Compare three or more poems according to their imagery.
Mary Barnet’s poetry is intriguing and full of life with several real life observations on the daily drudge which makes up our intrinsic existence. In some ways she also resembles Keats, Byron and Shelley with several of her poems couched in real life phrases which are extremely delectable and rather beautiful.
A typical example would be the poem, ‘There’
Here one can look at the sun as the catalysts of the poem where Barnet recreates a stark and intrinsically ugly landscape without much hope for the future. She mentions the sun’s rays beating on her scalp which is surely something rather tiresome and in this sense she creates a sense of hallowed indignity. Coming from a warm and hot country myself, I can easily identify with what Barnet is attempting to portray especially when she uses the words ‘my feet pad the earth’ and ‘the earth is mine’
Then Barnet describes when she comes to rest beneath a tree, undoubtedly the sun and the heat have been more than enough for her and she cannot continue walking in this manner, her reserves of energy are completely exhausted and there is nothing else that she can do. The parallel with the tree which ‘bears the fruit that nourishes generations’ is also highly intriguing and full of intrinsic symbolism. The mention of the crow is also important as this is perhaps seen as a bird which brings death but the poem is very much about life. Barnet skillfully interweaves the themes together with some impunity.
The Only Thing is another powerful poem by Barnet which brings about several thoughts and methods for observation. Here Barnet compares the work of a writer who is actually herself with that of a chestnut seller.
This interesting and highly emotional parallel between a chestnut seller and a writer is definitely one of the high points of Mary Barnet’s poetry. Here the writer is compared to the chestnut seller outside Rockefeller Plaza in New York although one could say that writers are always feeling cold instead of feeling warm. However it is the callousness of the seller’s hands which interests us here and which definitely demonstrates the hard lot that these sellers have to endure to make aliving. Writers also face up to difficult tasks and obstacles as they traverse the journey of life and which continually sends them into depression and unease. At times, it may also seem that we are like Atlas who holds up the world as Barnet so finely describes this situation. The transaction exchange of a few chestnuts for some coins is also poignant in the extreme as it shows that whatever work is done, nothing much can be better than earning a living in an honest way. And Barnet surely demonstrates this when she says in the beginning of the poem that ‘the only thing she can do is write’. A writer’s lot is a hard one in every sense but it is indeed an honest living and nothing can be further from the truth when one says that a writer’s job is not full of obstacles. That is in an essence what Barnet is saying here.
Another poem which is essentially one of Barnet’s best is ‘Thinking of Us’ where Barnet examines her own relationship which is deep and spiritual and where words make up a hugely important part of everything.
This is a highly poignant poem where Mary Barnet demonstrates the intimacy of a relationship which is in accordance to what one can observe as a very normal one. It is an extremely personal poem in the sense that Barnet is looking at a relationship which once was and which is actually no more due to the fact that everything is vanished but the memories remain. The words are also an intrinsic part of the whole proceedings which also show that these can be much more powerful than actions in this sense. It is a truly beautiful poem in this respect especially when Barnet writes ‘In the morning when I wake, I see the sun. I am living with your wprds, Thinking of us as one’. Surely one cannot arrive at a much finer concluding statement than all this. Her comparisons with burdens of wealth are also instructive and intriguing in this sense and demonstrate her crafty interplay and capability with words.
Essentially this poem sums up all that is beautiful about Mary Barnet’s art and this is surely one of her excellent strong points. Her poetry is soft and smotth but also contains deep seated inner emotions which permeate the whole fabric of the inner being. This is powerful and calm at the same time with several beautiful parts of it remaining in the memory for all time.
Works Cited:
Barnet, Sylvan et al. Literature for Composition. 9th ed. New York: Pearson, 2011
