English Literature poem difficulty, please help?

Question

For A-level english literature I have to make notes on this poem, I have couple but I think they are quite weak. Any thoughts or suggestions about the poem would be much appreciated, thank you.

A Scene from Married Life by Dannie Abse

That unseasonable July in Ogmore
nothing was happening until it happened,
the commuters trapped in their stuffy office block,
the sea slow, the Monday beach sullen, empty,

and I, thinking of the squabble with my wife:
fast barbed words that made the other squirm
and fed flushed indignation, verbal revenge -
a dead bird eaten by the early worm.

I piled up my usual clothes and daps tidily
on a convenient boulder brooding nearby
and, troubled, saw the far dunk confusion of
the sea and sky in resentful wedlock

A mile out the monstrous Tusker Rock crammed
with ghosts and psychopomps raised black fangs.
So many boats it had torn asunder. Seagulls
drifted above it like lost thoughts of the damned.

Soon, daring the fussy sea, I entered
a B movie to enact my great climatic scene.
(After I sank - weep for me - the credits would come up.
then the screen, appropriately, would go blank.)

I swivelled for a last winsome longshot, saw
on the high cliff my wife dressed in blue and all
the best of the world true and desirable
With surrendering waves I crawled to the shore.

Our own cold wars during the real Cold War
were few and brief. Sulky, I;d linger at my desk
but children's cries were mightier than the pen.
And sweet the armistice, each kiss, and then...

Answer 1

A lover's spat, a period of reflection, cooling off and renewing again the love, sweetly.



Think about the physical sites he brings up and relate it to this marriage, the spats, etc. and make ups. The seagulls could represent the ghosts of past spats, always there, but just noise now. The rock, would be the representation of a marriage break up Crawling from the sea means he seeks forgiveness for the spat. The best poems tell simple stories on the surface, but if you delve in you can see so much more if you wish.

Answer 2

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Don't worry, my friend did the same. As long as what you wrote is of a good quality, and you wrote enough for the other two essays you should be fine. Also your coursework would bump your grade up a bit. Both English Literature and English Language matter, but English Language is seen to be as more important. Tips for English exams •Read the question first before planning/writing notes/reading texts. •Use varied sentence structures. •Paraphrase if possible – like if you can’t find the quote. •Don’t ramble. •Well chosen vocabulary. •Developed points. •Well structured. •Varied sentence length. •Varied sentence mode (commands, questions). •Lively and interesting scripts. •Evidence you understand the genre. •Awareness and evidence of audience. •That you know how to write for a purpose. •Humour if appropriate. •Use of modifiers and modals. •Don’t take too long on each point. •If writing a magazine article, use headings. •Read between lines. •Use an adequate number of quotes from the text. •Include references to social/cultural/historical context - even reference to the 'Race Relations Act 1976' or the 'Sex Discrimination Act 1975' would be good. How many things are we being asked to do? -Say five things about each bullet point. -Explain before paraphrasing. -Relate to question. -Plan. -Comment on/analyse language last. And make sure you keep an eye on the clock! Good luck :)

Answer 3

here are numerous reasons why a once committed relationship would degenerate to one partner asking for a divorce. how to save your marriage https://tr.im/XufwJ



It could have been:



- an affair

- having been separated by a long distance for lengths of time

- conflict

- behavioral issues or psychological problems of one spouse

- even unmanaged addictions.



Whatever of these problems may be what is seen on the surface, the bottom line is that usually, barring any abuse or psychological problems that are best handled by a professional, a couple find themselves in danger of divorce when there is a loss of:



- communication,

- love

- and intimacy



in the marital relationship.

Answer 4

This is all just IMHO of course and poetry really isn't my thing but here a few:



I don't know why the poet included a lot of the stuff he did, such as why mention the commuters in their cubicles? Why include that it was during the cold war?



Why would he think of drowning himself if the fight was only a squabble?



like how he used the sea/sky as a metaphor for his own marriage.

Answer 5

I was able to save my marriage thanks to my family and friends. I also read a lot about marital issues and tips on how to save your relationship. The ebook on this site helped me a lot http://savemarriage.toptips.org

Check it out it's worth it.

Answer 6

He is comparing his own poor marriage, full of squabbles, to a B movie adventure, to the high seas, thought-provoking hallucinations and, finally, a make-up scene of sex.