"An examination of her body after death" Response
The poem “An examination of
her body after death” by Glen Colquhoun is about the author remembering what
his friend, Rongo looked like before her friend died and also denying that she
can’t be dead because of how she has changed since the death. Two important techniques
used in this poem are the use of negatives and use of metaphors to get across
what his friend use to look like.
One of the important ideas in this poem is denial of his friend’s death and the author uses negatives to show this. Colquhoun creates a negative image of the body to describe to you how the person he is looking at isn’t his friend and the writer is obviously very upset and confused at the death. An example of how the writer is in denial is when he says “You are her shoulders” and continues to says “You are not her” at the start of every stanza. By using negatives this shows how angry and frustrated he is at the death of a loved one and is expressing the author’s grief.
Another idea in this poem is remembrance and the author uses metaphors to show this. The metaphors create an image of what she was like when she was alive and what she is like now that she is dead. An example of a metaphor used is when Colquhoun is describing her mouth; he says “The sound of birds has gone away.” He is telling you that she had an amazing voice and sounded like birds to his ears. Then he says “So bold! These two fat worms now hungry for the dirt”. He is saying that he is now looking at the body and sees her big lips which have replaced her voice. The metaphors used really help you understand how important she was to him and how he remembered her by what she was like.
The poem “An examination of her body after death” is about denial and remembrance and used negatives and metaphors to describe his friend. The author’s purpose in this poem is to express grief for a loved one and use an angry and upset tone to get the message across.
One of the important ideas in this poem is denial of his friend’s death and the author uses negatives to show this. Colquhoun creates a negative image of the body to describe to you how the person he is looking at isn’t his friend and the writer is obviously very upset and confused at the death. An example of how the writer is in denial is when he says “You are her shoulders” and continues to says “You are not her” at the start of every stanza. By using negatives this shows how angry and frustrated he is at the death of a loved one and is expressing the author’s grief.
Another idea in this poem is remembrance and the author uses metaphors to show this. The metaphors create an image of what she was like when she was alive and what she is like now that she is dead. An example of a metaphor used is when Colquhoun is describing her mouth; he says “The sound of birds has gone away.” He is telling you that she had an amazing voice and sounded like birds to his ears. Then he says “So bold! These two fat worms now hungry for the dirt”. He is saying that he is now looking at the body and sees her big lips which have replaced her voice. The metaphors used really help you understand how important she was to him and how he remembered her by what she was like.
The poem “An examination of her body after death” is about denial and remembrance and used negatives and metaphors to describe his friend. The author’s purpose in this poem is to express grief for a loved one and use an angry and upset tone to get the message across.
