Studyclix.blob.core.windows.net



In much of Duran’s poetry he captures the universal reliance we all feel on other people to fulfill our insatiable need for contentment and satisfaction with ourselves, which for many of us continues throughout our lives.?We can see durcan become consciously aware of his search for a complete connection and his huge reliance on tactile and intimate contact both emotional and physical. Also while trying to attain this connection he often demonstrates the disembodiment he feels from himself establishing a new form of loneliness he has now concocted.?Durcan has even stated before that people are the air that he breathes’ and that he feels as though he always comes alive when he’s with people; but consequently in isolation he tends to dwindle. This is a worldwide perception many people endure in modern society, but feel as though they are alone on that thought. Durcan helps his readers recognise this is a common encounter many people may feel exasperated with , but assuredly now know of its commonality through many of his poems such as The Girl with the keys to Pearse’s Cottage, Nessa, Parents, father’s day and the Arnolfini’s marriage.One of Durcan’s earliest poems "The Girl with the keys to Pearse’s cottage" sees Durcan deal with his need for intimacy or a connection with another as he?contemplate the nature of expectation and reality through his exploration of his voyeuristic fascination with the girl who holds the keys. Although he says that he has met her there is no other connection formed between the two of them in this poem suggesting that the relationship is based on idolatry and adoration rather than any form of true intimacy.?This lack of personal connection or any true sense of affection between the two certainly re-appears as a motif in his other poems for example "parents", where Durcan feels the same need for connection with his child, but again most suffer alone.Although the poem can be interpreted in several ways most believe this poem is about Durcan’s first experience of love for an unattainable woman. He only states he has met her once but throughout the poem even that becomes questionable, making us believe his fascination with her is somewhat delusional or perhaps and she is the first woman he had hoped for a future with or merely dreamed of one with " our world was strange because it had no Future ".Structurally speaking, the poem is typical of his earlier style and is written in orderly quatrains which flow quite rhythmically from one to the next. He also has the poem written in first person, employing a reflective voice in a wistful and nostalgic way which is a hallmark of his work. Durcans use of juxtaposition and subversion is recurrent throughout his body of work and is also present in this poem; the girls darkness is contrasted to her brightness “her dark hair was darker because her smile was so bright” and may have caused durcan fear or confusion about his feelings towards or her and where they could lead him. Similarly the subversion use of “moon” and “sun” which are sources of light are used to emphasize her innate darkness and the mystery that pervades her .He also uses juxtaposition of appearance and reality in an attempt to articulate his feelings on the liminality of relationships. I personally believe Durcan was subconsciously aware of the risk of desiring an unattainable woman and the later downfall it would cause him, yet still followed through with placing his reliance on her in the hope of fulfilling his need for contentment and security that he knew relationships would provide.Durcan’s poem Nessa is one of his prime examples of his dependency on relationships and the power they has over him. We see the more he feels as though he is losing control the more intoxicated he becomes by love ,in particularly by Nessa and her beguiling ways. Durcan fixates the poem on the insatiable love that he as a young and naive man felt for Nessa, and how quickly he fell for her?charms. While?he tries to focus on the wonderful nature of new love, he also admits to feeling overwhelmed as he states he ‘very nearly drowned’, this idea of love pulling you in and leaving you breathless is a recurring motif throughout the poem and suggest that Durcan never truly felt in control of his emotional state when in the presence of Nessa. ?This also creates unsettling imagery of the powerlessness and vulnerability that he felt in the relationship, which is also seen in “The Girl with the keys to Pearse’s Cottage”. Durcan states “she took me by the index finger” indicating a lack of control or submission on his behalf to Nessa, thus resulting in Durcan feeling as though he may lose his identity and later causing a disembodiment from himself.?As much as Durcan desire this, undoubtedly this is what cost him his overall feeling of being overwhelmed in their relationship. Here it is most evident of Durcan’s devotion to Nessa in the relationship and his hope for contentment and satisfaction with himself through his complete submission to her. Although as the poem brings us from his past memories in the first three stanzas to the present tense ?in the last stanza , the refrain changes and becomes far more personal showing the constantly changing nature of the relationship . Also his use of repeated phrases such as 'and that' reinforces the narrative element in the poem and suggests that the relationship was always changing and is increasing in complexity. As Durcan admits 'I am very nearly drowned 'it shows his position in present tense ?in the sea of confusion he is now trying to pass alone, doubtlessly without Nessa. Although the lack of personal control durcan feels is omnipresent throughout much of his?work, for example in?“Parent” when he resents the fact he cannot always protect and connect with his child, he still manages to demonstrate his knowledge of the human condition and that our search for love, excitement and companionship, can inevitably force us into danger that we could not have before imagined. Next after Durcan informs us on his first meeting of Nessa and his blooming relationship with her he brings us to the later stages of the relationship where they are now married and have a child. It is the poem ‘Parents’ where Durcan encapsulates the utter loneliness that the?painful distance and separation from those you love the most can cause. His dependency on continuously connecting with his most loved ones i.e. his child is again, omnipresent throughout.?Durcan creates a tangible and excruciatingly heartfelt image of his child lost to a world of unconsciousness, and his desire to connect to his child plunges him into state of loneliness, a loneliness felt by all parents is amplified by Durcans reliance on constant tactile and intimate contact with others.Durcan states “ in her sleep she is calling out to them” showing the simultaneous need for connection on both ends.?Durcan utilises nautical imagery throughout?the poem, the imagery of the sea and the terrible separation which it causes is the primary metaphor of the poem, the sea is what separates him from his daughter in a similarly dangerous fashion to when it was a whirlpool used to describe his infatuation with Nessa. It seems as though Durcan returns to his use of nautical imagery in times of crisis and perhaps when he feels most