ENGLISH LITERATURE

POETRY REVISION

THE MANHUNT

Summary

The Manhunt is written from the perspective of the wife of a soldier who has sustained serious

injuries at war and has returned home. The poem explores the physical and mental effects of living with injuries sustained when on active

service in the armed forces.

Structure

• The poem is made up of a series of couplets, mostly unrhymed. This creates a sense of fragmentation, which matches the feelings of the soldier's wife as she seeks to understand the man her husband has become.

• The poem describes the phases of a wife's search for answers from her injured husband who has recently returned from a war zone. The poem ends when the search is brought to a close.

Comparison

In Paris with YouThe male speaker in the poem In Paris with You

is unwilling to discuss his experiences of the past, instead he is keen to focus on the present. The husband in The Manhunt is similarly closed

on the subject of the past.

HOUR

Summary

Hour is about the feelings that arise from spending time with a loved one. The poem

suggests that to be with a loved one, even for just an hour, is precious and valuable. It also

presents the traditional idea of time as an obstacle to lovers.

Structure

Hour follows the structure of a Shakespearean sonnet. Sonnets often use a final rhyming couplet to offer a 'turn' in the meaning;

however, Duffy only offers a partial turn, which is confirmation of the idea that love will always

triumph by finding unlikely sources of value.

Comparison

Sonnet 116, To His Coy Mistress, In Paris With You• Like Hour, Sonnet 116 makes reference to the idea

of the battle between love and time, as does To His Coy Mistress.

• To His Coy Mistress is about the value of being in the present and enjoying the moment, rather than thinking ahead - the same key theme as Hour.

• Like Hour, In Paris with You also rejects traditional ideas associated with love.

IN PARIS WITH YOU

Summary

In Paris with You is recounted by the narrator whose relationship has just ended and who is now in Paris with someone else. The narrator doesn't want to examine the aftermath of the serious relationship: he doesn't want to talk

things over or even visit galleries or landmarks; he just wants to enjoy the moment rather than

thinking of the future or the past.

Structure• The poem has four stanzas of five or six lines, with a longer

stanza of nine lines in the centre, acting as a chorus in which the mood of the poem changes. The first half of the poem deals with the lead up to the current situation; the second half is concerned with enjoying the present. The repeated line "I'm in Paris with you" - and variations on it - can be described as a refrain (lines that are repeated in a song). The use of repetition reflects the speaker's insistent concentration on the present.

• The poem has a regular rhyme scheme in the four stanzas, adding to the poem's musical quality. The stanza in the centre of the poem makes use of half rhyme. The contrasting rhyme of "Elysees" and "sleazy" gives a comic effect.

Comparison

Born Yesterday, Hour• The poem compares well to Born Yesterday in

that each poem rejects traditional ideas.• Hour is also about a relationship blossoming in

ordinary settings, focusing on the preciousness of the present time rather than the past and future.

QUICKDRAW

Summary

In Quickdraw the speaker of the poem is waiting for contact from her lover. The context of the relationship is unclear, and we do not know if the speaker welcomes contact or not. It would

appear that some sort of disagreement or separation has occurred before the events

presented in the poem.

Structure

• Quickdraw has four stanzas of four lines each, two of which are joined by enjambment, where one line carries on into the next.

• There is no rhyme scheme or regular rhythm. The poem is largely written in free verse.

Comparison

Nettles• Like Quickdraw, Nettles makes use of imagery

from a different context to bring significance to seemingly everyday circumstances.

Sister Maude• Sister Maude also presents the idea of conflict

and violence in a relationship but between sisters rather than lovers.

GHAZAL

Summary

Ghazal is a love poem in which a speaker seeks to secure the love and attention of another. The precise details are unclear, but the poem gives the impression that the feelings of the speaker are not shared by the object of their affections.

Structure

Like traditional ghazals, this poem is made up of a sequence of two-line stanzas (or 'couplets').

The two lines of the couplets do not rhyme but the end of each couplet does, partly through the

repetition of the word "me".

Comparison

In Paris with You• Both Ghazal and In Paris with You are about feelings of

longing for someone. Ghazal is less clear about the outcome whereas In Paris with You suggests that the relationship is a reality.

The Farmer's Bride• The Farmer's Bride has a similar sense of longing but is

negative, dwelling on the way in which the farmer wishes to subdue and control his wife rather than being prepared to change like the speaker in Ghazal.

