In the Forest by Thomas Shapcott

In The Forest by Thomas Shapcott has been used to convey the destructive nature of inhabitants. It highlights how the inhabitants are selfish and destroy the landscape for their own benefits. However, they have little acknowledgment for the impacts of their actions on the landscape and the wildlife that relies on it for their survival. In this poem, Shapcott had given a voice to the wildlife and attempts to portray how human actions impact upon their lives.

The landscape is often referred to as ‘mother nature’ as it provides for its inhabitants. In the poem, the landscape is portrayed as caring for its inhabitants by protecting it and providing resources for their use. In stanza three, the composer states, ‘The snake moves into the reeds quickly’. It shows how the snake is able to seek protection from the landscape as it shields them from the dangers of humanity. However, the landscape also provides for humans because it offers resources for them that allow for their survival. The composer also utilises the technique of irony to show how the trees that once ‘sheltered’ the inhabitants have now been crushed.

The power of humans to influence and dominate the landscape is clearly evident within society. This is portrayed in the poem ‘Flames and Dangling Wire’ in which the inhabitants of the landscape are easily able to alter and manipulate the landscape in which they live as highlighted in Stanza two, ‘The dark of forest is so solid that its undergrowth should never break’. This directly juxtaposes with stanza five, ‘and the gash in the forest, and light to break’. This shows how initially the landscape was thought to be indestructible and that no power would ever be able to penetrate through its darkness. However, humans have the resources to build machinery and weapons that is easily able to destroy the landscape, causing the ‘light to break’ through. The light that breaks through can also be perceived as a plea from the composer for inhabitants to recognise what they are doing, and the impacts they are having and ultimately provide a hope that things will improve in the future.

The fast paced lives of inhabitants, causing them to have little consideration for the impacts they have on the landscape is also explored throughout the poem.  This is clearly evident in stanza four, ‘That! Slap of an axe. That!’. The use of repetition of the word ‘That’ and the short sentence structure draws the readers attention to this point and places emphasis upon it. It highlights the fast paced nature of the inhabitants, emphasising the lack of consideration inhabitants have for the landscape. Rather they act spontaneously, thinking little of the impacts they will have and not providing sufficient time in order to allow the landscape to regenerate. This highlights the selfish nature of the inhabitants as they continue to take from the landscape only to benefit themselves.

The fast pace of inhabitants is further explored through the repeated motif of time. The repetition of the phrase ‘Has the time come?’, in both stanzas two and three utilises the technique of a rhetorical question in order to show how the wildlife of the landscape has been forced to ‘wait’ in anticipation for the coming of destruction.  It highlights the change that is to come to the landscape due to the fact that the inhabitants do not consider what impact we have on society.

The destructive nature of the inhabitants is clearly evident within society. In stanza seven, the composer refers to ‘the skull of the forest’. The skull can be perceived as a metaphor for the forest and symbolises its death and destruction. The lush vegetation of the forest has been removed and it has left the forest exposed and barren. Although the forest was once living, it is now all gone, which can be seen as a representation of the future if societies destructive habits are not ended. The skull is now only a symbol that the forest had once existed.  The skull can be perceived as a warning of the danger that is to come if society continues to take and take until there is nothing left and also it draws the responder’s attention to this issue and highlights the impacts of deforestation. The repeated motif of destruction is also repeated throughout the poem. This is portrayed through the use of words such as ‘gash’, ‘fallen’, ‘crushed’ and ‘broken’, which all connote the negative impact of inhabitants on the landscape. In the last stanza, the composer declares, ‘But the birds have forgotten they have claimed other trees. They settle for sleep’. This reveals how the animals have been forced to adapt and come to term with the impacts of the inhabitants. It appears as though deforestation ahs become a part of life and much like a routine. This further emphasises the issue of deforestation as it presented as a common issue and therefore it is socially acceptable. The composer wishes to see this altered in the future and therefore has successfully used this line, to end the poem in order to underline how this needs to change in the future.

The impact of inhabitants upon the landscape is clearly evident throughout society. The domination of inhabitants over the landscape and there manipulation of the landscape for their own benefit is clearly evident in the poem ‘In the Forest’ by Thomas Shapcott. The composer has successfully utilised a variety of techniques in order to emphasise how he perceives deforestation to be a significant issue within society. Through his poem, he attempts to make the responder recognise how they directly contribute to the destruction of the landscape through their greed and selfish nature. By placing emphasis on this he wishes for inhabitants to change their attitudes and effectively alter their actions.

