Thorough analysis and summary of John Burnside's poem 'History', produced by all A* achieving student at A level.
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Course
Unit 3 - Poetry
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
This is a 4 page document that provides both a summary of the poem and a short essay. A clear overview of the poem is written, as well as an identification of key themes and analysis of form, structure, language and ideas. Multiple interpretations are also considered by a high achieving student. Ev...
‘History’
The poem is based around the tragic events on 9/11, as the speaker is looking at all the things
around him and remembering how this event in history can shatter one’s perception of the world-
the speaker attempts to rebuild this by focusing on the tangible things in the present, which are real
and unchanging. Burnside also touches upon nature in the poem, and the negative impact humans
have on our environment.
The key elements of form and structure are:
1. Poem is written in free verse structure- the length, spacing and placement of lines on the
page is quite erratic, which creates a sense of falling and perhaps this could mirror the literal
falling of the Twin Towers on 9/11, but also how, in the aftermath of such an event, the poet
feels that his sense of security is collapsing. The structure conveys the confusion and strong
changes in emotions that could be felt by someone hearing the news, and how their
thoughts become erratic as they attempt to process the information.
2. Alternately, the structure could represent the ebb and flow of the tide on this beach setting.
3. The structure seems to become slightly less disjunct as the poem progresses, which could
indicate that the poet manages to gather his thoughts.
4. There is a quatrain among the disjointed stanzas on the first page, standing out due to its
more organised structure, indicating this holds a significant message, and the speaker’s
thoughts become more organised. In this stanza, the poet indicates that he feels there is
nothing concrete which defines a person- ‘what makes us who we are is neither kinship nor
our given states…’ and that people’s thoughts and actions cannot always be explained using
logic. This could be the speaker’s rationale as to why a person could bring themselves to
commit acts such as terrorism.
5. Loss and confusion are further emphasised by the unfinished feeling that many lines have as
a result of enjambment, with multiple lines flowing over each other. This helps to encourage
a strong feeling of uncertainty, that likely mirrors that of the speaker and society as a whole.
6. ‘Today’ is separate from the rest of the poem, emphasising the fact that ‘Today’ is an
important and memorable day that will never be forgotten. The fact that it is isolated also
may be a symbol of how alone people feel in a world full of war and death.
7. The poet also placed the word ‘people’ alone maybe to represent the lack of unity in
humanity.
8. Enjambment throughout to represent the fluidity of time, adding to lack of structure and
confused thoughts.
Key methods used by the writer to convey their ideas:
From the opening of the poem, the speaker makes it clear that this is a significant day:
The poem opens with an anaphora of the word ‘today’, which is also separate from the rest
of the poem, isolated on its own line. This emphasises the fact that this day is an important
and memorable day that will never be forgotten. The fact that it is isolated also may be a
symbol of how alone people feel in a world full of war and death.
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