Preview

Conflicting Perspectives - Ted Hughe's Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
682 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Conflicting Perspectives - Ted Hughe's Essay Example
Textual form has the ability to differentiate whether or not a text accomplishes an idea the composer is attempting to create. The way in which a composer represents different perspectives throughout texts can have the power to influence and induce their audience to analyse and understand their purpose in a subjective way. Ted Hughe’s famous poems within his anthology ‘Birthday Letters’, Sylvia Plath’s moving poetry relating to Hugh’s, and the contradictory film by Stephen King, ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ are three examples of texts that have conflicting textual form.
Hughe’s articulate and diversely structured poetry regarding Plath and their association encourages the audience to understand the situations within their relationship from his perspective. Hughe’s poem, ‘Sam’ is his version of Plath’s ‘Whiteness I Remember’ reflecting on the memory of a horse riding incident. A variety of techniques are used throughout the poem creating conflicting textual form, including the use of rhetorical questions, ‘Did you have a helmet? How did you cling on?’Immediately this personalizes the poem as if he is talking to Plath herself. The tone and emotive language during the poem also intensifies Hughe’s sentiment towards Sylvia. Imagery is used frequently throughout the text, and in conjunction with alliteration, ‘that horribly hard swift river’ reinforces the intensity of the situation and involves the audience by allowing them to visually imagine the scene, dramatising the situation from Hughe’s position.
Controversially Plath’s poetry leads her audience to perceive the events and information through her assortment of techniques and conflicting emotions. A conflict to Hughe’s perspective represented in ‘Sam’ is Plath’s poem, ‘Whiteness I Remember’ conveying her account of the particular situation. Plath’s outlook is very emotional and uses techniques to assist her in portraying the event from her perspective. Metaphor is used in the expression ‘green grass steaming,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The speaker refers the rest of the villages as a group ‘they are all gloved’ (l.3), ‘they are smiling’ (l.4) and ‘everybody is nodding’ (l.12) where this group of people are always doing things together in exception of her. She also uses absolutes like "all" signifying sense of being left out. Plath also conveys vulnerability through straightforward phrases like ‘I have no protection’ (l.3) and ‘nude as a chicken neck’ (l.6). The use of anaphora and repetition shows a panicked reassurance that she doesn’t fear loneliness and enhances her declaration of fear – ‘will not smell me fear, me fear, my fear’. In contrast, it is significant to see how the Sheep ends with ‘a dark water’ (l.15) in Plath’s Sheep in Fog, which remains to be mysterious and unable to be seen through the murky waters. This emphasizes a sense of superiority into its observers. While the observers are capable of seeing their own reflection through the black water, they are unable to break into the speaker’s identity, who is not able to see through the dark water. This indicates the speaker is not being vivid about their appearance to others because they themselves are not completely confident in who they…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In After the Bomb, composers not only critique personal and political values but also manipulate textual forms and features in response to their times.…

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Conflicting perspectives exist within texts and their representation is affected by the context of the composer.…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hughes’s poetry on the other hand is subjective, and is an expression of his thoughts and feelings about Plath and their relationship. He uses Poetic techniques and language devices to communicate his side of the story. Through the use of personal pronouns, and the repetition of “you” we get the feeling that his poems are speaking directly to Plath, almost conversationally.…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Elm”, written about her toxic marriage to poet Ted Hughes, mainly focuses on her struggle to recover from her husband’s infidelity. However, much like many of Plath’s other pieces, elements of the poem can be interpreted as referring to her ongoing battle with depression. A prime example of Plath’s writing that can be interpreted in different ways is the line “I am terrified by this dark thing/ That sleeps in me” (“Elm” 31-32). Many choose to interpret this dark thing as her remaining love for her husband. Since the idea of love directly correlates to the overall theme of the poem, this is a popular interpretation of what the “dark thing” is referring to. However, considering Plath’s mental state at the time of writing, it can also be argued that the dark thing “sleeping” inside her is more likely the personification of her depression. Other lines in Sylvia Plath’s “Elm” reference both her heartbreak and her depression at the same time. Plath writes, “I have suffered the atrocity of sunsets”(16). By this, she means that she has had to suffer through the horrific ends of beautiful experiences. The most obvious of these beautiful sunsets that ended tragically is Plath’s marriage to Hughes. This metaphor can apply to more than just her relationship, however. It can also be applied to her life. Plath’s early life was, for…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Read the sentences below. Use the context clues to determine the meanings of the new words. Check your answers using the definitions at the bottom of the pages 57–58 of your Explorations anthology. 1. Graham admired the scholars he met while working at the library because they never seemed to tire of learning new things or seeking out original ideas in the volumes they read. learned people devoted to study 2. The perpetual struggle between good and evil is at the heart of many great works of literature. ongoing; everlasting; continuing forever 3. Sam came over to my house on the pretense of wanting to ask me a question, but I knew the real reason he came was because he had a crush on my sister. false appearance or intention…

