English Literature - Belonging Anthology, context notes [WIP]

Notes are currently rather brief due to a lack of knowledge of what classifies as 'context' as well as being usable. Poems we are yet to study marked with two slashes at the start of the card. Formal tone driven by current front.

To My Sister (1798) - William Wordsworth

Written during the Romantic era, and follows many of its conventions.

Wordsworth addresses his sister directly in the poem, showing that it is based on his own lived experiences.

Sunday Dip (1800s) - John Clare

Clare was raised in an environment with little formal education, was of the working class, and was self-taught. This is reflected in his poem, with its more informal tone and setting reflecting his childhood.

The poem was written in the Romantic period and reflects its ideals. This is strengthened by Clare’s background being a deviation in of itself; as a working-class citizen he subverts the expectations of what a traditional poet would be, especially for the 19th century.

Mild the mist upon the hill (1839) - Emily Brontë

Blend of genres between Romantic and Victorian, reflected in the melancholic tone combined with focus on nature.

Little is known of Brontë as an individual, as she was highly reclusive. She was the author of Wuthering Heights.

She lived in the Yorkshire countryside, implying the natural imagery she made use of was rooted in lived experience.

Captain Cook (To My Brother) (1800s) - Letitia Elizabeth Landon

Lived in the countryside with her family for her early years, but was forced to return to London during the agricultural depression.

Captain Cook was a famous explorer who undertook voyages to Australia, New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands, and wrote journals about his travels. He spread diseases from Europe to Indigenous populations and disrupted local cultures, however was important in mapping the islands at the time.

Was close to her brother, but their relationship deteriorated later as he spread rumours about her marriage and death.

Died age 36, likely from Stokes-Adams syndrome (causes low heartrate with sudden drops that can result in fainting, and can lead to death).

Clear and Gentle Stream (c. 1873) - Robert Bridges

Began life as a doctor before retiring after a bout of pneumonia to become a writer. He was a literary scholar, hence the formality and elegance of language in the poem, and religious (hence the associated imagery).

The poem conforms to some Romantic ideals, but was written past the height of Romantic poetry as a whole.

I Remember, I Remember (1826) - Thomas Hood

Written between the Romantic and Victorian eras, showing through in the blend of Romantic ideals of nature and innocence and realist Victorian views.

Prone to sickness from a young age, causing him to fall out of work often and giving the poem some of its more melancholic ideas. Previously worked both as am engineer and in a counting house.

Parents died at a young age, furthering melancholic tones.

Island Man (1984) - Grace Nichols

Born Georgetown, Guyana and moved to England age 27. This is where the themes of homesickness arise from.

Free verse was a rising trend at the time. The poem’s ideas of London reflect its conditions at the time of writing.

// Peckham Rye Lane (2007) - A. K. Blakemore

Lives and works in London where the poem is set.

References William Blake, a Romantic poet who lived in London. The comparison of Blake to an angel could be a reference to his religious experiences including claiming to have seen the prophet Ezekiel.

// We Refugees (2000) - Benjamin Zephaniah

No meaningful context provided in the background section.

Us (2018) - Zaffar Kunial [WIP]

Birmingham born to an English mother and Pakistani father, leaving him feeling othered from both groups.

Poetry often focuses on themes of identity, cultural heritage and the nature of language.

In Wales, Wanting to be Italian (2014) - Imatiz Dharker

Born Lahore, Pakistan (1954), moved to Glasgow before her first birthday. Lives split across Bombay, London and Wales. Cultural dissonance across so many places leaves Dharker with a feeling of othering and isolation to all of them, and a craving to belong to somewhere (or somewhere more exciting). References to specific locations in the poem imply direct references from her experiences.

Poem was written aged 60, giving it a modern feel for the poet’s age, and a sense of inescapability - the feelings remain even to an older age.

Kumukanda (2017) - Kayo Chingonyi

Born Zambia, 1987, moved to the UK with his family aged 6. Most of his poetry focuses on heritage and race.

Poem taken from a collection, following the theme of being a part broken off of a larger whole, and so unfinished. The poem is not ‘complete’ without presence of the rest of its collection.

Kumukanda translates to Initiation.

Both parents passed away at a young age (mother’s death detailed in the poem, with the father passing not long after). Losing family strengthens the feeling of being lost and not fitting in.

Jamaican British (2018) - Raymond Antrobus

British mother, Jamaican father. Inspired by Aaron Samuels’ poetry.

Born Hackney, east London, in 1986. Found deaf aged 6, previously assumed to have learning difficulties. Both factors contribute to his poor experiences with schooling and othering within it.

Previously had jobs in security and similar, but feels most fulfilled in poetry exploring and speaking out about his heritage.

// My Mother’s Kitchen (2004) - Choman Hardi

Born in Iraqi-Kurdistan in 1974, came to England age 19 after growing up in Iran and Turkey. Currently lives in Suliamani, working at the American university of Iraq.

Poem written directly after the Iraq war, as her parents packed to return to their home country again. They were forced to flee from one country to another nine times, as stated in the poem.

The Émigrée (1983) - Carol Rumens

British born, and so not the speaker of the poem.

Often writes on the themes of persecution, personal stories, love, seperation, death and displacement.

Émigrée is french for female emigrant.