poetry quotes

• title

  poem is an ode meant to be sung in praise of something
• "Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun"


  use of language and punctuation creates a celebratory tone. the alliterative sentence creates a calm comforting tone. personification of the sun represents time passing
• With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;


  images show nature and man have a symbiotic relationship during autumn and the abundance of nature imagery could relate to the plenty during autumn
• what does the 11th line on each stanza suggest


  odes usually have ten lines per stanza extra could suggest autumn is overflowing with produce
• cyder-press' 'granary floor'

  'drows'd' 'sound asleep'


  the effect of combining images of work and rest has the effect of personifying autumn as a worker working to exhaustion
• Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.


  repetition suggests time is passing slowly as the workers toil
• Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?


  Consecutive rhetorical questions make the speaker sound critical of spring. and it doesnt compare to autumn
• soft dying day

  mourn

  wailful choir


  a sad tone is created the end of autumn is worth crying about
• And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.


  an uplifting image, the swallows will return, cyclical nature of time- autumn will come back
• context?

  Romantic poet

  died of tuberculosis age 24

  long illness made him aware of time passing

  little education

  strong love of nature
• I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed.

  Inaction, no falsyfing dream


  first person perspective shows the hawk is controlling the poem. top of the wood indicates power. no falsifying dream suggests the hawk has no need for fake dreams as its reality is perfect which emphasises arrogance
• are of advantage to me


  the hawk thinks the natural world was designed for it - arrogance
• and the earths face upward for my inspection


  - Personification of Earth makes it seem as if the hawk is the superior ruler and the Earth must be submissive under the control of the God-like figure. The earth should present itself for the hawks judgement
• now i hold Creation in my foot


  reference to religion the hawk believes it has more power than god
• I kill where I please because it is all mine


  mono syllabic language creates a matter of fact tone and emphasises the hawks confidence
• through the bones of the living


  juxtaposition. shows the physical destruction it can cause. tone of enjoyment. the living to the hawk is just something to kill - detachment
• the sun is behind me [...] i am going to keep things like this


  the sun supports it. direct statements used to show confidence. egoistical and shows power
• what is the context of the poem

  - 'show nature thinking'

  - wrote about a mixture of beaty and violence in nature

  - some readers link to fascist dictators

  - hughs admired efficiency and ruthlessness
• Not a red rose or a satin heart, I give you an onion


  subverts our expectations to negativity, uses direct address to intimidate the reader. onions have connotations of strong, sharp and acidic. onion is used for an extended metaphor of love. atypical, multi-layered, natural. it is the central conceit. repetition of i give you an onion later on makes it sound forceful
• It will blind you with tears like a lover.


  could suggest a bad experience with love 'blind' could suggest oblivious. it reveals that love can be sad and painful. end stopped line suggests that she is final in her beliefs
• "It's fierce kiss will stay on your lips, possessive and faithful"


  shows that love can be aggressive and domineering. increasingly violent adjectives.
• Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring,


  metaphor creates a claustrophobic feel and implies that you are trapped into marriage
• take it.

  lethal.

  the short sentences represent instability. end stopped lines represents the severity. imperatives create an assertive uncooperative tone to the relationship
• Its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife


  repetition of cling emphasises how it can be hard to escape relationships or escape the harm of relationships and creates a sense of suffocation. knife has negative connotations and shows that love can lead to emotional and physical harm
• what is the structure

  doesn't follow conventions of love poetry (rhyming couplets and sonnets) it uses free verse which connotes freedom and a conversational tone