    • 646 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hughes demonstrates his perspective towards his destructive relationship with Plath through The Minotaur. Violence is evident in the very opening when Plath ‘smashed’ Hughes’ ‘mother’s heirloom sideboard – Mapped with the scars of [his] whole life’. Here Hughes is expressing the damage deep inside him than the physical destruction by Plath; that he too has childhood ‘scars’. Hughes suggests that Plath’s over-reaction and violence reflects her unstable mind by the word ‘demented’ revealing his helplessness, frustration and incomprehension. However, Hughes also shows regret and guilt for encouraging her to explore her physical and emotional intensity further in her poems which he thinks it had probably led to her suicide; ‘The goblin snapped his fingers. So what had I given him?’ Juxtaposition of ideas in the penultimate line ‘Grave of your risen father’ foreshadows Plath’s death. Hughes’ tone in the last two stanzas, which may be the explanation for her death, is sympathetic and fierce. It implies that as a consequence of her maniac tendencies and obsession, she had her ‘own corpse in’ the ‘Grave of [her] risen father’.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The male persona discovers the child’ death at the beginning of the poem which symbolises catalyses the ‘death’ of a couples marriage. This is supported by, “no, from the time when one is sick to death, … and things they understand”. The cynical tone of this phrase exemplifies the conflict of understanding as their method of expressing grief is different to one another. This is strengthened by the truncated sentences and silted dialogue, “‘Just that I see.’ ‘You don’t.’ she challenged” where the responder realises that the man only discovers the physical purpose of Amy’s misery. The confronting nature of discovery allows the female persona to challenge the male personas perspective. It is significant to note the physical structure of the poem with truncates sentences which emphasise the distance between the husband and wife whereby the husband has accepted the death of his child as he says, “little graveyard where my people are”. The negative connotation and allows the responder to realise that the male persona has discovered through a renewed perception. This also accentuates the conflict in their relationship as the male persona physically discovers instead of emotionally like Amy. Ultimately, the natural imagery of “fresh earth” suggests that nature is not always pleasant as it is the source of life and…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    * Conflicting perspectives essay Representation is governed by perspective. For this reason composers will attempt to manipulate their construction of events and characters, to bring to the fore of public discussion, their own esteemed perspective. This becomes evident in texts of, "The Justice Game," by Geoffrey Robertson......…

    • 2714 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Conflicting Perspectives

    • 1233 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hughes accusingly refers to Plath as “you”, and utilises high modality language such as “exaggerated” in “Fulbright Scholars” to convey the negative aspects of her character. In “The Shot”, Hughes constructs an image of Plath as irrational and destructive, accusingly asserting that “Your worship needed a god / Where it lacked one, it found one”. The conflict between the personal pronouns is perhaps most overt in “Your Paris”, where he juxtaposes the concepts of “Your Paris” and “My Paris” to highlight the conflicting perspectives inherent within their relationship and Plath’s character. In allowing “your” to dominate the poem, Hughes is perhaps suggesting that Plath monopolised both their Parisian holiday and their relationship. However, through so harshly describing Plath, Hughes to a certain extent alienates the responder. The utilisation of contrasting personal pronouns conveys the alienation between Plath’s and Hughes’ perspectives, while enforcing his…

    • 1233 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Some say that every text has a use by date and whereas some believe that every text is dateless. The idea that every text has its use by date is incorrect, and in this essay, we will argue against this idea. If a text is written from a long period of time ago it does not mean that it still won’t be interesting today, as the events and themes used in the text can still be relevant to today’s time. And these texts are what we can call universal. A universal text allows us to compare, contrast and also reflect on the themes and context of the past to the current time. Hence, these texts provide us an understanding about a particular time by the themes, context or events mentioned in the text and we can therefore use these concepts as a reflection to the current time. Les Murray’s “An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow” and “The Mitchells” are examples of texts that do not need a use by date. These two poems highlight major themes and are considered to be of relevance to today’s time.…

    • 1759 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    We Have Metropolis Essay

    • 1815 Words
    • 8 Pages

    “Modernist texts critique aspects of modernity.” Discuss how composers manipulate and appropriate textual forms and features in their responses to modern culture and values.…

    • 1815 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sylvia Plath

    • 1525 Words
    • 7 Pages

    ‘Plath’s poems seethe with anger, hope, desire and disappointment. Her poems reveal a perspective and a language use that are utterly unique’.…

    • 1525 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This poem discusses how the horse was the “first” time she’s ever rode a horse, or anything like it. She explained how she had no control over what the horse did, just like the way you’re always hanging between life and death, because it could happen whenever. (Whiteness I Remember 13). When Plath discovered that she had no control over the horse, the only thing that mattered to her was that the world was holding on, and not letting go. She talks about what she remembers the most was the “whiteness”, meaning that what one remembers in life is moments that most affect us, whether it has affected us negatively or positively. “Whiteness I Remember” affected Plath’s life creatively because it inspired her to write this poem from all the depression and happiness that has happened. This poem affected her life emotionally because it made her think about all the times in her life when her life was good, and when life made her happy, which made her happy. Sylvia Plath learned over a lifetime that getting any type of inheritance or what she looked like didn’t make any difference in life, it’s all who you are on the inside. She also learned just to hold onto life, even though she committed…

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cut by Sylvia Plath

    • 1652 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The context in which the poem is taking place is in England, isolated away from all her family and friends, during the 1950's where Plath was the victim of a male-orientated sexist society and her poetry a choreography of female wounds. Values portrayed through "Cut" are Plath's life of hardships from separation, divorce and as a single mother and poet. Through the remarkable consistent images that all "flow" from her very ordinary "accident" it is evident that this poem showcases a history of bloodshed through war, death, injury and maiming in the Western world and Plath's family history…

    • 1652 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays