Poetry Essay Analysis PDF

Poetry Essay Paula Meehan provides insight into the complexities of everyday human life through her evocative use of language. Through the use of symbolism, imagery, and universal themes, Meehan reflects on personal and political topics such as family life, gender inequality, and poverty. She gives...

Poetry Essay Paula Meehan provides insight into the complexities of everyday human life through her evocative use of language. Through the use of symbolism, imagery, and universal themes, Meehan reflects on personal and political topics such as family life, gender inequality, and poverty. She gives voice to the voiceless and resonates with the majority of ordinary people who live on the edge of society. I will explore these points further throughout my essay. The poem “Hearth Lessons” deals with a number of themes which resonate with readers. The poem includes themes of toxic relationships, poverty, gender inequality, and childhood memories, making it accessible to a wide audience. Meehan explores the connection between Nancy and toxic relationships through interactions between her parents throughout the duration of her childhood. Through her clever language and techniques, she evokes the emotions of sadness and pride when we hear she felt during these moments. Her father is the primary source of income in the family but loses the little money he makes to gamble, leaving Meehan’s family living on the bare minimum. Meehan uses allusions of Greek mythology to describe her parents: “Zeus and Hera battle it out.” This makes their fights seem epic; the comparison also suggests her parents had a terrible relationship. They fight over small things, but to the child it was of huge significance and sticks with her: “Either phrase will bring it back.” Here’s the text typed up from the new image: This tells us how it has stuck with Meehan for years and she still gets triggers from it. Meehan uses a number of sports metaphors, such as: “I’m net, umpire and court.” This conveys how she felt constantly in the middle of their fighting. Her mother had enough of the fighting and wanted to end it: “She threw the lot in the fire.” This was referring to the money the father made; this was a powerful move from Meehan’s mum. Meehan’s colorful imagery suggests a positive moment at the end:  “The flames were blue and pink and green.” After years of fighting, it was now finally all over and her mum got the last word: “The last astonishing word.” This poem had an impact on me because of how admirable Meehan’s mum is. The final sentence was extremely powerful and stuck with me because it taught me to stand up for myself. Meehan is trying to convey to the world that it is possible to have power in toxic relationships. Despite being unable to escape her marriage, Meehan’s mum remains a strong-willed character. (Very good - reflect on the overall meaning/message - not everyone gets a happy ending) Another poem, “Buying Winkles,” also deals with a number of themes which resonate with readers, such as themes of poverty, gender inequality, and childhood memories. Meehan goes on a journey to buy winkles in the poem. Meehan uses Colloquial language “It’s there from the ghosts on the stairs where the bulb had blown out on Gardiner Street.” This gives us a sense of place and also shows how this is just a child talking about running from ghosts in the dark. The use of “spare me sixpence, spare me sixpence” shows us the theme of poverty because they have to save every penny they have. We also see the theme of poverty when Meehan uses alliteration in: “Hold the tanner tight.” Meehan knew even from a young age how much any bit of money meant to her family, so she holds onto it for dear life. The imagery of the street-seller who sells the winkles from a pram, sitting on a crate outside the “Rosebowl Bar,” her “beard swinging open and shut,” “Leaking the smell of men together at drink” This shows the inequalities between men and women, as men sit in a warm, light bar enjoying themselves, while women are sitting on the cold, dark street trying to make a bit of money to live. The poem ends with a vivid simile: “I’d bear the newspaper twists bulging fat with winkles proudly home like torches.” Meehan describes the newspaper full of winkles like a medieval torch light with fire. We can picture a small girl happily walking back home with her treasure as her journey is now over. This poem opened my eyes to poverty and how, even with such little money and little… (mention the techniques to avoid over-summary) Things to do Meehan finds a way to really enjoy herself and have fun with the little she has. Despite living in poverty, she still had a happy childhood. This teaches us to never judge a book by its cover. This also makes me really appreciate the things I have in my life. Similarly, we see the theme of memory in the poem “Cora Auntie.” Meehan uses many themes and imagery to convey loss and mourning through the portrayal of her Aunt Cora’s death. Memories