Report To Wordsworth Flashcards
Summary
This poem conveys the destruction that human have caused to the earth, and the contrast between human and nature
Context
He was born in Singapore and was inspired by poets like Wordsworth, T.S Elliot and Keats
Purpose
I think Chong was disgraced at the environ situation in Singapore so much that he felt compelled to write ‘report to wordsworth’ the purpose of the poem is to evoke the reader’s emotion hopefully spark a sense of urgency and action concerning environmental welfare
He wrote to Wordsworth because Wordsworth ‘S poem are often about the beauty of nature but his is the destruction of nature perhaps it was to strengthen his ideas on destruction and relationship between man and nature
“You should be here, nature has need of you”
Grabs reader attention using “you” refer to Wordsworth and the poet wants to raise the issue by directly addressing “nature”, who needs protection from humans greedy desire to manipulate
On the first line , he started with ‘you’ capitalization of nature which adds importance as only proper nouns are written in capital letters also refers to the reader and Wordsworth and putting the emphasis on the desperation and the gravity of the situation that nature is in desperation and in need of help
There is also characterisation of nature where it is talking as if nature is someone and by doing this I think helps the reader become more connected to “nature” as if “she” was the person suffering , it talks about how nature is ruined by using the personification “she has been laid waste” shows how important nature is towards the poet and the harmful actions of us humans did towards the natural environment
“Neptune’s lies helpless as beached as a whale”
Neptune was commonly characterised in myth as a violent ill tempered character in this way he respresent the tempestuous nature of the ocean waters and like the sea often display a destructive nature
—> using gods as a reference has a strong effect one that depicts the powerful being struggling and suffering from human doing
God is labouring to utter his last cry
Is an allusion that to these well known powerful beings highlight the enormity of the environmental issue in the poem that could mean the desperation and hopelessness that if these powerful beings can’t help now it up to us. It could also be connected to the bible where the cry symbolises the flood , human destruction has reached its limit that god is preparing for the decision to restart the world
Structure
Written in a sonnet form but ironically as a sonnet is about love the poem is negative
Effect
Nostalgic: Chen’s yearning to return to his previous early life when nature has not been destructively exploited by humans the bond between man and nature is strong
Didactic teaches us and makes us reflect upon ourselves
