Both Colquhoun and Turner convey ideas of grief and loss in their texts. They use similes to allow the reader to visualise the depressed state that both writers are in, and feel the ongoing melancholic emotions they are feeling. However Colquhouns melancholic tone towards his loss lasts throughout his piece, whereas Turners melancholic mood develops into acceptance by the end of his piece.
n Lament Colquhoun uses similes in the beginning of his poem like "the front door trembles like a lip" and "run off from my roof looks like hair blown wild against the wind". These to similes are also an extended metaphor, the house parts he is describing are actually his reaction to Bucks death. Colquhoun feels trapped, he feels as if there is no way out of his depressed mournful state. At the end of the poem Colquhoun includes the simile "seagulls flock like angels in the distance". This showcases Colquhoun is still waiting for Buck to return one day, wishing to him once more.
Turner uses the simile "and like the sea mist, the memory of her dream passed from her mind." This dream was her fantasy of being reunited with her father, something she has longed to happen. In the final lines of the prose Turner writes the metaphor "Her tears had come from the salt ocean. It could have them back. It could swallow them up, for she needed them no more." The character has accepted her fathers disappearance, she has cried for long enough now its time to move on.
I feel that I resonate with Turner more. The prose develops from grief to acceptance, this shows the character wants to move on rather than stay stuck in a rut. The poem seems like the character doesn't want to change. Dreamer plots the story of an emotional change stirring inspiration within the reader.
Thursday, 30 July 2020
Tuesday, 28 July 2020
Unfamiliar Texts - Lament
Glenn Colquhoun uses multiple techniques to convey a sad mood in the non-italicised in his poem “Lament”. Colquhoun effectively uses the language technique repetition to showcase his lack of care for the world now that Buck has passed. The repetition of “It does not matter” is used in all five non-italicised stanzas of the poem. Repeating this phrase allows the audience to see that Bucks death has had an extreme effect on Colquhoun. It tells us that Colquhoun cared for Buck so much that now he's gone there's nothing else to care for. He spent a long time becoming invested in Buck just for him to be taken away from him, he doesn’t want to care for anything else just for it to be ripped from him. The most effective repetition of this phrase is “It does not matter if I am happy”. This is Colquhouns cry for help, he is admitting that his happiness is not worthy. He is asking for someone to help him be okay with the world again. The repetition of “It does not matter” is very effective, having it said over and over again allows the audience to see that he really does not care for anyone or anything and is just upset with his life at the moment. We feel empathetic and sad for Colquhoun.
Personification and metaphor are aspects skillfully used to create a sad mood within the non-italicised part of his poem. Colquhoun uses personification to express his reactions during his time of mourning. In the first stanza we read lines like “the front door trembles like a lip” and “windows poke out their tongues for a drop of water”. The front door is a metaphor for his lip and the windows are a metaphor for his eyes. In both metaphors the verbs are what he is doing, crying. He is crying. Referring to his body parts as building parts and not what they showcase that Colquhoun is feeling trapped. He feels as if he is trapped inside a building unable to escape. The personification of the metaphors is effective as we wonder why he is referring to himself as a building. Buck's death has taken the floor out from under him, making him feel vulnerable and confided into a little place. In the seventh stanza these metaphors are brought back. “My eyes are grey rocks in a stream” is showcasing that his eyes are an object being flooded by water, his tears. He is stating he's crying without using the actual words, he doesn’t want to admit to his vulnerability in the exact words.
Personification and metaphor are aspects skillfully used to create a sad mood within the non-italicised part of his poem. Colquhoun uses personification to express his reactions during his time of mourning. In the first stanza we read lines like “the front door trembles like a lip” and “windows poke out their tongues for a drop of water”. The front door is a metaphor for his lip and the windows are a metaphor for his eyes. In both metaphors the verbs are what he is doing, crying. He is crying. Referring to his body parts as building parts and not what they showcase that Colquhoun is feeling trapped. He feels as if he is trapped inside a building unable to escape. The personification of the metaphors is effective as we wonder why he is referring to himself as a building. Buck's death has taken the floor out from under him, making him feel vulnerable and confided into a little place. In the seventh stanza these metaphors are brought back. “My eyes are grey rocks in a stream” is showcasing that his eyes are an object being flooded by water, his tears. He is stating he's crying without using the actual words, he doesn’t want to admit to his vulnerability in the exact words.
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