Exam (elaborations)
Exemplar essay
- Module
- Love through the ages
- Institution
- AQA
An exemplar essay receiving grade A with feedback attached.
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‘In the literature of love, expressions of love are rarely made in plain language’With this statement in mind, compare how the two poems present expressions of love.
Within poetic literature of love, the expressions addressing this momentum have been presented to
follow the style of a Shakespearean sonnet and avoiding the conventions of love in plain language.
While Both Aedh wishes for Cloths of Heaven and Freefall ignore the sonnet structure of a love
poem, they adhere to the stereotypical way of expressing love; W.B Yeats Aedh wishes, has no direct
reference to love, and therefore conveys it to be interlinked with quotidian experience. Conversely,
Andrew Greig’s post modern Freefall is a vignette of the speaker and the lover illustrating feelings of
affection to be somewhat unrequited. Therefore, both poems are enabled to draw the reader into
the speaker's concept of love by the implicit references to love.
Yeats ' Aedh wishes immediately begins the poem with biblical imagery of “the heavens’
embroidered cloths” allowing the reader to see the poem will not be written using play language.
The embroidery within the cloth elicits a careful and precise stitching, which can be juxtaposed to
the description of the lover “enwrought” to the speaker's concept of love represented as a “golden
and silver light”. The colouring of “golden and silver” depicts a sense of high expense, possibly the
lover as an expensive piece of cloth that they believe are worthy to them. Within the introduction of
Yeats poem, there is no doubt that his poem has no direct reference to love leaving the reader to
create their own interpretation. However the reference to “golden and silver” embroidered cloths
create an archaic imagery of love due to the “cloths” being a subject that doesn't align with the
modern day experience of love. On the other hand, Greig expresses love through his irregular line
length and a descriptive free verse structure throughout the poem, as a result, applying a more
ambiguous approach to love. The “true depth of a well” and the hyphen following with “drop a
stone”. is metaphorically used to juxtapose the loss of love and supporting the expressions of love to
be complex which allows inference of something missing from their heart. However, there is a
continuation with indentation becoming symbolic of a pause or break within love reflecting and
accepting the statement of expressions in love rarely in plain language.
Where Yeats uses an octave monostich and rejects the shakespearean fourteen line sonnet, Grieg
has a disruptive free verse with sestets to place the expressions of love. After the pause and
indentation of the first stanza, the second stanza consists of one line: “she means, i think, best not to
discuss it”. There is a lot of hesitation within this line suggesting a relationship that may be facing a
hardships and the aspect of the “well” supports this through the symbolism of a “well” being
something that cannot be filled no matter how many stones are dropped there will always be
complications within their relationship, therefore this further reinforces lust or desire to be complex
ideology. This is expanded by the third stanza through the sexual imagery, Greig refers to “heavy
breathing in the kitchen” hinting the way to stay in contact with his lover is by sexual relations or the
idea of overcoming this harship is by the distraction of other women. Additionally, Greig uses the
simile to “kisses like promises of light” which juxtapose to a sense of hope that the speaker wishes to
establish their relationship or once relationship. similarly, Yeats Freefall uses a sombre tone to
express love; there is a contrast to dark colours in comparison to the light that was once mentioned
earlier in the poem, this is seen by the “blue and the dim and the dark cloths” creating a sense of
pathos towards the cloth which is his delicate lover. The epiphora of “cloths” establishes respect from
the speaker towards the lover due to the change in light to dark overtones; however, the cloth is a
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