Analysis of Ode To The Onion by Pablo Neruda

The Form And Structure

Ode to the Onion by Pablo Neruda is a praise poem that pronounced the qualities and power of onion over human and nature.

It is a poem of 41 lines free verse of 3 unequal stanzas. The stanza 1 tells of the formation, features and availability of onion to all and sundry while in the second stanza, the effect or power of onion over humans was exposed when the poet not only believed it's the most beautiful of things but said in line 32 that the onion "make us cry without hurting us."

The third stanza which happened to be just two lines portrayed the unique quality that differentiated onion from other plants. The poem speaker claimed that onion absorbed all the beautiful fragrances that belonged to the soil.

The Prose Form

In a prose form, "Ode To The Onion" goes thus:

You onion, in form of luminous flask, you were crystal formed layers over layers like petals of a flower in the loamy soil. Even though the miracle happened in the soil, the heap you gave to the soil surface when your stems and sword-like leaves had grown eventually prompted farmers to uproot you for the world to see your "naked transparency". 

Just like an Aphrodite you were double in one. "You, onion clear as a planet and destined to shine," you are regularly found on every poor man's table.

Onion, you are so hypnotizing, you effortlessly make us shed tears; therefore I must confess, you are the most beautiful thing ever seen. You are beautiful than the fluffy beautiful birds, the universe, "platinum goblet, unmoving dance of the snowy anemone', etc. "and the fragrance of the earth lives in your crystalline nature."

[You Might Want To Listen To The Poem: Ode To The Onion By Pablo Neruda]

The Themes

The message of the poem is simple. Uniqueness Beautifies Things; the same way fragrance and composition beauty onion among vegetables. The poet noted it in the last two lines of the poem: "and the fragrance of the earth lives/ in your crystalline nature." Availability and Accessibility are among the messages passed across in the poem "Ode to the Onion" by Pablo Neruda. 

Despite the difference in class and status between the rich and poor, onion is accessible to them all. Other themes in the poem are cultivation, germination, harvest,pain, emotion, etc.

Enunwa Chukwudinma S.

aka samueldpoetry

(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis Of The World Is Too Much With Us By William Wordsworth

The Overview

In William Wordsworth poem "The World Is Too Much With Us", he tells of his dislike towards humans' ingratitude and lack of reverence for nature and its elements.

With the sonnet nature of the poem, Wordsworth professionally arranged his views in two parts; the first part being his complaint, the second part being his resolution. The poet says that human beings have had much of the world this era that their daily life activities blindfolded them from seeing and cherishing the beauties entombed in nature. He decides to derail into "paganism" because he sees more of nature and natural beauties in them than in anything else; deities like Proteus and Triton are his motivators.

The Structure

The poem is a sonnet with the octave (1st 8 lines) about his complains while the sestet (the remaining 6 lines) about his resolution. The first eight lines have the end rhyme pattern of ABBAABBA while the rest six lines have the end rhyme pattern of CDCDCD. 

How much I love to see similes in a poem, this poem has it in line 7 "now like sleeping flowers". There is a classical allusion in the poem making reference to two Greek gods (Proteus and Triton) and with the poet's mention of "pagan" in line 10, the poem snatched few religion. Personification in line 5-6 where the sea has blossom and the wind howling. Alliterations like "bares her bossom" "Great God", imageries also added beauty to the poem.

The Theme

The poem possesses the theme of abundant beauty in nature; which human beings refuse to recognize, ingratitude or lack of appreciation for the available things or readymade thing instead humans chase around the artificials, another the theme in the poem speaks of religion and the beautiful reflection of nature in the so-called "paganism".

William Wordsworth 7-4-1770 – 23-4-1850 was an English Romantic poet.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis of I Love You Except Because I Love You by Pablo Neruda

The Poet

Another love poem by Pablo Neruda. The poem title "I do not love you except because I love you" is a poem that portrayed the unhappy condition of someone (male or female) missing dearly the presence of his or her lover.

The Overview

The poem showed that a lover will go from loving someone to hating such a person for maintaining absence.

The verse 2 of the poem put it this way:
"I love you only because it's you the one I love;
I hate you deeply, and hating you
Bend to you, and the measure of my changing love for you
Is that I do not see you but love you blindly."

The theme of the poem is crystal clear with the repeated use of "love" within the 3 stanza free verse.

The fervent followers of this blog will recollect Analysis of Absence by Pablo Neruda , where I wrote "Absence by Pablo Neruda has the theme of love and optimism. Neruda composed the poem on the ground of love; based on the context of the poem, we see two lovers without close contact. While the female feels hurt, the poem speaker composed this reassuring poem to prove that his love for her remains intact."

The Poem

According to poemhunter poetry archive, the goes thus:

I do not love you except because I love you;
I go from loving to not loving you,
From waiting to not waiting for you
My heart moves from cold to fire.

I love you only because it's you the one I love;
I hate you deeply, and hating you
Bend to you, and the measure of my changing love for you
Is that I do not see you but love you blindly.

Maybe January light will consume
My heart with its cruel
Ray, stealing my key to true calm.

In this part of the story I am the one who
Dies, the only one, and I will die of love because I love you,
Because I love you, Love, in fire and blood.

Enunwa Chukwudinma S.
aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis of The Vagabond by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Poet

In the month of November 1850, Robert Louis Stevenson was one of the recorded birth in Edinburgh, Scotland. He grew up to become a very notable poet and essayist with loads of literary contributions.

Stevenson is the poet that crafted this life and nature related poem titled "The Vagabond".

