Three Twentieth Century Poets
In this section of the course we are going to compare three twentieth century poets: Raymond Carver, Seamus Heaney and Sylvia Plath. All the poems are in the 'Lines to Time' collection. At the end of the reading and discussion you'll be required to either
Write a piece talking about your reactions to one of the poets of your choice. You should refer to at least three poems in your piece.
OR
Write a piece comparing two of the poets we have discussed. You should refer to at least three poems in your piece.
Raymond Carver
We began by reading 'Louise' (p. 388) It seemed to us a fragmentary kind of poem, almost half finished and inconclusive. The people in the poem seem poor, detached, and there's a kind of cruelty toward Louise that suggests she's pretty harshly treated at times. This seemed to us to be reinforced by the odd ending; is she scared of humans? Is she surrounded by half-humans? We liked the visual nature of this poem, especiall the image of the girl holding the line down with her chin.
Read some more of the Carver poems here: particularly 'Morning, Thinking of Empire', 'My Dad's Wallet' and 'Happiness'. Make notes in your reading journal as you go; are these similar to 'Louise, are the different? Do they have a similar voice and structure? Which Carver poem do you like most? What does Carver think about the world? You might like to look at some of his short stories. I can recommend 'A Small Good Thing'.
Sylvia Plath
We began looking at Plath with a reading of 'The Applicant' (p. 359) This poem seemed weird and odd at first with its repetition and unusual subject. It was hard at first to figure out who was applying for it, and the poem seemed 'surreal' at times. Most of us thought it had something to do with marriage, of a woman being a kind of add-on extra for a man to be manipulated like an object.
Read some other Plath poems; they're all famous! However, you might begin with 'Mushrooms', 'Tulips' and the oh so odd, 'Daddy'. We talked in class about Plath's sad death and her relationship with husband and poet Ted Hughes, ironically next poet to the left in your anthology!. Plath seems ill at ease with the world. You might want to have a look at her only novel, the bleakly beautiful 'The Bell Jar'. Makes notes about the poems you read and put these notes in your journal. What similar IDEAS keep cropping up in Plath's poems? Do you like these?
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the highest award a writer can achieve. We began by reading the poem about poems, 'Digging'. Some of us saw Heaney's writng as a way of finding his own identity, especially in comparison with his father and grandfather who were more traditional in their occupations. We were puzzled a bit by the 'gun' reference in line 2 and after I explained what peat was, we were all happier. I remember reading this poem out at Assembly a few years ago before I gave out some Writers Awards.
Read some more Heaney poems, 'The Follower' and 'Limbo' are good ones to begin with. Make notes in your journal about the poems as you go; write down what you like, what puzzles you and what you don't like. Poetry should make you feel; it's failing otherwise. And don't worry if you don't understand it all at first. A famous poet (T.S. Eliot) said that good poetry can communicate something even BEFORE it's fully understood. Listen. Read aloud.
Think about which of the two tasks you'd like to undertake.