Both Looking Into The Field and Hatching are written about life an a farm, and the things that happen there. Although one is written from many point of views, the animals, the farmers and even a complete outsiders view, whereas the other is from the point of view of someone watching the animals. This changes the mood and feel of the type of poem, however they do both share the same themes and moods, they are both about an animals passage of life, and how they react to situations and cope with things.
Looking Into The Field is the poem that has the most unanswered questions in it. Such as, when it says 'four stiff legs of a dead sheep', is it actually dead? Because later in the poem it talks about the sheep 'bleat[ing] and waddl[ing] to new grass. If the sheep was really dead this can't happen? Has the farmer brought the sheep back to life? 'legs kicking again' Is this evidence that the farmer has brought the sheep back to life. Or was it never dead in the first place. The sheep is obviously not dead then? But what happened? When it says, 'dead sheep' is it just scared to death? However, other than the unanswered questions, there is a obvious theme to the poem. Throughout the poem it suggests that the ewe is scared and anxious about the world it is in. For example 'pulls and rolls the ewe', when a sleep is scared they roll into their sides, and the farmers have to come and roll them back upright and calm them down. So was the Sheep just scared to death? Obviously this itself doesn't completely suggest the ewe is scared of the world. Scared, yes, but from just saying this it doesn't indicate that the ewe is scared of the world in particular. However, 'waddles to new grass', this gives the impression that it is new to her, or has changed. Although, as she is a ewe, an adult sheep, it can't be new to her. The author has made it come across, and created an image to the reader, that the sheep is cautious of its surroundings, perhaps something had shaken her. So maybe some of the questions presented at the beginning have been answered. When it says 'dead sheep', what does that mean? Personally i think it is an example of the traditional saying, 'scared to death'. Many things lead me to think this, 'grasp fistfuls of tight wool', trying to cause the sheep pain to get its attention and wake it up, or it could be, trying to get a grip to later begin 'pull[ing] and roll[ing]' the sheep. Either way, the farmer is trying to get the sheep's 'legs kicking again.' This is why i think it is just scared, not dead. The farmer would know if it is dead and there is a sense of calm to the farmers actions, he knows what the sheep is doing, he knows it is only scared. However, each person will interpret it differently.
The whole poem has the feel of changing points of view. Sometimes it feels like it's spoken from the animals point of view, 'This is the man who brings food', this is obviously the animals point of view. Other times it sounds like the farmer or a complete outsider, such as a narrator talking. For example the title, 'Looking Into The Field', this cannot be the animals, and it cannot be the farmer, this is where my idea of a narrator ot complete outsider comes from. A narrator explaining what he sees. There is also a lack of precise detail of what is actually happening, this reinforces my thoughts of a narrator, or a narrator actually physically there, however outside the farm, 'looking into the field'. The lack of detail is due to the distance that the possible narrator is situated.
In comparison, in the Hatching the whole poem is from the point of view of a person watching the chick, 'His night has come to an end', ' And he is out'. It gives a feeling that it is being documented. By doing this, much more detail has been added to the birth, similes and adjectives are added a lot in this poem, unlike the other poem, 'makes a mark like lightning'. This is a very small detail to pick up on, that only someone close to it can observe. Much like 'He shivers' It is a seemingly simple line, however, when you think about more. A Chick is tiny, and for anyone to see it shivering means they would have to be very close, just simple to observe that shiver. Whereas in the first poem, Looking Into The Field, the changing points of view and possible narrator at a distance has resulted in a lack of detail of what is actually going on and has only provided a simple description.
In Hatching, the chick, much like in Looking Into The Field, is anxious about the world, 'He huddles under wings' but in this case the chick is actually new to world and that is his reason to be worried and scared. Where as the sheep in Looking Into The Field is an adult and has had a shock, resulting in the anxiety of what to now expect of the world. In Hatching, as i said the chick is worried ans scared but quickly grows into his life, 'by instinct/ Returns for food', he knows what he has to do and he has an adult view on life. Had become comfortable with being a bird and is no longer scared. His fear of the world quickly disappears, 'Avid for air'. The chick now has forgotten his earlier fear and has stopped 'huddl[ing] under wings' and has become wildly enthusiastic for air and for flying.