The Review

It is classed under nature because its events are nature oriented. In terms of the lonely living in the bush, by the river, constant singing birds, frosty fields, etc.

The poem narrates the life of someone in hopelessness; such person is called vagabond. The reward is none than heaven and death.

The Themes

The poem is themed with (1) suffering; the vagabond suffered the burn of the sun and the chill of frosty field coupled with lack of healthy living by depending on forest rivers to digest his bread (2) nature; the poem exposed the beauty and companionship of nature even to a castaway or a soul left in the lurch. The rivers quenched the vagabond's thirst while the birds delighted his solitude. (3) fortune; the poet or rather voice of the poem indirectly listed the things that worth fortune to humans which are wealth, health, love, friendship, etc. (4) heaven; it held ambiguity between actual eternal dwellings and the blue sky above the vagabond. (5) death; in the poem, it is the only reward for being a vagabond_ nothing more.

The poem "The Vagabond" by Robert Louis Stevenson is a rhyme verse of 4 stanzas with 8 lines each. In the poem "life I love" seen in line 1 is an alliteration while "Bed in the bush with stars to see" as found in line 5 is an imagery portraying homelessness. There is an oxymoron in line 9 "soon or later" and a hyperbole in line 6 "Bread I dip in the river".

The poem opened with "Give to me the life I love/ Let the lave go by me". There is an element of irony in such opening which contrary to universally known great expectations every living being aim at. "...the life I love" in the poem implied the life of a vagabond (homelessness) which is a very horrible life.

Stanzaic Summary

In stanza 2, the vagabond seemed to delight himself in the darkness of the night synonymous to the darkness he will encounter in death. Wealth, hope, love, friendship; were never part of his wishes or crazes.

In stanza 3, he accepted the inevitable torture of the autumn which denied him songs from birds by keeping them silent on trees. Neither the autumn nor the winter could force him to change his personality. The stanza 4 is a refrain of stanza 2.

Enunwa Chukwudinma S.
aka samueldpoetry
(the

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Analysis of The School Of Night By Alec Derwent Hope

The Glance

Title: The School of Night
Genre: Poetry
Poet: Alec Derwent Hope
Gender: Masculine
Category: Life and Living
Style: Free Verse
Theme: Night
Stanza: Three
Dominant Device: Metaphor
Diction: Simple
Tone: Revealing
Alternative: The Schoolboy
More Poems From Poet: Death of the Bird

Poet and Summary

Regarded as one of the best Australian poet and essayist, Alec Derwent Hope was born in New South Wales in the year 1907 into a family of a Presbyterian minister but departed earth in the year 2000.

In his 3 stanza poem title "The School of Night", nighttime became a learning classroom where the voice of the poem was given tough lessons. Looking at the structural arrangement, each stanza consists of 6 lines.

The same manner a teacher or an instructor will open a book in front of a pupil to start reading; someone who was later regarded as a scholar open his body to the poet with either an overture or a kiss (as seen in lines 2-4):

"When your mouth's first unfathomable yes
Opened your body to be my book, I read
My answers there and learned the spell aright,"

The poet learnt through "The School of Night" the true lesson of love, affection, companionship and more. During her learning session, she acquired "answers there and learned spell aright" as expected yet the education was far too complex for her total understanding.

In the same "School of Night" the voice of the poem expressed her awareness via the tool of symbolism that she learned the ways of the mosquitoes (a vampire baby), the ways of a sleeping little girl, the ways of the nostrils (the whispers), the arms (the grave somnambulists), the penis (the giant who broods above the nightmare steep), etc.

The final stanza of the poem described ejaculation with a metaphorical analogy. Where the male was compared to a scholar, his penis was compared to a pen and his seminal fluid was compared to blood, the poet's body was compared to book page where text were written.

"They taught me most. The scholar held his pen
And watched his blood drip thickly on the page
To form a text in unknown characters
Which, as I scanned them, changed and changed again:
The lines grew bars, the bars a Delphic cage
And I the captive of his magic verse."

The context of the poem reveals a sexual experience described through literary genius.

Devices and Messages

This a poem of metaphor. The poem commenced by comparing the nighttime to a school where teaching and learning is done. "the bars a Delphic cage" is another instance of metaphor in the poem, "his blood drip thickly on the page" is an instance of imagery while the use of "Delphic" in line 17 is a classical allusion.

There are repetitions such as "searched and searched" in line 5 and "changed and changed" in line 16, rhetorical question such as "What did I study in your School of Night?" in line 1,

And in line 4 "spell" is a word that seems to have more than one meaning in the poem.

"When your mouth's first unfathomable yes/
Opened your body to be my book"
Both lines, not only form tautology, they also reside in ambiguity. Tautology in the sense that "unfathomable yes" seems unnecessary phrase while "your mouth's first unfathomable yes opened your body" could either be referring to a kiss or an overture.

The messages of the poem are channeled towards the possible happening during the nighttime, the effect of lovemaking, the natural tendency of human to acquire teaching or learning at any given time.

The poem employed the following words to emphasize the timing of events "night" in line 1, "sleep" in line 7, "nightmare" in line 10. "My book" in line 3, "his pen" in line 13, "form a text" in line 15, "magic verse" in line 18; all provided a schooling atmosphere

Enunwa Chukwudinma S. aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis Of Half Past Two By U A Fanthorpe

This 11 stanza poem is woven with 3 lines per stanza to a total of 33 lines. The diction is very simple except for some intentional disarranged words for the purpose of clarifying the setting of the poem. Rich in repetition with a third person point of view, it is void of rhythm, end-rhyme, simile, run-on-line, etc. 

