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For this assignment I will be Analyzing and comparing three poems. I will examine how the poets establish mood and meaning through the main structural features and evaluating the effectiveness of the poets’ choice of language and use of Imagery. My choices of poems are: Island Man by Grace Nicholls Digging by Seams Haney The Wild Swans at Cooler by William Butler Yeats Island Man is a poem about a Caribbean man who has immigrated to London. The poem is different from the others in terms of a narrative aspect as it is a poem evicting a third person.
This means that the writer is not necessary talking about her own personal experiences as opposed to the other poems. As it is not first person, Nicholls is able to suggest that the Island man’s feeling towards his adopted country, may also represent those of many other immigrants and Island man is merely a faceless character that tells a story of immigration. A short overview of poem is that the Caribbean man wakes up In London, dreaming of the beaches, blue sky and a way of life of his homeland. It Is a poem that reflects a longing for omitting that you miss and how this can affect your feeling for what you have In replace of It.
The writer creates an atmosphere of depression of this man’s everyday life as he has to “heave himself” out of bed to face “another London day’. The similarities in terms of pathos are evident when we look at Yeats’ The Wild Swans at Cooler (1917). The title of the poem is just a metaphor for something much deeper- a lost time and unrequited love which, like Island Man, carries a somber mood. However, unlike Island man the poem is a first person narrative and is very much a affliction on a part of Yeats’ life.
The poem is written in a melancholy tone that is indicative to how he is feeling towards life and love and is actually, a reflection on his feelings towards a woman called Maude Gonne and also the ageing process. The poem Digging Is comparable to The Wiled Swans at Cooler In terms of it being self reflective and deeply personal. Haney conveys the Idea of himself as a young man choosing his own career path. He writes with an evident admiration for his females’ traditional occupation-digging, yet Is also able to compare It to his own vocation for rating. The squat pen rests: snug as a gun” is a simile for showing power; Honey’s pen is his tool just like the spade was his fathers and grandfathers tool. Diggings more apparent contrast from the other two poems is its sense of warmth, when Haney not only reflects on his past but also foresees his future. “Between my finger and my thumb / the squat pen rests / I’ll dig with it” (line 29-31 ) suggests that Haney cannot dig peat or potatoes but by digging up his reminiscences and writing will be his career.
Like TWATS, There is a sense of acceptance in Digging where Haney, although admiring and respecting the occupation of his forefathers, is happy with his chosen career path and sees his work as Just as Important. Island man however, yearns for something that he once had, at the beginning, “Island man wakes up to the sound of blue surf In his head” but reality hits and he “Comes back to sands of a grey metallic soar”. This portrays a person who not only misses his homeland but actually is not really enjoying life at all in London. BY Jamborees and evaluating the effectiveness of the poets’ choice of language and use of imagery. Me is that the Caribbean man wakes up in London, dreaming of the beaches, blue sky and a way of life of his homeland. It is a poem that reflects a longing for something that you miss and how this can affect your feeling for what you have in replace of it. The writer creates an atmosphere of depression of this man’s everyday Cooler (1917). The title of the poem is Just a metaphor for something much deeper- a poem Digging is comparable to The Wiled Swans at Cooler in terms of it being self reflective and deeply personal. Haney conveys the idea of himself as a young man hosing his own career path.