Rachael
May 11, 2008
Poetry / Could somebody read my poetry analysis essay and tell me if it's good? [5]
The biggest thing I need help with is the length, I really need to make it much longer, if anybody can give me ideas... and I've got my English exam on Thursday so it would be really helpful:)
A poem with a particularly surprising ending is 'Follower' by Seamus Heaney, a poem of a young boy and his farmer father. He makes this ending surprising through effective use of word placement, imagery and tone.
The very first verse begins;
'My father worked with a horse plough
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung.'
The word placement of 'my father' at the very beginning already creates an idea of awe and pride at his father. The imagery in 'his shoulders globed like a full sail strung' continues this idea, the sail reference giving an image of this boy believing his father had the grace and strength of a yacht.
The reasons this helps make an interesting ending is the drastic change of this proud image of his father later on.
The next verse begins with;
'An expert.'
The placement of the word 'expert' makes the reader believe the pride of his talented father is the most important thing in the boy's world. This again makes the ending more interesting as his idea of his father drastically changes.
Finally his use of tone makes the ending more surprising. Originally the boy seems to love his father without fail. In turn, the father seems to hold unconditional love for the boy. While the boy describes himself as;
'A nuisance, always tripping, falling'
the father seems to disregard the boy's failings, hindering himself even more just to carry the boy on his back. However, the boy's admiring tone of the father and this unconditional love changes in the last verse.
'But today/ It is my father who stumbles behind me, and will not go away.'
The change of adoration to annoyance makes the ending surprising, as you were expecting the boy to grow old and look after his father as his father looked after him. However he seems to despise his father's weakneses.
Therefore, Seamus Heaney makes the ending of 'Follower' very surprising through skilful use of word placement, imagery and tone.
The biggest thing I need help with is the length, I really need to make it much longer, if anybody can give me ideas... and I've got my English exam on Thursday so it would be really helpful:)
A poem with a particularly surprising ending is 'Follower' by Seamus Heaney, a poem of a young boy and his farmer father. He makes this ending surprising through effective use of word placement, imagery and tone.
The very first verse begins;
'My father worked with a horse plough
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung.'
The word placement of 'my father' at the very beginning already creates an idea of awe and pride at his father. The imagery in 'his shoulders globed like a full sail strung' continues this idea, the sail reference giving an image of this boy believing his father had the grace and strength of a yacht.
The reasons this helps make an interesting ending is the drastic change of this proud image of his father later on.
The next verse begins with;
'An expert.'
The placement of the word 'expert' makes the reader believe the pride of his talented father is the most important thing in the boy's world. This again makes the ending more interesting as his idea of his father drastically changes.
Finally his use of tone makes the ending more surprising. Originally the boy seems to love his father without fail. In turn, the father seems to hold unconditional love for the boy. While the boy describes himself as;
'A nuisance, always tripping, falling'
the father seems to disregard the boy's failings, hindering himself even more just to carry the boy on his back. However, the boy's admiring tone of the father and this unconditional love changes in the last verse.
'But today/ It is my father who stumbles behind me, and will not go away.'
The change of adoration to annoyance makes the ending surprising, as you were expecting the boy to grow old and look after his father as his father looked after him. However he seems to despise his father's weakneses.
Therefore, Seamus Heaney makes the ending of 'Follower' very surprising through skilful use of word placement, imagery and tone.