“Half Pass Two” by began thus:

 “Once upon a schooltime

He did Something Very Wrong

(I forget what it was)

And she said he’d done

Something Very Wrong, and must

Stay in the school-room till half-past two…”

In summary, the voice of the poem told of a little schoolboy who was asked by the teacher to remain alone in the classroom till half-past two as a form of punishment to an unknown misconduct. The naïve little boy never understood the term “half-past two” and wasn’t brave enough to inquire the meaning from the teacher. The boy remained in the school till dark before taken home.

And the truth is that when I was in class 3, I was a victim of such. I did offend my class teacher and she asked me to be walking up and down the long class pavement with my knees. I knelt to and fro the pavement from around 12pm till 5pm before the school security saw me while inspecting the school classrooms and asked me to stand and be going home. I refused with the fear that my teacher would be very angry when she realized I left the punishment without her permission but in class the next day she didn’t even asked me about it_ meaning she didn’t remember that she left me kneeling and when home.

I have analyzed a poem whose main theme relates to formal education_ The Schoolboy by William Blake, this poem slightly shares such theme.

Few among the themes in this poem “Half Past Two” by U A Fanthorpe are Imperfection, inferiority, naivety, teaching and learning, timing, etc. The teacher’s inability to track the schoolboy’s level of knowledge plus her wrong judgmental action proves that formal education remains imperfect atmosphere for learning. “he was too scared at being wicked to remind her” which in line 9 points at pupils’ level of inferiority to their teachers. Another theme in the poem is naivety. Not only did the poem speaker’s diction portrayed the little schoolboy naivety with the use of “gettinguptime” in line 11, “timetogohomenowtime” and “Tvtime” in line 12, “timeformykisstime” in line 13; he also didn’t possess the mature mindset that questions authority.

It is no denying that teaching and learning is a vital part of human development but it sometimes falls in the trap of ambiguity which in turn results to misinterpretation. Though, as simple as it seems, the phrase “half-past two” became too huge for the little schoolboy to understand. Another theme in the poem is the theme of timing which governs every human existence not excluding the little schoolboy.

From the words of the poem speaker, time and the knowledge of time seemed a burden to the boy. The only time he could acquire freedom from the bondage of timing was by lacking the skill to read the clock and having no one around to disturb him with timing.

The little schoolboy enjoyed such freedom until the teacher came back in lines 28-29 and “So she slotted him back into schooltime/ And he got home in time for teatime”

Few other things to note are:

• In line 19 “He waited beyond onceupona” referred to the boy’s stay beyond the stipulated time.
• In line 20 “Out of reach of all the timefors” referred to the boy’s lonely state where no one disturbed him with “it’s time for this or it’s time for that”. 

Enunwa Chukwudinma S. 

aka samueldpoetry

(the Leo with wings flying) 

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Analysis of Invictus by William Ernest Henley

About the Poem

Invictus by William Ernest Henley is a poem that anyone facing a hard challenge or embarking on a certain herculean task must keep at heart because it arouses the spirit of tenacity and endurance; knowing fully well that tough times don’t last but tough people do.

Poem Paraphrase

 I thank whatever God that privileged me to survive the thick darkness I trekked. My bleeding head dashed at many unseen blockades yet I didn’t succumb nor cried painfully aloud. Beyond these unhappy circumstances, I will continually remain brave for many years to come. Irrespective of the pleasure or suffering, I am responsible for my destiny and life on earth.

Poem Structure

In just four stanzas with equal number of lines per stanza, the poem speaker, via the first person singular point view, expressed his survival of a painful experience which taught him a true life lesson that a person’s fate is determined by none other than such person.

Poem Diction

Besides the title of the poem which is non-English, the language of the poem is simple and up-to-date except the use of “bludgeoning” and “unconquerable” which sounded as heavy as the duty they performed in the poem.

Poem Classification

The poem can be categorized under life and living. The poem titled “Relic” by Ted Hughes also fell into the same category.

Poem Setting

The direct setting is nighttime as described with lines such as “Out of the night that covers me/ Black as the pit from pole to pole”. The inner mind of the poet can also be considered a setting where promises of bravery emanated.

Poem Dominant Device

The poem is dominated with metaphors; comparing so many incomparable. “Fell clutch of circumstance”, “the bludgeoning of chance”, “this place of wrath and tears”, “the captain of my soul”, etc.

Poem Obvious Figurative

Other noted figures of speech are simile in line 2 “black as the Pit”, imagery in line 6 “not winced nor cried aloud” , allusion in line 13 “strait the gate” which alluded to the Bible, symbolism in line 2 “Pit” which symbolized Hell, run-on-line in line 9-10 “wrath and tears looms”, alliteration in line 2 “Pit from pole to pole”, repetition such as “find”, “I am the”, “pole”, “soul”, etc.

Poem Themes

The themes in the poem are of human fate and destiny, life’s unforeseen painful circumstances, perseverance as a vital tool for human survival, etc. For the voice in the poem to fulfill his or her destiny, he or she needed to weather all challenging situations with a tenacious spirit.

