Themes and Messages

Question 1

Clod and the Pebble, William Blake

Answer 1

• the effect love has on people
• range of human experiences

Question 2

Passion, Kathleen Raine

Answer 2

Overcoming heartbreak is a journey, must embrace challenges in life and enjoy its simplicity (i.e nature) Mention heartbreak in first part, connection with nature, and with revelation comes peace at the end.

Question 3

Winter Song, Elizabeth Tollet

Answer 3

I will do anything for love lol

Question 4

Love III, George Herbert

Answer 4

themes of repentance, God is benevolent and forgiving, life gives 2nd chances.

Question 5

She Was a Phantom of Delight, William Wordsworth

Answer 5

reflects the contemporary ideals of a 19th century woman that happiness in a marriage depends heavily on a wife’s qualities.

Question 6

Surplus Value, David C Ward

Answer 6

the death of the American dream, and the dehumanisation of industralisation, disposable culture in labour.

Question 7

Father returning home, Dilip Chitre

Answer 7

loneliness of urban life, struggles and pressures of a breadwinner, cultural identity

Question 8

In The Park, Gwen Harwood

Answer 8

motherhood and a mother’s identity (physical appearance, dreams, social life)

Question 9

The Lost Woman, Patricia Beer

Answer 9

a mother’s death is the most traumatic event for a child, and children can cope with it through fantasy. A mother’s words can have lasting impacts on the child.

Question 10

Stabat Mater, Sam Hunt

Answer 10

parents undergo struggles that children are not aware of, and that they only understand as they get older, link to time passing.

Question 11

Australia 1970, Judith Wright

Answer 11

is a celebration of nature and its violence, whilst condemning humanity for their violence and ‘killing nature’.

Question 12

The Description of Spring, Henry Howard

Answer 12

emotional turmoil can consume us, overcome challenges and enjoy the simplicity of life that is nature.

Question 13

The Spring, Thomas Carew
(the horny one)

Answer 13

unrequited love is suffering, compares his unrequited love to Jesus dying to repent the sins of his followers

Question 14

The Darkling Thrush, Thomas Hardy

Answer 14

hope in times of misery, nature is cyclical

Question 15

Eel Tail, Alice Oswald

Answer 15

nature’s elusiveness that defy human understanding

Question 16

The Buck in the Snow, Edna St. Vincent Millay

Answer 16

themes of gender, war, and loss of a companion