‘In the Forest’ by Thomas Shapcott can be compared with the poem ‘Flames and Dangling Wire’ by Robert Gray as both poems address the impact inhabitants have upon the landscape. Both highlight the selfish nature of society as they take from and destroy the landscape and they appear to be oblivious to the impacts of their actions. However, the poems concentrate on different issues as ‘In the Forest’ presents the issue of deforestation whereas ‘Flames and Dangling Wire’ highlights the issue of pollution within the environment.

‘In the Forest’ can also be compared to the poem ‘Australia’ by A D Hope. Both poems show the effects of foreign inhabitants on the landscape and also there lack of consideration for the original inhabitants. However, ‘In the Forest’ portrays the aliens as being the humans who destroy the wildlife for their own benefits. In contrast, ‘Australia’ by A D Hope portrays the ‘aliens’ to be the Europeans who colonised Australia and had little consideration for the Aboriginal people.

Sources:
Thomas Shapcott, 2011. Retrieved: March 7, 2011, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Shapcott 

Thomas Shapcott

Thomas Shapcott was born on 21 March, 1935, in Ipswich, Queensland. He is a Poet, novelist, editor, librettist, short story writer, playwright, and teacher In 1961, he completed and Arts Degree at the University of Queensland and later was the Director of the Literature Board of the Australian Council from 1983 – 1990 and then the Executive Director of the National Book Council from 1991 – 1997.

He was also a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Adelaide. Shapcott has written a total of 15 collection so poems and 6 novels.

Sources: 

Thomas Shapcott, (n.d.) Retrieved: March 6, 2011, from

http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/biography/shapcott1.html

Thomas Shapcott, 2011. Retrieved: March 6, 2011, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Shapcott

Holy Thursday by William Blake - Annotations

'Holy Thursday' (Songs of Experience) by William Blake

The poem ‘Holy Thursday’ by William Blake can be perceived as the personas perception of how the inhabitants of the landscape are neglected and treated insensitively even though the land is abundant with continuous productivity and material possessions.

Society is portrayed as being overwhelmed by the temptations of the landscape and ultimately have become corrupt. This is portrayed through the metaphor of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as well as the repeated motif of religion in the quote, ‘in a rich and fruitful land’. It highlights society’s obsession with material possessions and their lack of consideration for the resources provided to them.

Society’s neglect of the landscape is clearly evident within this poem. The first line states, ‘Is this a holy thing to see’. The word ‘holy’ can be perceived as a portrayal of how inhabitants are being sacrilegious to the landscape as they are neglecting and wasting the resources of the land. Stanza three refers to a ‘sun does never shine’ and ‘fields…bleak and bare’, reinforcing how society has wasted its most valuable resources and how the landscape has been neglected because of this. The more the inhabitants take from the landscape, the more they want, and yet they have little consideration for the future generations, such as the children of the society who are already suffering.

It is also evident within the poem that equality and justice does not exist within the landscape. Although the poem refers to ‘a rich and fruitful land’, which in essence connotes the vast quantity of material objects present within the landscape and also how it is  highly productive, it is unable to provide for all its inhabitants. The utilisation of rhetorical questions, at the beginning of the poem, encourages the responder to recognise how inhabitants are ‘reduced to misery’ due to the unequal distribution of resources and power within society. The children referred to in the poem are cared for by inhabitants who appear to be kind and charitable. However, they are ‘fed with cold and usurous hand’ which connotes the unforgiving and insensitive hands by which they are fed.  This if furthered by the indirect juxtaposition of the ‘misery’ of the children and the ‘song of joy’ demonstrating the recurring theme of the poem, appearance verses reality. It highlights how although the children are miserable they are expected to sing songs of praise and happiness. The children are forced to travels along ‘paths’ that are ‘filled with thorns’, highlighting the suffering of the children much like that that was experienced by Jesus. Inhabitants are unable to recognise the lies of the church group and how rather they are manipulating the children for their own benefits. The utilisation of rhetorical questions, 'Is that trembling cry a song? Can it be a song of joy? Abnd so many children poor?', encourages the responder to question the motives of the inhabitants and also presents the persona’s perception that contributions should not be required because the children currently inhabit such a ‘rich and fruitful’ land.

Blake’s criticism of the inhabitants of the landscape is clearly portrayed throughout the poem. Although the church treats the children harshly, he perceives that it is not only the church that can be to blame for the children’s suffering but also the community as they appear to merely turn a blind eye towards the miseries endured by the children. It highlights the selfish nature of the inhabitants and how they are willing to manipulate others purely for their own gain.