Poem Adaptation

There is also a movie titled “Invictus” which has some lines of the poem within its script. The 2009 movie is related to the South African Apartheid and the presidency of Nelson Mandel 

About the Poet 

William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) was a poet and editor born in Gloucester, England.  He edited for many magazines and journals during his working career. Few online biographies have also noted that Robert Louis Stevenson was one of William E. Henley’s friends. So who else has background records of the poet? Info from R. Hess at Poem of Quotes and Andrew Spacey at HubPages also seem interesting

Enunwa Chukwudinma S.

aka samueldpoetry

(the Leo with wings flying)

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10 Analysis of Poem by George Herbert

Analysis of Love III by George Herbert

This has been a very important subject since the dawn of poetry. In the poem "Love III" by George Herbert, how important humans are to God was lyrically described. The centralisation of ideas... Read the Detail >>>

Analysis of "Redemption by George Herbert

Redemption by George Herbert is another of his poems that adores the mutual relationship between human and the maker of humans. It is metaphysical in nature in the sense that the poem... Read the detail>>>

Analysis of Death by George Herbert

With the insight of both a poet and a priest, George Herbert share his personal view about Death. He shed light on the fact that death comes with both advantages and disadvantages... Read the Detail >>>

Analysis of Prayer 1 by George Herbert

This simple and direct poem of George Herbert "Prayer I" is one of his best-loved poems. Even though the language and references require some analysis, in nature, the poem is a relatively straightforward poem, but...

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Analysis of Love by George Herbert

It alludes to the Christian Holy Scripture (Bible). From the context of the poem, God's love goes beyond holiness or sinfulness. Anyone will to welcome... Read the Detail >>>

Analysis of The Pulley by George Herbert

George Herbert was born in to a noble Welsh family on April 3, 1593. Analysis The poem “The Pulley” illustrates the relationship between ... Read the Detail >>>

Analysis of Easter Wings by George Herbert

As a person of Christian faith, George Herbert explained how humans will suffer for the sins of Adam and Eve just to finally enjoy eternal state with Jesus Christ... Read the Detail >>>

Analysis Of Virtue By George Herbert

In the poem Virtue by George Herbert, death and mortality are the message. The dominating poetic device is  ... Read the detail >>>

Analysis of Paradise by George Herbert

The poem Paradise portrays a grateful heart towards God  for his care and compassion over the poem speaker... Read the Detail >>>

Analysis of The Altar by George Herbert

George Herbert's interest in the poem was in having a quiet time with one's creator. He did pointed the need for such and the expected reward for soberly committing oneself to prayer... Read the Detail>>>

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Analysis Of Sonnet 10 By William Shakespeare

Sonnet 10 is composed as one of the many William Shakespeare's sonnets. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born in Warwickshire, England. Everybody remembers him for the drama "Romeo and Juliet" among his many other beautiful contributions to art and literature.

Shakespeare held importance to love, life, death and nature; his poetry and drama mostly revolve round such subjects. In this poem, part of the message is (a) placing virtue above pleasure (b) love is give and take. The person addressed in the poem, pretend not to possess affection towards any; all in the name of maintaining virtue: "For shame, deny that thou bear’st love to any/ Who for thyself art so unprovident." The poet considered such act to be very unwise and self inflicting kind of pain.
At the extreme of the poem, the poet maintained that love is give-and-take; therefore urged the shy personality to fall in love for the sake of him: "Make thee another self, for love of me".

The poem can be paraphrased thus: In pretence, you claim no affection for anyone and remained unfair to yourself. In reality, you would have been loved by many yet your look is that of someone without a loving heart because you wear such a "murderous hate" on face for not giving in to love whereas finding romantic pleasure which is capable of recovering your lost passion should be your focus. Oh, change your perspective, and I promise to be there for you! Can hatred ever be better than gentle love? Be as gracious as you look or rather let your kindheartedness make you a changed person for the sake of my love. So that beauty may still find a dwelling place inside your heart.

Structurally, this is another of many William Shakespeare's sonnets with and end rhyme scheme of ABAB except for the concluding two lines which form a couple. As usual, the diction is Elizabethan.

Considering the poem speaker's point of view, the poem began with a second person's point of view with the use of "thou" plus others such as "thyself" "thy" "thine" "thee" which are scattered within the sonnet. There was also a first person singular expression in line 9 "...that I may change my mind".


Enunwa S. Chukwudinma
aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis Of My Sister By Liz Lochhead

One of the best way the little ones learn faster is through imitation. To the kids, imitation is the best form of trial-and-error because it comes with few hurts or mistakes before the actual mastery.

Even in the foundational classroom learning, imitation is adopted for the kindergartens via recitations and mimicries.

To summarize the poem "My Sister" by Liz Lochhead, my little twelve years old sister loves to play hopscotch wearing my shoes too big for her feet.
Although it's so admiring to know how perfect she has mastered the game in such oversized shoes but I tries to warn her how foolish and risky is it trying to live in any person's shoes.

In the poem, there are themes of childishness, learning by examples, risks associated with imitations, etc. Based on the message of the poem, there is a point where everyone exercises naivety which can be acceptable but not suitable for adulthood.

A three stanza poem; in its free verse form, the poet shares both first and third person point of view with very simple diction.

Liz Lochhead, a poet and a broadcaster, was born 26-12-1947 and also known for other intereating poems such as The Bargain, For My Grandmother Knitting, My Rival's House, Random, etc. which are listed at poemhunter website.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis Of A Postcard From The Volcano By Wallace Stevens

From the title of the poem, the poet considered this classic work of art to be a postcard that would be found amidst the wreck caused by volcano. The poet, through the eyes of foreshadowed imagination, was seen thinking about what the little children who later found their skeletons would think about them.

In his imagination, he assumed the children wouldn't know how agile and fast they could run like "foxes on the hill" and the reaction on their skeletal faces would tell the children how they felt when "The spring clouds blow/ Above the shuttered mansion house/ Beyond our gate and the windy sky/ Cries out a literate despair."
He also concluded that the children would repeat the things they've said of the house that eventually turned to ruin.

