Month: April 2015

The poems ‘Belfast Confetti’ and ‘At the Border,1979’ are poems that are both based on conflict and what feelings they bring up about a location. Ciaran Carson is a poet who has shown conflict in Belfast, Ireland. Choman Hardi however, has chosen the border of Kurdistan and Iraq. This partly autobiographical poem focuses on the Iraq conflict not only within the country, but the individuals conflict also.

In ‘At the Border 1979’ there is a conflict which is focused on civil conflict. This is clear to see as in the poem Hardi speaks a lot about family and citizens, and how the families have gone through very tough times. Analysing the poem, i can also see that there is a clash of cultures between Kurdistan and Iran, which was where the war was located. In the seventh stanza of the poem, “A man bent down and kissed his muddy homeland.” This suggests the fact that the war has ended and that there is finally peace between both countries. The second text though, in this case Belfast confetti, looks at conflict related to political and religious beliefs. These two beliefs had clashed families, siblings and friends to fight against each other.

The poems ‘At the border’ and ‘Belfast confetti’ are both written in first person but this does not mean that they are the same. In belfast confetti, the style of first person is used to make the reader feel like they are in the conflict and they are experiencing the same thing as the person in the poem themselves. However, in At the border, the poem is still in first person and referring to the conflict but is presenting the conflict in a past tense as if to say that the conflict is over. I can see that the conflict is over from the lines in the seventh stanza “We waited while our papers were checked, our faces thoroughly inspected. Then the chain was removed to let us through.” This demonstrates the importance of the homeland to the citizens and them being able to return home. This is also interpreted “A man bent down and kissed his muddy homeland”.

Belfast confetti has seemed to be written to show what the impact of a civil war can have on a country and how everything has been shut down in a madness however at the border defines the importance of homeland to the civilians instead of being refugees and facing many troubles along the way, such as language borders and cultural clashes which were mentioned earlier. So when the people being effected during the war finally get peace and happiness and are able to finally go home they feel an array of emotions such as obvious happiness but also excitement to reunite with their family members and friends. On the other hand, I believe that Belfast confetti has very different emotions. There is a feeling of confusion and also a feeling of helplessness within the people of Belfast that have chosen not to be involved within the conflict.

1. The death of Vaudevue has been set in the first of the eight stanzas, and there is an atmosphere of loneliness. We can see this as the author uses the word alone, and also the fourth sentence used is “Her fingers tap the ground, she is alone”. This does not just only represent the emptiness of the area, but also that there must be nothing to do, as tapping the ground with your fingers is often a sign of boredom.

2. There are certain features in this poem that suggest a futuristic feel. An example of this is the second stanza, where the words ****and this is when i was kicked out of the class for something that wasent my fault****

The Right Word is a poem which I believe  looks at mainly conflict and violence. I also think that this poem is in relation to the 911 terrorist attacks as it mainly looks at the wrong descriptions and interpretations of people. An example of this is when a terrorist lurking in the shadows is the way that this person is perceived just because of their appearance. The predominant mood of the poem changes in every stanza. We can see this in the first stanza, where Dharker uses the word terrorist as the describing word for the person. In the second stanza we see a freedom fighter. This pattern continues within all eight stanzas with the fourth to last being described as “a child who looks like mine”.

Overall, my opinion on this poem is that the way that people are perceived will influence and make an impact on what they do in their life and what they bring to the table of society, if a person is branded the name of the terrorist, hostile militant or even a guerrilla warrior why should you be surprised if these people commit such crimes and terrorist activities?