Thl8234 - Advanced Theory of Poetry
2013
Study Unit: THL8234 (Advance Theory of Poetry)
Assignment Number: 02
Part 1: Textual Analysis of Poetry
Question 1:
Sketching a Thatcher with metaphors
It is certainly true that one of the distinguishing features of poetic texts is the use of figurative or non-literal language – this essay highlights the fact that metaphors do contribute to the understanding of a poem. Ted Hughes’ poem, Sketching a Thatcher, is loaded with vivid imagery and ample metaphorical constructions which aids to validate this fact. In order to uncover the message behind this poem, one must take a closer look at the arguments, focus expressions and tenor/vehicle constructions of at least six local metaphorical constructions of the text and how they interact with one another to form part of the global metaphor of the poem.
The first local metaphorical construction of the text can be found in line one: “Bird-bones is on the roof. Seventy eight”. One can clearly see that there is a metaphorical relationship at hand, as it is unusual to see or know of any bird-bones on a roof. Therefore, the argument/vehicle is “bird-bones”, as it is qualified by the focus expression “is on the roof”. By reading past the first few lines it is obvious that the “Thatcher” (from the title) is referred to as “bird-bones”, as there is no immediate indication of who the tenor is. Thus, the poet implies that the seventy-eight year old Thatcher is like Bird-bones. This comparison leads one to think that the old man has a skinny and feeble figure and as much as birds spend their time on rooftops, so does the old man thatching roofs.
The second local metaphorical construction for analysis can be found in line two: “And still a ladder squirrel”. The old man (thatcher) is now being compared to a squirrel. The thatcher is still considered to be the tenor to the vehicle/argument “squirrel”, and the nominal focus being the “ladder”. This implies that the old man makes use of a
Study Unit: THL8234 (Advance Theory of Poetry)
Assignment Number: 02
Part 1: Textual Analysis of Poetry
Question 1:
Sketching a Thatcher with metaphors
It is certainly true that one of the distinguishing features of poetic texts is the use of figurative or non-literal language – this essay highlights the fact that metaphors do contribute to the understanding of a poem. Ted Hughes’ poem, Sketching a Thatcher, is loaded with vivid imagery and ample metaphorical constructions which aids to validate this fact. In order to uncover the message behind this poem, one must take a closer look at the arguments, focus expressions and tenor/vehicle constructions of at least six local metaphorical constructions of the text and how they interact with one another to form part of the global metaphor of the poem.
The first local metaphorical construction of the text can be found in line one: “Bird-bones is on the roof. Seventy eight”. One can clearly see that there is a metaphorical relationship at hand, as it is unusual to see or know of any bird-bones on a roof. Therefore, the argument/vehicle is “bird-bones”, as it is qualified by the focus expression “is on the roof”. By reading past the first few lines it is obvious that the “Thatcher” (from the title) is referred to as “bird-bones”, as there is no immediate indication of who the tenor is. Thus, the poet implies that the seventy-eight year old Thatcher is like Bird-bones. This comparison leads one to think that the old man has a skinny and feeble figure and as much as birds spend their time on rooftops, so does the old man thatching roofs.
The second local metaphorical construction for analysis can be found in line two: “And still a ladder squirrel”. The old man (thatcher) is now being compared to a squirrel. The thatcher is still considered to be the tenor to the vehicle/argument “squirrel”, and the nominal focus being the “ladder”. This implies that the old man makes use of a
References: * A KROG, Body Bereft, Umuzi, Roggebaai, 2006 * A Nel, the vocabulary of aging: image and word in Antjie Krog’s Body Bereft