BROTHERS

Summary

The poem Brothers is about a boy spending an afternoon with his younger brother and his

friend, and explores the relationship between siblings. It is written from an adult perspective but considers the feelings of the older brother

who thinks of his younger brother as an inconvenience.

Structure

There are three stanzas; they recount three stages of the afternoon. The first stanza sets the

scene, showing the relationship between the speaker and his brother as well as the speaker and his friend. The second stanza presents the disruption to plans for the afternoon (because the younger brother doesn't have his bus fare). The final stanza concludes the story, revealing

the separation of the brothers.

ComparisonSister Maude

• In both Sister Maude and Brothers, the relationships between siblings is discussed. However in Sister Maude, a much more destructive relationship between siblings is presented. Like Brothers, this poem hints at the way in which the move towards adulthood brings a distance between siblings.

Harmonium• Harmonium has a similarly nostalgic tone, using a moment from

the past to closely explore a family relationship (a son's feelings for his father). But Brothers seems more regretful in tone. Both poems use apparently insignificant events to illuminate a relationship.

PRAISE SONG FOR MY MOTHER

Summary

The title of this poem makes clear its subject. A praise song is a traditional form from many

African cultures and is often sung rather than being written down. This poem is a child's celebration of her mother, explaining her

qualities and the ways in which she has helped her daughter.

ComparisonSonnet 43

• Sonnet 43 offers a similar listing or cataloguing of another person's qualities. In this case it is a parent, however, rather than a loved one. Both give a sense of the emotional nourishment provided by the person being described.

Nettles• Nettles is also about the relationship between a parent and a child,

although it is from the perspective of the parent. It is also about a specific event, whereas Praise Song... is concerned with the overall impression created. In each it is clear that the parent is providing security to their offspring. Both end with the idea of an uncertain future; in Nettles this is quite negative, whereas Praise Song... hints at a more successful future

HARMONIUM

Summary

The poem tells the story of someone rescuing a harmonium from being

"bundled off to the skip". The narrator needs the help of his father to carry

the instrument away from the church.

Structure

The poem has four stanzas of varying lengths. The first stanza describes the harmonium as it

stands, ready to be discarded. The next is a closer investigation of the instrument, with

detailed descriptions of its parts. The third stanza considers the history of the instrument. The final stanza, which describes carrying the harmonium

from the church, is concerned with the relationship between the speaker and his father.

Comparison

Nettles• Nettles is a poem about the relationship

between father and son, although from the perspective of the father rather than the son.

Praise Song for My Mother• Praise Song for My Mother is about a parent

from a child's perspective, although it is more direct than Harmonium.

SONNET 116

Summary

This poem is about love, not between a speaker and his lover, but as a concept or idea. The poem explores what is meant by love, and

proposes that, if it is true, love is one of life's constants which does not change with time or

circumstance.

Structure

The Shakespearean sonnet has 14 lines divided into three stanzas of four lines each and a final couplet. This poem follows the conventional structure and includes the usual 'turn' at the

end - a pair of lines (or couplet) that either shifts the mood or meaning of the poem, or asserts

some sort of revelation.

Comparison

To His Coy Mistress• To His Coy Mistress explores the idea of time and

its effect on love, although it suggests that death will bring an end unlike Sonnet 116, which suggests that love is greater than death.

Sonnet 43• Sonnet 43 is about defining love, although unlike

Sonnet 116, it seeks to define personal love rather than love in general.

SONNET 43

Summary

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnet sequence was written before she

married Robert Browning to express her intense love for him. Sonnet 43 is the most famous of the 44 sonnets. In

it, Browning attempts to define her love.

Structure

Sonnet 43 is the length of a traditional sonnet but otherwise does not follow the rules. There is

a fairly regular rhyme scheme, but this is flexible, and Browning often makes use of

assonance (for example "Praise" and "Faith"), which is striking because the poem is about defining the perfect love, and yet the poem avoids perfection. Perhaps this is deliberate.

Comparison

Hour• Sonnet 43 compares well with Hour - both

present love as a positive and powerful force.Sonnet 116

• Like Sonnet 43 the Shakespearean Sonnet 116 is part of a larger sonnet sequence, and insists on the endurance of love.

TO HIS COY MISTRESS

Summary

The speaker of the poem is trying to convince his "mistress" that they should

seize the day and not hold back from expressing their feelings for each other.

