The view that Fanthorpe offers us new perspectives on the things we take for granted Essay Example for Free

The view that Fanthorpe offers us new perspectives on the things we take for granted Essay I agree to a great extent with the view that UA Fanthorpe presents the reader a new perception into the things that are so important in our lives but we are seen to be taking advantage of these things. These views are illustrated by Fanthorpe in her collection of poems Safe as Houses and two of these poems that tie in with this theory are The Unprofessionals and Water Everywhere. The first poem looks at the event of bereavement after the death of a close person and the time of consoling and supporting the individual through their mourning phase. The poem indicates that the people surrounding you who have come to support you during your bereavement dont have their presence appreciated, as it is expected from them to be there during this time and situation. In the opening stanza of the poem the Fanthorpe describes the moment as The worst thing and the use of the superlative adjective demonstrates that the person is going through the worst crisis of their life, in this circumstance the death of a close one and that this tragedy would have a knock on affect through the life of the grief stricken person. That uproots the future, That you must live for every hour of your future, The author implies that the only way through this situation is letting time do the work as suggested by the proverb Time is a great healer. During the next stanza the poet refers to the The Unprofessionals or the people who come to console as though they arent trained in the art of counseling and the event has come as a shock to them as well as the mourner as they havent anticipated this crisis. They come, Unorganized, inarticulate, unprofessional; Fanthorpe demonstrates to the reader that the frame of mind that the visitors are in is that they are struggling on how to cope with this situation and with someone who is in the midst of distressing circumstances. The author illustrates to the reader that the The Unprofessionals help the victim through this state by facilitating there day to day activities such as making tea and answering the phone. They come sheepishly, sit with you, holding hands, From tea to tea, from Anadin to Valium, The above verse suggests that their presence alone is a huge factor in the comfort that they provide to the wounded. Also the references to the painkillers suggest that the counselors engage in the bereaved daily routines to relieve them of more problems. The expression Sleeping on put-you-ups gives the reader the feeling that they are only considering ways in which to strengthen the victims spirit and this also proves that they are selfless as they contemplate others before themselves. The next verse reveals to the user how the time passes gradually in heartache as the consoler is forced to dig into conversations About wallflowers, and fishing, whilst trying to keep the mourner occupied and taking their mind of the troubles. The succinct expression and why is used commonly during this type of situation as the grieved has to confront the bigger issue of overcoming the death of there close relatives. Here The Unprofessionals are trying to pop the important question to help the person through his or her grief. Fanthorpe strangely places this immense question against the light issues of Wallflowers, and fishing to show the reader that somehow and at some point you have to tackle the larger problems in life, in the form of death. The author again ponders the casual things in life to take his mind of his problems which shows that it is hard to confront dilemmas without the help of your confidant. Like civilians in a shelter, under bombardment, Holding hands and sitting it out The final stanza as shown above also demonstrates how a traumatized individual has to confide in their counselors arms. Fanthorpe also uses a simile to create emphasis on the difficulty of the situation that not only the victim but the minder is in by comparing it to the harshness of war and its distressing affect on the civilians. The poet compares the troubles to how it felt during air raids of a war whilst under constant bombardment not knowing what was going to happen next or whose life would be taken away. The poet exaggerates the length of time it takes for the victim to recover from the dreadful pain of a close ones death by suggesting that these events of The Unprofessionals is ongoing and everlasting. Through the immortality of all the seconds, Until the blunting of time. The poets stress on the seconds helps exaggerate the length of time it takes to recuperate from an event of a sorrowful nature. However the final line makes evident that time is the greatest of healers as the use of the word blunting is symbolic of a blade, which is no longer sharp signifying that after time has had its say your pains would have diminished. The next poem which I will analyze discusses how people seem to take one of Gods greatest creations of water for granted. In the opening line the author believes that water is a God in its independence and that know one officially recognizes it as a divine being. Officially they do not acknowledge this god. Officially they honour assorted immortals In stone buildings with pioneering roofs. In the first stanza the poet is referring to the sacred places of worship that have been built with the finest material and stand out from all other buildings. Fanthorpe brings to mind the pioneering roofs of mosques, churches and temples where they honour heavenly immortals. The poet illustrates to the reader that although they dont seem to admit to worshipping water they use the water as though its never-ending in the form of the toilet or shrine. Below, a shrine To the godhead. Here they may stand alone In confessional boxes, or lie full length In his hollow bed, singing. The references above to the use of religious terms such as shrine or confessional boxes demonstrates to the user that the toilet is a sanctified site for the worshippers of water. The poet tries to manipulate everyday objects that we use with water to exemplify that water is something that we take for granted and uses the common places of the toilet and bathtub to show us that we use the water but dont acknowledge its use. Another amusing look at the water as a God is the imaginative idea that Fanthorpe creates the feeling to the reader that the gurgling sound coming from the plug hole is in fact the water gods prophecies. Here he sometimes speaks In loud, disquieting, oracular tones. Fanthorpe also uses the significance fish in Christianity to exemplify the details of the theory of the water God. Here the poet signifies that fishing is a ritual of the God as people are casting there fishing rods as a gesture to the Deity and that the people taking part are demonstrated as meditating towards the water god but in fact are too busy finding the catch of the day. We found contemplatives, with green umbrellas, Making symbolic gestures at the stream. This stanza is quite amusing as for a person who doesnt recognize the water god would believe the poet was strange and the poet is selecting the most ordinary of things in a human beings life to pick out where they are contemplating towards the water. Fanthorpe also utilizes the events of watering a garden and washing the car as being religious ceremonies intended for the water god. In the hot month they consecrate their gardens With a wet rite involving children, rubber They lustrate the car. The mention of children in the above stanza has the suggestion of the rite of baptism in Christianity and the car could be pictured as being given a re-birth as they are glistening there of its wrongdoings. The tone of the poem changes during the next verse as Fanthorpe alters her view on how people identify with the water god from a positive view to a negative impression which they make using established prayers. Lovely weather for ducks! Last Thursday we had our summer. Flaming June! (Black comedy is native to this people). Fanthorpe uses displays everyday comments made by people against the god and his rainy gift, and suggests that these comments are sarcastic towards the god. The above verse is typical of what people take for granted in water as when we have rain people complain that there is too much of it and when it is sparse they complain of having too little. This backs the idea that Fanthorpe offers us new perspectives on the things we take benefit of although we never stop complaining about the problems that it causes us. The next stanza is also comical for the reader as the weathermen on different channels are compared to ministers of god as they preach to the worshippers of what the water god has proposed for them. Ministers of the god Recite on different airways his moods and intentions. The people claim not to believe. But they listen. The above extract demonstrates the humour which Fanthorpe portrays in her work as she uses the common belief that weather forecasters are always predicting incorrectly but the majority of British society still ends up listening. The opening line of the penultimate verse there literature is great. They never read it is related to the line above as they both accuse people of not speaking the truth and this also links in with the idea that people dont acknowledge that they worship the water god. In the finale of the poem UA Fanthorpe speaks her mind by stating that humans take the form of water for granted and implies that this makes them ignorant of their surroundings. The two poems above that I have analyzed clearly demonstrate that the view that Fanthorpe offers her readers an original perception on the things that we humans take advantage of and that we should consider ourselves to be lucky to have these things for example in the form of water and friends which no one can live without.