similarties and differences between 'Thatcher' -Heaney and 'Old Workman' -Hardy
Thatcher: Old Workman: the thatcher described from outside the mason speaks for himself
Heaney accents strangeness and skill Hardy emphasises endurance
Although methodical, there is a touch of the magical to the thatcher. We appreciate the mason’s humanity and kindness, rather than his skill.
Similarities and differences in the poets’ attitudes and the candidates’ personal preference:
What each poem is about:
Thatcher
• A description of a local workman: his manner, equipment, and work-materials.
• praise for the skill of the workman;
• the survival of a traditional craft.
The Old Workman
• An old stone-mason explains to a questioner why he has aged prematurely.
Candidates’ response to use of language:
Thatcher
• loose iambic pentameters, hinted rhyme (loosely decasyllabic lines, with irregular rhythm and hinted rhyme);
• the thatcher is in demand, conveyed by an old-fashioned phrase: “bespoke for weeks”;
• slow to start, his preparations are unhurried, and materials are tested before use;
• he is methodical and well-prepared: “laid out well-honed blades”;
• There are ideas of him slowly mastering the material “handful by handful”. The image of the staple shows him getting it under control;
• heraldic term “couchant” may suggest the strangeness of the man and his work;
• verbs “shaved…. flushed…. stitched” convey meticulousness;
• honeycomb image suggests intricacy of what he constructs;
• his audience, hitherto invisible, appear only as admiring gapers in final line – “they” – anonymous in the face of his skill;
• The transmuting Midas image concludes this poem of praise.
The Old Workman
• poem in dialogue form, question and answer – the mason’s apologia for his life;
• rhymed quatrains, conversational rhythms;
• use of technical terms: “quoin”, “ashlar”, “freestone”;
• word “mansion” suggests social gulf between workman and his employers;
• permanence of his work;
• his sudden injury conveyed onomatopoeically,
Heaney accents strangeness and skill Hardy emphasises endurance
Although methodical, there is a touch of the magical to the thatcher. We appreciate the mason’s humanity and kindness, rather than his skill.
Similarities and differences in the poets’ attitudes and the candidates’ personal preference:
What each poem is about:
Thatcher
• A description of a local workman: his manner, equipment, and work-materials.
• praise for the skill of the workman;
• the survival of a traditional craft.
The Old Workman
• An old stone-mason explains to a questioner why he has aged prematurely.
Candidates’ response to use of language:
Thatcher
• loose iambic pentameters, hinted rhyme (loosely decasyllabic lines, with irregular rhythm and hinted rhyme);
• the thatcher is in demand, conveyed by an old-fashioned phrase: “bespoke for weeks”;
• slow to start, his preparations are unhurried, and materials are tested before use;
• he is methodical and well-prepared: “laid out well-honed blades”;
• There are ideas of him slowly mastering the material “handful by handful”. The image of the staple shows him getting it under control;
• heraldic term “couchant” may suggest the strangeness of the man and his work;
• verbs “shaved…. flushed…. stitched” convey meticulousness;
• honeycomb image suggests intricacy of what he constructs;
• his audience, hitherto invisible, appear only as admiring gapers in final line – “they” – anonymous in the face of his skill;
• The transmuting Midas image concludes this poem of praise.
The Old Workman
• poem in dialogue form, question and answer – the mason’s apologia for his life;
• rhymed quatrains, conversational rhythms;
• use of technical terms: “quoin”, “ashlar”, “freestone”;
• word “mansion” suggests social gulf between workman and his employers;
• permanence of his work;
• his sudden injury conveyed onomatopoeically,