Lament - Gillian Clarke, Poem Imagery Analysis

Lament Imagery Analysis
Kautilya Palaypu Gillian Clarke, the writer of Lament, uses imagery in his poem in the form of animals and nature to express the consequence of war and greed on the innocent. He uses nature imagery to show that the very thing that was meant to nurture us is being destroyed. Clarke uses imagery to mourn the destruction of the innocent and nature. He also uses imagery to show how appalling the consequences of human nature are to its surroundings. Clarke explains that “for vengeance” “the green turtle” suffers with “her pulsing burden in search for the breeding ground” and that for something that starts life, she is being put at burden for. He points that from this burden, which was put on to her by human nature, “her eggs laid in the nest of sickness”. When Clarke uses this image he intensifies the idea that the innocent egg cannot choose its life and lies in the birth place of sickness. All of this is because of the same cause, and Clarke shows us that by repeating the word “For”. We as the reader connect with the idea as Clarke uses his images with the life cycles and the innocent. The idea of mother nature is really emphasized in the poem. Clarke uses imagery to represent this image. He gives nature a comforting “lap” which shows us that nature is very nurturing. The word “lap” is an image of comfort and a mother-like feature, thus it represents the idea of mother nature. The effect of this is that we feel more sorrow as we read through the poem; we feel that we are destroying something that gives us a home, food, and much more. Clarke makes us see that it is not onlz us who are in the “ocean’s lap” but the “cormorants in his funeral silk… the dugong and the dolphins,” and something as massive as the whale; they are the ones suffering from the destruction of the lap, which is caused by humans, according to the writer. He uses these animals to make us realize that innocent creatures also are under the care of nature, and as we