Brendon Gallacher and Medusa Essay
Loss is actually a key, reoccurring theme during my two poems of choice; ‘Brendon Gallacher’ and ‘Medusa. ‘ ‘Brendon Gallacher’ is a great affectionate keen for an imaginary, eponymous childhood friend, ‘Medusa’ can be described as poem split up into stanzas of mostly similar length. Equally poets make use of varying terminology to help the reader visualise the characters’ thoughts and character. Emptiness and loss are presented in both poetry through numerous techniques including alliteration, imagery and abstain. There is a childlike quality to Jackie Kay’s elegy pertaining to the death of an imaginary friend.
The persona uses simple language and a range of methods such as colloquialism. Contrastingly, in Medusa, Duffy uses a sombre tone believed the poem which helps the poem flow naturally and plays a part in the expanding sorrow. In ‘Brendon Gallacher’, Jackie Kay’s use of a repetitive refrain gives a song-like quality; this can be further reinforced by the interjections that display grief in the last lines: ‘Oh Brendon, Oh my Brendon Gallacher’.
The passing of Brendon leaves an empty void, filled by repetition of ‘Brendon Gallacher’, which shows fixation and inability to leave ones feelings pass – an psychological attachment; ‘Brendon’ as opposed to the full name previously used. The repetition with the possessive pronoun emphasizes the concept Brendan belongs to the narrator, and emphasizes the theme of loss and desiring something that is fully gone. Similarly, Duffy uses evocative language right away by starting on the concept of the obsession/mistrust.
Duffy emphasises this kind of by the set of three, “suspicion, doubt and fear” which usually “grew in her mind”, allowing the flow of thoughts through enjambment. This doubt and fear shows that Medusa is somewhat obsessive and has lost virtually any freedom or ability to control her thoughts. Moreover in Brendon Gallacher, they fulfill ‘in the open air’, as if Brendon represents autonomy and journeying; he discussions of ‘Some place far’, which offers a reason for the narrator to live on. This is all lost with the ‘death’ of Brendon. A physical loss rather than psychological loss is definitely demonstrated throughout the words “we’d been friends for years” and “he would hold my hand” which suggests there may be an anxiety of physical intimacy.
Similarly, Medusa was once a beautiful female who was become a horrible creature by the Ancient greek language goddess, Athena. Jealousy and paranoia convert the hair after “Medusa’s” brain, in the poem, into “filthy snakes. ” Already someone is aware of the change ‘turned the hairs’, giving the impression that she had not been always like this and did at one point have got beautiful frizzy hair. Both poets have used descriptive approaches and images to show the physical adjustments and loss each character has been subject to. “One working day when it was pouring and I was indoors”, this passage in Brendon Gallacher uses pathetic argument to make the feelings evoke a loss of purity which is shown by the wet weather.
Premature language and description can be used to help the group visualise the narrator’s child years, “He acquired six friends and I got one” could be conveyed as quite idiotic and this has been used to emphasise that the narrator is discussing her earlier when your woman was young, her childhood emptiness and loss. Likewise, in Medusa the rhetorical questions, “Wasn’t My spouse and i beautiful? Wasn’t I great smelling and young? ” present insecurity as a result of repetition of questions yet also shows a area of chasteness as is normally related to young adults. Both poems show a loss of innocence, albeit in various ways. “Look at myself now. ” The single line in Medusa emphasises a final request that appears being a paradox, a plea pertaining to sympathy yet also a threat.
Another, damage, this time even more mentally impacting, Medusa features lost control of her decisions, this is additional enforced by simply her turning of others in stone; “bullet tears inside my eyes”, “you were stone”, Medusa provides lost her ability to also look at others, and much just like her cry, her destiny is set in stone. This kind of varied word length is definitely indulging and engrossing as it really concerns the empathy of the reader. All in all, the two poems possess certain commonalities when trying to present reduction. Both ‘Brendon Gallacher’ and ‘Medusa’ employ language to bring alive the thoughts from the characters.
Duffy focuses even more on the imagery and strengthen of the poem whereas Kay brings to your life the exact fine detail to provide the total picture.
