Echo and The Memory Train

1. Write a critical comparison of the following poems. Pay close attention to ways in which language and style contribute to each poet’s portrayal of memory Echo and The Memory Train

2. Tone, Atmosphere (Setting) and Themes A paragraph on tone Both poems examine memory as a thing of the past which they yearn to return to, however the persona in B adopts a seemingly light almost nonchalant attitude to loss and memory. In A, the yearning for a lost past is evident in the constant plea ‘Come back to me’ that is repeated throughout the poem. In B the yearning translates into the image of a train carrying loads of ‘Back When’s; the colloquial language emphasising a seeming light-heartedness but undercut with longing through the capital letters; lending an air of unconscious yearning to the process of memory. Start with a Point first and then add in the tone See how close A and B are. Go back to B to show comparison

3. Continuation of paragraph on tone… Go back to read the topic sentence on yearning, and see how this idea is followed through imagery, use of connotative words and repetition. In ‘A’ by using the word ‘back’ we see that the persona feels it is almost her right to be united with her past, making her loss more significant and reflecting her desire and longing to return. In B though, the return to the past may be longed for, but the persona also sees the futility of such a longing through the use of the train imagery. This is unlike A who uses ‘dream-like’ longings to convey her wanting to be part of the old memories. The train in B points to the ‘going away’ aspect of memories unlike A with its hypnotic chants of ‘come back’. The persona in B detaches himself from the memory ‘But one must be prepared…’, the lack of personal involvement here is in direct contrast with poem A where the persona personalises the experience with the repeated ‘me’ and ‘my’ This then seems reason enough why the persona in A is all the more desirous to return to her past as she seems to have some stake in it, unlike the persona in B. KavitaPandey 10A1 Idea of futility shown in train imagery Link back between A and B

4. Paragraph on Atmosphere (Setting) Start with a Point and then add in setting Technical word related to setting Both personas use setting to examine the impact of loss of memories, with A in the interior landscape of loss in an individual’s mind and in B, through the exterior landscape of a train journey. In A, the impact of memories is felt at ‘night’ and in solitude seen in the almost whisper-like monologue and sibilance of ‘speaking silence…sunlight on a stream’ the sibilance emphasising a soft conversation within the mind. B though goes through the stops and starts of a train journey across ‘continental United States…” the landscape of lost memories seen through a larger landscape; ‘stations’ with its suggestions of variety of views unlike A’s specific and smaller view of ‘…on a stream’ where the stream and its suggestion of the stream of memories in one’s mind is more location specific and very unlike the broad canvas of journeys in B. ‘Boarding’ and ‘gaining speed’ in B shows how because the memory is given more space to roam, the attitude towards loss is more detached and the persona gives himself time and space to move away from paralysing memory. Sound imagery and loss felt during solitude Technical device linked to setting

5. Thematic paragraph Theme, tone and form Though both personas are aware that the past eventually fades into memories, the persona in A seems less accepting of it as compared to the persona in B. In A, the heavy use of punctuation gives it a laboured pace as if reflecting how the persona feels within herself, the commas in ‘That opening, letting in, lets out no more… it creates a halting and tentative tone, showing us that the persona is mulling over her past and reflecting on each word. This is unlike B, where the run-on lines give it a more fast-paced edge to it, as if the persona is preparing to accept it and move on. It is interesting to note that the persona likens his past to events such as ‘Back When’ and ‘Once Been’ as if trivialising the magnitude of the loss of the past and accepting it was bound to happen. The persona in A however does not easily accept this. The long drawn out ‘o’ vowel sounds ‘Oh dream, how sweet too sweet’gives us the impression of a lamenting over loss. This is in contrast to B where the persona uses short brusque words, monosyllabic words as if unfazed by the experience. This is seen in ‘dropping off’ where the off and the up in ‘pick up’ gives us a sense of the cyclical nature of loss of memories, something the persona has grown used to that it does not affect him as much. Hence the persona in B portrays himself as more accepting of the fading of the past into memories as compared to A where even her present seems fraught with memories. Theme, tone and form