Poems of the Decade
Seen Notes
I’m making this the day before my final exam, so I’ll just be doing quick notes on the poems of the
decade that haven’t come up yet
History
The poem is about being attentive to the fragments which make up our world, instead of being
distracted by the threats which are always hanging over us. This is reflected within the very form of
the poem, as the lines are short and irregular like they’re suspending in air, being fragments
themselves. This works against logical syntax, possibly suggesting the difficulty of coming to this
conclusion and articulating it. Furthered by the long three sentences which make up the poem.
However, there are shifts to a regular form, which may reflect the flux and flow of the world
described in the poem. Kites appear 3 times to give the poem cohesion, perhaps it’s his family which
does this for the speaker.
The poem’s title suggests it’s about ‘History,’ but the subtitle and repetition of ‘today’ suggest it’s
more specific, undercutting the grandeur whilst asserting that history is being made every moment.
He understands ‘be afraid,’ but the symbolically religious act of ‘I knelt down in the sand’ shows how
fear can’t take over everything. We must ‘through everything attentive to the irredeemable.’ Even the
setting of the shifting sand shows this.
This is a lyric poem.
The Deliverer
The use of tercets which are tersely written, along with the 1-2 syllables mean that the speaker’s anger
is shown. This terse register is created through the use of short lines which are frequently end stopped,
such as ‘this is the one my mother will bring.’ Lists also help convey the awful nature of what’s going
on through the factual presentation.
In the second stanza, the asyndeton suggests the frequency of this, as the list seems never ending.
Syntax-wise the verbs are at the foreground, emphasizing how people are actively doing this to
babies.
In the 3rd section, there is no location. This shows her lack if identity, which is furthered by her in the
liminal space of the ‘twilight corners.’ The increasing of enjambment conveys the increasing pace.
It’s present in lines such as ‘woman/To woman.’ It’s a woman’s job, but it’s the men’s fault.
‘watch bodies slither out’ – the child must do it themself. Short verbs of ‘slither’ and ‘toss’ convey
how unfeeling the whole process is.
The final line ending with ‘again’ suggests this won’t stop. They ‘lie down’- they’re passive.
The Lammas Hireling
The speaker is a distinctive persona, which is achieved with phrases such as ‘muckle sorrow’ and ‘elf
shot’ which suggests he’s from the 19th century. There are 4 regular sestets, suggesting a control
which speaks to the speaker’s personality. However, the enjambment undermines this, creating a
jarring effect that mirrors of the speaker’s experience.
The control he once has is suggested in the first stanza, as the caesura and frequent, starkly phrased,
short sentences seen in ‘yields doubled. I grew fond of company that knew when to shut up’ conveys
Seen Notes
I’m making this the day before my final exam, so I’ll just be doing quick notes on the poems of the
decade that haven’t come up yet
History
The poem is about being attentive to the fragments which make up our world, instead of being
distracted by the threats which are always hanging over us. This is reflected within the very form of
the poem, as the lines are short and irregular like they’re suspending in air, being fragments
themselves. This works against logical syntax, possibly suggesting the difficulty of coming to this
conclusion and articulating it. Furthered by the long three sentences which make up the poem.
However, there are shifts to a regular form, which may reflect the flux and flow of the world
described in the poem. Kites appear 3 times to give the poem cohesion, perhaps it’s his family which
does this for the speaker.
The poem’s title suggests it’s about ‘History,’ but the subtitle and repetition of ‘today’ suggest it’s
more specific, undercutting the grandeur whilst asserting that history is being made every moment.
He understands ‘be afraid,’ but the symbolically religious act of ‘I knelt down in the sand’ shows how
fear can’t take over everything. We must ‘through everything attentive to the irredeemable.’ Even the
setting of the shifting sand shows this.
This is a lyric poem.
The Deliverer
The use of tercets which are tersely written, along with the 1-2 syllables mean that the speaker’s anger
is shown. This terse register is created through the use of short lines which are frequently end stopped,
such as ‘this is the one my mother will bring.’ Lists also help convey the awful nature of what’s going
on through the factual presentation.
In the second stanza, the asyndeton suggests the frequency of this, as the list seems never ending.
Syntax-wise the verbs are at the foreground, emphasizing how people are actively doing this to
babies.
In the 3rd section, there is no location. This shows her lack if identity, which is furthered by her in the
liminal space of the ‘twilight corners.’ The increasing of enjambment conveys the increasing pace.
It’s present in lines such as ‘woman/To woman.’ It’s a woman’s job, but it’s the men’s fault.
‘watch bodies slither out’ – the child must do it themself. Short verbs of ‘slither’ and ‘toss’ convey
how unfeeling the whole process is.
The final line ending with ‘again’ suggests this won’t stop. They ‘lie down’- they’re passive.
The Lammas Hireling
The speaker is a distinctive persona, which is achieved with phrases such as ‘muckle sorrow’ and ‘elf
shot’ which suggests he’s from the 19th century. There are 4 regular sestets, suggesting a control
which speaks to the speaker’s personality. However, the enjambment undermines this, creating a
jarring effect that mirrors of the speaker’s experience.
The control he once has is suggested in the first stanza, as the caesura and frequent, starkly phrased,
short sentences seen in ‘yields doubled. I grew fond of company that knew when to shut up’ conveys
