Mr Erigo Boss Stablioth
What impact did the poetry of Thomas Kinsella make on you as a reader?
Kinsella's work left a deep impression in my mind. His recurring theme of seemingly positive portrayals with sinister undertones was particularly interesting. His use of dark, disturbing images to give his subjects realism and his value on family and friends are also memorable.
One of the things that struck me most about Kinsella's work is the sinister imagery that underlies a lot of his work. Poems that at first seem positive change meaning through the accumulation of imagery of decay and death. In 'Thinking of Mr. D.' we seem, at first, to get a portrayal of a genial, well groomed man, judging by his 'cheerful slander' and 'polished toe'. However the mood changes when we examine the images of his 'scathing tongue' and the onomatopoeic 'last murmured stabbing little tale'. The use of the verb ‘stabbing’ adds an even darker tone to the portrayal of the man. Kinsella leaves us with a final, disturbing image of the man, 'wolfish-slim', staring into the 'oiled reflections' of the Liffey, possibly seeking some meaning or escape. This sense of sinister, underlying images can also be seen in Chrysalids. The poem starts off with long vowel sounds, giving a sense of never-ending time as the couple 'mooned about at odd hours'. We see natural images that show their young, compassionate love as Kinsella compares himself and his wife to 'calves poking our faces in with enormous hunger'. But again, this initial sense of positivity and love gives way to the harsh truth that in all life, there is death. The description of the scones as 'dry' begins to imply decay and death. The vivid image of the ants, 'glistening like drops of copper' as they journey through the ordeal of life is captured in verse, and so preserved, like an ant in a piece of amber. This is in contrast with the couple, whose honeymoon is long past and cannot be revisited. This sense of loss of the past left me feeling uneasy and the strange,
Kinsella's work left a deep impression in my mind. His recurring theme of seemingly positive portrayals with sinister undertones was particularly interesting. His use of dark, disturbing images to give his subjects realism and his value on family and friends are also memorable.
One of the things that struck me most about Kinsella's work is the sinister imagery that underlies a lot of his work. Poems that at first seem positive change meaning through the accumulation of imagery of decay and death. In 'Thinking of Mr. D.' we seem, at first, to get a portrayal of a genial, well groomed man, judging by his 'cheerful slander' and 'polished toe'. However the mood changes when we examine the images of his 'scathing tongue' and the onomatopoeic 'last murmured stabbing little tale'. The use of the verb ‘stabbing’ adds an even darker tone to the portrayal of the man. Kinsella leaves us with a final, disturbing image of the man, 'wolfish-slim', staring into the 'oiled reflections' of the Liffey, possibly seeking some meaning or escape. This sense of sinister, underlying images can also be seen in Chrysalids. The poem starts off with long vowel sounds, giving a sense of never-ending time as the couple 'mooned about at odd hours'. We see natural images that show their young, compassionate love as Kinsella compares himself and his wife to 'calves poking our faces in with enormous hunger'. But again, this initial sense of positivity and love gives way to the harsh truth that in all life, there is death. The description of the scones as 'dry' begins to imply decay and death. The vivid image of the ants, 'glistening like drops of copper' as they journey through the ordeal of life is captured in verse, and so preserved, like an ant in a piece of amber. This is in contrast with the couple, whose honeymoon is long past and cannot be revisited. This sense of loss of the past left me feeling uneasy and the strange,