Storm on the Island Flashcards
(7 cards)
how storm on the Island compares to the Prelude
- Both Poems present nature as Powerful and overwhelming
- both poems present the conflict between Nature and mankind
- both poems present Nature’s psychological impact
semantic field of battle through the verbs ‘pummels’ , ‘exploded’ and ‘bombarded’
-the semantic field of battle is employed through verbs such as “pummels” “exploded” “bombarded” “spits” and increases as the poem progresses which highlights nature’s overwhelming violence
-this is reinforced through the plosive sounds ‘b’ in “bombarded” and “blows full blast” which creates an explosion of an air and shrouds nature in aggression
-alternatively, the lexis relating to military violence could be indicative of the deeper political allegory of the poem for the political tensions in Ireland
-regardless, the author’s deliberate extrapolated use of aggressive terminology throughout the single stanza of the poem could be indicative of the totalitarian brutal control over the islanders despite their preparations
-the potential violence of nature is a theme that is constantly explored in the poets collection of the “Death of the Naturalist” which dismantles the romanticisation of nature
form of the poem
the poem is written in one unbroken Stanza which could be interpreted to represent the unrelenting power of nature as it consumes the islanders, leaving their desperate preparations as futile
-alternatively, the lack of stanzas could deny the reader respite to uphold the heart stopping fear experienced by islanders throughout the poem
“wizened earth had never troubled us with hay”
-personifying metaphor which literally elucidates the barren and hostile environment of the island and the lack of vegetation
-alternative, the poet could utilises irony as the island has never been provided with the useful hay which could have been used to feed livestock
-however the verb “troubled” imbues the poem with a sense of bitterness as it is implicit that the islanders feel a sense of betrayal by nature as it intentionally torments man
-the poem subverts the typical archetype of mother nature from an entity which bestows the gift of life similar to a maternal figure to an treacherous
no trees to “raise a tragic chorus in a gale” so that the islanders can prepare for what they fear-the storm
-the metaphor of the lack of trees meaning that there’s no leaves to “raise a chorus in a gale” to prepare them for what they fear-the oncoming storm
-literally, this “chorus” reflects the lack of the whistle of wind between the crevices in trees however it could reference the collective voice in Greek tragedies which provide information for the audience to contextualise a situation to increase understanding
-the absence of the islanders cognisance of the forthcoming danger due the barren land portrays nature as a vindictive spirit who obscures information in order to amplify the islanders sufferings
-therefore the poet highlights the omnipotent power of nature over man as it manages the fate of the islanders
“Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear”
-in the last line, the poet emphasises the power of nature through the paradoxical nature of human fear, especially in the face of danger
-this is clarified through the inner turmoil of the islanders due to the “huge nothing” of the storm
-the striking oxymoron highlights the force of nature as it invokes of human fear despite it’s invisibility and intangibility
-alternatively, the final line could be the poet’s criticism on the futility of war between Northern Island and the Republic of island ,named “The Troubles” as it is a “huge nothing” that is causing so much destruction
-this could be the poets final attempt to unify the dichotomised Ireland, an idea that permeates the poem from the very first line where the poet emphasises the significance of community through the reoccurring pronoun “we”
-the overall message of the poem seems to be that despite the hardships, people have to work together as a collective pr otherwise they will not withstand
“wind dives /and strafes invisibly”
this metaphor crafted by the military language to personify nature crafts a vivid image of the persistent and repeated attacks endured by the islanders by nature
-furthermore, the enjambment reinforces this interpretation as it could be implicit of the constant barrage of the storm
-alternatively, the enjambment denies the reader any form of pause which makes nature seem overwhelming and elicits a sense of breathlessness
