The poem Colour by Dorethea Mackellar, is about the persona talking in relation to the landscape of Australia with the “long smooth beaches” and the “larkspur mountains”. The poem talks about mainly of the beautiful colours of the landscape such as “azure-stained” when discussing the moonstones and the “saffron sunset” when talking about the clouds at dusk.
The theme in this poem is the persona reminiscing about all of the colours and landscapes that she can picture fresh in her mind, even though she became blind. The theme is shown in these quotes, “O Colour of the World, but I can find you… though I were stricken blind.” These quotes are saying that she will fight to find the colours even though she is blind.
The emotions felt in this poem are joy and wonder as the reader wonders about the “sunset-hearted opals” and the “larkspur mountains”. However, these emotions are only felt between stanza 2-6, as when the reader interprets the first, seventh and eighth stanzas, emotions of pity and sorrow are felt. The reader may feel these emotions when reading the lines, “though I were stricken blind” and “lovely things…watched unthinking, unknowing day by day…steeped my soul in colour, that will not pass away”. These lines are explaining that she still remembers all of the things that she has seen and then when she became blind, she realised that she could still remember all the colours. She appreciates this and knows that she will forever remember these colours as they are theoretically “buried” in her soul.
The poem Colour uses descriptive language throughout the whole poem. Some descriptive words that may stand out to the audience include:
Steeped: When reading this, the reader receives the impression that the persona is “saturated” in colour. In this context, the word “steeped” is a hyperbole.
Veined: When reading this, the reader can imagine and picture the scarlet veins threading their way through the marble.
Both of these words give the reader vivid images which helps create the theme reminiscence of colour and landscapes, of the poem and also the way that the poem is interpreted.
Rhyme affects this poem with it rhyming in the sequence a, b, a, b…c, d, c, d, etc. It does affect the way the reader interprets the poem as the reader can develop a rhythm and would often find it easier to read. If it did not rhyme, the theme of the poem would not be as clear to the reader; therefore, they may not enjoy the poem as much or interpret the poem as successfully as they should.
In conclusion, the poet has definitely and successfully conveyed the meaning of the poem through the use of mainly descriptive language using phrases such as “azure-stained” and “saffron sunset” to describe the magnificent colours that nature can produce. The descriptive language often provides the reader with vivid “mind images” which helps the reader effectively interpret the meaning of the poem with ease.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Variations on the Word Love
Variations on the Word Love- Margaret Atwood
The subject of this poem is separated into to two stanzas. The first stanza’s subject is about the different forms love can come in, such as the love for a relative, a friend or a boy. It also shows the different ways that love can be expressed in or through. In the second stanza, the subject is about a relationship, possibly between the persona and her lover. It also shows how the persona loves him so much that the word “love” does not express the amount of compassion that she has for him.
The purpose of the poem is to make the reader more aware of where both the emotion and word love are occurring in and around our lives whether that is the love felt by people or the love or commitment shown by a female gorilla nursing her young.
As I read the poem, I felt an emotion of happiness “add lace and you can sell it” because receiving a card perhaps on valentine’s day would make one very happy. I also felt warmth “and you can cook with it too” as it reminds me of how mum or nanny makes me lovely dinners and all my relatives come and we eat together. Another emotion felt when reading this poem is tenderness “as for the weed-seedlings nosing their tough snouts up among the lettuces, they shout it”- when I read , it reminds me of a little seed being nurtured since the beginning which has been raised until it grows up and is old enough to feel love.
The structure of this poem is a free verse containing two stanzas.
The words that the poet uses often give you a vivid image of the word depending on the context it is in. Such as “Love! Love! sing the soldiers, raising their glittering knives in salute”- this gives you an image of soldiers at a wharf, finally leaving the war, raising their swords (glittering knives) and symbolising the fact that they are finally going home and seeing their loved ones.
In this poem, there are no striking examples of personification or similar that may affect the way that the reader interprets the poem. There are many uses of personal pronouns that make the poem effective such as, “then there’s the two of us” and, “it’s a word we use to plug holes with”. These examples are in two different contexts as the first example appears to be talking about “us” as in the persona and her partner, whereas the second example appears to be referring to “we” as in the persona as well as the audience.
Although the poem does not contain a particular rhythm or pace, you can find enjambment throughout the poem. It does contain one example of repetition being, “O again and again”. However, I do not think this repetition has much affect on the readers’ interpretation of the poem.
In conclusion, this poem is about love and the different ways and forms it can come in, whether it is between a mother and daughter or a woman and her boyfriend. The poem constantly uses enjambment and also creates various images in your head. The poet has been successful in conveying the meaning of the poem to the reader by use of interesting word choices. The reader could possibly, however, find the meaning of the poem ambiguous.
The subject of this poem is separated into to two stanzas. The first stanza’s subject is about the different forms love can come in, such as the love for a relative, a friend or a boy. It also shows the different ways that love can be expressed in or through. In the second stanza, the subject is about a relationship, possibly between the persona and her lover. It also shows how the persona loves him so much that the word “love” does not express the amount of compassion that she has for him.
The purpose of the poem is to make the reader more aware of where both the emotion and word love are occurring in and around our lives whether that is the love felt by people or the love or commitment shown by a female gorilla nursing her young.
As I read the poem, I felt an emotion of happiness “add lace and you can sell it” because receiving a card perhaps on valentine’s day would make one very happy. I also felt warmth “and you can cook with it too” as it reminds me of how mum or nanny makes me lovely dinners and all my relatives come and we eat together. Another emotion felt when reading this poem is tenderness “as for the weed-seedlings nosing their tough snouts up among the lettuces, they shout it”- when I read , it reminds me of a little seed being nurtured since the beginning which has been raised until it grows up and is old enough to feel love.
The structure of this poem is a free verse containing two stanzas.
The words that the poet uses often give you a vivid image of the word depending on the context it is in. Such as “Love! Love! sing the soldiers, raising their glittering knives in salute”- this gives you an image of soldiers at a wharf, finally leaving the war, raising their swords (glittering knives) and symbolising the fact that they are finally going home and seeing their loved ones.
In this poem, there are no striking examples of personification or similar that may affect the way that the reader interprets the poem. There are many uses of personal pronouns that make the poem effective such as, “then there’s the two of us” and, “it’s a word we use to plug holes with”. These examples are in two different contexts as the first example appears to be talking about “us” as in the persona and her partner, whereas the second example appears to be referring to “we” as in the persona as well as the audience.
Although the poem does not contain a particular rhythm or pace, you can find enjambment throughout the poem. It does contain one example of repetition being, “O again and again”. However, I do not think this repetition has much affect on the readers’ interpretation of the poem.
In conclusion, this poem is about love and the different ways and forms it can come in, whether it is between a mother and daughter or a woman and her boyfriend. The poem constantly uses enjambment and also creates various images in your head. The poet has been successful in conveying the meaning of the poem to the reader by use of interesting word choices. The reader could possibly, however, find the meaning of the poem ambiguous.