Relationship Cluster Poems

Relationship Cluster Poems.

The Manhunt,
Hour,
In Paris With You,
Quickdraw,
Ghazal,
Brothers,
Praise Song For My Mother,
Harmonium,
Sonnet 116,
Sonnet 43,
To His Coy Mistress,
The Framer's Bride Sister Maude,
Nettles,
Born Yesturday,

Themes

• Violence - References to War and Post Dramatic Stress Disorder.
• Loyalty - Stands by lover despite his mental scaring and changes.
• Loss - Loss of the man the lover fell in love with, mentally.

Devices

• Metaphors - 'Hing of Jaw'&'Foetus of Metal' give effect of inhumanity, coldness and ability to to grow (unexploded Mine)
• Free Verse - No structure & Little Rhyming.
• Past Tense - Suggests he has been healed?

Poem about woman trying to find lover and regain trust and intimacy, as shown by Title. The words 'Only then, did i become close' Shows she has found him?
Compare with Nettles!



Themes

• Time - Lasts forever, lifetime only a fraction in the scheme of things.
• Love - Ability to make time stand still and overpowers it.
• Myths - Midas & Rumpelstiltskin.

Devices

• Repetition- Gold repeated?
• AB Rhymes Scheme.
• Personification - 'Loves times beggar'&'Time Hates Love' gives love and time feelings, suggests they are living?

Poem about how the power of love can make people forget about time and other worries and make them stay forever young and not grow old.
Compare With Sonnet 116 or Brothers

Themes

• Anger - Breakup with lover causes rebound and anger.
• Carelessness - Doesn't care or love, would rather use the person for a rebound.
• Depression - Talking to himself? (Monologue) doesn't know who he is?

Devices

• Alliteration of 'D' & Slow Rhyme - reflects deadening spirit of poem?
• Rhetorical Questions - One big extended question?
• Repeats - 'In Paris With You', gives effect that that is the answer to his problems?

Man on the rebound after his lover has dumped him, he doesn't want to enjoy the usually romantic sights of Paris, he would rather waste it on meaningless sex?.
Compare With To His Coy Mistress

Themes

• Violence/Weapon - many connotations of guns and weapons.
• Heartbreak - the man ending the relationship and women left in pieces.
• Affair - The possibility of affair? no trust in relationship.

Devices

• Metaphors - 'Trigger of mt tongue' attempting to inflict pain, didn't work.
• structure - Poem laid out in the shape of a gun?
• repetition - 'and this...'shows he keeps hurting her and in the end she dies can no longer take anymore, suicide?

Woman on receiving end of break up and possible affair, angry and helpless and continues to get hurt.
Compare with 'Manhunt' or 'In Paris With You'

Themes

• Unattainable Love - Can't be with the man she loves forever.
• Waiting - For the moment when he decides she is the one for him?
• Enchantment -  The mans love unchants her and she is happy to love him without her love being returned?

Devices

• Stanza end in me - wants the man to want her?
• Metaphorical Violence - the fact she cannot have him hurts her.

About a woman whom loves a man but cannot experience his love and it cannot be returned to her. She addresses him almost trying to pursuade him that they qould be perfect together, 'I am the laurel leaf in your crown'?
Compare with 'Quickdraw'

Themes

• Time - the time him and his brother have lost, possibly the age gap?
• Family - the literal and metaphorical distance between the two brothers.
• Betrayal - Betrayal of little brother and the feeling of being left out and inferiority.
• Guilt - the feeling of the older brother when he turns to see his sibling.

Devices

• Metaphor - 'Saddled' portrays the younger brother as a burden and 'chased Olympic god' showing that they were still children, imagining dreams.

Poem about two brothers. The brother thinks he is more grown up than his younger brother and ditches him. The poem shows the gap in the relationship between the two brothers and the effect this had on the younger one.
Compare With 'Sister Maude'

Themes

• Nature - metaphors and imagery about exotic home of Ghana.
• Family - speaks about her mother, in the past tense.
• Remembrance - Past tense, remembering how things used to be.

Devices

• Repetition of were - That mother is either no longer with her she has left.
• Comparing mother - to 'sunrise' and 'water' positive things, even things you cant live without.
• Replenishing - shows she was filled with her mothers love.

About a daughter who no longer sees her mother possibly because she encouraged her to go and search for a better life, she is thanking and praising her mother but missing her at the same time.
Compare with 'Born Yesturday' or 'Harmonium'

Themes

• Aging - examples of the effects life has on us mentally and physically.
• Passage of Time - Time wasted and the awareness of mortality.
• Father & Son - The effect of the father on the sons life.

