Maria Portillo January 14, 2013 A.P English Literature – Period 4 Modern Love by George Meredith In the poem, Modern Love by George Meredith, it defines the feelings about a husband and a wife, who both had suffered in a loveless marriage. Meredith uses literary devices to convey the view of “modern love”; he uses alliteration, metaphor, and imagery throughout the poem. Meredith uses alliteration in the first line of the poem, “she wept with walking eyes (line1).” Since the beginning of the poem the readers could notice that the wife was already unhappy, since she had cried, probably for unhappy marriage. He also writes, “were called into her with a sharp surprised (line 4)”, meaning that she wanted to escape the marriage but couldn’t, and that the time that is poem was written it referred to the marriage in the 19th century. Which both the wives and husbands were forced to marry, without loving each other.
Compare the ways the poet presents ideas about relationships in Sister Maude and Farmers Bride. In Sister Maude Rossetti presents a quarrel between the two sisters. This is shown when she says ‘but sister Maude shall get no sleep’; this suggests that she thinks her sister will go to hell because of what she has done. The fact that she doesn’t use a personal pronoun for her sister suggests that she has disowned her and believes that she is no longer part of the family. The phrase ‘no sleep’ is a euphemism for death and suggests that she will pay for what she has done.
Its just I cant help thinking about this girl-destroying her life so horribly.’ This shows Sheila feels commiseration and sensitivity towards Eva and her death which comes across as genuine regret when she realises she could be linked to her suicide. Mr Birling interrupts her questioning by becoming even more aggressive when trying to defend her daughter. The phrase ‘why the devil do you want to go upsetting a child like that’ that he uses shows he is more concerned that his daughter has been affected by feelings of guilt and shame for what they might have done to Eva Smith. He doesn’t realise the depth of the familys involvement and still feels able to be bitter and outspoken towards the inspector. However, this does impact the inspector at all because he continues his questioning with Sheila further.
Isla McCole Quick draw, Carol Ann Duffy Quick draw by Carol Ann Duffy is a poem highlighting a difficult conversation between supposedly two lovers. The themes are clearly the break down of love, and the way she is trying to hold onto something that’s slipping away; so the gradualness of loss. The poem throughout is an extended metaphor, and the continuation of similes illustrates her constant comparison of her situation to that of an old wild western showdown. The similarities between the two are the tense and pressured atmospheres, the uncertainty of how it will end, and the realisation of the person who knows they are going to end up losing. “Like guns slung from the pockets on my hips”, a simile from the first stanza, becomes a metaphor in the third “In the old last chance saloon”.
Medusa is told in the first person as a dramatic monologue by a woman who is insecure and worried that her husband is cheating on her. The poem begins: ‘A suspicion, a doubt, a jealousy’ and it is this jealousy which has turned the woman into a gorgon and now everything she looks at turns to stone. This feeling of doubt resonates throughout the poem, exemplified in the line, ‘but I know you’ll go, betray me, stray from home’. Unlike our feelings towards the traditional monstrous character, this poem evokes empathy for the character as she is clearly distressed and suffering. Especially when she reminisces in the final stanza about the time she was young and beautiful, illustrating her complete lack of confidence.
The poem ‘Poppies’ explores a relationship between a mother and a son. It also explores images of conflict such as “Armistice Sunday”, “poppies” and “the war memorial”. The poem shows us the effects of war and describing the mother as victim of warfare as well as the child. However, in the “At the Border, 1979”, it explores how the war between countries have affected families emotionally and physically. In the poem ‘Poppies’, the mother feels very sad; “Three days before Armistice Sunday and poppies had already been placed on individual war graves” this is a reminder that war kills people which makes her sad as her son might be killed in war.
She calls him a bastard because he walked out on her however Duffy uses beloved sweetheart to symbolise her unconditional love for him. Havisham exhibits violent imagery with powerful words, strangle, stabbed and death which all associate her bitterness with her wanting her ex fiancé dead. `Not a day since then I haven’t wished him dead`, proves that Havisham still remembers her wedding day very vividly and feels humiliated having been jilted so is trying to get revenge. Havisham is feeling emotionally detached from life and because of that, envisaging her ex fiancé dead or hurt. The poem infuses images of death to show the extent of her bitterness, along with enjambment.
Line two continues with the only actual difference between a wife and a servant being the title of 'wife.' In line three of the poem, explicitly says 'fatal knot is tied,' which is an obvious reference to being married, however there is a paradox of a wedding, tying the knot, to being fatal. Marriage is normally associated with a positive light, a new beginning, but in this poem the speaker is saying that once your married there is no way out, and marriage is a death of any freedom. Line four the speaker points out the permanence of marriage, obviously now if the marriage is as bad as the speakers, divorce is an option. But for the speaker in the poem the only option is death itself.
The Story of an Hour As the title puts it, “The Story of an Hour” is a story that happens in one hour. This story mostly revolves around one woman, Louise Mallard. The story begins on a very sad note especially in the eyes of a reader. Mrs. Mallard is said to have a “heart trouble” (Chopin 1), so her sister Josephine felt that great care had to be taken when delivering the sad news of her husband Brently Mallard’s death. Upon the delivery of the news, she starts sobbing and grieving then goes to her room to be by herself.
Bliss and Sorrow Begins and Ends Love Throughout texts and other literary devices, many various authors have used conflicts as an element to introduce love into their stories. In Robert Frost’s “Home Burial,” Bobbie Ann Mason’s “Shiloh,” and Katherine Ann Porter’s, “Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” such conflicts are introduced and used to project love differently. The three authors show how the loss of a loved one can be either tragic or pleasant. The setting of the poem, “Home Burial,” is gravely important to the dispute between husband and wife. In the beginning of the story, Frost places the wife standing at the top of the stairs and grieving while her husband is at the bottom of the stairs emotionally inferior and indifferent towards the death of their only son.