'Eden Rock' and 'Before You Were Mine'

Created by: pixelgoldfish
Created on: 24-05-17 19:18


	'Eden Rock' and 'Before You Were Mine'
	Similarities Both subjects are possibly deceased through nuance; ambiguous use of past tense verbs such as 'wanted' in Before You Were Mine, as well as the noun 'ghost' used when describing the mother. // Religious imagery is used in Eden Rock through the sky being 'whitened as if lit by three suns'; symbolises heaven opening. 'Crossing' may have the double meaning of crossing over to the afterlife. They are both in equal stanza lengths; in Before You Were Mine, this seems to suggest that the narrator's thoughts are a slow and balanced process. In Eden Rock, it creates a similar image of serenity in the consistency of it. Semantic fields are used in both for similar effects. The imagery of the sky whitening; the mother's 'wheat' hair and the 'blue' cups suggest an image of heaven, which supports the interpretation that the parents are both dead. There are deeper meanings to both. Duffy's poem has undertones of remorse, and may be a letter to her dead mother; Causley's poem is still about death and passing over, despite the serene imagery. Both narrators have close relationships with their parents, as shown by the conversational tone and lack of rhyme scheme in Before You Were Mine, and the fact that Causley's parents are 'waiting for him'.	Differences Before You Were Mine contains direct address, to carry a conversational tone; on a deeper level, it may also make the poem an apology to her mother. The last stanza is broken up into a quattraine and a single stanza in Eden Rock, to show the jarring reality of the narrator's life, or perhaps him being snapped back to reality. The tone of the pieces are different. In Eden Rock, the adverbs 'slowly' and 'leisurely' convey his crossing to the afterlife as a peaceful one; 'Before You Were Mine' carries a more conversational tone, that also has undertones of remorse- she describes her mother as "stamping stars from the wrong pavement Duffy's narrator is unknown, as most of her poems explore previously unexplored feminine viewpoints; Caulsley is definitely himself, through the fact that his father died at age 7 (which explains why there is only one stanza). Duffy uses glamorous imagery to paint her mother as a 'bold' and 'sparkling' woman, which stresses the endless potential that the narrator snatched away from her. Causley's parents are described as more passive figures, with his mother's 'hair... taking on the light'. In Before You Were Mine, the narrator remains alive with her remorseful thoughts; in Eden Rock, the narrator passes over to be reunited with his parents. In this sense, you could say that the ending of Duffy's poem is sadder, despite the death present in Causley's.
	Overall comparison Both poets are discussing deceased relatives who they are close to. They use semantic fields to portray the fact that their relatives are dead, and equal stanza lengths to show the serenity of their recollections. Both poems have deeper meanings, but the tones are very different; Eden Rock creates a more leisurely scene through adverbs, whereas the narrator in Duffy's poem seems bitter and sarcastic. Direct address is used in Duffy's poem, which tragically conveys a direct apology to the narrator's mother, and pavements are referenced to suggest that the mother took a wrong turn in life. However, Causley's parents are 'waiting for him', and he describes them fondly using celestial imagery. Duffy describes her mother in a more glamorous and overpowering sense. Overall, it could be said that Duffy's ending is sadder; she is left alive with her remorseful thoughts, whereas Causley is reunited with his parents, which puts a positive spin on the morbid fact of his passing.

'Eden Rock' and 'Before You Were Mine'

Similarities

Both subjects are possibly deceased through nuance; ambiguous use of past tense verbs such as 'wanted' in Before You Were Mine, as well as the noun 'ghost' used when describing the mother. // Religious imagery is used in Eden Rock through the sky being 'whitened as if lit by three suns'; symbolises heaven opening. 'Crossing' may have the double meaning of crossing over to the afterlife.
They are both in equal stanza lengths; in Before You Were Mine, this seems to suggest that the narrator's thoughts are a slow and balanced process. In Eden Rock, it creates a similar image of serenity in the consistency of it.
Semantic fields are used in both for similar effects. The imagery of the sky whitening; the mother's 'wheat' hair and the 'blue' cups suggest an image of heaven, which supports the interpretation that the parents are both dead.
There are deeper meanings to both. Duffy's poem has undertones of remorse, and may be a letter to her dead mother; Causley's poem is still about death and passing over, despite the serene imagery.
Both narrators have close relationships with their parents, as shown by the conversational tone and lack of rhyme scheme in Before You Were Mine, and the fact that Causley's parents are 'waiting for him'.

Differences

Before You Were Mine contains direct address, to carry a conversational tone; on a deeper level, it may also make the poem an apology to her mother.
The last stanza is broken up into a quattraine and a single stanza in Eden Rock, to show the jarring reality of the narrator's life, or perhaps him being snapped back to reality.
The tone of the pieces are different. In Eden Rock, the adverbs 'slowly' and 'leisurely' convey his crossing to the afterlife as a peaceful one; 'Before You Were Mine' carries a more conversational tone, that also has undertones of remorse- she describes her mother as "stamping stars from the wrong pavement
Duffy's narrator is unknown, as most of her poems explore previously unexplored feminine viewpoints; Caulsley is definitely himself, through the fact that his father died at age 7 (which explains why there is only one stanza).
Duffy uses glamorous imagery to paint her mother as a 'bold' and 'sparkling' woman, which stresses the endless potential that the narrator snatched away from her. Causley's parents are described as more passive figures, with his mother's 'hair... taking on the light'.
In Before You Were Mine, the narrator remains alive with her remorseful thoughts; in Eden Rock, the narrator passes over to be reunited with his parents. In this sense, you could say that the ending of Duffy's poem is sadder, despite the death present in Causley's.

Overall comparison

Both poets are discussing deceased relatives who they are close to. They use semantic fields to portray the fact that their relatives are dead, and equal stanza lengths to show the serenity of their recollections. Both poems have deeper meanings, but the tones are very different; Eden Rock creates a more leisurely scene through adverbs, whereas the narrator in Duffy's poem seems bitter and sarcastic. Direct address is used in Duffy's poem, which tragically conveys a direct apology to the narrator's mother, and pavements are referenced to suggest that the mother took a wrong turn in life. However, Causley's parents are 'waiting for him', and he describes them fondly using celestial imagery. Duffy describes her mother in a more glamorous and overpowering sense. Overall, it could be said that Duffy's ending is sadder; she is left alive with her remorseful thoughts, whereas Causley is reunited with his parents, which puts a positive spin on the morbid fact of his passing.

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'Eden Rock' and 'Before You Were Mine'