Devices

• Extended Metaphor - Comparing the father to the old harmonium which is being discarded and is important to the church, like the father to the boy.
• Repetition of Pedalled - shows that time has worn down his father.

Poem shows the Father growing old and dieing and how sad this is for the narrator. It shows how the Dad seemed neglected and unwanted.
Compare With 'Praise Song For My Mother'  or 'Hour'

Themes

• Love - True love is a constant that isn't changed by appearance and even unfaithfulness, How true love lasts forever and isn't affected by time. More of a description of love than 'Sonnet 43'

Devices

• Steady structure of sonnets - 3x4 line quatrains and a rhyming couplet, steady like love?
• Loves not times fool - shows that love could possibly be a constant that lasts forever and that we access, it lasts as long as time?

Shakespeare is basically stating his opinion on the feeling of love. He states that true love lasts until the death and conquers over all. He says that if he is wrong then no man has ever truly loved, arrogantly.
Compare With 'Hour' or 'Sonnet 43'

Themes

• Love - About how she loves somebody & how love works
• Mortality - Determined to carry love on beyond the grave, if god lets her.

Devices

• Rhetorical Question - 'How do i love thee?' Why is it How not 'Why' 'When'?
• Metaphor - 'Depth & Breadth & height' shes the physical factors have to effect on loving somebody.
• Petrarchan Sonnet - 8 line octave & 6 line sestetshows a change in mood after the poems vetra.

The sonnets differ because in this one the narrator seems to be asking the question how does love work? whereas in the other he is stating what love is.
Compare With 'Sonnet 43'

Themes

• Love/Lust - the male claims he is in love with the woman.
• Time - the male stating that life is short and time is running out so thy should live it whilst they can.

Devices

• Rhyming Couplets - give the sense of rush to have sex.
• Stanzas - The stanzas are split into first Charm, then anger ad finally he becomes sarcastic and offensive.

About a man who wants to take a woman's virginity but she isn't sure, he claims their time is short and ends up become frustrated with her.
Compare With 'In Paris With You'

Themes

• Women - The role of women once married, this women rebellious?
• Regret - Regrets marrying this women at such a young age.
• Loss - he has lost the woman he fell in love with and used to love.

Devices

• Metaphor - 'Like a mouse' shows she no longer speaks?
• Sibilance (4) - Sinister sound reflects how the woman has become?
• Fairytale Imagery - like a fairytale that lacks resolution.

In this poem it is almost like the woman indirectly has control of him, and he doesn't know what to do about it. he says she has gone mad possibly because he is in denial that he has been overcome by her love.
Compare with 'Born Yesturday' or 'Quickdraw'

Themes

• Betrayal - Sister has betrayed her by not helping her?
• Family - she didn't expect her sister to be so unkind?
• Religion - many religious references, damns her sister to hell.

Devices

• Metaphor - 'As cold as stone' gives effect that her sister is heartless.
• 'YOU' - gives the affect that she cant even bare to say her name.

In my opinion the narrator has had a child without wedlock and the child has fallen ill. Sister Maude has refused to treat her. Sister Maude is probably doing the correct thing, but it is however morally incorrect.
Compare With 'Born Yesturday' or 'Nettles'

Themes

• Pain - The literal pain or the nettles and the physical pain of the grievances of life that you aren't aware of during childhood.
• Family - The narrator knows he cannot protect his child forever.

Devices

• Extended Military Metaphor - The pain of life is relentless and efficient like an army?
• Alliteration - 'Blisters beaded' deadening sound of pain.

Poem shows that throughout life danger will always keep coming and that nothing can be done shown by the fact the nettles continue to grow back. it also shows that nature can also be hostile.
Compare With 'Manhunt' or 'Praise Song For My Mother'

Themes

• Relationships - the relationship between the well wisher and the baby.
• Honesty - claims honestly what he would like the girl to grow up to be.
• Women - Challenges the social conceptions of women.

Devices

• Metaphor - 'Tightly-Folded Bud' shows the girl is protected whilst not born and has lots of potential.
• Paradox - 'An average of talents' is this possible?

The narrator claims he wants the daughter to be 'Dull' and says this is a good thing and you can be happy whilst being dull. There Will be nothing to bring her off balance and nothing she has to live up to. Why should he have to feel this way?
Compare With 'Farmers Bride'