Stanza 8 of the poem:
"A dirty house in a gutted world,
A tatter of shadows peaked to white,
Smeared with the gold of the opulent sun."

The poet tends to clarify that volcano is a very deadly havoc which has nothing to do with how athletic or how fast someone can run. It is mostly a sudden occurrence that claims many lives and properties within a twinkle of an eye.

Structurally, the eight stanza poem can be considered a free verse. Each of the stanza a triolet void of regular rhythm and rhyming scheme. With an instrument of comparison in line 3 "As quick as foxes on the hill", an alliteration in "These had a being, breathing frost", etc. The themes in the poem are (1) The effects of natural disasters (2) Importance of relics in comparison to human life (3) Death as the debt of mortality.

Wallace Stevens (1879-1955) was an american poet born in Reading, Pennsylvania. During his own days of active poetry, his style of poetry was philosophical in nature; as seen in his poem titled "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird".

Enunwa Samuel Chukwudinma
aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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8 Analysis Of Poems By Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred Lord Tennyson is a well known name in the universe of poetry. Born in Somersby, United Kingdom and lived between 1809 and 1892. As a poet laureate, there are still hundreds of his poems that can never die in the hearts of poetry lovers worldwide.

Naijapoets.com.ng has taken time to outline few of Alfred Lord Tennyson's analyzed poems which can be seen below:  

• Analysis of Ulysses. This poem is more of leadership concern than of life. The monologue saw the poem speaker complain his state of inactiveness caused by old age… Read The Whole Analysis >>>

• Analysis of Ring Out Wild Bells. It is a poem about making new year resolution and deciding to live on a positive clean slate… Read The Whole Analysis >>>

• Analysis of Crossing The Bar. Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote this poem in preparedness for the death of his own fulfilled earthly existence. It exemplified what a satisfied aged person would do in appreciation to lovers and families to be left behind... Read The Whole Analysis >>>

• Analysis of The Eagle. It won’t seems a flaw to assume the poem is an indirect metaphor to the poet’s self-expression. The eagle’s qualities and abilities poured out with mere use of few carefully chosen words… Read The Whole Analysis >>>

• Analysis of Lady Clare. A long 88-line poem about twist of fate and reality knocking down the wall of impossibility. The poem narrates two cousins (Lord Ronald and Lady Clare) in love and planning to marry only to discover they were not truly cousin… Read The Whole Analysis >>>

• Analysis of The Light Brigade. It is a war poem describing the bravery of a certain minority brigades charging at more harmful and well numbered soldiers; not scared of dying all in the name of patriotism… Read The Whole Analysis >>>

• Analysis of The Blackbird. The way humans are invited into this earth and given all that is needed to live well through life only to meet halt from the icy hand of death; similar case was the blackbird described in the poem… Read The Whole Analysis >>>

• Analysis of The Kraken. A poem that took a different dimension from the known Tennyson’s love-for-nature point of view; though not absolutely different but came to the readers in a legendary tale form… Read The Whole Analysis>>>

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Human Cruelty On Birds And The Schoolboy In William Blake Poem

Question:

Give an account of various forms of human cruelty on birds and the schoolboy as depicted in William Blake's "The Schoolboy" [NECO GCE NOV/DEC 2017]

Answer:

“The Schoolboy” is a beautiful poem crafted by William Blake (1757-1827) to portray children’s perspective to formal education (i.e. classroom learning ). He tabled his thought through the voice of a certain schoolboy whose parents were so keen about the little boy’s acquisition of formal education, on the contrary, the little boy saw learning through nature (the things happening around) as the most suitable way of learning.

Blake even exaggerated the schoolboy’s outlook towards attending school_ pointing that the little boy likened the actions of his parents towards him to that of a bird kept in a cage. According to lines 21-30, the schoolboy also likened himself to things such as a shutting bud, a blossom flower, a summer season, etc; so as to justify that the action of his parents were rash.

There are so many themes in the poem “The Schoolboy” by William Blake; they are (i) freedom or freewill (ii) beauty of nature (iii) informal education is better than formal education (iv) parental control.

Looking at the poem from the angle of freedom, human cruelty to the schoolboy and the bird is made vivid. As long as a sheep cannot be wiser than its shepherd, it remains truth that the schoolboy is not wiser than his parents yet the limitations placed on the desires of the schoolboy hampered his freedom and thereby painted the parents as wicked or cruel.

According to lines 16-17, the use of a caged bird in the poem to symbolize imprisonment also depicted human as cruel. The schoolboy asked: “How can the bird that is born for joy/ Sit in a cage and sing?” the lines tend to expose that one of the most wicked acts of humans towards birds is to confine them in a cage.

Enunwa Chukwudinma Samuel aka samueldpoetry

(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis of Unholy Marriage by David Holbrook

ABOUT THE POET

The poem “Unholy Marriage” was written by David Holbrook who lived between 1923 and 2011. His career record showed he was more than a poet but a well-known academician. According to Wikipedia record, “From 1989 he was an Emeritus Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge.”

ABOUT THE POEM

The poem narrated an evening vehicle accident that took the life of a careful virgin girl. Though a virgin she was but ironically in what looked like "Unholy Marriage" or "Unwilling Marriage" her virtuous body was compressed with that of a strange man when a truck collided with the vehicle she boarded causing both their "blood and brain and bone" to mix while their naked bodies were pieced everywhere so hard to recognise. 

The poem speaker then blamed and mocked the girl for her own misfortune; she was blamed for not realizing how senseless and insensible vehicles had always been, and she was mocked for trading her pleasurable youthfulness for abstinence which had never assured anyone certainty of reward.

