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Report To Wordsworth Summary

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“Report to Wordsworth” by Boey Kim Cheng and “Lament” by Gillian Clarke are the two poems I am exploring in this essay, specifically on how the common theme of human destruction of nature is presented. In “Report to Wordsworth”, Cheng explores the damage of nature caused by humans and man’s reckless attitude towards this. In “Lament”, the idea of the damage of oceans from the Gulf War is explored. In “Report to Wordsworth”, Boey Kim Cheng explores the theme of human destruction of nature as a response to William Wordsworth, an romantic poet who celebrated nature’s beauty in his poetry. Cheng writes this poem ironically in sonnet form, as sonnets are typically written about love. By using “Report”, it is implying that Cheng is writing a letter to Wordsworth informing him …show more content…

In the final line, “God is labouring to utter his last cry”. This reinforces the idea as even the creator of this world is suffering grief and despair from what humans have done. Gillian Clarke’s “Lament” explores environmental and human damage from the Gulf War. The Gulf War occurred in 1991 after Iraq invaded Kuwait, followed by the Americans bombing Iraq. Laments are a poem type where the poet expresses grief or loss, and in this poem, Clarke laments for animals, people and the environment that have suffered during the war. “Lament” is written in 7 stanzas, with 3 lines per stanza. In the first stanza, Clarke laments for the pregnant green turtle, which lays “her eggs” in a “nest of sickness”. “Her” is used stimulating a more personal feeling of maternity. Clarke uses the term “nest” in an ironic way. In this line, it is a metaphor and juxtaposition because nests are supposed to be a home, providing safety and comfort. But is filled with “sickness” from the debris caused by the

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