Anthology Poetry - Context (POT.)

Question 1

What is the context behind ‘As imperceptibly as grief’?

Answer 1

• Dickinson was an American poet who lived in seclusion. She grew up with moderate privilege and was religious, very attached to her brother and sister.
• She rarely had visitors, and the ones who did visit had a big impact on her.
• She was obsessed with, and afraid of death.

Question 2

What were the authorial intentions behind ‘As imperceptibly as grief’?

Answer 2

• Dickinson uses the poem as a cathartic means to process and express her overwhelming feelings of loss and grief – Dickinson faced several deaths which deeply impacted her, and notably the grief of her close friend Charles Wadsworth, moving away. She perceived it as abandonment.
• Dickinson suggests that feelings of grief gradually soften and change over time, much like the seasons inevitably lapse into one another.
• Dickinson suggests that loss is an irrevocable part of the natural process of life and human experience, over which we have no control.

Question 3

What is the context behind ‘death of a naturalist’?

Answer 3

• Heaney was an Irish poet, who grew up in the Irish countryside. He grew up deeply connected to nature, and the landscape around him.

Question 4

What is the authorial intentions behind ‘Death of a Naturalist’?

Answer 4

• Heaney explores the inevitable transition from childhood to adulthood, where the loss of childhood innocence is often tinged with a sense of sadness and loss.
• Heaney exposes how a tragic experience, like the sudden death of his younger brother Christopher in a road traffic accident, can mar childhood memories and completely change your outlook on life.

Question 5

What is the context behind an excerpt from ‘The Prelude’?

Answer 5

• Wordsworth was an English romantic poet, who grew up in the Lake District, surrounded by nature and the sublime. It is an autobiographical epic poem, reflecting the development of his minds and his relationship with nature.

Question 6

What are the authorial intentions behind an excerpt from ‘The Prelude’?

Answer 6

• Wordsworth heralds the immense power and beauty of the natural world, which transcends all human constructs.
• The poem serves as a reminder of the complex and organic relationship between man and nature, which Wordsworth strongly felt had its own knowledge to offer humanity.
• Wordsworth hoped to inspire his readers to revert back to a more pure and childlike appreciation of the natural world. This may have felt particularly important to Wordsworth, given that the rise of the Industrial Revolution meant many people were becoming alienated from the natural world as they moved to towns and cities to work.

Question 7

What are the key structural points in ‘Death of a Naturalist’?

Answer 7

Form:
- it is a narrative poem, telling a personal story about the speaker’s changing relationship with nature
- 2 stanzas, with a volta, marked by a sudden shift, with the ‘death’ of the innocence
- written in free verse with no rhyme scheme, mimicking natural speech

Structure:
- first stanza is long, detailed, slow paces evoking childhood winder and fascination with nature
- second stanza is shorter, quicker, panicked, showing fear and disgust.

Question 8

What are the key structural points in ‘The Prelude’?

Answer 8

Form:
- it is an epic poem, a small personal extract from it
- written in unrhymed iambic pentameter, giving it a smooth, natural flow like thoughtful speech
- first person narrative, autobiographical talking about personal childhood memories
- continuous verse, reflecting flowing movements of skaters

Structure:
- starts at sunset and excitement and movement, ends with reflection and a hint of melancholy
- starts calmly, becomes more energetic, and slows down again
- stars and fading orange sky hints at a larger world beyond childhood form, subtle move towards maturity.

Question 9

What are the key structural points in ‘As imperceptibly as grief’?