Compare and compare the presentation of loss of life and grief in both poems
In this article I am evaluating and contrasting the display of fatality and grief in the two poems, 'Tropical Death' and 'Mid-Term Period of time'. Sophistication Nichols, the poet of 'Tropical Fatality', was born in Guyana, 1950, and then migrated to Great britain at the age of 27. In every of her writing, her own record and that of her country have obviously had a profound impact as she says, "I am a writer across two worlds; I just can't neglect my Caribbean culture and former, so there's this compare interaction between your two worlds: Britain and the Caribbean. " Seamus Heaney, the poet of 'Mid Term Respite', was created in Ireland in 1939 as the eldest of nine children. Many of his works concern his own family history as well and also seems to focus on character types in his own family: they could be read as elegies for those family members.
The content of both the poems presents the styles of fatality and grief. Both poems package with two poetic voices speaking about and interacting with fatality. In "Tropical Death" she is planning the finish of her life whereas in "Mid Term Period of time" he's dealing with the loss of his sibling. In 'Tropical Loss of life', this content consists of a Caribbean "black woman" hoping "an excellent tropical death". Elegance Nichols discusses heading back to her home country because she actually is planning the end of her life and want a dramatic, traditional death. I believe this as she implies so much of her own loss of life that the audience presumes she has come to the finish of her life. I, as a audience, find the poetic tone of voice in the group of integrity. It is because she is sense ready on her behalf own death and is hence planning for it. We also know she wishes a dramatic fatality since it says, "no silent jerk tear wiping, a polite hearse withdrawal", demonstrating the woman wishes an 'over the top' end to her life. The poetic voice wants a tragic fatality, as it also states "all the sleepless droning/ red-eyed wake nights". This implies vigil. In "Mid Term Rest" the content consists of an account of a family tragedy. In the poem the poetic voice attends the funeral of his more radiant brother who, at the age of four, was stepped on. We know this since it says "my mom held my hand", "met my father crying", "these were 'sorry for my trouble'" and "I had been the eldest". Each one of these quotes tell us, as the reader, the actual family is going through. This makes us feel pathos for the poetic speech. The poetic speech is in fact Heaney's own as this really do happen in his life. This make the tranquility feel more heart-felt and emotional because each one of these things Heaney discusses were real.
The ideas the poets may have wanted us to take into account presents the styles of death and grief. In 'Tropical Fatality', an idea Nichols wanted us to take into account was how she recognizes and has recognized the way in which she would prefer to pass away. "Woman want", she actually is portrayed as always hoping which shows take great pride in, determination, self-radiance, independence and durability. She had thought very much about her death that she has learned every detail, down to what dress she'd like to wear, "blue sea dress/ to cover her neat". When I first read this I thought the poetic words meant she wished to drown, "dress" being the waves and "neat" so this means to take her life quickly and painlessly. Yet having re-read it, I realised the woman was really just referring to her plans for her traditional Caribbean clothing in which she wished to be buried in. In "Mid Term Break", a concept Heaney needed us to take into account was the imagery used expressing ideas of death. Heaney uses a metaphor to spell it out the only symbol on the boy's body, "poppy bruise". That is also the only real colour discussed in the piece which makes this one mark more intense. It says he had "no gaudy marks" because "the bumper knocked him clear" and having this one little bruise, although it was probably quite small, seems extremely stunning and sickening. The colour also contrasts with the boy's skin area, which is referred to by the poetic words as "paler now". This also emphasises the "poppy bruise" for all of us, as the audience, to assume the symbol to stick out quite spectacularly. Another image Heaney needs use to imagine is the four foot box, which is alliteration. This device emphasises the negative firmness and harsh nature, making the idea of this coffin more believable and realistic. The best device Heaney uses is onomatopoeia; "whispers", "coughed", "sighs". This can help create the effect that we are actually there, hearing what the poetic tone is hearing. It creates the scene so much more real, again, like we are actually there- this emphasises the quite sadness.
The mood and atmosphere of both poems present the themes or templates of death and grief. In "Tropical Fatality" the mood is quite exotic and I, as a reader, could almost think about a Caribbean girl saying these exact things. This was since it was written in a language that captures the Caribbean dialect, but I will go on to create more relating to this later on. Elegance writes, "No quiet jerk tear wiping". This is not 'Standard English', emphasizing the Caribbean influence, and there is no punctuation throughout the part. The spirits is exotic, the writer talks about "heat" and "cool" and "shade" which implies the heat, making the audience feel like we are there, in the Caribbean. The feelings is also quite upbeat, with colourful words such as; "brilliant", "blue sea dress" and "red eyed". This lively words makes us think of the smart shades on the island. After "all the sleepless droning" the feelings softens, "her mother's special breast", "cool bless". These peaceful descriptions lower the tension levels to make the last couplet seem to be much better. In "Mid Term Respite" there is a apparent change in atmosphere between stanza five and stanza six. Inside the first five stanzas the atmosphere is anxious and frigid as the "ambulance arrived" and the entrance of the corpse "stanched and bandaged". The energy level of the poetic tone is low throughout these first five stanzas, like the poetic tone is worn out and drowned from all the is certainly going on. However, in the ultimate few stanzas the atmosphere changes peaceful, "snowdrops", "candles soothed", "he lay". These bring down the strain levels as we picture the relaxed, relaxed mood across the cot. Heaney uses pathos, "I found my father crying". This emphasises the bleak shade of the poem, participating in on the visitors feelings.