The fact that this is something he is proposing tells us the couple are not

married.

Structure

The poem has three sections. 1) If he had enough time he would be patient2) But, if death always there3) Seize the moment, live life at present

The poem is written in rhyming couplets.

Comparison

Hour• Hour is also about the preciousness of time to

lovers, and presents the idea that time is a force which is against lovers.

Sonnet 43• To His Coy Mistress contrasts with Sonnet 43 in

that this is a poem about the power and urgency of desire rather than the purity of love.

THE FARMERS BRIDE

Summary

The poem tells the story of a farmer who marries "a maid" and refers to their early experience of marriage. It is told from the

farmer's perspective; his wife is not given voice. She appears to be badly affected by the

experience of marriage. She attempts to run away but fails as the village catches her. She also chooses to sleep in an attic room, away from her

husband, who longs for her.

Structure

The Farmer's Bride opens with a reference to "Three Summers since" and towards the

end "Christmas-time" is mentioned, so there is a sense of time passing with the tragic situation unchanged. There are six

stanzas which vary in length but throughout there is a strong use of rhyme.

Comparison

To His Coy Mistress• As in To His Coy Mistress, the female perspective is

considered less important or unfathomable in The Farmer's Bride. The desires of men are given voice at the expense of the woman's point of view.

• Time, specifically the passage of time, is a key theme in both poems. The male narrators are aware of time passing while their desires are unfulfilled. To them time passing is a type of loss.

SISTER MAUDE

Summary

Sister Maude describes the death of a loved one caused by the actions of a jealous sister. The poem is

ambiguous but hints strongly that jealousy and betrayal led to the death of a sister's lover. The poem

is written from the point of view of the betrayed sister, left alone without her loved one, who was coveted by Maude. The speaker believes that even if she hadn't been born her dead lover would "never have looked at" Maude, and perhaps this provided motivation for

Maude to destroy the lovers' relationship.

Structure

Each stanza contains even lines that rhyme; this regular pattern helps to

reinforce the traditional source for the poem because older poetry is often

characterised by the use of strict structural devices like rhyme, rhythm

and even line and stanza lengths.

Comparison

Brothers• Brothers is also a poem about the relationship

between siblings and the delicate balance between friendship and rivalry.

Praise Song for My Mother• Praise Song for My Mother is about a close family

relationship, although a positive, supportive one, unlike the negative, jealous relationship presented in Sister Maude.

Nettles

Summary

Nettles is about a child falling into a patch of nettles and seeking comfort from his parents. The speaker in the poem, after

attending to his son's injuries - sets about destroying the nettles, only for them to

return with the passing of just "two weeks".

Structure

The poem consists of a single stanza and has alternately rhyming lines. The poem is a narrative account, focused

on the father's perspective of an accident involving his son.

Comparison

The Manhunt• In The Manhunt Simon Armitage also explores

war and martial imagery in the context of a close relationship.

Praise Song for My Mother• Like Nettles, Praise Song for My Mother by

Grace Nichols is also about the actions of a caring, protective parent.

BORN YESTERDAY

Summary

- In the poem the speaker offers the child a welcome into the world and outlines what he hopes will become her attributes. The poem briefly presents traditional good wishes and hopes offered on such occasions but follows with the suggestion of a less conventional path won by an average of talents rather than great beauty.- The title is a pun, literally the poem was written shortly after Sally's birth, but "Born yesterday" is also a phrase used to describe someone who is clueless about the world.

Structure

Born Yesterday has two sections, a ten-line stanza and a 14-line stanza. The lines are short and direct. The first stanza concentrates on the

presentation and eventual deflation of traditional wishes for a new-born child. The

second stanza presents the speaker's unconventional hopes for the child. The greater length of the second stanza is an indication of

the belief that this attitude is more worthwhile.

Comparison

To His Coy Mistress• To His Coy Mistress offers a good contrast to Larkin's poem

as Marvell presents the idea that life is short and so people should aim for as much excitement and pleasure as possible regardless of the consequences; whereas in Born Yesterday, Larkin encourages the reader to accept life's limits, and in doing so offers a more reliable path to happiness.

Hour• Hour, like Born Yesterday is a poem about finding pleasure in

ordinary, everyday experiences, rather than chasing the impossible and facing disappointment.

THE END!!!!