Examining the Theme of Death of a Close One in Poetry

Examining the Theme of Death of a Close One in Poetry

I am examining three poems which concern the poet's response to the

death of a close relative. It is very difficult and emotional for a

child to come to turns with a death of a relative which you have known

most of your life. The first poem is about a girl who loses her

grandmother and feels guilty. The second poem is about a boy who loses

his father which is the closest family to him. The third poem is about

a boy whose brother gets hit by a car and dies. The themes the poets

have chosen to write about are guilt and grief. The reasons why many

poets choose to write about this subject are mainly because it is a

way to tell people what has happened, also to share the experience and

to get it off their backs. People read these types of poems because it

may have happened to them.

The first poem I am examining is "my grandmother". The poem is

structured into four stanzas which are six lines each. The first

stanza of the poem describes the shop and the grandmother in great

detail so we can have an image in our mind of what the grandmother and

the shop are like. The poet also uses enjambment which is used in

lines four and five. Enjambment is used to make the poem more natural

and realistic. The rhythm of the poem is the pentameter which is 5

beats. The poet gives us the effect that someone is actually

discussing the experience.

it says in the first stanza" she kept an antique shop or it kept her

among the apostle spoons and Bristol glass, the faded silk, the heavy

furniture". The meaning of this section was that she was obsessed with

her antique shop and it was as if it gave her a purpose to live and

that it kept her going in life, also this was how she earned her

living. The poet also gives four examples of items for sale in the