A poem which depicts a violent incident Essay

TASK Choose a poem in which there is a dramatic or ruby ensuant. Show how the poet conveys the incident using various poetic techniques. Glasgow 5 March 1971 by Scottish poet Edwin Morgan effectively conveys a reddened incident which occurs on a busy street in Glasgow. The incident captured in this instamatic poem involves a violent attack on a young couple who are pushed finished a shop window by thieving youths. The incident is guiden vividly through various techniques such as assurery, word choice and structure. Through this poem, Morgan effectively criticises society and our reluctance to garter others in need.One of the ways in which Morgan helps us understand the incident is through the use of imagery. The poem begins with a salient metaphor to describe the ragged diamond of shattered plate-glass. The broken glass is being compared to a diamond to help us picture the sharp-worded, glinting edges of the window. This immediately shows how violent the incident is. He g oes on to describe the mans award as bristling with fragments of glass. This metaphor compared the numerous shards of glass on his face to a beard. This again highlights the pain and damage caused to the innocent young man.The serious nature of the injuries is also conveyed by the words spurts of arterial blood which creates the image of blood gushing out of the girl. Her wet-look white coat emphasises the amount of blood and the contrast of red blood on white which creates a strong visual image. The poem then moves on to describe the attackers using effective word choice to convey the lack of compassion shown to the victims. The incident is described as the performance which suggests that this is a purely business-like transaction for these people. There is no emotion.The word loot suggests that the youths only care is to grab as many valuables as possible and do it smartly. This highlights the impersonal, business-like manner again, showing a lack of humanity. Again this is don e with no expression which shows no concern or care for the couple whose faces show surprise and shock. The word choice used here effectively shows the selfishness of the youths whose only care is to steal with no concern for who gets hurt in this violent incident. . Morgan achieves this by using the present tense, a young man and his girl are falling, their arms are starfished.This creates the effect of seeing the event as a picture rather than an ongoing event. The writer emphasises this with the words sharp clear night which relates to a camera image again. This helps the reader stand second and look at the event objectively without be involved. Morgan is trying to make the point that this is what we do in society when we see violence occurring stand tooshie and not get involved. This theme of societys reluctance to help others is shown through the deliberate reference in Sauchiehall Street.This makes it clear that this violent incident took place on a busy street in Glasgow w here lots of people would be. He goes on to refer to drivers in the background which again highlights the event that people do not come forward to help the victims they keep their eyes on the road. This final line effectively conveys Morgans positioning that people turn a blind eye to violence, most likely from fear or lack of compassion. Through presenting this snapshot of the incident in sharp clear detail, it makes the reader think about what we would have done in this situation and why people failed to act.In conclusion this poem effectively conveys a violent incident on a busy Glasgow street. Edwin Morgan successfully highlights the lack of concern in our society for others. He achieved this through his instamatic technique, vivid imagery and effective word choice. These techniques helped me visualise the incident well and understand the writers message. The poem really made me think about how we treat one some other in society as this incident is set in Glasgow in a busy st reet. It made me wonder if this would actually happen and if people would help or turn a blind eye.