Table Talk and Morning Radio - Book Report/Review Example

'In an essay with a complete thesis and conclusion, show how Derek Mahon gives non-human objects human qualities, entities, speech or consciousness. Use examples from "Table Talk" and "Morning Radio." Do not be vague.' Mahon's poetry receives praise as a successful vehicle for the demonstration of poetic techniques such as anthropomorphism and primarily, personification. His ability to give non-human objects qualities that one would normally attribute to a human, create such a strong illusion that many of the objects in his poems are 'alive.' His poems 'Table Talk' and 'Morning Radio' are two pieces of his work that create an illusion, a particularly strong one I believe, that a household table and a ordinary radio have 'life' to them. In this paper, I will explore how Mahon breathes life into these ordinary, everyday objects. I will look at how Mahon goes beyond merely giving them human characteristics (for example appealing to our visual sense and making something 'look' human); it is important to also show how Mahon makes us believe that they have feelings, and can experience different sounds and form judgments, just like we can. 'Table Talk' is fascinating because it speaks of a piece of furniture with a past: "When I was pine and lived in a cold climate." This table in question is not the focus of Mahon's attention because it looks or sounds in someway human; it has a history, like people. The table can remember when it was a tree, and the "chain-saw surgery" it endured in order to transform into furniture. It longs to "dance" again, no doubt in the breeze of its natural environment. In a more basic attempt to personify the table then, Mahon appeals to our senses (visual and auditory, as well as kinesthesia- the feeling of action).1 He speaks of the table wanting to "dance, / to scare your pants off." When we think of something with human qualities, we think of something that looks and acts in ways that are fundamentally human (like speaking, eating and in this case, dancing). Many poets will say, such as Wordsworth, that daffodils dance in the wind, or that the whining of an old door could be described as an old woman screeching. Rarely though does personification go beyond this. Mahon on the other hand appeals to our ability to think, feel, remember and experience situations. We relate to the pain that the writing table has suffered and the ideas that it has. 'Morning Radio' is different to 'Table Talk' in the way that the inanimate object in question is not suffering in the way that the writing table is, the radio is displaying more simple human traits, as we discussed before. The radio has a "fretwork throat," and through this he 'speaks' to those who will listen. The Radio is used by Mahon as medium for emitting beautiful music: "Woodwinds entering/ delicately," and reading the daily news. Arguably this poem is a 'simpler' example of Mahon's personification skills, the 'he's' in the poem could be a reference to the radio, and the fact that "he speaks" gives it a human quality. I think that it is possible to view 'Morning Radio' as a simpler version of 'Table Talk,' but I think that there is a lot more to 'Morning Radio' than that. If we look at what Mahon talks about in this poem, the seven o'clock news, "that the world is coming to an end," and a "new day" beginning, we can begin to see a pattern. Mahon's Radio talks about the changing and new world (the news, sorrow and new beginnings); he is referring to different aspects of human life. So why does he do this I think that Mahon does this not just to create 'he'- the Radio, but rather he uses the Radio to make us question our lives. By mentioning the news and beautiful music, he is using the Radio to provoke a reaction out of us. The fact that he says "WE" in upper case, I believe is another tool that Mahon uses to make us see the Radio as a 'person' who speaks to us. In addition to this though the "WE" is inclusive and is addressed to us the reader. Looking at the two poems then, what can we say about the effectiveness of the personification Mahon uses As I have just said, I believe that 'Morning Radio,' although containing an object which is referred to as "he" and thus is given human qualities (through this feature and the fact it has a throat and 'speaks'), is a very different example of giving inanimate objects human qualities than is 'Table Talk.' 'Morning Radio' as I have said is a basic commentary on our everyday life; 'Table Talk' is a much more elaborate example of giving non-human objects human attributes. The Table in 'Table Talk' makes judgments: "You think I am your servant but you are wrong." At times it seems resentful: "The hurt I do resent," and later on we learn that it has the capacity to love: "I love you, even in your ignorance." Throughout this short poem the table 'speaks' about experiencing many complex, human emotions, and this is unarguably personification at its most complex. Going beyond making a table 'speak,' have 'human-looking legs' or possibly some other physical feature that is remotely humanistic, Mahon has created a 'deep' and thoughtful creature that has a specific "fate." 'Morning Radio' on the other hand, as I have repeatedly said, lacks these qualities. So why are these two poems so very different Why did Mahon feel the need to use such different methods of personification in his two poems, particularly if the methods used in 'Table Talk' were so effective I think that merely from trying to create the illusion that non-human objects have human qualities, Mahon was asking us to question our own humanity. Although the methods differ, they both comment on everyday life, in particular changing events and new beginnings ("Morning Radio"), and complex human emotions and feelings ("Table Talk"). Although at face value, the two poems appear to be just two poems about a Radio and a Table that have some human qualities there is undoubtedly much more to them than that. You could argue that Mahon wanted us to see that objects can have a history, and can remember and become shaped by certain experiences, and this is all that there is to it, but I think it goes deeper than that. So what important conclusions should we draw from Mahon's two poems If Mahon wanted us to simply see that a writing table can have a colorful past (for example witness many great works of literature), then I do not feel that the emotions in "Table Talk" in particular, would have been so intense. In "Table Talk", the table claims that he is an "indispensable medium," almost like he is taking credit for the writer's work. You could also say at this point that the Table has anthropomorphic qualities when it refers to the days when it was still a pine tree, which was cut down, cast out from its home, like some brilliant natural deity. It is as though we took the tree from its home and made it a servant: "You think I am your servant but you are wrong." The Table is resentful at this, and it is almost as though we could see this poem as a comment on slavery and/or class. The fact that in these poems we are dealing with a Table and Radio though mean that we do not attach ourselves to a particular person and sympathize with them. Because we are dealing with inanimate objects, which of course are not alive, we question the circumstances and emotions, rather than the person itself. These two poems are an intricate and complex example of personification. Mohan has the objects within them as a literary device to tackle complex human emotions and issues. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks Read More