Although both poems have different view points, they do share similarities, both show an image of an animals passage through life and how the grow, both physically and emotionally. The big difference between the two however, is how the animals behaviour has been portrayed. In comparison to each other the sheep in Looking Into The Field seems a lot more cowardly whereas the new born in Hatching seems to be more grown up and more confident.
(sir, dunno if i have done that right, at all. But i am kinda proud of it, please don't crush me! Let me down on my failure gently ;) thanks!:D)
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
comparision- Foghorns and The Forn Horn
Both of the peoms are about foghorns and the horrible and loud noise that they make. In the first peom, 'the foghorn moaning' and in the second peom, 'for horn/ Calls, like a cow in pain'. In the second poem this similie is there to make it easier for people to understand and picture. We can all imagine that sound and it makes. So in both cases the foghorn is describled as moaning and loud sound.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
improvement on poem
The women in the poem is ungrateful about her life. 'I ought to feel i'm a happy women' The tone of this quote makes it obvious that she is ungreatful of her life. Even though she has so much in her life, she is not apreciative of what she has been given. This links in with what has been idicated at, that even though she has a 'man from county Roscommon' she is still not happy. She knows that she should be happy, 'I ought', but she cant help but being resentful for the fact that she didnt follow her dream and become on stage.
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Comparison of poems; Names and Oak Terrace
Both of these poems have many links and similarities between them, but little difference. There is still difference but not on the same scale as similarities.
One similarity, is the idea of loss of identity in each of the poems. The First poem, 'Names' is more of a obvious lose of identity but it is also still prominent in the second poem. In the first poem is all about how the women's names change through the years, changes with the family she has, changes with her losses and changes with her personal health. 'Now she was Nanna. 'Everyone/Calls me Nanna,' this is the point towards the end of the poem, when she has family and grand kids, her identity is beginning to be lost. She was know as so many names in her life, 'Mrs Hand.', 'Miss Steward', 'Lil', but now she has grand kids and now she is older, all her names have gone, and she is now simply known as 'Nanna'. All her past names were linked with parts of her life that she has lost, Mrs Hand, was the name she got when she got married. But her husband died, she lost that name. Lil, was the name linked to her childhood, but she grew up, she lost that name as well. All these names she has had, have linked with parts of her life, that have now been lost. Almost like a timeline of names, demonstrating her life. This is another link between the two poems. Lose. As well as physical lose, as i said, both are about lose of identity, all her names have gone. Leaving her just as Nanna. She is nothing anymore, other than, Nanna. Then when you reach the end of the poem, she is back to being called her birth name 'Eliza', this time, all of her life has been erases, almost kind of forgotten. She now has no name dedicated to key parts of her life, there is nothing in her name to signify everything she has been through, it is almost like she is back to the day she was born. No history, no experiences, all forgotten, back to just a name.There is also a idea of lose of identity in the other poem. However, in a very different way this time. This time there is no one in this women's life, to identity her. No names are ever mentioned in the poem, nothing in the poem to identity anything about her personally. It again, also has a link to lose. 'The house is quiet now' she used to have somebody there? Was there once somebody to give her a name, to make her a whole person? Either way, she now has nobody.
This also creates a difference between the poems, in the first poem, the names signify history to the women's life, we know that there is a history to this women, whereas in 'Oak Terrace' there is no names to create a history for her. The names give us nothing. Instead of names being used to create history in this one, we have lines that describe possible memories of her life.'A brothers brain melting to madness'. This could be one of two things. It could either mean, she is just imagining a hypothetical life, in which somebody's brother is losing their mind, and how their family deal with it, but more likely is that in her life she has had to deal with a brother losing his mind. If the second option is the case, then we are starting to get a back story on this women's life, however not using names like in the previous poem.
There is the now obvious similarity of lose in both peoples, in 'Names' as she lost things in her life she loses her names given to her as well. Also, there is lose in the second poem, there is indication that she has lost people in her life, 'The house is quiet now.' Both poems strongly involve idea of lose and death.
