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Analysis Of Fiona Sze-Lorrain's When The Title Took Its Life

Decent Essays

Although death occurs in the world each and every day, each individual has their own way of coping and responding to the subject. An individual may be grieving the death of a loved one, or contemplating their own fate with death. When dealing with the topic of death, an individual may feel disconnected from humanity, and lose sight of their place in the wider universe. The vast spectrum of experiences is a personal journey, and a poet can depict their own experiences as a coping mechanism for their emotions. Fiona Sze-Lorrain’s poem ‘When the Title Took Its Life’ (2013) highlights the persona’s inner conflict of committing suicide, and questions their sadness. In contrast, Anne Sexton’s poem, ‘The Truth the Dead Know’ (1962), depicts the persona’s …show more content…

The personified “My saddest lines wish to know how they left this pen” (1-3) suggests that as the persona writes of their emotions (which could allude to a suicide note), they question what has led them to the thought that death will resolve their emotional experiences. Although it is not stated in the poem, the persona’s questioning of how they came to write their “saddest lines” (1) suggests that it was not one event that contributed to inner conflict, but their emotions have been pushed to the side over time. This contrasts with Sexton’s poem, as it was inspired by the death of her parents that led to her grief and loss. Although death is universal, each individual experiences and copes with the subject in a different way. This thought is further highlighted using the word “imprison” (4), suggesting that the persona conceals their emotions. Furthermore, the metaphor “Abbreviated but exhausted from labour” (6-7) alludes to the thought that the persona doesn’t face their emotions, instead pushes them to the side. However, their emotions are personified in “Wreck revenge on my moral hand,” (8-9) as they have been ‘bottled’ up for so long, they are becoming prominent to the persona and cannot be concealed anymore. This leads the persona to question their place in the

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