A level poem summary sheet on 'Blaen Cwrt by Gillian Clarke' including notes on stanza by stanza analysis, form, structure, techniques, themes and overviews. Perfect for A level revision of Gillian Clarke poetry or perfect even for templates on how to analyse poetry.
CONTENT: Blaen Cwrt is a poem about the small holding on the countryside of wales. Clarke
moved to this old, ruined small holding in 1984. Clarke (the supposed speaker) talks about
the troubles and hardships that can be faced living life on the country side explaining to us
the reader that it is not that beautiful, blissful place portrayed on brochures and adverts.
However she speaks of the ancient history and tradition that Blaen Cwrt possesses and the
beauty in that.
THEMES: Country side Life, History, Nature, Language
STANZA BY STANZA ANALYSIS:
STICHIC POEM – CONTINUOUS STANZA :
Clarke directly addresses the reader in the first line in an almost confrontational line as it is
made up of two short and blunt sentences. The mention of ‘no glass’ implies that all light is
stopped from coming through the stone rectangle emphasises the feeling of isolation – even
her eyes are prohibited from looking on the outside world. The metaphor ‘the air spins’
enhances this idea of entrapment as the word ‘spins’ implies a continuous motion and the
air being trapped in unending cycle could be symbolism of the repetitiveness of countryside
life. ‘ploughed, brown field’ is very dull imagery which is emphasised by the long vowel
sounds. The smoke being a sign to the neighbours suggests the primitive conditions of Blaen
Cwrt as they are reduced to primitive methods of communication and a sense of history and
tradition as there is a continuation of this method of communication despite modernisation
showing how Blaen Cwrt has deep connections to history and tradition. ‘Four folds’ the use
of fricatives and the emphatic positioning of it at the start of the line emphasises that they
are tucked away in the valley, no post codes the only location they have for us is the four
folds. The use of sibilance ‘some of the smoke seeps through the stones’ slows down the
pace of the poem and highlights the slow movement of the smoke and ‘curl’ also
emphasises this.
‘Thick’, ‘press’ and ‘lift’ emphasises the sense of laborious work and effort that is put into
collecting something so simple as water which as accessible to many in the city through
taps. ‘Enamel mugs’ used for activities such as camping and so on as what she uses for daily
life demonstrates this idea of a rough and unglamorous life style as they are not delicate but
sturdy and unbreakable and so will be able to withstand the rough terrain and can be put
directly on top of a fire in the absence of a kettle. The simile ‘like ploughmen’ again links
Clarkes daily life to that of laborious and hard physical work. Stones clear in the rain implies
they were covered by something probably mud and are said to give their colours – this is
intriguing as stones are not very colourful. No brochure blues or boiled sweet reds implies
the country side is not as it is advertised to be. The repetition of ‘and’ emphasises the
dullness of each colour as she does not vary in her use of conjunction. The wattle and daub
‘decaying’ and ‘creeping to dust’ suggests that Blaen Cwrt is returning back to nature just
like how we humans are returned back to nature ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust’ so is Blaen
Cwrt, emphasising how it is one with nature and its surroundings. Also, these phrases
suggest a long a lingering and slow process. The idea of stories on the floor indicate that
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