Dickinson-Larkin

Linda Lin, Jimmy Pang, Jerome Ching, Neville Wai


 * <  ||< **Emily Dickinson** ||<   ||< **Philip Larkin** ||
 * < **Subject** ||< * Keen insight into the human condition
 * Poetry was more introspective, focused more on the individual. Poetry is deeply personal and poignant.
 * Explores her own spirituality and soul ||<  ||< * A search for meaning within the bewildering complexity of the twentieth century
 * Diminished expectations towards society
 * Often associated with death
 * Overall, Larkin focused more on criticizing and presenting his pessimistic views of society. ||
 * < **Style** ||< * Innovative style
 * Random use of hyphens and capitalization created a distinct style for Dickinson
 * Deeply personal, poems often times reflect Dickinson's own emotions.
 * Sometimes brooding sometimes joyous and celebratory.
 * Avoided florid and romantic style of her time --> distinguishes her from other poets.
 * At times witty and sardonic ||<  ||< * Ironic self deprecation--much resemblance to Robert Frost
 * Speaks as both for the people and as one of the people
 * Further contributed to his popularity
 * Bleak and ironic (adj form is ironic)
 * Pessimistic and critical of society, very conservative.
 * Critical optimistic people, believe only death awaits people.
 * Use of plain and coarse language makes his message straight-forward and clear. ||
 * **Structure** || * Random use of dashes and capitalization
 * Poems often seem to be just a stream of random thought.
 * Randomness contributes to lack of rhythm and fluency
 * May be described as bumpy or rocky movement. ||  || * Usually includes some form of structure
 * Breaks traditional use of imagery, symbolism, etc.
 * Usually flows and has some form of rhythm, occasionally uses enjambment or subtle changes in structure to cause small changes in fluency. ||
 * < **Movement** ||<  ||<   ||< * "The Movement", during the post- war period in Britain. ||
 * < **Language** ||< * Pure and concise imagery
 * Creative use of metaphor ||<  ||< * Strongly influenced by Auden, Lawrence and Yeats
 * Uses colloquial language, often times may be very vulgar or coarse (ex. Here be the Verse)
 * Believed in plain language and avoided symbolic or metaphorical language that contributes to clear/concise message. ||
 * < **Distinctive Features of Poetry** ||< * Unconventional broken rhyming meter
 * Random capitalization and hyphens ||<  ||< * Strict structure but with small alterations or changes somewhere within the poem (e.g. unusual rhyming pattern) ||
 * < **Biographical Details** ||< * Used to excel as a student
 * Born into one of the most prominent-but not opulent families in Massachusetts
 * Refused to sign an oath publicly professing faith in Christ ||<  ||< * Professional librarian
 * Published only three to five poems a year which allotted him the time to come up with purposeful and carefully designed poems.
 * Popular among the public. ||
 * < **Time Period** ||< * 1830-1886 ||<  ||< * 1922-1985 ||

Dickinson employed a wealth of literary devices in her writing whereas Larkin relied on direct, even coarse language to present his ideas.===> TRUE

Both died of lung cancer.=====＞NOT TRUE