The Comparative Techniques of Poetry

Imagine yourself sitting alone in a dark, dank, humid pit, surrounded by steel bars that have encapsulated your existence for the entirety of two years. Eyes constantly judging you, eyes of murders, rapists and even orphans torn directly from their parents arms. This judgement isn't a result of anything you have done, but what you are, who you perceive yourself to be, a part of yourself that cannot be destroyed. Down the length of a hall you an hear the metallic end to the life of a solider that was bold enough to place a toe out of line of conservatism.

If placed in that situation would you have the capacity to write eloquent poetry, without going completely insane? "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" written by Oscar Wilde was forged using almost identical circumstances.

Personally the ballad form appealed to my creatively inclined mind. The complexity of the story interlaced with the delicate undertones of character combine to form a level of elegance that directly speaks to anyone with any form of intellectuality. As one reads what could almost be classified as a narrative full of dark metaphorical references to death, it is clear the evidence of passion and indeed the essence of that which could only be described as soul. From a personal perspective I find the prospect of the hybridisation of character and narrator to be of particular interest. The dark imagery adds a sense of depth and density to the poem, whilst also creating the feeling of an inner "numbness" of the author. The lack of the author's distance from the poem is also quite enthralling as it has a direct correlation to the amount of reality that this piece has the capacity to portray. In addition to this the moral questions raised in themes of the piece were also of particular interest to myself. Questions that have plagued humanity through the ages, such as: beauty
"What is the basic element of human nature?"
"Do we have the capacity to transcend our selfish nature?" And in a more political context:
"What constitutes the imprisonment of a human being?" In order to fully examine the morality and communication of ideas to the wider audience, it would be beneficial to simply present the text in a manner that is most befitting of its ballad form:

"Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
....By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
....Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
....The brave man with a sword!
Some kill their love when they are young,
.....And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
....Some with the hands of Gold:
The kindest use a knife, because
....The dead so soon grow cold.
Some love too little, some too long,
....Some sell, and others buy;
Some do the deed with many tears,
....And some without a sigh:
For each man kills the thing he loves,
....Yet each man does not die." -Oscar Wilde

The title has a direct correlation to the social context of the time, and in particular the circumstances of the author during the production of this piece. Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for sodomy and subsequently sent to a "detention centre" known as "Reading Goal." Thus the name of the poem, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol." The tone of the piece is not particularly bright, and dark connotations exist throughout the poem. As this is merely the most famous section of the poem it does not give the best determinant of the overall mood. But it can be said that the general mood of the piece is dark, tired, and filled with angst for life. The poem has a definite rhyme scheme and rhythm, that is 'a' 'b' 'c' 'b' 'd' 'b' 'e' 'f'' 'g' 'f' 'h' 'f' and so on. Which means, "Heard" rhymes with "word" and "sword" (kind of)
"Old" rhymes with "gold" and "cold." This section of the poem the perspective is that of an all knowing narrator, but in the context of the entire poem the narrator and character are synced to bring the audience closer to the piece and have them directly relate to the character portrayed.

Regarding the subject matter numerous social and philosophical statements can be drawn from every two lines. The beginning of the piece implies that man's nature is instinctually destructive, in essence we are our own doom. As one continues to read, sing or say the piece it is evident of the ideology a mask that people wear so as not to be totally destroyed by society, that is, we hide who we really are, to avoid pain. Moving forward in the poem, the philosophy changes from masks to conflict. Stating that the brave will confront, the weak merely desire, plot and betray, all whilst your back is turned. Confrontation is the only true show of a noble character. Ambiguity washes over the reader as the poem is read further. Two ideologies are being displayed, self destruction of humanity and all forms of existence is inevitable due to our nature. In addition to this, it could also be said that love is a conspiracy. Delving further, our attention is drawn to that of power and gold. Stating that our destruction will come about because of two simple factors, lust or the desire of gold and power. Weaponry motivating the next couplet, the interpretation is that the kindest of all beings will destroy themselves in a quick manner, thereby speeding up the endless cycle of life then death in the world. Love another powerful motivator, manages to derive (for the more philosophically inclined) that, self destruction can be achieved in numerous ways, love, time, nature all being contributing factors. Emotion is a powerful topic and thereby manages to imply that some people are so fearful of death and lack of existence that they actually shorten their lives, due to the stress of worrying about death. The last couplet in the piece is powerful, as it fully explains the previous notion of self-destruction to be completely emotional, as "each man does not die." There is an internal process of emotional destruction before death can place its withering hand upon a shoulder and take the life from its victim.

Technically the piece is sound incorporating strong elements of metaphor, emotive, cryptic and lyrically inclined language in order to create imagery that is moving for the audience. The alliteration, assonance and imagery, in conjunction with repetition, lyricism and dark philosophical connotations, evoke feeling of outrage that a poet of this calibre was ever placed in prison.