[ Similar poem is Analysis Of A Taxi Driver On His Death By Timothy Wangusa ]

STRUCTURED AND STANZA SUMMARY 

Unholy Marriage is a seven stanza poem with a regular end rhyme scheme. Narrated from a third person point of view, each stanza is six lines in count with perfect imageries and simple diction. The events of the poem set at a foggy night and were climatic, flowng as follows: In stanza one, she was a very well nurtured virgin lady who had never shared "Cool soft anointment of her breasts". 

In stanza two, she would have been so sweet in bed_ imagining her bridegroom sweating while receiving the benediction of her breasts_ yes, because she truly kept herself for the best. In stanza three, the piece of her body are gathered like blown sheets of papers. In stanza four and five, she failed to realise "No wheel has built-in sense, she shared a vehicle seat with a strange man and suddenly like unholy marriage, her virgin blood mixed with that of a stranger. Stanza six and seven go thus:

"Anointed only by the punctured oil
poured like unleashed wind or fire from bag
Sold by some damned magician out to spoil
The life that girded in this young girl's breast,
Now never to unfurl her flag
And march love's happy quest.

Her mother hears the clock; her sighs,
Takes off his boots: she's late tonight 
I hope she's careful virgin: men have eyes
For cherished daughters growing in the breast.
Some news? They hear the gate.
A man comes: not the best."

THEMES AND POETICS

The poem has the following themes_ Death, Virginity, Accident, Uncrtainty, etc. Death cannot be ruled out of the journey of earthly living because uncertainty is one among the limitations in mortal beings, the poet saw virginity as an expensive foolishness and that was his reason for mocking the virgin girl who lost her lost not only her life but her virginity to a terrible vehicle accident.

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Enunwa Chukwudinma Samuel aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo With Wings Flying)

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Analysis of Fame Is A Food That Dead Men Eat by Henry Austin Dobson

About The Poet

“Fame Is A Food That Dead Men Eat” is a poem written by Henry Austin Dobson, an English poet and critic. According to Wikipedia article, Dobson was born in Plymouth on the 19^th of January, 1840. It is noted that he decided to focus on literature around 1864_ creating splendid poetry and prose. He was responsible for the first original ballade written in English language. He died on the 2^nd of September of 1921.

Denotation

Here, in the poem titled “Fame Is A Food That Dead Men Eat”, two important elements are juxtaposed; fame and friendship. In the poet’s debate, he clearly chose a side_ picking friendship over fame. Looking at both, fame in most cases attracts huge friendship though most friendship attained outside of fame are more cordial and long lasting than that which fame brought. This is probably the reason why the poem speaker denied fame as uttered in line 2 of the poem:  “I have no stomach for such meat”.

As he has keenly considered the aftermath of both fame and friendship then in line 8 of the poem he said, “Of friendship it is good to sing” knowing that someone who made or invested in friendship while on earth will long be remembered by his or her friends compared to someone who acquired fame while living but ended alone in grave without living friends to remember and speak of his or her friendly acts while on earth.

The denotation of the poem leads us to few of its theme which can be listed as follows:

1.       Friendship is better than fame; as stated in line 1-6 versus line 7-12.

2.       Living in friends memories is better than living in the grave alone.

3.       Death is the worst enemy of fame, when line 4-5 “They eat it in the silent tomb/ With no kind voice of comrade near”

4.       Remembrance is the true reward for friendship, as stated in line 9-12:

“For truly, when a man shall end

He lives in memory of his friend

Who doth his better part recall

And of his fault make funeral”.

Further Summary

‘Line 1: “Fame is a food” is an instance of metaphor in the poem and the repeated “f” sound is an example of alliteration.

Line 2: “I have no stomach for such meat,” meaning I am not interested in such thing.

Line 3: “In little light” is alliteration while “narrow room” symbolizes the grave or tomb.

Line 4: “They eat it in the silent tomb.” Though tombs might be quite cold but dead people eating in their tombs is very much of an imaginative creativity.

Line 5: “With no kind voice comrade near”, that the act of friendship ends on earth; it can’t be found in the grave.

Line 6: “To bid the feaster be of cheer” has the repeated “i” sound as assonance.

Line 7: This is where the poem speaker declared his or her actual preference which is the act of friendship.

Line 8: “Of friendship it is good to sing,” meaning it is a good thing to laud the act of friendship.

Line 9: “When a man shall end,” means when a person eventually dies.

Line 12: “And of his fault make funeral.”  The line means that the friends of the dead won’t talk or make reference to the faulty ways of the dead even at his or her death. The word “funeral” in the line is a metonymy.

Other things of note are the use of regular end rhymes pattern and rhythm. There are some old fashion words in the poem such as “doth”, “shall”, etc. The twelve line poem maintains simple dictions in addressing the subject between life and death. The poet supported friendship through the repeated use of the word “friendship” plus other family words “comrade”, “friends”, etc. 

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Enunwa Chukwudinma S aka samueldpoetry

(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis of The Companion by Yevgeny Yevtushenko

SUMMARY OF THE POEM

The battle was very tense and near the clinkers of the rail was a little girl named Katya, "sitting on the rough embankment" wearing a hat bigger than her head. She was nine years of age and we were "cut off from our grandmothers/ while the Germans were dive-bombing the train". I could not stand the idea of leaving her behind yet did not know what to do with her "but doubt quickly dissolved to certainty" as the sounds of exlosion were no longer at close range.

