Funeral Blues & The Triumph of Death Free Essay Example

The title of the poem ‘Funeral Blues’ tells me that it has something to do with death straight away because of the word Funeral. As everyone knows this is associated with death. The word ‘Blues’ reminds me of death because I remember the sad kind of tune that Blues music conveys and it reminds me of a loss of something. ‘Funeral Blues’ is a negative sort of atmosphere. I feel this by the tone of voice the narrator uses and you can almost see the anger building up inside of her.

The poem, ‘The Triumph of Death’ reminds me of death because of the actual word death. The actual meaning of the ‘Triumph of Death’ means that death wins over life. This is a very positive attitude.

The narrator of ‘Funeral Blues’ is a female whom has lost someone she treasures and loves a lot. I know this because she says, ‘Stop all the clocks’ which to me means she is trying to stop time so that she can have some time to herself, to think things through about what she is going to do now her loved one has gone.

The narrator of the ‘Triumph of death’ is most probably Shakespeare but no one really knows. From reading his poem I can see that he doesn’t want his loved one to cry or be upset about his death. I know this as soon as I read the first line because it says ‘No longer mourn for me when I am dead’.

The tone for ‘Funeral Blues’ is solemn. I feel this because she is very upset about the loved one she has lost, and she is trying to tell the world how tragic it would be to loose someone you love so dearly in your heart. The theme for ‘The Triumph of Death’ is the opposite because William doesn’t want people to worry about him when he has gone, but do the complete opposite and be happy he has gone to a better place which he prefers.

Death will affect the person whom is caring for the loved one on ‘Funeral Blues’ because she seems to be very upset about what has happened, and it seems that she will not give her loved one up for anything. I know this from the words which said, ‘He was my North, my South, my East and West’. But she also mentions that she thought that love would last forever, but she was wrong. She also says, ‘For nothing now can ever come to any good. This is a very negative tone. For the poem ‘The Triumph of Death’ he is trying to force his loved one away from him, by saying things such as, ‘Nay, if you read this line, remember not The hand that writ it’. Which means he doesn’t want to be remembered.

In Shakespeare’s poem the advice which is written is to forget about him and don’t mourn for him but to tell the world he has gone. The message on the other hand in W.H. Audens’s poem is that the whole world should know and stop what they are doing and think about what has happened to her husband and care that he has gone forever. She thinks that her life now is not worth living.

Shakespeare’s narrator says, ‘That I in your sweet thoughts will be forgot’ and the words ‘Give warning to the world that I am fled’ meaning to tell the world he is dead and gone forever. For W.H. Auden’s poem I can back my answer up by saying, ‘Let airplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky HE IS DEAD’. And ‘For nothing now can ever come to any good’. This is how he try’s to emphasize to the reader that he has gone forever.

In ‘Funeral Blues’ the mood of depression and sadness is in the air, also fear because she doesn’t know what to do now her loved one has gone. The atmosphere is dark and gloomy. It’s all muddled up and distorted. In ‘The Triumph of Death’ the mood is happy because he believes he’s going to a better place with no pain or suffering, the atmosphere is bright and peaceful.

Shakespeare establishes a positive view of death by making life sound negative and he does this by making people not worry about him when he has gone. He uses these kind of words, ‘No longer mourn for me when I am dead’ meaning don’t worry if I die, because it is a better place I’m going to. ‘If thinking of me should make you woe’, this means if you start to think about me and are unhappy. ‘Let your love even with my life decay’ means as I am rotting your love for me should to, so you forget who I am.

In ‘Funeral Blues’ death is seen by the narrator as a destroying event for those left behind. This is shown by ‘Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come’. This means when you are dead in a coffin everyone is going to be sad and upset. ‘Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves’ Black is usually associated with funerals and means the same kind of thing.

W.H. Audens poem is very unhappy about death and does not like it at all, she thinks it is a very unfortunate thing to happen and extremely depressing this is probably the most realistic way to think, I think this because I would feel the same way, this poem doesn’t believe in the after life. The poem written by Shakespeare doesn’t mind death and believes it will be a good time and very peaceful. I don’t think I personally would interpret death in this manner, because you never know what is going to happen or what the consequences may be. On Shakespeare’s poem you can see that he believes in life after death from these words which are used. He shows a very negative attitude to the world.

The poem ‘The Triumph of Death’ is a sonnet, and I know this because it has exactly fourteen lines. Also every other line rhymes with the one before it, this does not include the last two lines of this particular poem. This poem is written in old English so one may find it hard to understand. This is because it was written in Shakespearean times. This poem uses feelings and spoken things to express it.

‘Funeral Blues’ is an ordinary poem with four verses; the rhyme pattern is every two lines rhyming with eachother. This poem is written in Modern English, I know this because I can understand the text better. For example the word phone is used which is modern technology. The usage of words is more appropriate to the modern day (20 – 21st century). This poem uses feelings, metaphors and material things such as the word jug etc. to express her feelings.