Compare And Contrast The Poem Forge By John Montag

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Montague and Heaney, both share close backgrounds. Both poets had an Irish childhood upbringing which was influenced by Catholicism and family life (in contrast, they were very different; e.g. Heaney had a strong bond with his Mother whereas Montague didn’t, having being sent to live with his aunts in his early childhood). Montague was a native of Garvaghey in County Tyrone and Heaney, a native of Mossbawn in County Londonderry. These two poets also share a strong sense of place and seek to either record or celebrate the craft in which was associated with their early years. They are both considered to be Northern Irish poets with an Ulster nationalist heritage. They both present in a wide range of their poems, the tension between imagination and memory between rural and urban life, childhood experience and adult remiscence. The title of these two poems, Forge by Montague and The Forge by Heaney suggest that they are on the same subject; however, Montague’s could be interpreted as ambiguous by the reader. Forge, (interpreted as a verb and/or a noun) suggests that it is the act of completing a task or belonging to a sense of place. Whereas, The Forge is a combination of a definite article with that of a common noun. Also, these poems could also be both the poets answer as to why they are deciding to forge an identity as an Irish poet. The structures of these poems are extremely different, Montague divides his poem into five tercets whilst Heaney structures his into 14 lines: a sonnet, alas, it should be noted that this is not immediately recognisable because he does not follow the typical rhyme sequence a sonnet usually has. The Forge, is split into an octave and a sestet. Montague uses enjambment to great effect in Forge, which maintains a regular rhythm, it as an anecdotal, lyrical style which is recounting a specific memory in his past. At first, it seems that it
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