frost traveled to Great Britain to gain some ideas on poetry, and then returned the America to begin writing again (Famous Poets and Poems 1). He would have great successes, and would win numerous awards and honors for his work. The purpose of this research project is to educate the reader of Robert Frost’s biographical information, his career as a writer, the awards and honors that he was able to obtain, and Frost’s writing style.