How the poems are written present the designs of death and grief. The poem "Tropical Death" has a refrain which is repeated in the beginning of each stanza (except for the fifth one). Getting the same line each time we take up a new paragraph of the poem helps us, as a reader, to be cut back to what the whole poem is about, as a frequent reminder. This repetition can be an eternal rhyme and it's really a connotation of fatality. It is also alliteration, a tool Nichols uses throughout her poem. The refrain also sticks out due to its stressed syllables, which can be short and staccato vowel does sound. The 't' and the 'k' characters make the combat hard and unappealing. Repetition is considered to originate from the decision and response custom of Africa; maybe it's a major part in her writing scheduled to Elegance Nichols' backdrop. The poem also hints at several lovely elements of loss of life; "blue sea dress/ to cover her nice", "polite hearse", "in the heart and soul/ of her mother's sweetbreast", "in the cover from the sun/ of sunlight leaf's cool bless", "in the bloom/ of her people's bloodrest". This informs me, as a audience, that "system. drawing. bitmap black woman" awaits the finish of her life with dignity, her head held high having fulfilled her planned life and is subsequently planning her own death for when it may arrive. The composition of "Tropical Fatality" is split into five stanzas and one finishing couplet. Stanza one, two, three and four all focus on the series "the fat black woman want". The fifth stanza doesn't start with this but the couplet does indeed, also the fourth and fifth stanzas are much longer than the first, second and third. This may be to emphasise the ultimate image more, by giving the reader an escape from the refrain and also the length of both stanzas before outline the brief and snappiness of the closing couplet. This break is to not detract from the meaning and there is also no punctuation in the couplet, this is therefore the reader is remaining with a strong image. This image has been building up throughout the piece, "the fat black woman want/ an excellent tropical death yes". "Tropical Death" is written in a language that captures the Caribbean dialect. It uses some new vocabulary, e. g. 'hibiscus' is a flower local to warm tropical regions; 'blue sea dress' is a traditional African dress. It generates as strong sense of the speech of the presenter. It clearly places the poem in a culture other than that symbolized by 'Standard English'. By using a mixture of Standard British and a dialect form it emphasises a specific idea, in this poem the idea is of attempting to go back to her home country. This technique gives a sense of the dual 'tone' that the poet possesses. Nichols relishes exploring these social variations: 'I like working in both Standard British and Creole. I have a tendency to want to fuse the two tongues because I come from a background where in fact the two worlds were constantly interacting, though Creole was regarded as, definitely, as the inferior of the colonial forces after i was growing up. ' In "Mid Term Period of time" the rhyme system is non-existent. I believe this is to help make the firmness of the part more serious and developed. It really is written as an episode rather than poem. This shows the realist feelings and atmosphere. The finishing couplet is more memorable as the center is slower and bland. The rhyming couplet seems to sooth. Heaney writes, "No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear/ A four foot box, a foot for each and every year". This diminishes the tension and affirms the finishing of the peace. The dialect is Standard British, with punctuation. This helps us to assume the poetic speech to live anywhere cold and unappealing because the dialect used is tough and unwelcoming.
How the poems are similar presents the styles of death and grief. Both poems finish off with a punchy collection, to leave the reader with a graphic for taking with them. In "Tropical Death" this is the proven fact that the poetic tone of voice wants to go back to her home country to die in a normal way yet in "Mid Term Chance" this is actually the fact that a boy has passed away young from a tragic automobile accident. These last images conclude both poems strongly. Both poems have a similar layout, with regular stanzas and your final shorter stanza. Both poems overall talk about the same things, but "Tropical Fatality" discusses in a more up-beat, lively and natural type of way- it is the natural order of life. Whereas, in Heaney's poem, it is written in a far more dejected and miserable kind of way.
How the poems will vary present the topics of death and grief. In Nichols' poem she discusses the look of her death whereas in Heaney's poem he talks about a boy that has died young- his life was lower tragically short, without any notice. Nichols is basically saying all of that the youngster in Heaney's poem acquired, she doesn't want. She says "not really a cold sojourn/ in some North European countries far/forlorn". That is exactly what the tiny son in Heaney's poem acquired. Nichols says she doesn't want "a polite hearse" yet that's what Heaney's poem has, "sorry for my trouble", "whispers". The "fat dark-colored woman" would like "some bawl", "Sleepless droning" unlike the young man had in Heaney's poem, "coughed out tearless sighs", "I used to be embarrassed". All these things prove that everything Heaney identifies in his poem is everything Nichols is saying she doesn't want; both poems sum up the cultural norms. Our culture is provided in Heaney's poem as wintry, "snowdrops" with lots of secrecy, "whispers", and this distinction greatly with Nichols' culture which is referred to as lively and welcoming. The coldness and grayness hit us in Heaney's poem, "no gaudy marks" and white "snowdrops". That is such a distinction from Nichols' vibrant and warm piece, "heat", "tropical". In "Mid Term Period of time" there exists tension, "embarrassed", there is certainly pressured politeness and secrecy. It is a hint that people don't have a inviting culture, unlike Nichols' culture, ours seems wintry and behind entry doors, "a cold sojourn" as described in "Tropical Death".
In conclusion, both of these poems present death and grief in two different ways- we listen to the negativity of Heaney's traumatic experience, which completely contrasts with Nichols' positive need to return to her homeland for her death.
