Preview

Disscussion of Change in Poetry

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
951 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Disscussion of Change in Poetry
Question: How do the poets explore the concept of change?

To change is to transform, to undergo metamorphosis. It is essential and unavoidable in life. ‘In black and white' by Eleni Fourtouni and ‘My brother' by Bruce Dawe attempt to encapsulate the essence of change and demonstrate its complexity. The poets create this imagery and make their point through techniques and structure.

Eleni Fourtouni explores the concept of change through eloquent phrasing and descriptive imagery. ‘In black and white' describes the journey from girl to women and the relationships that generate life long memories. Eleni Fourtouni reflects upon her childhood whilst gazing at a photograph laced with forgotten memories of 10 years prior. Time has cascaded forward and her life has surged towards adulthood, the poet has experienced the most inevitable change of all, the aging process. It is a continual cycle, one with immense change, your mental ability strengthens, your identity grows and your relationships fortify. You become independent and previous barriers crumble to reveal a capable adult, it is a change that makes us the people we become. It is also sudden, like lightning, in the poem the rapid transition is evident, in one line we are confronted with both the past and present, as expressed in ‘on her chubby bowed legs on the gravel path- she's grown', it reminds us how quickly the years pass.

Upon becoming adults, our perceptions of people and relationships differ and change. As a child, we are impressionable, innocent and under the care of our parents, we see people on a shallow level. The poem shows the reader this with its structure; the focus often jumps from the past to the present. The change in relationship with the poets mother is also apparent, she goes from being a mere observer, drawing in the environment around her and mimicking her mother, to being like her, both physically and mentally.

The descriptive language engages the audience and conjures up

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In Gwen Harwood's poems Prize-Giving and The Glass Jar, the prescribed text Sky-High, and the novel White Teeth by Zadie Smith, the composer have used many varying ideas and techniques to investigate and illustrate concepts of Changing Self effectively. The ideas looked at in Gwen Harwood's poetry include imagery, retrospect, metaphor, and inversion of the connotation of adjectives. Ideas conveyed in Sky-High include imagery, retrospect, and comparison. The techniques and ideas in White Teeth, to name the most important, are long and erratic chronology, removing characters for a period and the exposing of the least important change are evident in the texts that are compared.…

    • 935 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The defining moments in our lives and in our generations are the moments of true change. It may be for the better or it may be for the worse but either way, someone had the courage to speak up for what they wanted. In the poem ‘Lost Sister’ by Cathy Song, the author explains the hardships of being a Chinese girl and the way the society treated them and their expectations. This poem is much contrasted to the song ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’ written and sung by Bob Dylan. This song describes the foreseen changes in the world and warns those around him to change or get left behind, touching on both conformity and rebellion. Both pieces of text have extremely different cultures and time frames behind them, which makes them excitingly different, yet similar.…

    • 723 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How My Poetry Changed

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages

    During the revision of my poems many elements were changed. This included the length,structure,diction, opening and closing.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poetry Anylisis Essay

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Change is one of the only things in life that a person can count on. Innovation is everything. We either adapt to change, or we get left behind. In “Nights” a poem by Kevin Hart, a character embarks on the possibility of setting out on life’s journey. The character’s fanciful ideas portray a capricious and visionary tone of the poem. Imagery is an essential element of Hart’s tone in “Nights”, which helps to show the importance of life’s variations and transitions.…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the two poems “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost and “Live Like You Were Dying” and they have different themes. The theme in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is to always keep your promises. One way he showed the was with repetition on lines 15 and 16 it said “And miles to go before I sleep. He can’t sleep until he fulfils his promise. He also uses rhyme in his poem. On line 5 it said “My little horse must think it queer” and on line 6 it said “To stop without a farmhouse near” near and queer rhyme. The theme in “Live Live You Were Dying” the theme is to live life to the fullest. One technique he used in the poem was repetition on lines 17 and 40 it said “I went skydiving”. It also used rhyme on line 21 it said “And…

    • 177 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hide and Seek

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The poet manages to intensify the connection reader-child by using a wide variety of language techniques and constantly referring to the reader as “you”. This first technique enables the poet to ensure that the reader is inside the poem, continually being affected by the actions that take place. By referring to the audience as “you”, he slots the reader into the situation, by making them the child of the poem. This means that he manages to intensify the feelings and emotions, and to transmit the actions that take place. The continuous use of adjectives, adverbs, and even personification helps the reader to capture a better image of the situation. “The sacks in the tool shed smell like the countryside”, “And here they are, whispering at the door”, and “Someone stumbles, mutters” are examples of the use of different word groups that tell the reader exactly what he is hearing, smelling, doing,… This increases the attention of the reader, and strengthens the link between them and the child.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This poem is about the slow yet harsh disappearance of one’s youth. The poet is reflecting upon her youth, and just like a stamp, all she has is her memory to remember it.…

    • 87 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Time is a concept for some. For others it is a source of measurement. For those who detest it, it is the Eternal vanquisher and the Universal enemy of beauty. Here the poet puts forward the notion of Time as viewed by a child, immediately, through the childs’ actions and thoughts we are brought toward the main theme in the poem. Being, “innocence’ the poem is based on the basic thoughts of a child and how The child's life is simplified into very organized and recognized actions, but actual time has no meaning. Children are not rushed and ruled by the clock like adults are. It also reminds us of how nice it was to be a child and not have to worry about those things, This should possibly be the writers main idea of writing in persona of a child.…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This analysis is going to explore each segment to better understand the meaning the author was trying to express and the lessons that we in these words that transcends through all ages. The exploration and analysis will look further in to what we can take away from this writing and lesson we can learn in order for our soul’s growth.…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coming Of Age Analysis

    • 394 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The differences between childhood and old age are represented via a conventional village scene. A human lifespan is metaphorically depicted through this scene with different stages of life represented by periods of the day, with morning representing birth and childhood, afternoon being middle and evening/night depicting the coming of age and death. Blake explores the idea that the process from the innocence of childhood to death is a short-lived experience. The poem follows the reminiscent thoughts of a man towards the gaiety of childhood and the sublimity of the natural world that disappears within a fleet of the moment.…

    • 394 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The key idea of the poem seems to be that a person’s character is always…

    • 1950 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As I Grew Older

    • 256 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Furthermore, the poem is relatable by dealing the subject of changing perspective of the growing human being- innocence, then knowledge of the wrongness, and in the end- acceptance and resolution.…

    • 256 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Minor Characters

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The protagonist starts out in her “ordinary world”. As she travels through the course of the story, he or she begins to change – but the ordinary world stays the same. The protagonist’s changing perspective on minor characters who populate the ordinary world can demonstrate how the protagonist herself is changing.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    regarding her child which, in addition holds the name of this poem. There’s an impression of…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    THE speaker in this poem reminisces about a time when people were sincere and caring in their dealings with one another; he speaks regretfully about the present time, when people are not like before. He seems to feel that people have lost the innocence and openness which he now sees in his young son; he wants to regain that innocence.…

    • 778 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays