From The Journal of a Disappointed Man - Andrew Motion Flashcards
What is From the Journal of a Disappointed Man about? (2 points)
An observer, a rather mysterious figure who has time to write a journal, watches workmen struggling to fix a pier who know they are being watched, but who avoid interaction
Despite the two versions of masculinity — strong and silent, compared to educated and articulate, neither has an answer to the ‘secret problem’ so the poem ends with no resolution other than listlessness and walking away - metaphor for the hopeless nature of life’s problems
What is the structure of From the Journal of a Disappointed Man? (3 points)
The poem is made up of eleven four-lined stanzas, known as quatrains
There is no rhyme scheme or regular metrical rhythm
The enjambed line endings create a flow appropriate to the articulate thoughts of a man who has time to write a journal.
What is the language and imagery of From the Journal of a Disappointed Man? (4 points)
The voice is that of the narrator - an educated man, recording observations as if in a journal
The feelings of the narrator are hinted at through metaphor and figurative language e.g. ‘monsters’, ‘mystic’, ‘original thinker’, ‘majesty’
The dominant poetic device is the symbolism of the pier - an extended metaphor for life’s fruitless efforts that go to waste and the fact that a pier goes nowhere
It is a poem of contrasts — the strength of the men and the cerebral nature of the narrator; their silence compared to his speculations and ideas.
