Full marks essay comparing the poems 'Storm on the Island' and 'The Prelude'. These poems can be found in the AQA Power and Conflict poetry anthology. I achieved a Grade 9 in GCSE English.
Comparing Storm on the Island with An Extract From The Prelude
Boy on the boat overwhelmed by mountain and natural world; inhabitants on island same.
Word huge used in both.
Both end with nature as an unknowable factor, something to fear
Oars trembling – transferred epithet (adjective which should describe the boy has
been transferred to the oars).
Oxymorons in Storm on the Island
Both poems have voltas – commonly signalled with the word but.
Both poems irregularly structured.
Enjambement – things are uncontrolled, being pushed on, unpredictable – not calm and
controlled.
Can’t underestimate nature.
Nature’s power is explored similarly in the two poems Storm on the Island and
Extract from, The Prelude, with both of them representing nature as more powerful than
humans. In Heaney’s Storm on the Island, nature is portrayed as strong and powerful, and
“pummels your house”. Humans are no match for nature, being forced to “sit tight” and wait
till the storm passes. This shows that nature has a much greater power than humans do. This
idea is mirrored in Extract from, The Prelude, Woodsworth runs away as soon as he sees the
“huge peak”. The semantic field changes from peaceful and confident to dark, forceful and
imposing as soon as Woodsworth sees the mountain, with words such as “towered” and
“desertion”. This shows how the extreme power of nature frightened Woodsworth. Upon
realising nature’s power, Woodsworth realised he was insignificant in comparison and “with
trembling oars [he] turned”.
Both poems also use enjambment to a large degree to represent nature’s power. In
Extract from, The Prelude, enjambment throughout the poem reflects how little power
Woodsworth (as the writer) truly has and also represents the power and freedom nature has.
This is similar to the way in which Heaney uses it: enjambment here creates a sense of danger
and surprise and forces the reader to realise the true power of nature. In the run-on line “when
it blows full / Blast”, by putting “blast” on a separate line Heaney amplifies the power the
wind has – it can even affect the words of the poem.
Storm on the Island and Extract from, The Prelude, however, explore human
arrogance differently. Woodsworth’s initial pride and arrogance transformed his small boat
into an “elfin pinnace”. This initial bravado is lost later in the poem, with the boat simply
becoming “my bark”. This represents how humans are arrogant until they encounter nature’s
power. In contrast to this, Heaney presents humans as confident but not overly so – they “are
prepared” but also understand the power of nature – knowing that the only way to protect
themselves is by sinking “walls in rock” – they need to use nature’s power to protect
themselves from nature’s power. They know the limits of their abilities, watching “while
wind dives and strafes invisibly.”
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