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View Full Version : John Foulcher poetry HELP PLEASE



han6
05-31-2006, 05:18 AM
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hey.. i have to do a task comparing one of john foulchers poems to another of choice and i have "for the fire" by john foulcher and "carmel point" by margaret phyllis MacSweeny..im comparing the violence of nature and death of the animals but i need some help finding some other ideas PLEASE! thank you!

this is "Carmel Point"

I watched a sea anemone
The colour of green jade
Shadowed under water.

I saw a daring crab,
Unafraid and young
Touch the velet petals
Of the princess underwater.
Softly she took him in,
Softly she sighed and closed.
The little crab was hushed and still -
Never would he swim again
Under crevice, under weed,
Under green and coloured water.

Softly she opened -
That princess of rare jade.
Softly she gave him back
Sucked of all his pearly flesh
Sucked of all his salty blood.

I ran away to tell my dad,
"let's go home," i said,
"I am sorry to be born,
I am afraid of many things."

this one is "For the Fire"

Outside, gathering kindling - a chopping sound
from the forrest. Its singular, human thud.

No one is there, only the wind through sparse leaves
like clockwork. Then, above me, the sounds drops,

chipped from a tall dead tree:
a kookaburra hacks with its axe-blade beak

tight about a lizard. I can see the reptile's mouth
stunned open, pouting blood, its legs arched

and claws clutching at air. Even now, all of its bones
are smashed. Oblivious, the bird flays it still,

knocking down twigs. I pick up these twigs
and leave with them, the cold air congealing behind me.



could u help me please...?!! PLEASE PLEASE! thankyou!

mono
05-31-2006, 11:12 AM
Hello, han6, welcome to the forum. :)
I think you really have some good ideas forming with comparing and contrasting these two poems, but you only really need to apply your ideas. Closely look at both poems.
To me, indeed, both have strong elements of death in them by the natural surroundings - contasting one on a land setting, and one in an aquatic setting. "Carmel Point," to me, seems more written in a very oddly beautiful way, especially for describing a rather horrific scene, as described at the end of the poem; the witness, in this case, feels fear. Though no one speaks in "For The Fire," on the contrary, the witness does not seem to show any fear, but more like observation with rather neutral feelings; hence, both of these poems have different moods regarding the same subject - death.
In both of these poems, I would also like to place emphasis on some of the words used for description. Notice in "Carmel Point" how the poet uses rather human-like attributes to describe the anemone and crab. One particularly striking word used to describe the anemone: princess. A few words to describe the crab: unafraid, young, also describing pearly flesh, and salty blood. In "For The Fire," the poem has more of a monotonous tone, like "clockwork" (stated in the poem), but the poet describes how the bird chops with an "axe-like beak," much like how the main character (a human) presently chops and gathers wood. With both of these elements and responses from the humans, I feel a lot of empathy formed with the human characters witnessing the action, and the animals involved - the small child and crab in "Carmel Point," and the only character with the bird in "For The Fire."
Good luck, and I hope I have helped!