First Stanza In The Poem example essay topic

Comparing Poems. "Woman Work" & "Overheard in County Sligo". The two poems I have been studying are "Woman Work" by Maya Angelou and "Overheard in County Sligo" by Gillian Clarke. The main subject the poets are talking about is the day to day life of two women; one a black woman in the southern states of America and the other an Irish woman from "the lap of the land" in county Sligo. There is a shared theme in the two poems, which deal with a simple every day life of two women in different countries The first poem "Woman Work" is written with realism. We see that in the first stanza, that that there is a list of chores that the woman has to do in the daytime.

The poet uses rhyming couplets to add more atmosphere to the poem e.g. "Cloths to mend, the floor to mop". These couplets build up a relentless rhythm which portraits a representative domesticity e.g. "The children to tend, the cloths to mend."And then see about the sick"And the cotton to pick". This shows that she is a very busy mother. A busy, responsible, downtrodden and weary mother and there is no escape for her.

This suggests an unhappy woman. The second part of the poem is divided into 4 stanza of 4 lines each. The tone changes, the pace of the poem slows down. It becomes melodic as the poet begins to dream of another, better world.

"Shine on me Sunshine" she wants a happier life realized from her chores. The second stanza indicates what she wants. "Storm blow me away from here" the storm indicates power and strength, she wants to die, for her to die by the storm to take her away from the life she lives in now. The second poem "Overheard in County Sligo" by Gillian Clarke has a whimsical, melancholy style, of a woman who has chosen a domestic life instead of following her ambitions.

"I had thought to work on the Abbey stage or have my name on a book" this shows that she wanted something out of her life but devoted her self to her family in stead. The first stanza in the poem is describing her life and uses the present & past tense i.e. "I married a man from Roscommon" which is in italic writing to emphasis a point & "I live at the back of beyond" which describes her present day life. The second stanza explains how she could escape her every day life of chores and stress "The road runs down through the open gate and freedom's there for the taking" this passage from the poem makes us ask the question why does she not take that chance to escape, this makes the passage very effective. We see in the third stanza what her ambitions were in life e.g. "I had thought to work on the Abbey stage or have my name in a book" which means she had great plans for her life. "But I turn to fold the breakfast cloth and to polish the lustre and brass" here we have an effective quote from the forth stanza which tells us what the woman has to go through in her daily life and lists the chores. The last stanza I feel is the most effective by far for the poet tells us what the woman feels "I ought to feel I'm a happy woman" which is in much better descriptive language than saying e.g. I'm an unhappy woman or I dislike life and it adds effect and poignancy to the last stanza.

And then we have the repeat at the end which is my favorite part and in my opinion blends and makes the poem whole "I married a man from County Roscommon and I live in the back of beyond" which is very effective. I have seen several similarities between the two poems. The main point that out stands above every other point is that the two poems are about two unhappy women who are tired of their chores. The two women that are in the poems both have similar feelings towards chores i.e. they are unhappy and stressed e.g. "Let me rest tonight" that shows the reader that the woman does not have enough sleep and in my eyes is making the point that she wants to, "I ought to feel I'm a happy woman" which is effective because her true feeling is the reverse of the point she is saying. The differences I have discovered between the two poems is that is in "Woman Work" the woman has no choice in her destiny. She does all the household chores and cares for her family and her only possession is nature e.g. "Star shine, moon glow You " re all that I can call my own".

In the poem "Overheard in County Sligo" we see that the woman had a choice in life to escape the drudgery of housework and seek employment. "To see my thought in on the printed page or still the crowd with a look". My personnel opinion towards the two poems is that they are written creatively and realistic. They contribute to the reality of a typical woman's day and by this create an affective atmosphere to the poem's structures.

I find that the poems are simply written and are easily understood. So my main point is that the poems a very real and the different techniques in the poems are very effective i.e. adjectives e.g. "Fall gently, snowflakes". My overall impression of these poems is that the poets have been very successful in their poetry.