NAME:
STUDENT NUMBER:
SUBJECT: GENRES IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE: THEORY OF
STYLES AND POETICS; THEORY STYLE AND POETICS
MODULE CODE: ENG2602
UNIQUE NUMBER: 637543
ASSIGNMENT NUMBER: 03
DUE DATE 17 AUGUST 2023
Question 1 : I AM! by Clare John
This essay is based on a poem titled I Am! by Clare John, published on the Poetry
Foundation in 2022. It is in a form of a romantic poem written in the 1800s. The poem
takes us through the journey of a dark moment in Clare John's life, a period where he
was overwhelmed by circumstances in his life, his experiences of difficulties and
depression which brought great sadness and loneliness. In this essay, focus is placed
on critically analysing how John uses diction, poetic techniques and any other features
of language to depict his feelings of alienation and assert his individuality.
, The title of the poem presents an interesting point of departure and self-identification.
John's use "I AM!" in the title suggests the poem is an individual and intimate account of
his thoughts and state, immediately removing any assumption that the poem involves
the account and reference of a secondary personal. The inclusion of an exclamation
mark in the title "!" brings a sense of strong emotion, attachment, emphasis to the self
and alerts the reader of the personalised nature of the poem. It asserts John's cautions
stands to affirms his identity and persona and opens the mind of the reader to follow the
thought, feelings and experience of the writer to which the poem is based.
In the first stanza, John begins with an independent statement of self-affirmation. The
uses "I am" to indicate and acknowledge his presence state of existence and asserts
the conceptualisation of himself. He follows up with a gloomy statement which does not
resonate with how he conceives himself, and reveals his believe that around him "none
care or knows" his true self and worth, as he feels their shared experiences are not
cherished and preserved but easily discarded "like a memory lost". The lack of relation
to his personality has left him to face difficulties alone and in isolation, without support
from his counterparts. He expresses this struggles clearly by positioning himself as the
independent "self-consumer of [his] woes" and has lost recollection of times his
struggles "rise and vanish" without anyone noticing. At the end, John reveals himself as
living "like vapors tossed" which in an illusion to how insignificant he feels which directly
connects to the opening line.
Simile is used extensively in this stanza to emphasise the extend of John's pain with
phrases such as "like a memory lost”, "like shadows" and "like vapours tossed”, to
highlight the disregard of his experience and self-worth by others. Metonymy is
STUDENT NUMBER:
SUBJECT: GENRES IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE: THEORY OF
STYLES AND POETICS; THEORY STYLE AND POETICS
MODULE CODE: ENG2602
UNIQUE NUMBER: 637543
ASSIGNMENT NUMBER: 03
DUE DATE 17 AUGUST 2023
Question 1 : I AM! by Clare John
This essay is based on a poem titled I Am! by Clare John, published on the Poetry
Foundation in 2022. It is in a form of a romantic poem written in the 1800s. The poem
takes us through the journey of a dark moment in Clare John's life, a period where he
was overwhelmed by circumstances in his life, his experiences of difficulties and
depression which brought great sadness and loneliness. In this essay, focus is placed
on critically analysing how John uses diction, poetic techniques and any other features
of language to depict his feelings of alienation and assert his individuality.
, The title of the poem presents an interesting point of departure and self-identification.
John's use "I AM!" in the title suggests the poem is an individual and intimate account of
his thoughts and state, immediately removing any assumption that the poem involves
the account and reference of a secondary personal. The inclusion of an exclamation
mark in the title "!" brings a sense of strong emotion, attachment, emphasis to the self
and alerts the reader of the personalised nature of the poem. It asserts John's cautions
stands to affirms his identity and persona and opens the mind of the reader to follow the
thought, feelings and experience of the writer to which the poem is based.
In the first stanza, John begins with an independent statement of self-affirmation. The
uses "I am" to indicate and acknowledge his presence state of existence and asserts
the conceptualisation of himself. He follows up with a gloomy statement which does not
resonate with how he conceives himself, and reveals his believe that around him "none
care or knows" his true self and worth, as he feels their shared experiences are not
cherished and preserved but easily discarded "like a memory lost". The lack of relation
to his personality has left him to face difficulties alone and in isolation, without support
from his counterparts. He expresses this struggles clearly by positioning himself as the
independent "self-consumer of [his] woes" and has lost recollection of times his
struggles "rise and vanish" without anyone noticing. At the end, John reveals himself as
living "like vapors tossed" which in an illusion to how insignificant he feels which directly
connects to the opening line.
Simile is used extensively in this stanza to emphasise the extend of John's pain with
phrases such as "like a memory lost”, "like shadows" and "like vapours tossed”, to
highlight the disregard of his experience and self-worth by others. Metonymy is