There is another key similarity in both poems, mental health. In the second poem it is more obvious, 'brother's brain melting to madness. Seven years of common trouble;'. However, in the poem 'Names' it is very key too, less obvious, but key none the less. 'And for those last bewildered weeks/She was Eliza once again.' These lines indicate at alzheimers, as mentioned in earlier lines of the poem, she is now a patient. The fact it says 'bewildered weeks' shows that she is not well, distressed and indicates she is forgetting things. Follow that with the line 'Eliza once again' reinforced the idea that she is forgetting things, she forgetting who she is. Due to her illness she has forgotten her history, her life, and only remembers very old things, back to when she was only known as Eliza, known with no history, a fresh life. This also, again, ties in with the idea of lose. She has lost her mind, lost her history, lost everything.
One similarity, is the idea of loss of identity in each of the poems. The First poem, 'Names' is more of a obvious lose of identity but it is also still prominent in the second poem. In the first poem is all about how the women's names change through the years, changes with the family she has, changes with her losses and changes with her personal health. 'Now she was Nanna. 'Everyone/Calls me Nanna,' this is the point towards the end of the poem, when she has family and grand kids, her identity is beginning to be lost. She was know as so many names in her life, 'Mrs Hand.', 'Miss Steward', 'Lil', but now she has grand kids and now she is older, all her names have gone, and she is now simply known as 'Nanna'. All her past names were linked with parts of her life that she has lost, Mrs Hand, was the name she got when she got married. But her husband died, she lost that name. Lil, was the name linked to her childhood, but she grew up, she lost that name as well. All these names she has had, have linked with parts of her life, that have now been lost. Almost like a timeline of names, demonstrating her life. This is another link between the two poems. Lose. As well as physical lose, as i said, both are about lose of identity, all her names have gone. Leaving her just as Nanna. She is nothing anymore, other than, Nanna. Then when you reach the end of the poem, she is back to being called her birth name 'Eliza', this time, all of her life has been erases, almost kind of forgotten. She now has no name dedicated to key parts of her life, there is nothing in her name to signify everything she has been through, it is almost like she is back to the day she was born. No history, no experiences, all forgotten, back to just a name.There is also a idea of lose of identity in the other poem. However, in a very different way this time. This time there is no one in this women's life, to identity her. No names are ever mentioned in the poem, nothing in the poem to identity anything about her personally. It again, also has a link to lose. 'The house is quiet now' she used to have somebody there? Was there once somebody to give her a name, to make her a whole person? Either way, she now has nobody.
This also creates a difference between the poems, in the first poem, the names signify history to the women's life, we know that there is a history to this women, whereas in 'Oak Terrace' there is no names to create a history for her. The names give us nothing. Instead of names being used to create history in this one, we have lines that describe possible memories of her life.'A brothers brain melting to madness'. This could be one of two things. It could either mean, she is just imagining a hypothetical life, in which somebody's brother is losing their mind, and how their family deal with it, but more likely is that in her life she has had to deal with a brother losing his mind. If the second option is the case, then we are starting to get a back story on this women's life, however not using names like in the previous poem.
There is the now obvious similarity of lose in both peoples, in 'Names' as she lost things in her life she loses her names given to her as well. Also, there is lose in the second poem, there is indication that she has lost people in her life, 'The house is quiet now.' Both poems strongly involve idea of lose and death.
There is another key similarity in both poems, mental health. In the second poem it is more obvious, 'brother's brain melting to madness. Seven years of common trouble;'. However, in the poem 'Names' it is very key too, less obvious, but key none the less. 'And for those last bewildered weeks/She was Eliza once again.' These lines indicate at alzheimers, as mentioned in earlier lines of the poem, she is now a patient. The fact it says 'bewildered weeks' shows that she is not well, distressed and indicates she is forgetting things. Follow that with the line 'Eliza once again' reinforced the idea that she is forgetting things, she forgetting who she is. Due to her illness she has forgotten her history, her life, and only remembers very old things, back to when she was only known as Eliza, known with no history, a fresh life. This also, again, ties in with the idea of lose. She has lost her mind, lost her history, lost everything.
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