Poetry Intertextual Study

2. Explain why one poet's work affected you more deeply than the work of other poets you studied this year. Refer to the work of at least three poets from one of the specified anthologies.

The poetic works of Oodgeroo, Judith Wright and Sylvia Plath all send powerful messages to the reader. Each of these poets has their own distinctive way of using language to portray their messages as seen in their poems. However, it is the poem, Cut, by Sylvia Plath, which portrays a battle within herself using a cut finger, which affects the reader more deeply than the works of the other poets.

The poem, Naked Girl and Mirror, by Judith Wright is an emotional story of puberty. She writes about the feelings of a confused young girl who has just reached the adolescent stage of her life. This poem represents a battle between a young girl and her adolescent body, who she feels she has "been betrayed" by. Wright's poem goes on to explain how she refuses to accept her new body as her own through emotive and very descriptive language. Although many young women can relate to and be affected by this poem, many more can relate to the poem Cut by Sylvia Plath. Plath's work sends the powerful image of her hatred towards men. She uses the image of her cut thumb as the outlet of her rage. The first image of her "thumb instead of an onion" and how she calls it "a thrill" shows that she is not in a settled state of mind. She goes on to liken the blood to many violent male figures such as Indians, Kamikaze men and soldiers in red trench coats to show how much she detests them. For example, she calls her thumb a "pilgrim" which the "Indian's axed" the scalp off of. Although in her poem, Plath doesn't actually mention her ex-husband, it is probable that she is using the image of her cut thumb to portray her anger at him. The violent male figures show that she thought him to be violent and deceitful