I’m going to use the three poems on horses that I’ve already used
to show how to plan and write an analytical comparative paragraph. It may be
worth reading the poems again quickly just to get an idea of how they can be
used. You can read the poems here.
Remember that this example uses only one genre – poetry so bare this in
mind.
So imagine I’m writing an essay under the title
‘Horses embody an elemental force of nature in the
English Literary tradition’. To what extent do you agree with this statement
with reference to Hughes’s The Horses, MacNeice’s The Horses and Muir’s Horses.
FEATURES
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TEXT
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Firstly respond directly to the key words in the
essay title - such as 'outsiders', 'bleak view of the human condition',
'love' and 'suffering'. These will be broad and abstract concepts. Try and
define these concepts using your own words. Why not use a dictionary and a
thesaurus to help you do this. What do you think they mean?
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Horses are traditionally seen in literature as
powerful elemental forces, life- long companions in the service to
humans and objects of love and emotions. Hughes’s The Horses, MacNeice’s
The Horses and Muir’s Horses all present elements of these conventional views
of horses but bring a fresh and dynamic perspective.
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Then show how these concepts can be applied to
the three texts. In general what does text a, b and c say about the key
theme. This will involve you naming each text and the writer as well as a
brief summary of the text - no more than a sentence. What do your
writers say specifically about these concepts?
Then go on to make general comparative and
or contrasting points with the texts. I expect there will
be similarities and differences between the three
texts. You may find especially with Betjeman differences
between poems. Although Larkin's poetry has a consistent and sustained vision
of the world.
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Despite the static portrait of the horses in
Hughes's presentation in his free verse poem, Hughes presents the horses as
raw, elemental, of the earth and quite indifferent the the human world. In
contrast MacNeice's poem presents them totally dominated by human society.
Where the relationship between horses and humans is one of master
and servant or slave. Muir however combines both the natural and wild
elements of the horses along with their desire for companionship and service
to people.
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Follow this up by identifying briefly broad
contextual features of their writing. Avoid writing specific biographical
facts about the life of [Larkin] or [Betjeman], Hartley and Miller.
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These different presentations of horses are in
part influenced by the different cultural contexts of each poet. For example
MacNeice wrote his poem during the decade of the depression of the 1930's. In
it he offers his target audience of children a comforting and highly structured
vision of a society full of human order and control. And yet in the circus
setting he offers a brief escape from the difficulties of life. On the other
hand Hughes - writing in the late 1950's writes a poem celebrating the
natural world and the force of nature. Hughes was a conservationist. Writing
at a time of urban expansion he reminds the public of the value of the
countryside and the beauty of nature. Muir's poem was written during the cold
war. In it he imagines the results and the effects on human communities after
a world war.
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Also make a comment about how each of the three
writers and their work have been received by society or specific critics
either at the time they were written or in the present time.
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Hughes's poetry has been described as being 'plugged in to the very
soul of England'. Whereas Muir has been described as 'observing Europe's
political and cultural landscape'. And MacNeice offers 'close detailed social
observations.'
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Finally you should identify some of the
important literary features from each of the texts. You should
focus on the dominant literary features and make comparative and or
contrasting points. You can make specific references to the different genres
here. Perhaps emphasise the dramatic conflict of the drama, the poetic
techniques of the poetry like rhyme and rhythm and the first person narrator
of the prose text.
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MacNeice's strong use of rhythm and rhyme helps emphasise a regular
and ordered society. Hughes elemental and sensory language helps create a
strong evocation of the wild countryside. Finally Muir's poem is embedded in
fable and story-telling. This is emphasised by the dramatic monologue and
narrative style of the poem.
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