Comparison Nature: As Imperceptibly As Grief

Question 1

As imperceptibly as grief presents the conceit of passing time in….

Answer 1

Seasons (autumn)

Question 2

Hawk roosting presenters time in the sense of adulthood as he…

Answer 2

Matures (leaves childhood and enters adulthood)

Question 3

Both poems reject…

Answer 3

The passing of time (time only allows for reflection and ultimately a rejection of change). Dickinson misses the emotions associated with grief while Heaney is repulsed by his new ideas and lack of innocence unlike before.

Question 4

Dickinson uses emotive, almost romantic language in “imperceptible” and “summer lapsed away” while Heaney uses grotesque language in “festered” “rotted” and “sweltered”. This highlights…

Answer 4

How Dickinson almost misses the emotions associated with grief and how Heaney misses the innocence with childhood. Both poems reflect on time and seem to miss their times when they seemed naive.

Question 5

At the end both poets seem to be losing a part of themselves. “Made her light escape into the beautiful” suggests she is losing her contemptness while “if I dipped my hand he spawn would clutch it” suggests…

Answer 5

Heaney has lost his innocence - he can no longer see the world from his childish perspective