When Great Trees Fall - Maya AngelouĪngelou wrote this poem for fellow poet James Baldwin's funeral. Will he be machine-gunned down by gangsters aged 91? Or even better, despatched by his mistress for “catching me in bed with her daughter” at the princely age of 104? Irreverent and hilarious. With tongue firmly in cheek, Scouse poet McGough fantasises about dying a grisly, Hollywood-style death as a very old man. Sometimes, it helps to simply laugh in the face of the inevitable. Let Me Die a Youngman's Death - Roger McGough She writes, "let it be a celebration / for i have been here / i have lived". In this poem she describes her ideal funeral, including flower garlands, ice cream and dancing in the street. Than that you should remember and be sad.”ĭoes a funeral need to be dark, sombre occasion? Rupi Kaur doesn't think so. “Better by far you should forget and smile Rossetti ‘s intention was to remind the reader that life is for the living: ![]() Despite the title, it’s actually all about reassuring the living that sometimes it’s okay to forget (“if you should forget me for a while / …do not grieve”). This charming poem actually has a trick up his sleeve. I do not sleep.” This vibrant poem suggests that the departed one’s spirit has merely been set free (“I am the sunlight…the gentle autumn rain”) so there is little to be gained by crying at a graveside. “Do not stand at my grave and weep,” Frye commands. The speaker hopes that their lover will cast the leaves away.Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep - Mary Elizabeth Frye In some traditions branches are carried at a funeral procession. The ‘cypress tree’ is a powerful symbol of death. For example ‘Plant thou no roses… nor shady cypress tree’ expresses the protagonist’s hope that their lover does not mourn too long but but continues living positively. Rossetti uses the natural world as metaphors for remembrance. The persona may be the poet, but more likely this is an imagery protagonist.Ī powerful feature is the rhythm, the use of syntactic parallels to establish the positive mood of acceptance. The voice is that of the first person singular ‘I’ addressing her lover. The mainly end-stopped lines suggest the emphatic nature of the speaker’s wishes. The rhyme scheme is a regular ABCB DEFE in both stanzas. There is a jaunty rhythm which ensures the mood is more hopeful than sombre. The structure is regular, with the first, third, fifth and seventh lines having seven syllables and the alternating lines six. ![]() The poem comprises two stanzas of eight lines each. Instead she creates a mood of acceptance and peace. These remain unresolved, yet despite this there is no tension in the poem. ![]() She also conveys the importance of the connection between the living and the dead, how the wishes of the one who has passed away impacts on the lives of those left mourning them.Īn important feature is the trope of binary opposites, where the speaker and her lover are suspended between alternatives. Rossetti weaves in a range of ideas memory, after-life, the human spirit, hope, patience and reassurance. It mirrors Rossetti’s Remember, which also deals with comforting a bereaved lover. In this poem the speaker tries to comfort and reassure their lover after the s/he has died.
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