Poems by theme

Question 1

Poems about nature

Answer 1

• landmark + the strand at lough beg: unity with nature
  OS = characters return to society from nature, contrasts the genuineness of existing in nature with the artificiality of society
  SH = subject returns to nature from society, nature is used to dignify him in last moments
• hedge school + field work: superiority of nature
  OS = innate evil of man is contrasted with nature
  SH = explores the beauty and flaws within humans and nature, instructing the reader to search for the beauty in the flaws

Question 2

Poems about masculinity

Answer 2

• the harvest bow + the farrier: femininity in men
  OS = the subject embodies feminine stereotypes (eg. ‘apron’, ‘seamstress’) yet still exhibits the motif present in Sheers’ work of men branding and damaging women (‘his steel, biting at her heels’)
  SH = the subject’s embrace of a stereotypically feminine activity allows him to express his love for the narrator
• casualty + joseph jones: portraits of specific men in similar contexts
  OS = no respect for subject, adherence to ideals of hegemonic masculinity is viewed with disgust
  SH = respect for subject, adherence to ideals of hegemonic masculinity is viewed with reverence

Question 3

Poems about women

Answer 3

• a drink of water + amazon: portraits of strong women
  OS = focus on physical appearance and use of terms like ‘ballerinaed’ seem to sexualise the subject
  SH = demonstrates his reverence for a woman despite describing her lack of beauty - respect for women is not based on their attractiveness
• the otter + night windows: portraits of objects of the poets’ affections
  OS = wants ownership of the subject (loading you with our meeting) but cannot get it (with a sigh you rose from me), and is angry at her for it. only appreciates her body and despises her for her agency (disappointed tone created in last stanza through ‘with a sigh’)
  SH = only praises wife in the context of his ownership of her (‘you are my […] otter’), but appreciates both her body and skill

Question 4

Poems about death

Answer 4

• on going + the strand: dignified deaths
  OS = emphasises the beauty of a natural death
  SH = depicts an unnatural, violent death that is made more dignified by the use of nature
• casualty + the wake: focus on aftermath of a death
  OS = subject is alive, but is dead in a metaphorical sense
  SH = subject is dead, but imagined as alive

Question 5

Poems about the past

Answer 5

• l.a evening + the guttural muse: mourn a lost youth, presenting the past as innately better than the present
  OS: depicts the cyclicality of the past - as the subject approaches her demise, others come to take her place (‘the sirens start’)
  SH: seems to be more about youth than the past, envies the young as he views them as innocent and himself as disgusting (all badged with sores)
• joseph jones + the singer’s house: the effect of the past on peope
  OS: portrait of a man’s obsession with the past and reliance on it for identity
  SH: omnipresence of a nation’s past during times of national conflict

Question 6

Poems about conflict

Answer 6

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Question 7

Poems about relationships

Answer 7

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Question 8

Poems about childhood

Answer 8

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Question 9

Poems about poetry

Answer 9

• the guttural muse
• a dream of jealousy