Ap English Poetry Comparison Essay

Words: 956
Pages: 4

Explore how the poets of your chosen poems present a contrast between past present and future

The theme of the past, present and future are explored throughout both Please Hold and Fantasia on a Theme of James Wright. Please Hold is focused around the idea of the inevitability of change in the future, the monotony of life and coming to terms with it, whereas, in Fantasia on a Theme of James Wright the focus of the poem is to retain the memory of the miners and appreciate all that they have sacrificed throughout their lives. Both poets address similar themes throughout these poems (such as the appreciation of the past) and use these themes to express the message they want to convey about the unpredictable nature of modern society and how
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In Fantasia on a Theme of James Wright the sentence ‘There are miners still’ is a type of symbolism that implies that O'Brien believes that the souls of the miners still live on as they haven’t finished their role in society yet, the idea of the soul living on after death links to the countless biblical references within the poem ‘prayers and lamentations’ which also adds to the solemn resonance of the poem.the adverb ‘still’ suggests they are still in the present and are not a part of history , this further reinforces the idea that the poet thinks that the miners should not be forgotten and that this seam of the past may not be entirely exhausted. Please Hold includes a handful of negative lexis such as ‘none’ and ‘nothing’ which expresses the anger and futility felt by the narrator towards the robot- which is a representation of present day society and the flaws that come along with it. Both of the poems are trying to express negative existential feelings towards the present and the upcoming future which is why their tones are so futile and