Compare the poems Long distance and My Grandmother Essay Example For Students

Compare the poems Long distance and My Grandmother Essay Long distance and My Grandmother are poems that explore the feelings and emotions of the main characters as a consequence of someone they knew dying. Long distance written by Tony Harrison describes the affect of death of a mother on the father. My Grandmother explores the relationship between the grandmother and speaker, focusing on the feelings between the grandmother and the speaker. Both these poems are interesting from the fact that the main characters can only be distinguished from personal perception. Consequently, the poets portray different impressions of the main characters. Initially, it can be argued that the main characters of the two poems, are the son and granddaughter from Long distance and My Grandmother respectively. The basis for this perception is that Tony Harrison utilised his poems to explore his working class childhood and family life. Also, Elizabeth Jennings exercised her poems to reflect the difficult personal experiences in her life. However, it can also be argued that the main characters of the two poems are the father and grandmother from Long distance and My Grandmother respectively. The reason for this is that although the poets are the speakers in their poems, the poems focus on the grandmother in My Grandmother and father in Long distance. Therefore, the impressions of both versions of main characters will be illustrated. It is evident that in My Grandmother there are themes of guilt and remorse, whilst in Long distance there are themes of love and grief. In My Grandmother the granddaughter is attempting to come to terms with her guilt as she could still feel the guilt of that refusal. The guilt she feels plagues her and it is all she feels. Alternatively, in Long distance the father still has a raw love for the mother. He is obsessed with his loss as he kept her slippers warming by the fire and could not risk his sons blight of disbelief. Furthermore, it is evident that the two main characters of the poems, the son and granddaughter, are both emotionally detached from the deceased, that they attempt to come to terms with. In My Grandmother the grandmother kept an antique shop or it kept her. This illustrates how isolated the grandmother was, not only from her granddaughter but the whole world. Similarly in Long distance the son calls his father dad whilst he calls his mother mother, portraying how disconnected he was from his mother and that he did not have strong emotional ties with her. Thus, the impression created of the main character is that they are isolated, not portraying the emotions they should have, in a situation as such. Moreover, the poems uses of language are very different. Long distance uses colloquial language. The colloquialism that Long distance uses such as slippers warming by the gas and renew her transport pass emphasises the working class environment in which the family lives in. Consequently, as the poem has a conversational tone it becomes much more welcoming to the reader, allowing the reader to relate to the poem better. On the other hand, in the first stanza of My Grandmother there are repeated s sounds which create an unwelcoming tone, such as brass, glass and slivers. Also, in My Grandmother the language used creates imagery of loneliness and death. The grandmother watched her own reflection, this projects an image of loneliness to the reader. Furthermore, the granddaughter walked into the grandmothers room among tall sideboards and cupboards, these words provide the reader with imagery of a coffin; consequently, this leads to images of death. Alternatively, the language used in Long distance portrays imagery of death, disease and also emphasises the fathers attempts to keep the memory of the mother alive. The father still went to renew her transport pass and put hot water bottles her side of the bed, these words illustrate imagery of a working class family. As the father is attempting to preserve the memory of the mother the imagery creates a stronger impact on the reader, making the text more poignant. In addition to this, the father could not risk his sons blight of disbelief and he was sure that he would hear his wifes key scrape in the rusted lock. The word blight creates imagery of death in the reader and the words rusted lock reinforces the imagery of disease and it forces the notion that disease has spread. Consequently, the reader will have more empathy towards the father and almost feel the grief of the father, in the tone of the poem, as the imagery is associated with death. Largely influential play EssayThe granddaughter had observed how the grandmother has treated the antiques and she did not want to be treated on a superficial level. On the other hand, in Long distance the father possesses a raw love towards the mother. The raw love is a metaphor that has a strong and vivid affect of the reader, illustrating the true and genuine love the father has for the mother. Furthermore, concerning the main characters as the granddaughter and son, regarding the structure of the poems, the main characters reflect on their lives in the last stanzas of the poems. In My Grandmother when the grandmother died the granddaughter felt no grief at all. Only the guilt of what I once refused. Undoubtedly the granddaughter is expressing her feelings, summarising her stance in the matter. In the same way, the son reflects on his feelings in Long distance, he believes life ends with death and that is all. Evidently, the son has contemplated his feelings, and a resolute impression is built of the characters as they have summarised their feelings. However, in one of the poems the exploration of feelings is honest, alternatively, one of them change focus. In My Grandmother, the granddaughter is honest throughout the poem clearly stating that when her grandmother died she felt no grief at all. Only the guilt of what I once refused. This is reinforced as the poem does not change focus; this is shown in the rhyming pattern, A-B-A-B-C-D. Also, the rhyming pattern does not change, nor does the tense. In contrast, the son in Long distance does not express his feelings honestly throughout the poem. The poem changes focus in the last stanza; this can be recognised from two qualities. Initially, the poems rhyming pattern is A-B-A-B, until the fourth stanza. In the fourth stanza the rhyming pattern changes to A-B-B-A. Also, the tense of the poem changes from past in the first three stanzas to present in the fourth stanza. Therefore, it reinforces the poems change of focus and how the sons blight of disbelief has changed as his phone book contains his fathers name and the disconnected number I still call. Evidently, the son has changed his perception and has ironically inherited his fathers denial. In this way, a desolate and cold hearted impression is built of the granddaughter, whilst sympathy is ignited in the reader for the son. In addition to this, the poems differ with their themes. In My Grandmother, there is no of grief as the granddaughter felt no grief at all. This cements the impression that the granddaughter is callous. Alternatively, in Long distance feelings of empathy are aroused as the desired an end to his grief and to share the raw love he once shared with the mother. Lastly, it is evident that the main characters have disapprovals towards the father and grandmother. In Long distance the son illustrates his disapproval of the fathers denial as the father knew shed just popped out to get the tea. The word knew is written in italic and the sentence is almost sarcastic. This portrays the sons disapproval towards the father denial. Similarly, in My Grandmother the granddaughter once refused to go out with the grandmother and the grandmothers wish was not to be used like antique objects. This shows that the granddaughter rejected the grandmother, because she disapproved of the way the grandmother treated everything a on a superficial level, like the antiques. The impression created of the son is that he could be inconsiderate towards his father feelings. The impression that is associated with the granddaughter is that she was afraid, arousing sympathy and consideration in the reader. In conclusion, both poems follow individuals who cannot come to terms with something. In these two cases, it is guilt, in the poem My Grandmother and grief in the poem Long distance. The different versions of main characters both ignite different impressions in the reader. Furthermore, the poems use a variation of different and similar themes to create a certain affect on the reader. Impressions of the main characters such as sympathy and callousness are exposed to the reader. Therefore, the poems can be perceived as a persons movement towards closure and the method in which they handle their suffering, creating different impressions as their struggle progresses.