Wild_Grapes_Poem_Analysis_as_Author

I am thoroughly delighted that my poems ‘Wild Grapes’, ‘North Country’ and ‘Sleep’ have been successful. I do not write these poems for fame or money, but as an enjoyable use of my leisure time. It is an extra bonus that others enjoy reading them and become engulfed in the imaginary world I am able to create through poetic licence. Many of my ideas and images are conveyed through the use of poetic techniques and language. I have intentionally written the poem ‘Sleep’ in a specific manner to convey different meanings and to provide an opportunity for the reader to interpretate this poem in their own way. Within this poem I have included two voices to replace the traditional role of a narrator. One of these voices sustains the poem, being the voice of ‘sleep’, and the other one answers ‘sleep’ within the first stanza. I have purposely italicised the words ‘yes, utterly’, to isolate the response from the question. Sleep is asking the subject, ‘Do you give yourself’, meaning do you surrender yourself and utterly give yourself to me on your own free will. I have also intentionally used a pun with the phrase ‘body and no-body’, as it represents the physical and non-physical world; the conscious and the unconscious. Throughout the poem I have included the use of specific language and poetic techniques to describe the journey of the surrendered person(') from their engulfing sleep until their awakening. Though, there are many other underlying concepts I have attempted to convey. The main interpretation of the world ‘Sleep’, is that it is personified as a mother, and when the subject surrenders itself to sleep it is figuratively embarking on its journey to the womb from the ovaries as a foetus, through growth and development, and eventually to its birth. Other interpretations of this poem are of lovers and plainly of sleep, though my main purpose was to represent the journey of the foetus. I am particularly fond of creating water imagery within my poems, and have included it within ‘Sleep’. I have used the line,(') ‘ i shall bear you down my estuary’, to represent the journey of the foetus through the reproductive(') system. The word ‘estuary’ means the wide part of a river where it nears the sea, and is of a fresh and salt water mix. The word ‘bear’ is used as it is connotative and contains the meaning of ‘giving birth’. I have continued the use of water imagery by using the words ‘carry you, and ferry you’. I have intentionally used these phrases as they are very protective and are of, indubitably, a personal approach. The purpose of these phrases was to represent a mother comforting and protective her child. I have created additional water imagery with the line ‘consume you, engulf you’, as it creates the image of water totally encompassing an area. I am fond of the use of water imagery within this line as it emphasises the concept of protection and of uniting as one. My main purpose had been to signify the uniting of a mother and child, though it can also be interpreted as the uniting with sleep or a lover. The idea of ‘lovers’ is continued within other lines, such as ‘take you and receive you’. This line contains a sexual connotation. This concept is continued in the line, ‘huger waves continually’, which also contains water imagery. This can metaphorically mean the waves of love, or the process of intercourse. Though, it is also open to the original interpretation of the foetus as it could represent the contraction of the muscles in the womb when pregnant. I have used the phrase ‘my belly’ as it is connotative as a source of life but also a vulnerable part of the body. The foetus’ journey throughout the poem is continued here as it is the literal image of pregnancy. Once again I am delighted that I have achieved the potential for other interpretations whilst still conveying my main ideas, as ‘my belly’ could also refer to a metaphorical image of sleep, or even interpreted as a metaphor for sexual union. I am happy that I have successfully incorporated the image of ‘Cave Morphius’, which was a great sleeper’s cave where sleepers were under enchantment, within my poem ‘Sleep’. I achieved this by using the phrase ‘huge cave’. I also used this phrase as it evokes primitive images and conveys a sense of refuge and safety. This also continues my adored use of water imagery, as it creates an image of a cave by the sea. I have suggested with the line, ‘lave you with hunger waves continually’, that waves are crashing against the dark cave. The word ‘lave’ emphasises the concept of water. I believed this line to be effective has it also suggests to wash with great tenderness and love, possibly how a mother would bathe her child. The phrase ‘burial mysteriously’ refers to the child in the womb, and can also be interpreted as death, or a long sleep. One of my main concerns was to create the sound reflective of a human heart. I have purposely used repetition of ‘you’, as the repeated ‘ou’ and ‘y’ sounds successfully mimic the human heart. For example, ‘carry you and ferry you’, ‘consume you’, engulf you’, ‘take you and receive you’ and ‘lave you’. I believe the repetitive use of the word ‘you’ is also effective as it involves the reader throughout the poem and maintains the iambic pentameter of the poem. I have repeated the letters ‘mb’ within the phrase ‘dumb chamber’, and have included alliteration within the phrases ‘beat with my bloods beat’, ‘blindly in bones’ , ‘hear my heart move’, as they also successfully mimic the beating of the heart. The sounds reinforce the ideas I have incorporated into this poem and match the words written. The concept of the heart is also important as it identifies with being close to a lover, or even a sleeping baby. I have incorporated the phrase ‘viewless valves’ as it subtly refers to the heart, the internal organs, which I have referred to throughout the third and fourth stanza. I have also incorporated alliteration within this phrase as it adds to the rhythm of the poem.