Can yall mark my poem comparison PLS
I do IGCSE Edexcel english literature and I've written this in 48 mins (typing) could yall pls mark it by AO2 and AO3
Both poems of “Prayer before birth” and “War Photographer” present a strong point of view on humanity and the self-destruction of humanity. However, In “war photographer”, Duffy points out the excruciating pain of war, whereas in “prayer before birth”, MacNeice criticises the dehumanisation of the industrial world that faces corruption. Both of the poems present structural devices; however, “war photographer” explore a strict rhyme scheme along with 4 quatrains, whereas “prayer before birth” demonstrates a dramatic monologue with irregular line lengths.
Both poems present a strong point of view on the negativity of humanity. In “Prayer before birth” MacNeice depicts an unborn baby pleading through a prayer as “I am not yet born; O hear me.” emphasises on how the baby is so desperate to be heard and by an ominous figure which could be directed to god himself. MacNiece uses caesura to place emphasis on the pause to highlight the seriousness of the prayer. Through the personal pronouns of “I” illustrates how MacNeice tries to make it personal experience he might’ve felt which he tries to persuade the audience into giving a more empathetic response. However, In “War photographer” Duffy uses a third person narrative of the war photographer as he’s “in his darkroom he is finally alone” emphasises how the war photographer faces constant chaos that “finally” depicts how it is rare to have an environment that is silent and peaceful in his experience as he faces constant war.
In “Prayer before birth” MacNiece presents the humanity through the corruption of “the bloodsucking bat or the rat or the stoat or the club-footed ghoul come near me” emphasises on the animal imagery that is used to represent humanity who has ultimately dehumanised into greed and corruption to gain a higher status. MacNeice further uses the polysyndeton of “or” to speed up the pace of the poem to reinforce his message on how cruel humanity has become. Similarly in “war photographer” Duffy presents his views on the world as dehumanised and incapable of empathising with people who suffer in war. “The readers' eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers” reinforces how society has normalised being unempathetic towards one another. The use of alliteration of “b” demonstrates how society has made them selfish and incapable of placing themselves in the shoes of others. The quick shifts from “prick with tears” to “prelunch beers” illustrate how they felt sadness for only a short period of time.
In “war photographer” Duffy places emphasis on the excruciating pain of war whereas in “prayer before birth” MacNeice presents the hopelessness of the society. In ‘war photographer’ Duffy lists the places that face war, “Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh.” to illustrate how wars are presented on a world scale and various countries face war. The caesura after each country is used by Duffy to place emphasis to slow the pace and allow the audience to empathise with the countries that face warzones and are unable to escape from death. Furthermore, Duffy uses the innocence of children to contrast with war evident through, “running children in a nightmare heat” which highlights the chaos and vulnerability of the people that face war without choice. The use of “heat” could emphasise on the temperature of the bombs. Moreover, the use of “nightmare” contrasts with the reality that they’re facing as they are unable to wake up from the pain they face on a daily basis. However in “prayer before birth” MacNeice uses the unborn child to create an allusion of hope through the natural imagery of “dandle me, grass to grow for me, trees to talk” to illustrate a peaceful and harmonious world which juxtaposes with the unequal industrial world. MacNeice further uses listing to heighten the desperation in the unborn child’s tone for a better society. At the end of the poem, MacNeice gives up on the poem, “otherwise kill me” as a stark ultimatum to the prayer of improving society as it has finally understood that capitalism will forever be there and the greed of others will never dissipate.