If anyone's willing to do this (and if I'm in the right forum :p) please reply back and I'll post it up.
Thank you :)
Yes, this is where you would post it! Go ahead!
Regards,
Gloria
Moderator, EssayForum.com
sorry for not posting it up in a few days, i cant find it on my computer but itll be on soon...
The biggest thing I need help with is the length, I really need to make it much longer, if anybody can give me ideas... and I've got my English exam on Thursday so it would be really helpful:)
A poem with a particularly surprising ending is 'Follower' by Seamus Heaney, a poem of a young boy and his farmer father. He makes this ending surprising through effective use of word placement, imagery and tone.
The very first verse begins;
'My father worked with a horse plough
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung.'
The word placement of 'my father' at the very beginning already creates an idea of awe and pride at his father. The imagery in 'his shoulders globed like a full sail strung' continues this idea, the sail reference giving an image of this boy believing his father had the grace and strength of a yacht.
The reasons this helps make an interesting ending is the drastic change of this proud image of his father later on.
The next verse begins with;
'An expert.'
The placement of the word 'expert' makes the reader believe the pride of his talented father is the most important thing in the boy's world. This again makes the ending more interesting as his idea of his father drastically changes.
Finally his use of tone makes the ending more surprising. Originally the boy seems to love his father without fail. In turn, the father seems to hold unconditional love for the boy. While the boy describes himself as;
'A nuisance, always tripping, falling'
the father seems to disregard the boy's failings, hindering himself even more just to carry the boy on his back. However, the boy's admiring tone of the father and this unconditional love changes in the last verse.
'But today/ It is my father who stumbles behind me, and will not go away.'
The change of adoration to annoyance makes the ending surprising, as you were expecting the boy to grow old and look after his father as his father looked after him. However he seems to despise his father's weakneses.
Therefore, Seamus Heaney makes the ending of 'Follower' very surprising through skilful use of word placement, imagery and tone.
Good afternoon!
To lengthen this analysis, perhaps you could expand on your interpretation of this poet's word choice. Why do you think he chose the adjectives/adverbs that he did? If he had used others, would the poem still convey the same meaning and feeling? Evaluate his word choice and critique it; let your reader know your stance.
How about rhyme and meter? There is very little rhyme in this poem; what is the significance of that? What about meter? Does it change throughout the poem? If it does, what is the significance of that?
What about the use of capitalization in regards to the stanzas? Does capitalization or non-capitalization at the beginning of the lines hold any significance to the work?
As far as the ending, I have a different interpretation it seems than you. All throughout the beginning of the poem, the author stresses the father's patience and love for his son; it seems to be unconditional, and it has happened in the past. It seems the poet changes tense, and at the end is writing about the present. Will this author give his father the same unconditional love that his father gave him as a child? Is this a metaphor for the circle of life, in that when we grow old we revert to a childlike state?
This is a very powerful poem, and I think if you spend a little more time with your personal interpretation of it you will have no problem expanding it to the length you need.
I hope this helps you.
Regards,
Gloria
Moderator, EssayForum.com
