WHEN WE TWO PARTED

Byron

‘silence and tears’ – repetition – first and last verse – cyclical structure – his suffering never ends

‘half-broken hearted’ – implies he has never got over her

‘sever’ – emotive / powerful verb – clear sense of loss

‘chill’ – emphasis on the cold, emotionless state of their relationship

‘vows are all broken’ – marriage vows / promises she made to him

‘A knell to my ear’ – symbolism – death – end of relationship

‘Long, long shall I rue thee’ – repetition – suffering has been ongoing

‘deceive’ – felt lied to / cheated

‘In secret we met –

In silence I grieve’ – change in pronouns – emphasises his sense of loss / suffering alone / how he protected her name & reputation

NEUTRAL TONES

Hardy

‘Neutral’ – title seems to attempt to hide the truth as his feelings seem far from neutral

‘We stood by a pond…’ – pronoun – together – but past tense ‘stood’ implies separation – image of the pond is repeated at the end – a time for reflection – creates a cyclical structure – perhaps struggling to deal with feelings / has not moved on

‘winter day’ – cold, emotionless – reflects relationship

‘white’ / ‘grey’ – colourless – symbolism – emotionless

‘starving sod’ – sibilance – earth needs nourishment for life to grow – symbolic of their relationship which was failing

‘The smile on your face was the deadest thing alive’ – juxtaposition – he realises that their relationship was forced / fake

‘love deceives’ – he feels cheated – certainly not ‘neutral’

‘chidden of God’ / ‘God-curst’ – religious allusion – their relationship was doomed to failure

LOVE’S PHILOSOPHY

Shelley

‘Philosophy’ – lyric poem – expresses strong personal feelings

‘mingle’ / ‘mix’ / ‘kiss’ / ‘clasp’ – verbs specifically chosen to evoke the idea of two things coming together

‘fountains’ / ‘mountains’ / waves’ – natural imagery – symbolising how natural their actions would be

‘Heaven’ / ‘law divine’ – religious allusion – their relationship is natural / God would approve / there would be no shame in kissing him

‘kiss’ / ‘kissings’ – repetition – emphasising the purpose of the poem – to persuade her to give in to his desires

‘what are all these kissings worth,

If thou kiss not me?’ – rhetorical question – powerful, emotive idea that life is worth nothing without each other

PORPHYRIA’S LOVER

Browning

‘sullen wind’ / ‘spite’ / ‘vex’ – pathetic fallacy / combination of verbs and adjectives set tone – angry / tense / negative – possible foreshadowing.

‘she shut the cold out’ – literal and metaphorical – she brings warmth / comfort to his life.

‘cheerless grate’ – transferred epithet – the grate reflects the feelings of the man – ‘cheerless’ without his lover.

‘withdrew’ / ‘laid’ / ‘put my arm around her waist’ – her actions are more forward – uncommon for the time period – perhaps adds to his confusion / inner turmoil.

‘from pride and vainer ties dissever’ – she was struggling to leave her life behind – he makes it sound as if it was what she really wanted.

‘As a shut bud that holds a bee’- simile – nature – they were destined to be together.

‘And all night long we have not stirred,

And yet God has not said a word’. – ends with a rhyming couplet – reference to God – assuring himself that his actions were right.

SONNET 29 – I THINK OF THEE

Barret-Browning

‘my thoughts do twine and bud’ – natural imagery – her thoughts are wrapped up in him.

‘as wild vines about a tree’ – simile – more natural imagery – adjective ‘wild’ implies her passion – he is her metaphorical ‘tree’ – gives her support – she relies on him for strength.

‘O my palm tree’ – religious allusion – biblical reference – pure / true love

‘set thy trunk all bare’ – very forward for a Victorian woman – urging him to give himself to her.

‘a new air’ – he metaphorically breathes life into her life.

‘thee’ and ‘thy’ – repetition of pronouns show her thoughts are solely of him – shows constancy of her feelings.

CLIMBING MY GRANDFATHER

Waterhouse

‘the old brogues, dusty and cracked’ – starts at bottom – child’s perspective. Shoes may symbolise grandfather – he too is ageing.

‘rope’ / ‘net’ / ‘traverse’ / ‘ridge’ – terminology / lexical field supports development of extended metaphor. The poet enjoyed climbing and uses this hobby to explore fond memories of his grandfather.

‘like warm ice’ – oxymoron – a man or contradictions / a man of many secrets / a man who could be cool and aloof, but not to the grandchild, to whom he shows great warmth.

‘firm shoulder’ – adjective – implies he was a solid figure in his life.

‘smiling mouth’ / ‘good heart’ – a man he looks up to / a hero / love and warmth.