The repetition of the phrase ‘and their’ within the third stanza demonstrates the eternal and inescapable miseries of the children and also highlights the composers criticism towards the inhabitants of the landscape.

It is ironic that although the landscape is ‘rich and fruitful’, the children have been forced to live within both a physical and inner landscape that is harsh and filled with unending miseries. This has resulted in the destruction of the innocence of the children and has resulted in a detrimental impact both on their inner and imaginative landscape. It appears as though the inhabitants can not live in a landscape that is truly ‘rich’ if the lives of the future generations have been received in such a negative light.

The duality of the landscape is also portrayed throughout the poem. The landscape can be a place of suffering, misery and challenges and can cause people to become tempted by its resources resulting in the greed and corruption of its inhabitants. However, it can also be perceived as a symbol of innocence and of new beginnings as well as hope for the future as portrayed in the last stanza, ‘For where-e’re the min does shine, And where-e’re the rain does fall, Babe can never hunger there’. The last stanza juxtaposes to the rest of the poem as it highlights that a natural landscape that provides so much shall find a way to support its inhabitants. The change of tone evident in the last stanza encourages the reader to hold an optimistic outlook on how the world can still be altered in order to benefit inhabitants if people are able to learn how to appreciate the landscape. It is able to establish a hope for change in the future through the alteration of inhabitants morals and attitudes and their perceptions of the landscape.

It can be perceived, that Blake portrays society as being greedy and selfish through his criticism of the inhabitants behaviour. The relationship that exist between the children and the landscape has been significantly impacted upon and recognises that change can only be brought about through the inhabitants questioning of their own morals and values and how they have the ability to alter what they have done.

The poem ‘Holy Thursday’ can be compared with the poem ‘Flames and Dangling Wire’ by Robert Gray as they share a number of similarities. Both poems address the issue of society’s manipulation of the landscape for their own benefit and how this can ultimately impact upon inhabitants. Both present the world as a place that once was filled with things that worked but due to the lack of consideration, resources have been wasted and the landscape is neglected. It illustrates the selfish nature of society through their obsession with superficial possessions including wealth and power.

‘Holy Thursday’ can also be compared to A.D Hope’s poem ‘Australia’. Both poems address the problems that exist within society and criticise the inhabitants due to the significant impacts they have had upon the landscape due to their lack of recognition for their impacts upon society. Both poems also highlight the selfish nature of inhabitants as they are greedy and continually take from the resources of the land without considering the impacts on the inhabitants in future generations. ‘Australia’ can be contrasted to ‘Holy Thursday’ because of how they depict society’s impact upon the landscapes. ‘Australia’ highlights the impacts of colonisation and how inhabitants have negatively impacted upon it because they are not aware of how to care for the land. In contrast, ‘Holy Thursday’ demonstrates how inhabitants are greedy and take for their own benefits. They turn a blind eye to the sufferings of the children in the landscape and do not recognise how their manipulation of the landscape significantly impacts upon their relationship and understanding of the landscape.

Sources:

‘Holy Thursday (Experience) Analysis’, (n.d) Retrieved: March 3, 2011, from http://www.eliteskills.com/c/16263

‘Holy Thursday (Songs of Experience), 2010. Retrieved: March 3, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Thursday_(Songs_of_Experience)

‘William Blake's Two "Holy Thursday" Poems’, 2011. Retrieved: March 3, 2011, from http://www.suite101.com/content/william-blakes-two-holy-thursday-poems-a336812

William Blake (1757 - 1827)

William Blake was born in Soho England, in 1757. Blake was educated at his home, mainly by his mother. Blake often had visions of angels and monks, and also talked with the angel Gabriel, the Virgin Mary and other historic persons. His parents often encouraged Blake to purchase prints of ‘Italian masters’ and he was also given engravings and plaster casts.

He was inspired by Gothic art and architecture as well as Adam Ghisi and Albert Dürer.

Poetical Sketches, published in 1783, was Blake’s first book of poems. This was followed by the book ‘Songs of Innocence’, published in 1789, in which no two copies of the book were the same and ‘Songs of Experience in 1794.

Blake died on August 12, 1827, and was buried at the Disseter’s burial ground in Bunhill Fields.

Sources:
William Blake (1757-1827), 2008. Retrieved: March 4, 2011, from

http://kirjasto.sci.fi/wblake.htm