(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Poetry - Social Commentary

            Poetry and the role of the poet can be described as providing insights into social commentary. Poets can make society aware of the world around us - if we would only listen. Many poets feel compelled to write about the world of negativity we live in. They feel passionate about their work and feel it is their role in society to educate the rest of the world about forgotten issues. Poetry also provides a voice for people marginalised in society. I believe these insights are shown through figurative language and expression. Many poets use metaphorical terms and personification to covey their ideas in a unique and interesting way.
             Poetry offers insights into social commentary, in particular the way we treat our world. Many poems are written about our uncaring society. I believe Bruce Dawe wrote "Search and Destroy" with this idea in mind. The poem discusses the destruction and exploitation of Australian landscape. "Search and Destroy" comments on societies arrogant dominance and our negligence towards our world. The poem conveys a message warning us that if we do not do anything now, our natural world will fall apart. "Search and Destroy" is supposed to be a poem that celebrates the Bi-Centenary of Australia, however Dawe indicates that we do not have anything to celebrate. The final lines, "Two hundred more years like the last and what then shall withstand the blast", show Dawe's attitude to the way Australians treat the world. He suggests that in another two hundred years time there will not be anything left to destroy. Where "Search and Destroy" discusses the need to reform the way we treat our surroundings, "Like This for Years" by Michael Dransfield discusses the lack of support for Australian artists. He is an Australian poet, and feels the lack of support from Australians. This social commentary suggests Australians are apathetic towards Australian poets and do not show any respect. Dransfield's poem suggests the difficulties of being a poet, and as he says, " to be a poet in Australia is the ultimate commitment.


Essays Related to Poetry - Social Commentary

1. Poetry of Carlos Williams

The poetry of Carlos Williams is some of the most intriguing yet odd works of literature that I have ever encountered. ... If we just stopped there and didn't read the poem again, the first aspect that would be lost is the social commentary taking place that not only applied to Williams's era, but to ours as well. ... Williams addresses this social attitude by describing his dance naked as "grotesquely." ... In conclusion, I think that to take all of Williams" poetry at face value is a tragedy. ... His struggles with his own inferiority and skepticism is painted within hauntingly bea...

  • Word Count: 1466
  • Approx Pages: 6

2. Non-fiction writing, novels and poetry in political critique

However, poetry and the novel too contain facts about living conditions, people's emotions and the climate in which the author is living. ... The poetry of Langston Hughes is just one example of someone who portrays the segregation of America as clearly as any non-fiction possibly could. ... As Stott explains in Documentary Expression and Thirties America: "a human document may be read as a historical document is - for the facts it gives about public events and social customs." ... He is drawing on not only his private experiences, but the experiences of an entire race at this time, jus...

  • Word Count: 2796
  • Approx Pages: 11
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Ray Bradbury

In his stories, Bradbury put together the intrigue of the changing technology with insight to social commentary. ... In addition to fiction Bradbury wrote "Zen and the Art of Writing" and also published others such as dramas like: "The Anthem Sprinters", "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, The Pedestrian", and volumes of poetry including "When Elephants Last in the Dooryard Bloomed", "Where Robot Mice & Robot Men Run Around in Robot Towns", and "The Haunted computer and the Android Pope". ... Hs work was represented in hundreds of anthologies of poetry, science fiction, short stories, and Ame...

  • Word Count: 357
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. The Role of Literature in Society

Like all other romantic comedies by Shakespeare, the world of A Midsummer Night's Dream is a fantasy of romance, love, humor, music, dance, song, and poetry. ... It also contains a little social commentary, however, its message is not that of sedition. ... It is a great love story, with plot twists, secret love affairs, and even some interwoven, gently presented social commentary. ...

  • Word Count: 897
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Chicana And African American Feminist Movements

In order to make a difference, one of them had to bravely step out of a socially determined mold. ... Through many means, including poetry, music, and political activism, women of Chicana and African American descent have certainly chosen the path least traveled by. ... These "Bad Sistas" provide lyrical commentaries on the social and sexual power that women really have, deviating from those of black male rappers, a voice more readily heard. ... In the poem by Bernice Zamora, "Notes from a Chicana "Coed"", Zamora discusses how her husband wants her to "write (poems) about social reality, ...

  • Word Count: 846
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. Lyrical Ballads of Coleridge and Wordsworth

To what extent does Lyrical Ballads represent a new departure for British poetry and poetics? ... With this merging of artistic and social change, their revolutionary ideals prescribed a rejection of contrived higher-class sensibilities and acceptance of basic human passions and characters. ... It is unsurprising that several of the poems of the Lyrical Ballads provide direct commentary on poetry itself and how poetic experience relates to nature. ... Nature is joyous and should be used to inspire joy, rather than the gloomy emotions inherent in previous poetry and poetics. ... This...

  • Word Count: 1487
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Can English be a medium of expression for Indian sensibiliti

An Indian-English poet, like any other artist, is and remains a part of the same social and cultural milieu. ... The poet has been brought up in the same social atmosphere as all other Indians. ... Ezekiel was an editor of the journal PEN for several years and has been a guiding force of the Poetry Circle in Bombay and a chief promoter of good poetry in English. ... What is significant about Ezekiel's poetry is several of his poems depict the quest for physical, social and spiritual integration of the self. He is most famous for his wry commentaries on contemporary India - often written i...

  • Word Count: 1833
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Palestinian Social Movement

The Construction of the Palestinian Social Movement. ... In great part this stemmed from an inability to recognize the material, social, international, and political ramifications of an institutionalized system aimed at preserving a prescribed goal, regardless of the means. ... The following is an attempt to demonstrate how Zion colonialism takes an internal makeup of the more familiarized Western colonialism through its utilization of economics, social stratification and identity construing- culminating into the Palestinian social movement for the restitution of land misappropriated ...

  • Word Count: 5817
  • Approx Pages: 23
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. The Benefits of Children Watching Television

The main benefits children derive from watching television are education, entertainment and social skills. ... The videos, pictures, commentary and music which accompany the shows generate an effect which is difficult to obtain by simply reading a book or listening to someone lecture. ... Programs that focus on the Arts and literature may prompt children to discover their own abilities, such as poetry, painting, music and dance. Though a child can't actually speak to the people they are watching on television, children learn to develop the basics of social skills. Certain televisio...

  • Word Count: 582
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question