By Braiden Dunn

Destruction central to the themes of Wilde's poem, is also a huge factor in the poem, "Not Waving But Drowning." It was the image that the title evoked, that first captured my interest. Then delving further into the main ideas and themes of the piece I found the inclusion of mental illness and isolation to be completely enthralling. The relation to my own life, a distant feeling of isolation that occurs when things go wrong. The notion that misconception is the reason behind thousands of suicides is an interesting implicated statement that is evident in this piece. Self harm, rather than self destruction is the topic placed upon the "pedestal" for the main body of the piece. Ethical questions are also raised using the ideas contained within the piece. Questions such as "To what extent should we pry into other people's business, even if it is for their personal safety." "What do we classify as depression in a contemporary context?" " Who is responsible for the repair of my mental health?"

Whilst not in ballad form the poem still has powerful ethereal images of a stormy sea, with an isolated hand thrashing for rescue, while a family stand on the shore and wave to the drowning or "dead" man. The piece is not as rhythmic as Wilde's work, meaning that the reader must view the beauty in the disjointed style in which the poem was written.

"Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning." -Stevie Smith

"Not Waving But Drowning" is a name that conjures up images that both intrigue, and fill the reader with worry. The name is repeated twice in the poem as to allow the reader to realise the full power of those four words. Reinforcing the main themes of depression, isolation, ethics, personal space versus being alone and mental illness the title serves as the first thread in a rich tapestry that is the poem written in discordant eloquence by none other than Stevie Smith. Throughout the course of life, Stevie Smith had an accelerated imagination, but it could be said for this poem, that the oceanic setting could possibly be the result of the desertion of her father to join the Sea Patrol when she was young. In terms of the social context, Smith had seen the horrors of the Second World War, the distance and pain of the British soldiers. The same year as the publication of "Not Waving But Drowning" the Cold War had more than arrived and England created its first nuclear weapon. As people of the time, were so heavily focused on the goals of the nation, the success of the nation, it must have been a detached existence, where people did not relate to one and other on a personal level, but a Nationalistic level.

In regards to the perspective of the author again, there is a delicate hybridisation or at least shift between author and character. This adds and element of transparency for the reader, it is almost as though the poem is not hiding anything by giving solely a character or narrator's perspective. This element of truth also has a direct correlation to the amount of reality (truth) that is portrayed in the piece, comparative to Oscar Wilde's work.

The tone of the piece as a whole is quite dark, if one had to physically objectify this poem using colour, it would be best described as a dark, gloomy blue. The themes relate directly to the mood, depression and isolation being at the heart of the material, therefore creates a dark tone. The language used also work in unicen with the general theme to create the voice of the author that is husky, thick, and dark.

Structure is the main derivative factor in the division of "Not Waving But Drowning" from "The Ballad of Reading Gaol." Seemingly free verse manages to incorporate elements of rhyme, but a set rhythm is ultimately disjointed, in an attempt to create an eloquent form of colloquialism.

The subject matter implies, for a second time deep philosophical statements that can shake the core of any human. Beginning subtly with the first couplet of the poem, it is metaphorically stated that contemporary society has made no subject holy any more, respect for the dead does not exist, no matter how many stories of the paranormal are published. Reading to the second couplet it is evident that all forms of humanity have the capacity to misinterpret warning signs from an isolated person. This is due to a level of attachment that contemporary society and technology create. The third stanza has ambiguous undertones, thereby stating that death is a result of joy and is directly related as such. In addition to this, one may also come to the conclusion that all form of sadness, tragedy and affliction is simply created through a lack of focus and determination. The final stanza is one of simplistic meaning, discordantly stating that humans are mere spectators of their own lives, and do no make a conscious effort to fix their afflictions, but merely lay down and complain, or "moan." In the final stanza the lack of emotional and personal distance from the author adds power to the conclusion of the poem.

"Not Waving But Drowning" is an intricate assortment, of emotive and cryptic language, discordant rhythm, rhyme, paradox, metaphor, imagery and past tense all combined to evoke feelings of isolation, depravity, depression, to create images of a volatile ocean, and the lone person slowly drowning in its own metaphorical problems.

By Braiden Dunn

"I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out." -Roy Croft

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular." -Aristotle

"Poetry comes nearer to vital truth than history." -Plato

"With me poetry has not been a purpose, but a passion." -Edgar Allan Poe

"Poetry makes nothing happen. It survives in the valley of its saying." -W. H. Auden

"A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom." -Robert Frost

"Poetry is emotion put into measure. The emotion must come by nature, but the measure can be acquired by art." -Thomas Hardy

"Poets wish to profit or to please." -Horace

"Who among us has not, in moments of ambition, dreamt of the miracle of a form of poetic prose, musical but without rhythm and rhyme, both supple and staccato enough to adapt itself to the lyrical movements of our souls, the undulating movements of our reveries, and the convulsive movements of our consciences? This obsessive ideal springs above all from frequent contact with enormous cities, from the junction of their innumerable connections." -Charles Baudelaire

"Poetry should only occupy the idle." -Lord Byron

Quotes on poetry exist everywhere
Each displaying more beauty than the last.
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