Joys and Sorrows of Life Poetry Essay
With reference to at least four poems, explain how poets present both the joys and sorrows of life.
Poets such as W.H. Auden, Bruce Dawe, Roger Mcgough and Elaine Savory clearly present the joys and sorrows of life in their truthful and realistic poems, using a range of techniques. These negative and positive aspects of life are shown by the poets, by using everyday occurrances like death, loss and love to involve the reader. All four poems, ‘Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone’, ‘Going’, ‘The Railings’ and ‘November 1984’ use different methods to present these emotions. However, there are also similarities in their techniques.
‘Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone’ and ‘Going’ are written about occurances that are not unusual in ones life; death and loss. This makes the poems more moving and understood by the readers. In ‘Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone’, by W.H. Auden, great sadness of her loss of a loved one is shared by the poet by expressing feelings that are common to most people in her situation. Imagery is used when W.H. Auden describes an imaginary funeral for lost love one. ‘I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong’, (stanza 3, line 4) conveys the great depression she is feeling about the loss of her loved one. She extends her sadness to a great extent using imagery, diction, depressing scenes and life difficulties experienced worldwide. ‘Going’, by Bruce Dawe also presents life difficulties that are experienced worldwide. In this poem, the poet’s elderly mother dies from a heart attack at a family barbeque. The passing of elderly parents is a part of life that can rarely be escaped. It is a sad occurrence, and the normality of it helps the reader to understand the negative feelings being expressed.
Both negative and positive aspects of life are connected in the poems, ‘November 1984’ and ‘The Railings’. In ‘November 1984’ by Elaine Savory, a very depressing and sorrowful relationship is shared by a mother and
Poets such as W.H. Auden, Bruce Dawe, Roger Mcgough and Elaine Savory clearly present the joys and sorrows of life in their truthful and realistic poems, using a range of techniques. These negative and positive aspects of life are shown by the poets, by using everyday occurrances like death, loss and love to involve the reader. All four poems, ‘Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone’, ‘Going’, ‘The Railings’ and ‘November 1984’ use different methods to present these emotions. However, there are also similarities in their techniques.
‘Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone’ and ‘Going’ are written about occurances that are not unusual in ones life; death and loss. This makes the poems more moving and understood by the readers. In ‘Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone’, by W.H. Auden, great sadness of her loss of a loved one is shared by the poet by expressing feelings that are common to most people in her situation. Imagery is used when W.H. Auden describes an imaginary funeral for lost love one. ‘I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong’, (stanza 3, line 4) conveys the great depression she is feeling about the loss of her loved one. She extends her sadness to a great extent using imagery, diction, depressing scenes and life difficulties experienced worldwide. ‘Going’, by Bruce Dawe also presents life difficulties that are experienced worldwide. In this poem, the poet’s elderly mother dies from a heart attack at a family barbeque. The passing of elderly parents is a part of life that can rarely be escaped. It is a sad occurrence, and the normality of it helps the reader to understand the negative feelings being expressed.
Both negative and positive aspects of life are connected in the poems, ‘November 1984’ and ‘The Railings’. In ‘November 1984’ by Elaine Savory, a very depressing and sorrowful relationship is shared by a mother and