isolated and in need of companionship or connection with others.Although Durcan knows that he will only feel this way for a liminal amount of time, his awareness of the fact it will be a daily re-occurrence intensifies the pain of separation he feels. I personally think this is ironically a selfish act as he is relying on the constant connection to his child in order to fulfill his own insatiable contentment.Also the structure of the poem is written in a simplistic non-grandiose manner, helping us to focus our attention in words and the meaning of the poem itself. This unbroken continuous stanza assist in grounding the theme and emphasises the narrative quality?that he is trying to convey and while the first half focuses on the helplessness of Durcan and Nessa, the latter stages shift to making the child experience the central theme, thus emphasising the symbiotic emotional state on both sides. I personally think this way of giving an impartial voice to both sides of the relationship helps effectively convey the reliance we all feel on our loved ones to appease our loneliness?in modern society.It is in Durcans poem ‘Father’s day’ that he addresses the struggles and tribulations which are?often experience by couples in the advanced stages of marriage, indicating of his own marital troubles with Nessa. It begins in a chaotic fashion with the poet rushing around as he is aware of the cab outside which is waiting for his departure” the taxi was ticking over outside in the street, all the neighbours noticing it”.?Nessa have a strange request of deliverance of an axe to her sister. This small act is the pivotal image of the poem as the axe may be a symbol for his daughters as he constantly desires for it to be protected, linking to his need to care for and connect with the child in ‘parents’. Or it could symbolise the violent or aggressive nature that is now the relationship. This is in complete juxtaposition to ‘Nessa’ in many ways as it removes all idealism and idolatry and is instead laced with bitterness and resentment. This is an indication of Durcan realisation that his relationship with Nessa may not always be filled with love or meant to last. This awareness could suggest that the isolation and affliction?Durcan is inclined to feel since he now admits to losing his connection with Nessa stating “I could see she was glad to see me go away for a while”.Ironically, although the poem is titled ‘Father’s day’ there is no acknowledgement of this day of appreciation mentioned, the only association with this is that it is made clear that the children have now left home and gone away which is also the key anaphora in the poem. Again the lack of control Durcan feels is omnipresent in the poem from start to finish it is as though he is a spectator forced to watch the events unfolding but unable to shape. We can now see the shift of Durcan being subconscious to consciously aware that relationships are liminal spaces and not the eternal states which many including him believed them to be.?I personally think the poem father’s day is quite lonesome as we can see durcans attempt to make his marriage work by being passive and to surrender his opinion in order to please Nessa, even though he is aware she does not love him he still feels guilty for this. We can see he is becoming receptive of the limitations of human relationships and perhaps that he cannot always rely on the companionship of others for his own elation, leading us onto his next poem, The Arnolfini's Marriage.It's only in this poem that we see one of Durcan's final opinions in his journey of true love and marriage. It is here that he questions the two states of existence between loneliness and companionship and the effects of becoming part of a?collective .In tangent to his other poems he uses this poetic work to explore another relationship which is the Arnolfini’s couple. This poem is atypical from Durcan’s usual work, and is quite refreshing, as he is a poet whose hallmark is to delve into the troves of his personal history for inspiration and memory. Even its structure is unusual as it is written in a more uniform and restricted form than is expected from his creative era. Little is known about the Arnolfini couple and Durcan uses this to his advantage by adding his own colour to their story. Ironically, although the couple threaten the reader not to invade their privacy, we are given quite a lot of access to their relationship. Perhaps the couple are portrayed?as aloof and arrogant about their status and committed state of relationship because they want the reader to know they’re immune to any form of corruption. We are drawn into a vision of the couple which is conceited and beyond any form of meaningful connection. This utterly juxtaposes the marital state which we seen ‘Father’s Day’ and ’Parents’ as we are permitted full access to these moments of matrimony in all their dysfunctional bliss?.They want us to know they are content and happy but nothing else . Durcan emphasises the intimacy of marriage and it's isolation from the outside world throughout much of his work, and in this poem he does this again by his use of an anaphora of the term ‘we’. Oddly, even though they pride themselves on their unity and ability to say ‘we’, only one speaks for them for the entirety of the poem. Maybe this is durcans way of questioning if one may risk losing their independent voice and simply become just part of a collective once married? This is used multiple times in every stanza apart from the second last stanza which is focused on the reader, it's switches from ‘we’ –“the most relaxing word in our vocabulary” to one of the most isolating words ‘you’. I think this is Durcans interpretation of what that powerful couple would have thought of him. He stated before some people choose to live alone but he didn't, he regards it as a failure for himself. Here he is referring to his failed marriage with Nessa, clearly expressing his shame in the fact he needs and desires to be with someone in a relationship but could not sustain that relationship. He sees it as a personal failure, showing he still has respect for the union ship of marriage and see’s the Arnolfini’s as a prime example of this. It is almost as if there are only two state of existence for Durcan, an intensely intoxicating an overwhelming state of ‘we’ or union or its alternative-a failed existence of ‘you’- a lonely failure of a life spent away from others and from in dark and I is any chance of happiness. In this poem he deals with his own feelings of personal failure and how he still respects the unity of marriage.Throughout Durcans work we can see his perception on relationships slightly alter after his own involvement in the world of love and heartbreak. His own maturity and understanding develops though each stage of his life we can see through his work and the realization that having a relationship is not the one true purpose in life. Albeit we may wish to have someone to rely on in life, to appease our loneliness and provide love and excitement, we may ultimately only have ourselves for quite some part of our existence. This is an essential lesson for the reader to accept and learn from also, as it heavily applies to the ongoing struggles exposed to us in modern life. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download