and courage are two key themes in the poem. Meehan talks about these themes using imagery: “She tilts at Death, scourge of Croydon tram drivers and High Street ‘losers’ on her motorised invalid scooter.” This image shows the courage of Meehan’s Aunt Cora because even though Cora is dying, she is driving through streets on her scooter almost crashing into things but she does not have a care in the world, she is still living life to the fullest. We can imagine an old lady on her scooter with a big smile on her face. Meehan uses the image of sequins as the scene shifts to her aunt’s 21st birthday. Cora is being fitted into a “white satin dress” and red sequins are being sewn into it, the red sequins resemble life with the colour red but the white dress resemble death or loss with the colourless white. A series of similes compare the red of the sequins to “Berries... Lips of maids... blood on the snow”. This shows the importance of the colour red in the poem because Cora is still full of life. This poem has a personal effect on me because my grandad suffered from cancer but he never let it beat him and he had courage the whole time he was sick until eventually he became cancer free a few years later. This poem shows how strong people with cancer are and that we should embrace life to the fullest. Meehan also has poems which convey political topics. We see this in the poem “Prayer for the Children of Longing”. In this poem Meehan uses many themes and imagery to convey life in inner city Dublin in the 1980s. Drug abuse and violence are two massive themes in this poem in the phrase: “Knife in the back” conveys the theme of violence as it relates to stabbings that happened in inner city Dublin. Although Meehan does not use the word drugs in the poem but we know she is talking about drugs because of how she uses phrases such as “needle in its track”. She uses the word needle to describe the way of taking drugs. Meehan conveys death and memory themes and also the imagery of problems in the city in a twelve line section, the local streets are depicted as places of cruelty and complacency. They also are the place “we brought them home to” signifying the return of these children to be. Nursed by their families. Nature imagery is used at the end of the poem implying the thought of there being light at the end of the tunnel. We are asked to hear their names “the trees and river” and to pray for their souls, just as they are remembered and prayers for at this gathering around a Christmas tree in the “heart of the city”. The repetition of these lines brings closure to the poem. This poem had an effect on me personally as I know people who suffer from addiction and have also lost people who are close to me so this poem really makes me see that there are some positives even in a negative situation. Meehan also teaches us that we should all have a peaceful place to turn to when we need comfort and support. Another poem which shows the theme of violence is “Them Ducks Died for Ireland.” In this poem Meehan conveys a number of themes such as memory, war, and violence. Meehan reflects on the Easter Rising in St Stephen’s Green. At the beginning of the poem Meehan talks as if she is in the grounds keeper's house looking out at Stephen’s Green. Meehan uses imagery to describe what it was like before and during the war as she says: “seasons turn sunset and moonset, the ebb and flow of stars.” This creates a beautiful image for the readers of what the garden was like before the war, as it seems peaceful with the sunset and moonset.with clear skies, seeing the stars shine at night gives the reader a sense of peace. In the second stanza Medhan uses imagery again but this time to describe the garden during the war. “And once made mirror by smoke and fire.” This image tells the reader that the one place where you could sit and look out to the peaceful garden has now become a mirror of violence as the smoke and fire reflect onto the ground. These images create fear, horror, and violence for the reader. This poem opened my eyes and made me think about things from the Easter Rising that doesn't get talked about. Medhan finds a way to talk about all the things people don’t normally talk about, and she conveys it very well in this poem. She encourages us to think about people who are forgotten by the history books. We also think about unsung heroes in our own society and that we should commemorate and celebrate these people also. Paula Medhan’s poetry is both engaging and thought-provoking. She explores her own life with disarming honesty. She uses her own life experiences to examine and reflect upon the world she lives in. In doing so, she reveals perceptive social truths, such as the oppression of women in society and experiences of growing up in poverty. She reminds us of the uncomfortable fact that we are all responsible for creating this society of ours, and that we have a collective duty to make it better, no matter how much we would like to shirk this duty.