Contrast in Emotional Effect in the Poems Remember by Christina Rosetti and the Poem War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy Essays

Contrast in Emotional Effect in the Poems Remember by Christina Rosetti and the Poem War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy Essays Contrast in Emotional Effect in the Poems Remember by Christina Rosetti and the Poem War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy Essay Contrast in Emotional Effect in the Poems Remember by Christina Rosetti and the Poem War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy Essay Essay Topic: Carol ann Duffy Poems Christina Rossetti Poems Photo Poems In the poems Remember by Christina Rosetti and the poem War photographer by Carol Ann Duffy the theme of death is explored and received both warmly and sadly which creates a wonderful contrast between the positive and negative prospect of it. The poems are touching as they both release a feeling of sorrowful sensation suggesting their subject but give us different viewpoints which we can relate to. This essay is going to discus primary the distinction between the two poems that hold on the same matter. The poem War Photographer discusses the theme of death from the perspective of modern warfare. In the poem we are introduced to a photographer who develops the pictures he had taken from the war thus provoking his thoughts and feelings ‘he remembers the cries of this man’s wife’ looking at the suffering they portray ‘spools of suffering set out in ordered rows’ and the ignorance with which they are met by the median reader ‘the reader’s eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers’. The other poem Remember talks about the prospect of death from the viewpoint of someone who projects her probable death ‘gone far away into the silent land’ and the impact this would have on the life of her beloved one ‘it will be late to counsel then or pray’. While primarily concerned with the theme of remembering after loss, the author precludes the possibility of her lover forgetting her ‘yet if you should forget me for a while’ and comforts him about the propriety of it ‘do not grieve’. The poems seem to address a similar issue. In the first one death is looked at negatively with no outcome but sheer ignorance, while the second is seen more brightly as a natural thing after which life goes on and even as something that can be forgotten. The difference is that War Photographer introduces death as something brutal inhuman phenomenon that people should be more concerned with while Remember presents anticipated loss through the eyes of the one to survive. Both poems make use of powerful imagery and enriched vocabulary which contributes to the impact on the reader with respect to the final state of the reader’s emotions. War photographer chooses to focus on metaphors which are more downbeat like ‘all flesh is grass’ in order to show the poet’s protesting attitude towards human suffering provoked by war. Duffy uses the symbolic association of ordinary language. So that a simple word like grass can carry lots of possible meaning. She also includes this powerful imagery to shock us out of our complacency. The poem is highly structured. Each stanza ends with a couplet ‘he has a job to do’, ‘something is happening’, as if to conclude an argument. It helps the poem flow and send out its enlightening message to the community by keeping a temper rather than losing it. On the other hand, in Remember, Rossetti uses strong but subtle vocabulary. Metaphors like ‘silent land’ maintain a generally optimistic view towards the subject of loss and the oxymoron ‘bitter-sweet’ again shows how the poet looks on death as something fear-free. She also uses a regular rhythm ‘remember me when I am gone away’ which adds to the portrayal of something natural and peaceful. As a whole the language is extremely affectively used in order to propose the two different prospects of death. Further more the choice of specific language supports and reinforces the author’s attitude in both poems. In War Photographer the poet is clearly states her dislike towards the ignorance of people with regard to life loss during war. She develops an argument through the eyes of the photographer in order to make us aware of our selfishness. She points this out by saying ‘home again to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel’. In ‘Rural England’ people are more concerned about the weather but do not bother with more serious problems outside their community circle. The author does not accept the attitude of the society towards death. By contrast in Remember, Rossetti develops the comfortable state of accepting self loss and allowing others to forget and move on ‘better by far you should forget and smile’. While painful in nature this process is presented as possible and even desired. In conclusion the two poems present two opposing views of loss – collective loss and personal loss which also influences the readers’ feelings. In my opinion when compared, the poems provide an understanding that it is only personal loss that provokes a strong sense of sorrow and suffering while death seen as a collective loss can only incite a moral reaction such as disapproval but no further engagement. It is thus natural why I could relate to both poems in different ways. The first poem made me put myself into the position of the addressed reader so I felt morally judged when the second one made me relate to it in a more personal way, this time putting myself into the position of the character’s beloved one.