‘the glassy ridge of a scar’ – metaphor – alludes to the history of the man.

MOTHER ANY DISTANCE

Armitage

‘You’ / ‘me’ – the personal pronouns show the focus of the poem.

‘any distance’ – repetition of the title – knows his mother will always be there to support him. Often this is a positive thing but as the poem progresses we see that this can be stifling.

‘acres’ / ‘prairies’ – hyperbole / metaphor – used to exaggerate distances – how little things make the poet feel out of depth as he attempts to move out of home for the first time.

‘the spool of tape’ – becomes a metaphor for how he moves forward, but knows that his mother is always there, waiting to help.

‘Anchor. Kite.’ – sentence fragments – put emphasis on these words – how he sees his mum. Can infer safety / security – but also hint at how sometimes he feels held back / restricted.

‘space-walk’ – metaphor – tentative steps into the unknown – into adulthood.

‘something has to give’ – relationship is changing.

WALKING AWAY

Day-Lewis

‘like a satellite’ – simile – distance growing between them – but there will always be a connection.

‘wrenched’ – emotive verb – reflects how the father struggled with the idea of letting his son go.

‘drifting away’ – fears that their relationship will drift.

‘a half-fledged thing’ – metaphor – natural imagery – the father knows that this is just the natural course of events, but he doesn’t feel that his son is ready to leave the nest just yet.

‘wilderness’ – reflects the fears he has – the dangers in society / life which he cannot protect his son from.

‘Like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem’ – simile – more natural imagery – his son must develop his own roots.

THE FARMER’S BRIDE

Mew

‘I chose’ – male dominance of the era. Arranged marriage. She did not have a voice – just as her voice is absent from the poem.

‘like the shut of a winter’s day’ – simile shows how cold she was towards her new husband. Symbolism – emotional coldness.

‘we chased her, flying like a hare.’ – sustains dehumanisation through the simile. He sees her as his to own. Pronoun ‘We’ explains her fears – she feels hunted like an animal.

‘like a mouse’ – more imagery related to animals – this simile works to emphasise how timid she was.

‘Not near, not near…’ – repetition – she was scared but he grew more frustrated / angry.

‘The short days shorten and the oaks are brown’ – farmer – measures time with the changing seasons – symbolism here shows he is conscious that he is ageing and that time is running out.

EDEN ROCK

Causley

‘They are waiting for me somewhere beyond…’ – possibly reference to the afterlife when he hopes to be reunited with his beloved parents.

‘same suit’ – memory of father doesn’t change – he doesn’t age because he died so young.

‘Her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light.’ – metaphor – there is something ethereal about her. Memory is beautiful.

‘same three plates’ – repetition of three – their family unit – ‘three suns’ – father / son / holy spirit – symbolism? Perhaps reflecting the hope of eternal life / seeing them again.

‘The sky whitens’ – colourless – life changed after his parents’ deaths.

‘stream-path’ – perhaps symbolises the River Styx – the mythological river which separates the mortal world with the after life.

‘Crossing is not as hard as you might think.’ – vision gives him comfort.

WINTER SWANS

Sheers

‘clouds’ /‘two days of rain’ – pathetic fallacy – sets tone from the start – there are troubles in their relationship.

‘tipping in unison’ – the swans work together – they stop and watch the swans.

‘like boats righting in rough weather’ – simile – shows how the swans can find their balance even in troubled times – symbolising the couple.

‘They mate for life’ you said…’ –breaks the silence – implies that she sees hope for their future together.

‘porcelain’ – metaphor – swans are delicate just like their relationship is fragile.

‘slow-stepping in the lake’s shingle and sand’ – adverb slow = it will take time to heal their rift. Sibilance – there will be rough times and smooth times.

‘our hands… swum the distance between us’ – extended metaphor – coming back together.

SINGH SONG!

Nagra

Romantic / light-hearted. Newlywed couple. Title is a pun – a play on a common name – also reflects the lyrical, sing-song nature of the as developed through the rhythm and rhyme.

‘daddy’s shops’ – shows touch of immaturity. Also used to show how his father has controlled his life up to the point of his marriage – now he is distracted by his ‘newly bride’. (Non-standard English – accent comes through.)

‘vee share’ – repetition - unity of their marriage – clear sense of being together.

‘made luv / Like we rowing through Putney.’ – simile – humorous / fun – enjoying life with his new wife.

‘my pinnie untied’ – distracted – hints at what they have been doing – not ashamed of his behaviour but proud of it.

‘di worst Indian shop’ – contrast to his father who put business first.

‘high heel tap the ground’ / ‘Sikh lover site’ – contrast between traditional Indian culture mixed with Western behaviour.