I gave her a better air of boot and we began trekking through streams and forests until I got tired and suddenly sat beside a fence
"Whats the matter with you?' she said.
Don't be so stuid! Put grass in your boots.
Do you want to eat something? Why won't you talk?
Hold this thin, this is crab.
We'll have refreshments. You small boys,
You're always pretending to be brave" (according to 33-38)

After a little rest, we resumed trekking, walking side-by-side and because I didn't want her to call me lazy, I gathered all my strength and further trekked long distance without rest; "passing craters, passing fire/ under the rocking sky of '41/ tottering crazy on its smoking columns".

HISTORICAL RELEVANCE OF THE POEM

The context of the poem fixed it under the war related poems such as (1) The Battle of Stanford Bridge by Laurence Binyon, (2) O Captain My Captain by Walt Whitman, (3) Five Ways To Kill A Man by Edwin Brock, (4) At Fifteen I Went With The Army by Arthur Waley, (5) An Irish Airman Foresees His Death by W. B. Yeats, etc. The poem speaker tends to share his experience of war at a very tender age where himself and a little girl were vulnerably isolated to seek survival. It can easily be concluded that the poem speaker recollected the 1941 battle between the Germans and Russians since the poet was a Russian and mentioned "the Germans were dive-bombing the train" in line 9 of the poem. A prove of year of event can be found in line 48 which says, "under the rocking sky of '41"; as read in a wikipedia article, such battle between German and Russian lasted 4 years.

FURTHER EXPLANATION OF THE POEM

The Companion by Yevgeny Yevtushenko is a free verse of 49 lines in total. In terms of the theme, the commonly seen negative impacts of war are as well present in the poem; homelessness, brutality, survival, children transforming into scavengers, etc. The homeless situation of the little girl and the poem speaker led them to seek a safe haven and the instance of brutality can be seen in line 8-9 "We got cut off from our grandmothers/ while the Germans were dive-bombing the train". The tone of the poem is mild and revealing which was presented from a first person point of view in order to create a sense of reminder in the heart of the readers. The largely employed imageries pointed at multiple settings such as the rail, the forest, beside the fence, etc. 

ABOUT THE POET

Yevgeny Yevtushenko was a Russian poet, novelist and actor whose love for art and humanity will linger very long in the hearts of literature lovers. He spent a very meaningful 83 years on earth between 1933 and 2017. Considering many of his works, "Women occupy important place in Yevtushenko's verse. In keeing with his sympathy for the peasant and workers. He dedicates many poems to the hardworking Russian woman, as in "The Hut", so says an article critically examining the life and work of the poet. The poem "The Companion" and other poems such as Lies, Psychotherapy, Fury, Babii Yar, I'm An Angel, and a whole lot can be found at the poemhunter website.
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Enunwa Chukwudinma S aka samueldpoetry
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Analysis of A Description of A City Shower by Jonathan Swift

Naijaoets.com.ng has analyzed some poems relating to London and the poem "A Descrition of A City Shower" is another instance of classic poems written about London. The poet described the messy state of his city during the rainy season. The mental images painted in the poem might not match the present day London but it gave the readers a clear view of what London was in the year 1710 when the poem was crafted by the poet, Jonathan Swift.

The poem divided into multi-stanzas has its summary shown that when its about to rain, their would be a heavy cloud, a thicker odious environment and the cats will be seen so moody, and the poet's advice to stay at with wine than attempt to go for a diner (according to the first stanza of the poem which has a total of twelve lines). 

What follows is the effect of the rain on the people around_ running here and there to hide from the rain: 
"To Shops in Crouds the daggled Females fly (which is metaphor)
Pretending to cheapen Goods, but nothing buy
The Templer spruce, while ev'ry Spout's a-broach (the templer: law student from Temple, London)
Stays till 'tis fair, yet seems to call a Coach. (alliteration found in the line)
The tuck'd-up Semptstress walks with hasty Strides
While Streams run down her oil'd Umbrella's Sides
Here various Kinds by various Fortunes led (various is repeated, Kind = people, Fortunes = ambitions)
Commence Acquaintance underneath a Shed."

From the above quote, the rain changed the course of humans intentions which led to most of them acting wierd and fake; many who wouldn't have been friendly force started friendly conversations with other fellows camped by the sudden rain under a tiny roof, ladies run into shops are seen making enquiries about products they wouldn't buy, the students kept calling the cabs but not with the intention of leaving unless the rain stops, the dressmaker was working hasty under her umbrella as if she would be late for a certain appointment (according to the third stanza of the poem). The fourth stanza is an end-rhyming lines of eleven in total. 

It gave a detailed description of the flood; its smelly nature, how it navigated its ways through the city (They, as each Torrent drives, with rapid Force/ From Smithfield, or St Pulchre's shape their Course/ And in huge Confluent join at Snow-Hill Ridge/ Fall from the Conduit prone to Holborn-Bridge), and how the flood swiftly travel with any helpless things that fall into its path (examples seen in the poem are "Drown'd Puppies", "stinking Sprats", "Dead Cats", "Turnip-Tops").

• Audio Analysis of A Description of A City Shower
• Description of a City Shower: Summary & Analysis - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com 
• PDF format of "A Description of A City Shower by Jonathan Swift 
• To view the whole poem: A Description of A City Shower by Jonathan Swift

The author of Gullivers Travels, Jonathan Swift lived between 30th November, 1667 and 19th October, 1745. He was born in Republic of Ireland and did attend University of Oxford. Swift, during his lifetime was known as a poet and Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin among other things. 
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Enunwa Chukwudinma S aks samueldpoetry
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Analysis of The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson

THE POEM

“The moon has a face like the clock in the hall

She shines on thieves on the garden wall

On streets and fields and harbour quays

An d birdies asleep in the forks of the trees

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse

The howling dog by the door of the house

The bat that lies in bed at noon

All love to be out by the light of the moon

But all the things that belong to the day

Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way

And flowers and children close their eyes

Till up in the morning the sun shall rise.”

