Compare the Way the Poets Portray Loss and Isolation Throughout “Blackberrying” and “Mirror” Sylvia Plath and “the Sick Equation” Brian Patten.

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Compare the Way the poets portray loss and isolation throughout “Blackberrying” and “Mirror” Sylvia Plath and “The Sick Equation” Brian Patten. Loss and isolation are two very powerful and meaningful emotions. At some stage in everyone’s life we are forced to confront these unsettling and sometimes distressing feelings. Loss and isolation is in the media almost every day and people thrive to see “celebrities” break down and deal with emotions in extreme and extravagant ways. Some turn to drugs, some take drastic measures; however Sylvia Plath and Brian Patten, like many others, turn to poetry to convert emotions that they have experienced, into poems people all over the world can relate to. Loss and Isolation proves to be a recurring theme and is used throughout each poem to such an extent that it may bring forward emotions in the reader similar to the poet. Poetry like music is often used to express feelings by using another voice and effectively hide behind the words to share things that would be too difficult to talk about. All three poems do this extremely effectively and reflect the poet’s state of mind within the structure, stanza length and rhyme scheme. Following Plath’s depression and death of her father it is not surprising that the majority of her poetry reflects her unhappiness and shows certain desperation as if trying to escape the real world for a small while. Phrases like “Nothing in the lane, nothing at all” and the constant repetition of the phrases alike show her loneliness to an extent that the reader can almost feel pity for her as she clearly feels without company. The repetition of the word “nothing” shows us she feels completely isolated, alone and almost ignored by the rest of the world. This possibly relates to her growing up as Plath was a bright girl however her best friend was her journal in which she confided every secret. Not

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