The poems “Church Going” and “At Grass” were both written by Philip Larkin. “Church Going” is about a man entering a church and questioning the future of it, whereas “At Grass” documents the life of a (perhaps retired) racehorse. It is for this reason I thought for a start they wouldn’t have much in common, however, when I looked closer at them, I realised they contained very similar themes and were written in very much the same style. Like “At Grass”, “Church Going” conveys a sense of uncertainty from the start. “Once I am sure there’s nothing going on” suggests the man isn’t sure he should be there and later on in this stanza it shows he feels awkward - “Hatless, I take off my cycle-clips”. Similarly, in “At Grass”, the use of the adverb “hardly” puts a doubt in the reader’s mind from the start. “Church Going” seems to show a contrast between the man being intelligent and knowing the religious jargon, and him not knowing what the simple things are. After referring to religious artefacts as “brass and stuff up at the holy end”, he then goes on to correctly name some religious ...
The imagery used in the two poems is very similar at times. Both authors describe to the readers a picturesque view of nature, like plants blooming in the springs. Proof of this is found in “Lone Bather'; : “ is plant with lilies bursting from its heels.'; Similarly, in “The Swimmer'; the first
For example, one line, “Soon our pilgrimage will cease; Soon our happy hearts will quiver, with the melody of peace,” which is saying that one day we will die, and you can’t stop that. “Lay we every burden down; Grace our spirits will deliver, and provide a robe and a crown,” also reveals that you should appreciate what we’ve had, and what was given to us. This song is telling you, in every line, that you can’t live forever, but appreciate what you have, while you
Mark Doty is an American poet who uses his platform and his poetry to speak out about society’s castigation of homosexuality. A plethora of Doty’s poems share a theme: a community impacts one’s individuality from a young age.
The poet Galway Kinnell has a very lighthearted and playful tone in this poem. The speaker also expresses his feelings about his child joining his lover and him in the bed after they have made love. The poem dramatizes the mixed feelings the speaker has in the poem. The speaker feels the need to speak out now because he wants to share his feelings with possibly new parents. The audience of this poem could be new parents. This poem takes place in the speaker’s bedroom after he and his lover is almost caught in the act of making love. The time of day may be night time, since in the poem it mentions darkness. The speaker explains to us what happens while he and his partner tries to makes love in this poem, their child comes into
on: April 10th 1864. He was born in 1809 and died at the age of 83 in
In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by the name of Langston Hughes. A well-known writer that still gets credit today for pomes like “ Theme for English B” and “Let American be American Again.”
One similarity is that there is a similarity in allusion. Heaven in “Mr. Rager” is known to be this glorious place to journey to. Scott states in his lyrics, “I’m on my way to heaven (wherever you are, now).” (Cudi line 6). Heaven is hard to find, it is this glorious place in the book “The Bible”. Just about the same in the poem “Dreams” except the man is dreaming about heaven, “‘Twere folly still to hope for higher heaven.”(Poe line 12). Heaven is always going to be the highest place to look up too, especially in the sky. Both poem and song lyrics have a big similarity in allusion. There is no winner on which is better but both have spoken what heaven is
Plath in Ariel and Larkin in The Whitsun Weddings both explore ideas about love and relationships. The Whitsun Weddings explores the theme of love and relationships by capturing the journey that takes place prior to marriage; the poem was written about Larkin’s observation of marriage parties on whit Sunday (now known as May Day) which was a public holiday and was traditionally the day on which people would get married. The Whitsun Weddings takes on a somewhat cynical tone which is emblematic of Larkin’s negative views regarding marriage and long term relationships. The Applicant by Plath presents the reader with a critique of marriage by depicting the selection process that men and women alike have to go through when it comes to marriage. In the 60’s, marriage was often something that was expected of many individuals and those who did not comply with these views would be often be stigmatised and women were often subjected to this stigma during a time that patriarchy was at its peak. Both The Applicant and The Whitsun Weddings present marriage as a societal norm and a process that is...
...traight from the tavern world – survival is more important to him, unlike those of the court world who live by honour, and care not if it leads to their death, but only that they one day may come to be ‘honourable’, whether dead or alive. He closes with the comment that what he has told us is his ‘catechism’. This suggests an idea that his religion is to avoid honour, and ever to question its value.
In Seamus Heaney’s poetry, there is a recurring theme of his talking of the past, and more predominantly about significant moments in time, where he came to realisations that brought him to adulthood. In “Death of a Naturalist” Heaney describes a moment in his childhood where he learnt that nature was not as beautiful as seem to be when he was just a naive child. Heaney does this on a deeper level in “Midterm Break” describes his experience of his younger brothers funeral and the mixed, confusing feelings he encountered, consequently learning that he no longer was a child, and had no choice but to be exposed to reality. Robert Frost in one sense also describes particular moments in time, where his narrator comes to realisations. However, Frost writes more indirectly than Heaney, and all together more metaphorically. In “A Leaf Treader” he symbolically talks about life and death through the autumn season. He does the same, in “The Road Not Taken” where the two roads are described to be a metaphor for the decisions one makes in life, and the inevitable regrets we face due to those decisions. In “Stopping by a Woods on a Snowy Evening” Frost directly talks directly of a moment in time, however the significant meaning being that in life one needs a moment of solace to appreciate peace and beauty.
Adding to the obvious structural references to cathedrals and religion, the language and character actions present further evidence of an epiphany of divine proportions. The television program which the characters watch together deals entirely with cathedrals. This spurs the first real conversation between the narrator and the blind man. This presents religion as some form of common ground, on which one could stand, even without sight. When first asked by Robert, the blind man, if he was "in any way religious," the narrator asserts that he is not, and goes on to explain how cathedrals and religion "don’t mean any...
In his preface of the Kokinshū poet Ki no Tsurayaki wrote that poetry conveyed the “true heart” of people. And because poetry declares the true heart of people, poetry in the minds of the poets of the past believed that it also moved the hearts of the gods. It can be seen that in the ancient past that poetry had a great importance to the people of the time or at least to the poets of the past. In this paper I will describe two of some of the most important works in Japanese poetry the anthologies of the Man’yōshū and the Kokinshū. Both equally important as said by some scholars of Japanese literature, and both works contributing greatly to the culture of those who live in the land of the rising sun.
From an early age, Joe was involved in everything that the church had to offer. By the time he was 7 years old, he was an altar boy singing in the church choir. His parents always made it clear to him that it was imperative that he follow the teachings of the church. His grandmother, on his father’s side, was particularly strict with him. She made certain that he did not go astray and that he behaved as properly, according to church doctrines, as possible.
Ritchie, M. (1999). Community bible chapel. The story of the church – Part 4, Topic 5. The Protestant
The only strong comparison between the poets, in terms of structure and technique, is that the meaning of their poems run much deeper then the specific words on a page. Even this can come as a contrast when looking at these three poems. “Home Burial,” by Frost is a fairly straightforward poem, written in dialogue, with the writer working as the narrator. The poem is about a married couple dealing wi...