[Other Interesting Poem To Read Is The Night Wind By Emily Bronte]

 THE POET AND PREOCCUPATION

Accoding to a wikipedia article about the poet, Robert L. Stevenson (1850-1894) was a Scottish poet and author; one among his famous book is Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He was born in Edinburgh on the 13th of November, 1850 into the family of a Scottish lighthouse engineer named Thomas Stevenson.

The poet aims to remind us that there is time for everything on earth. Using the moon as the sample for  his illustration, the moon only appears at night with its own benefits which some living things he mentioned in the poem dimmed necessary to harness and enjoy while others deny themselves of the moon in order to attain their needed night rest.

THE DEEPER ANALYSIS

The dominant devices in the poem are sibilance and onomatopoeia (squalling, squeaking and howling in lines 5-6) but the presence of the moon was well appreciated by the poet that he compared it appearance with the use of simile to a clock on the wall whose impact are felt through the streets and fields and harbours. “Birdies asleep in the forks of trees” is a line in the poem that contained assonance in attempt to describe the tree creatures enjoyed the moon while “howling dog by the door” contained alliteration. “The bat that lies in bed at noon” is a hyperbole exaggerating the state of the bat in their comfort zones. “Flowers and children close their eyes” is not only a personification but a zeugma where the verb “close” is used for both “flowers” and “children” that share no direct relationship.

[Must Read: Analysis Of Vultures By Simon Pederek ]

This straight single verse poem has a total of 12 lines with end rhymes in couplet form. It possessed a very simple diction, a very calm tone in a relaxed mood. And the subject clearly declared the poem’s place of occurrence which is under a full moon. The moon whose face is like the “clock in the hall” is seen performing some nightly obligation such as securing the environment which the poet referred to as “shines on thieves on the garden wall”. The birdies, the squalling cat, the squeaking mouse, the howling dog, the bat are all glad to see the moon shine on them but most things active during the day_ flowers and children close their eyes sleeping to deny themselves the presence of the moon.

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Enunwa Chukwudinma S aka samueldpoetry

(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis of Wind by Ted Hughes

                                                        

THE POET: Ted Hughes, the husband of Sylvia Plath, lived bewteen 1930 and 1998. He was an English poet also known for writing content that fits the children category.

THE POEM BACKGROUND: Hughes particular sailing experience is shared in the poem titled “Wind” though the word related to travelling was never seen in the poem (a prove that Ted Hughes is a very talented writer) but the mental images and repeated use of “Wind” in the poem tells the reader there was a journey going on. The first stanza had scenes of night time, while the second stanza was in the morning, there was also seedy scene to prove that the events in the poem were in motion_ take for example the forth stanza:

“The fields quivering, the skyline a grimace,

At any second to bang and vanish with a flap:

The wind flung magpie away, and a black”

[Have you read: Detail Analysis Of My Parents Kept Me From Children Who Were Rough By Stephen Spender ]

SUMMARY: In the first stanza, the poet sailed through the wet rainy night with a fierce wind. The poem still portrayed the heaviness of the wind in the second stanza of the poem though it was already daytime and sun created an orange sky. In the third stanza, the poem speaker strolled around the ship at noon but the fifth and the last stanza showed Hughes state of relationship with his companion (a fellow traveller).

SETTING AND DICTION: The diction is simple and the setting is in the ship or referrably on the sea, sailing.

THE CATEGORY OF THE POEM:  It falls under travel based on the fact that the events in the poem detailed the poet’s sailing experience but from another angle, the poem belongs to nature where many natural things are given attention; the wind which at a point in the poem was considered stampeding, the hills which were booming, the sky which was also referred as orange, etc.  It is important to also note that the poem reveals the supremacy of the inanimate over the animates with the wind (the inanimate) tormented the poet (the animate) and another classic poem that glorifies the inanimate over the animate is “Ode to a Grecian Urn” by John Keats where the urn held love far longer than two lovers who’s love are easily vanished by death.

THE MESSAGE IN THE POEM: The message of the poem is traced to the title “Wind” as it is mentioned multiple times in the poem “Wind stampeding the fields under the window” as seen in line three of the poem, “Through the brunt wind that dented the balls of my eyes” in line eleven of the poem, “The wind flung a magpie away, and a black” in line fifteen. So many factors called for the title of the poem and the first remains the impact it had on the journey. The second is how the wind influenced the poets relationship with his accompanied traveller as seen in the fifth stanzas of the poem “In chairs, in front of the great fire, we grip/ Our hearts and cannot entertain book, thought/ Or each other.”

[ Don't Miss: Deep Analysis Of Lullaby By W H Auden ]

THE FIGURES OF SPEECH: I try look through the poet’s choice of beautifying words and I felt like the line 20-21 have a zeugma where the word “entertain” seems overused “...cannot entertain book, thought/ Or each other”. Others are “This house” in line one is a synecdoche used for representing the whole ship, “the stones cry out” is a personification, “wind wielded” is an alliteration, “orange sky” is a symbolism for a sunny afternoon, “flexing like the lens of a mad eye” is a simile, “burnt wind” is an oxymoron, “blade-light” is an imagery.

Enunwa Chukwudinma S. aka samueldpoetry

(the Leo with wings flying)

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