‘my bride’ – possessive pronoun – marriage = ownership = traditional idea in his culture. ‘My bride’ is on a separate line – his thoughts return to her and her alone. Repetition of the phrase shows his obsession.

‘effing at my mum’ – his wife lacks respect but he finds it endearing. The narrator is rebelling against his father’s strict rules.

‘di tickle of my bride’ – euphemism – relationship is affectionate and carefree.

‘Hey Singh, ver yoo bin?’ – chorus – reminder of the poet’s antics.

‘ven yoo shoppers are wrap up…’ – direct address to the reader – we become the shoppers who impinge on the time he has with his wife.

‘she say… I say… baby.’ – repetition / alternating – two-way conversation – working together. Happy relationship.

‘priceless baby-’ poem left hanging – looking towards the future – love is more important than anything.

BEFORE YOU WERE MINE

Duffy

‘I’m ten years away’ – the image is of ten years before she was born.

‘laugh’ / ‘shriek’ – verbs – enjoyment of young, carefree single girl.

‘ballroom’ / ‘dance’ / ‘Cha cha cha!’ – multiple reference to dancing – freedom / excitement of her mother as a young girl.

‘the fizzy movie tomorrows’ – the romance / potential her mother had – she knows that she changed the future for her mother.

‘The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell was the best one, eh?’ – conversational tone. She knows that once she was born her mother changed – her mother’s life revolved around caring for her.

‘I remember my hands in those high-heeled red shoes’ – adds to the wistful tone as the poet remembers her own childhood.

‘relics’ / ‘ghost’ – the person her mother used to be has metaphorically died.

‘lights’ / ‘stars’ / ‘sparkle’ – multiple reference to light – could symbolise how her mother was carefree or how she looks up to her mother or how she wishes she had known this woman – perhaps hinting that her mother changed, but not for the better.

FOLLOWER

Heaney

‘His shoulders globed like full sail’ – simile – begins nautical imagery which is extended throughout – suggests that his father was a magnificent sight to behold when he was at work.

‘rolled’ / ‘dipping’ / ‘rising’ – extended imagery – mirror his father’s movements in the field / the movement of the soil as he ploughed it.

‘horse-plough’ / ‘furrow’ / ‘steel-pointed sock’ / ‘headrig’ – technical terminology – focus on his father at work and his admiration of how skilled he was.

‘His eye narrowed… Mapping the furrow exactly.’ – he’d watched his father many times – admired his skill / accuracy.

‘I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake…’ – he felt clumsy compared to his father.

‘I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, yapping always.’ Triplet shows how he felt; perhaps implies that while he admired his father he never felt too close to him. Present participle – vivid memory.

LETTERS FROM YORKSHIRE

Dooley

‘his knuckles singing’ – personification – the joy / excitement he finds in writing to her.

‘It’s not romance’ – relationship based on friendship.

‘seeing the seasons turning’ – he lives in the countryside – a world away from her life in the city – she loves hearing about this – perhaps a reminder of her roots.

‘feeding words onto a blank screen’ – metaphor – words give nourishment – they sustain people – just like his letters enrich her life.

‘that other world’ – their lives are so different – his letters transport her to a different place – that’s why their communication is so important.

‘pouring air and light into an envelope’ – metaphor – links to ‘feeding’ – that words can be powerful – they give her life and hope.

‘our souls tap out messages across the icy miles’ – their bond is strong – symbolism in the adjective ‘icy’ – her life would be cold without their communication / their relationship.

POSSIBLE LINKS:

Communication – Letters From Yorkshire / The Farmer’s Bride.

Positive relationships – Letters From Yorkshire / Singh Song / Sonnet 29.

Unrequited love - The Farmer’s Bride / When We Two Parted / Love’s Philosophy

Family relationships – Walking Away / Mother Any Distance / Eden Rock / Follower / Climbing My Grandfather.

Separation – Neutral Tones / When We Two Parted / Winter Swans / Eden Rock / Walking Away.

Letting go – Walking Away / Eden Rock / Mother Any Distance

Difficult relationships – The Farmer’s Bride / Mother Any Distance / Porphyria’s Lover

Loss – Neutral Tones / When We Two Parted / Eden Rock / Walking Away

Romantic Love – Love’s Philosophy / Sonnet 29 / Singh-Song

Challenging in relationships – Winter Swans / Love’s Philosophy / The Farmer’s Bride / Walking Away / Mother Any Distance

Admiration – Follower / Climbing My Grandfather / Sonnet 29

Regret – Before You Were Mine / Follower / Neutral Tones

Looking Back – Neutral Tones / When We Two Parted / Eden Rock / Mother Any Distance