Technique/idea Key Quotes and analysis
Key themes: What does Uncertainty The speaker appears uncertain of
this poem explore? The beach what makes us who we are, what is
Fear important in life, and how he can be
expected to live a normal life after
an awful event has shattered his
worldview and made him aware of
his mortality and the finality of
actions.
The poem takes place on the
‘beach’, where the speaker
contemplates life.
The speaker talks about how he is
‘dizzy with fear’, which is a key
theme of the poem, because with
uncertainty comes fears.
Language: Any patterns Beach imagery A beach is composed of either sand
of language? Poetic Juxtaposition or stones, which individually are
techniques? Eg: similes, Allegory solid, but collectively behave
metaphors, verbs, etc. somewhat like a fluid, giving the
impression of being part way
between the two. Additionally,
beaches sit between the land (which
is solid) and the sea (which is fluid),
providing a kind of bridge between
them (an image which is echoed
later, when the poet describes being
“on the dune slacks with a kite /
plugged into the sky”). This could
suggest that the poet is trying to
make sense of the world by
connecting abstract ideas and
concepts with the things he can see
around him.
The speaker juxtaposes the
concrete and the abstract, he
mentions “the news in my mind, and
the muffled dread / of what may
come”, which is a very vague and
abstract idea (particularly given the
use of the word “muffled”, which
implies that even the poet himself
does not know what it is about the
future he fears), but then goes on to
list specific items which he finds on
the beach with his son – “shells …
pebbles … snail shells; shreds of
razorfish”, which he describes as
“finding evidence of life”. This could
suggest that the poet takes comfort
Key themes: What does Uncertainty The speaker appears uncertain of
this poem explore? The beach what makes us who we are, what is
Fear important in life, and how he can be
expected to live a normal life after
an awful event has shattered his
worldview and made him aware of
his mortality and the finality of
actions.
The poem takes place on the
‘beach’, where the speaker
contemplates life.
The speaker talks about how he is
‘dizzy with fear’, which is a key
theme of the poem, because with
uncertainty comes fears.
Language: Any patterns Beach imagery A beach is composed of either sand
of language? Poetic Juxtaposition or stones, which individually are
techniques? Eg: similes, Allegory solid, but collectively behave
metaphors, verbs, etc. somewhat like a fluid, giving the
impression of being part way
between the two. Additionally,
beaches sit between the land (which
is solid) and the sea (which is fluid),
providing a kind of bridge between
them (an image which is echoed
later, when the poet describes being
“on the dune slacks with a kite /
plugged into the sky”). This could
suggest that the poet is trying to
make sense of the world by
connecting abstract ideas and
concepts with the things he can see
around him.
The speaker juxtaposes the
concrete and the abstract, he
mentions “the news in my mind, and
the muffled dread / of what may
come”, which is a very vague and
abstract idea (particularly given the
use of the word “muffled”, which
implies that even the poet himself
does not know what it is about the
future he fears), but then goes on to
list specific items which he finds on
the beach with his son – “shells …
pebbles … snail shells; shreds of
razorfish”, which he describes as
“finding evidence of life”. This could
suggest that the poet takes comfort
