Heaven by Cathy Song And A Far Cry From Africa by Derek Walcott - Essay Example

“Heaven” by Cathy Song and “A Far Cry From Africa” by Derek Walcott Introduction Poetry may be described as a touch of creativity that is captured in words. Developers make detailed strides in coining words that offer a defined meaning to the target audience. The preference in the structure of a singular poem is defined by the target audience. Such observations allows for the eventual contrasting of the respective works. The poem by Cathy Song and that of Derek Walcott allows for the evaluation of such interests as perceived by the respective authors. The poem share a similar tone, however, there exists numerous angles of adjustment that distinguishes their content. The two works may be described to be oriented to different audience target upon the evaluation of their language and structure. However, there development may be described to be reflecting on the usage of words to capture an image of the imaginations of the respective authors. On that interest, this paper will focus on the evaluation of the two poems in hope of identifying with the interests of the respective authors in their development. "Heaven" by Cathy Song, The poem by Cathy Song embraces a sad tone that in infiltrated with a touch of hope. The poet is described to be in isolation in a destination far away from home. A taste of despair and hope in her situation may be felt in the perception of her son, “He thinks when we die we’ll go to China (1)”. Such is further captured on the description of their current location, with the poet referring to the place as comprising of “landlocked makeshifts ghost towns (49)”. Arguably, the family misses life in China. However, the elemental item that is fetched from their wish is the desire to be with familiar people. In accordance to the opinions of the poet, the family relates more to the Chinese population as compared to the rest of the persons at their current home. The author reflects on the usage of similes to expound on the interest harboured by the poet’s family. “His hand must spun like a bridge, to reach it (8-9)”. The lines assist in the presentation of the distance that is perceived by the poet in retrospect to the possibility of being back in china. Such is presented by the consideration of a spanning bridge in reference to the action of the son pointing on the position of china in a map. The author uses simple language in hope of presenting the intended meaning to her audience (Piccinini, 94). Cathy allows her poet to narrate the events that mapped the eventual development of the intuition of china being metaphorically likened to a heaven in a lucid manner. Such intents is considered ideal for the welfare of her audience. Additionally, the structuring of the poem allows for a sense of ease in the fathom of the considered content (Madden, 69). The poet perceives the essence of carrying her audience along her mayhem and distress. She considers enlightening them prior to engaging them into her son’s dream of a China heaven. She is, also, categorical in substantiating on the difference between the considered terms. Her description on the decisions of her husband and their eventual alienation allows for the winning of the sympathy of the audience. “The boy who helped to build the railroads for a dollar a day, had always meant to go back, when did he finally know that each mile of the track led him far away (40-44)”. The considered boy never made it back home, after dying in his sleep. The title of the poem may be considered to be an explanation to his whereabouts to the son. The boy may be concerned of where he is, hence the perception of a Chinese heaven. "A Far Cry From Africa" by Derek walcott, The author focuses on a rather dense topic, as defined by the structure of the work. There is usage of a heavy language that leaves the audience with a significant room for their imagination and creativity. The author expresses a keen interest of involving his audience along the development of the poem. Such is captured along the eventual description of the abilities of the author to coin his wording in a concealing manner (Ryan, 52). The eventual perception of the ideal reference captured by the poem’s topic is achieved at the terminal stanza. Elementarily, the author remained concerned with the capturing of the dilemma bestowed to the poet. The poet has to make a decision pertaining his support to the fighting personalities in the poem. The choice is split between echoing the support for the native African worriers or the prospective backing of the white colonialists. In hope of presenting the intensity of the decision to the audience, the poet takes some time to expound on the fails of each of the parties. Such an interest allows for the elevation of the emotional tone in the work (Hanauer, 125). There is an increases sense of anguish and pain in the words of the poet. The betrayal of emotions is captured in the last stanza. The line, “I whom am poisoned with the blood of both (26)” allows for the reflection of the situation of the poet. The title A far cry from Africa may be proposed to be relating to the likes of the poet who are caught in between the two combating communities. Such may explain on the reason why the cry is indeed far from the considered problems being faced by the continent. Arguably, the struggle against the colonialism and the counter efforts over the rowdy subjects may considered as the elemental source of cry for the continent. However, the final stanza of the poem elevates the attention of the audience to the plight of the persons that are considered the products of both the masters and the subjects (Heidegger and Albert, 46). The line “where shall I turn, divided to the vein (27)” allows for the summarization of the considered cry as captured in the title. The poet is in a dilemma on the ideal decision that needs to be made regarding the situation at hand. The author may have considered his audience to comprise of persons that are versed with conflict and people that can relate with the phenomenon of the poet. Conclusion The two poems may be described to embrace a similar tone. They both convey a sense of despair in their content. The work by Cathy Song focuses on the plight of a family that is far from and has lost their head of family. Conversely, the work of Derek Walcott offers a reflection on the life of a victim of conflicting backgrounds. Their pain and anguish is captured in the respective stanzas, with each of the authors making effort to enlighten the audience on the respective backgrounds that founds the situation at hand. However, the two works adopts a differing touch of language that allows for their contrasting. The work of Cathy assumes a moderate language as compared to that adopted by Derek. Work cited Heidegger, Martin, and Albert Hofstadter. Poetry, Language, Thought. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2013. Print. Hanauer, David I. Poetry As Research: Exploring Second Language Poetry Writing. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Pub, 2010. Internet resource. Madden, Frank. Exploring Literature: Writing and Arguing About Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print. Piccinini, Veronika. "Creative Poetry Writing." Iatefl Newsletter. 11 (2007): 9-10. Print. Ryan, Margaret. Extraordinary Poetry Writing. New York: Franklin Watts, 2006. Print. Read More