‘Report to Wordsworth’ by Boey Kim Cheng and ‘Lament’ by Gillian Clarke share the common theme of human destruction of nature and death. In “Report to Wordsworth”, Cheng explores the damage of nature caused by men and their reckless attitude, while "Lament” explores damage from the Gulf War. Cheng shows the theme of human destruction of nature as a response to William Wordsworth, a poet who celebrated nature’s beauty in his poetry. It is written ironically in sonnet form, as sonnets are typically love poems. Clarke explores environmental and human damage from the Gulf War. The Gulf War occurred in 1991 after Iraq invaded Kuwait, followed by America bombing Iraq. Laments are a poem type where the poet expresses grief or loss, and here, Clarke
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For instance, Triton’s “eyes are dazed” and Neptune is “helpless as a beached whale”. Cheng does this to provide the reader with lasting images and something they will sympathise for. Furthermore, these words have references to death, and this builds grief and sorrow in the reader. This gives off a negative atmosphere, stressing how bad the destruction of nature has become.
Cheng evokes a sense that men are to blame for the devastation of nature. This is shown in “Insatiate man.” The word “insatiate” suggests that men are greedy and never satisfied. This gives the feeling of guilt and shame in the reader, as they are the ones causing this. Cheng enhances our feeling of man's recklessness as “Poetry and Piety have begun to fail” suggesting that there is little hope for redemption. It indicates that language and religion, which should be teaching us good are now unsuccessful, as humans are too busy destroying and killing …show more content…
In particular, the sun has been “veiled” and that it has been “put out”, evoking a sense that sun was a real living being but has since been slayed, no longer able to provide light. This paints a striking image, accompanied with a sense of devastation, as the earth is “burnt” and oceans “scalded”, displaying the consequences of human actions on nature. This emphasises to the reader that nature is being destroyed and that even the sun, the brightest star in the universe has died from human actions. Moreover, this provides the reader with a feeling of darkness and emptiness, all hope for redemption
For instance, Triton’s “eyes are dazed” and Neptune is “helpless as a beached whale”. Cheng does this to provide the reader with lasting images and something they will sympathise for. Furthermore, these words have references to death, and this builds grief and sorrow in the reader. This gives off a negative atmosphere, stressing how bad the destruction of nature has become.
Cheng evokes a sense that men are to blame for the devastation of nature. This is shown in “Insatiate man.” The word “insatiate” suggests that men are greedy and never satisfied. This gives the feeling of guilt and shame in the reader, as they are the ones causing this. Cheng enhances our feeling of man's recklessness as “Poetry and Piety have begun to fail” suggesting that there is little hope for redemption. It indicates that language and religion, which should be teaching us good are now unsuccessful, as humans are too busy destroying and killing …show more content…
In particular, the sun has been “veiled” and that it has been “put out”, evoking a sense that sun was a real living being but has since been slayed, no longer able to provide light. This paints a striking image, accompanied with a sense of devastation, as the earth is “burnt” and oceans “scalded”, displaying the consequences of human actions on nature. This emphasises to the reader that nature is being destroyed and that even the sun, the brightest star in the universe has died from human actions. Moreover, this provides the reader with a feeling of darkness and emptiness, all hope for redemption