1. The theme of the poem is Hope, Perseverance and Patience. The poet is on a tough and difficult journey. There is chilly cold outside. Frost is spread over the leaves and the poet is lonely. However he has hope which takes away his loneliness. This hope encourages him to move forward. In addition, heRead more

    The theme of the poem is Hope, Perseverance and Patience. The poet is on a tough and difficult journey. There is chilly cold outside. Frost is spread over the leaves and the poet is lonely. However he has hope which takes away his loneliness. This hope encourages him to move forward. In addition, he is also curious as his life is going to change after visiting Lyonnesse.

    Finally his patience and perseverance pays off. He returns back with shine in his eyes. It seems that he has achieved what he was questing for.

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  2. The central idea of the poem is that earth is vast. It has more water than land. The people settled along the water bodies in an unorganised way. They are same yet are divided by borders. They have hate against each other and often kill each other. The poet fails to understand why people not livingRead more

    The central idea of the poem is that earth is vast. It has more water than land. The people settled along the water bodies in an unorganised way. They are same yet are divided by borders. They have hate against each other and often kill each other. The poet fails to understand why people not living peacefully if earth is one.

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  3. The poem mainly deals with two important themes: 1. How Earth Looks First how earth looks from height. The poet explains how it looks when the flight took off, then at a distance of 10000 feet and finally from 6 miles above. All the times, the view of earth was quite difference. Only after going toRead more

    The poem mainly deals with two important themes:

    1. How Earth Looks

    First how earth looks from height. The poet explains how it looks when the flight took off, then at a distance of 10000 feet and finally from 6 miles above. All the times, the view of earth was quite difference.

    Only after going to such a height, the poet understands why people have settled in an organised way. Water and land are the reasons that led to the establishment of civilisations along rivers.

    2. Division Among People

    The second and the most important theme of the poem is poet’s questions why people have divided themselves from each other. He wonders why there are border, why people hate each other and why shed blood.

    Earth is one, people were also supposed to be one and remain peacefully with each other. But instead, they have hate against each other. This is why there are borders.

    As the poet has seen partition and riots, the poem somehow reflects his experience of worst times.

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  4. Following are the main themes in the poem My Grandmother's House Recollection from past(nostalgia) – The major theme of the poem is reminiscing about one’s childhood. The poet is in disagreement with her present and is trying to console herself by looking back at her childhood when she was living wiRead more

    Following are the main themes in the poem My Grandmother’s House

    1. Recollection from past(nostalgia) – The major theme of the poem is reminiscing about one’s childhood. The poet is in disagreement with her present and is trying to console herself by looking back at her childhood when she was living with her grandmother.
    2. Need for love – The speaker here describes her time with grandmother as the time when she was loved and proud of it. A person’s constant need for love and its varying degree of disappointment is displayed here through a personal instant of the poet’s childhood.
    3. Despair – The speaker here is in despair because she feels like she has lost her way. Earlier, she must have been too certain of herself but now she begs for love at stranger’s door and they are not at all like her grandmother.

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  5. The theme of the poem is one’s search for identity. First the thematic concerns begin from the speaker searching for political space and defining postcolonial crisis in India regarding language. Then the poem’s theme proceeds into the despair one faces as a woman since childhood, the role which sheRead more

    The theme of the poem is one’s search for identity. First the thematic concerns begin from the speaker searching for political space and defining postcolonial crisis in India regarding language.

    Then the poem’s theme proceeds into the despair one faces as a woman since childhood, the role which she is dictated by the society to play. The longing and loss of love is also a theme in the poem. It ends with the assertion of individual identity.

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  6. It is the assertion of one’s identity. The poem depicts the identity which the society gives to a person specially a woman. Here, Kamala Das discards everything which is given to her. She expresses the contradictions of a human life. Experiencing everything which the life has to offer, the speaker hRead more

    It is the assertion of one’s identity. The poem depicts the identity which the society gives to a person specially a woman. Here, Kamala Das discards everything which is given to her. She expresses the contradictions of a human life.

    Experiencing everything which the life has to offer, the speaker here finally declares that she doesn’t care what others perceive of her or want of her. She knows her contradictions as a sign of human. She identifies herself with everyone and yet says that she is who she is. She calls herself what she is.

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  7. The message of the poem is the gradual but inevitable realisation of one’s parents getting old. One grows up with young strong parents but they grow older right in front of us. Here, the poet is sad about realising the same about her mother. The message is to spend more time with them. Read summaryRead more

    The message of the poem is the gradual but inevitable realisation of one’s parents getting old. One grows up with young strong parents but they grow older right in front of us. Here, the poet is sad about realising the same about her mother. The message is to spend more time with them.

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  8. All of us are deeply attached to our parents. We grow up watching them strong and powerful. Slowly, we see them ageing when we are growing. There is always a sudden realisation of their appearance which changes with time. The poet is deeply saddened by her ageing mother and her likeness to someone wRead more

    All of us are deeply attached to our parents. We grow up watching them strong and powerful. Slowly, we see them ageing when we are growing. There is always a sudden realisation of their appearance which changes with time.

    The poet is deeply saddened by her ageing mother and her likeness to someone who is nearing death. The fear of realising this is universal because as human beings the modes of our attachments are universal.

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    Following poetic devices have been used in the poem "The Laburnum Top" written by Ted Hughes - Alliteration :- “(S)eptember s()unlight”, "a (s)uddeness, a (s)tartlement", "the whole (t)ree (t)rembles", "(w)histle-chirrup (w)hispering. Simile: "then sleek as a lizard" Metaphor: “a machine starts up oRead more

    Following poetic devices have been used in the poem “The Laburnum Top” written by Ted Hughes –

    1. Alliteration :- “(S)eptember s()unlight”, “a (s)uddeness, a (s)tartlement”, “the whole (t)ree (t)rembles”, “(w)histle-chirrup (w)hispering.
    2. Simile: “then sleek as a lizard”
    3. Metaphor: “a machine starts up of chitterings”, “the engine of her family”, “Her barred face identity mask”.
    4. Personification: “the whole tree trembles and thrills”.
    5. Transferred epithet: “Her barred face identity mask”.

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  10. In this poem, we find three important things which the poet is trying to depict. 1. First, the people change and so their sentiments. The people praised the patriot a lot on his victory and loyalty for the country. However after a year, the same people were either cursing him or throwing stones at hRead more

    In this poem, we find three important things which the poet is trying to depict.

    1. First, the people change and so their sentiments. The people praised the patriot a lot on his victory and loyalty for the country. However after a year, the same people were either cursing him or throwing stones at him till he died.
    The reason for such a hate among the people was some sort of misunderstanding. Once a big fan of the patriot are now haters of him. However the patriot has no complains against them as he believes that his love and loyalty for the country will finally be rewarded in the afterlife.

    2. Second important thing worth noticing in the poem is poet’s and patriot’s optimism. In spite of being betrayed by his country and the people because of misunderstanding, the patriot remains optimistic. While he is taken to be executed, he says that he will be rewarded for his bravery in the afterlife. It shows patriot and thus the poet’s belief in God. It is this belief which makes people optimistic and hopeful even in the worst and fatal situations like the one in the poem.

    3. Third important thing I find in the poem is the idea of war. It is rightly said “everything is fair in love and war”. Throughout the history, war has always harmed humanity. The patriot being a loyal soldier of his country kills other people who are also brave soldiers of their countries. However, as he is victorious, he is praised, but after a year, he too suffers the same fate. Hence war a curse on humanity.

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