Out Of The Blue And Belfast Confetti Analysis

Comparative Essay – “How does the writer present fear in Out of the Blue and Belfast Confetti”?

In both Out of the Blue by Simon Armitage and Belfast Confetti by Ciaran Carson, the poets both present fear through a number of techniques. Both describe a city and its civilians under attack, exposing the impacts of terrorism on its victims.
They are similarly written in a free-verse structure, which clearly illustrates the exposed and fearful state in which the ‘narrators’ are left in. In Belfast Confetti, the questioning of the guards combined with Carson’s disorientation within his own region is also mirrored in Out of the Blue; where the man is trapped inside the building he worked in – a frenzy of media coverage closing in on him.
In response to this exposure, the reader gains an insight into their panic-stricken minds as well as powerful emotions like shock – further supported by the usage of short sentences, reflecting the disjointed nature of Belfast Confetti’s structure. As well as this, the use of enjambment in stanza one conveys the bewilderment of being situated within an act of terrorism. Both ‘narrators’ attempt to maintain self-control throughout the poem, as Out of the Blue try’s to follow a neat structure – but build up tension with the odd short sentence – “ a bird goes by”. Comparably in Belfast Confetti, the poet uses many short sentences in a bid retain a sense of mind and control, but being a writer, this shows panic and fear as his thought processes are more blunt and spontaneous rather than the logical and complex feelings of a writer. In Out of the Blue his “nerves are sagging”, indicating his ever-loosening grip on self-control. The man in Out of the Blue and poet in Belfast Confetti’s sudden descent into obscurity is paradoxical, seeing as they are trapped in areas they know very well – resulting in psychological deterioration and fear. The sensuous language used in the final stanzas in Out of the Blue mark the hopeful yet foreboding tone towards inescapable death. “ A fusillade of question marks “ in Belfast Confetti, symbolizes the unpredictable, erratic behavior of occurrences in war torn Belfast, creating a tone of ambiguity regarding the Belfast’s future. The sensuous language also exhibits the individual’s feelings as a victim or terrorism – presenting fear in a more perceptible and tangible manner to the reader, as well as harsh consonants like burst and blocked producing a plosive effect. Imagery is also used to explore the psychological confusion of a terrorist attack on its victims – shown in Carson’s use of extended metaphor of punctuation.
In written English, punctuation is vital to disambiguate the meaning of sentences, and seen as tool to regulate and control text. In the poem however they interrupt the flow of the text: ”every move is punctuated” “dead end again” – symbolizing the disruptive impact on daily life in Belfast, with short sentences within long lines symbolizing how roads have been blocked off. This sense of entrapment is further deepened with the increasing intensity of military vernacular – “Saracens, kremlin-2 mesh, makrolon face-shields” all onomastic symbols representing the build up of tension and militarization through the ever-narrowing paths of the “labyrinth” which Carson knew so well. This is similar to the wailing sirens in Out of the Blue, creating an air of tension throughout the whole area, but also sense of reality for the man, reminding him of all the other individuals who have plunged to their fate, and perhaps casting a judgment upon his own life and whether it is even “worth saving”. There are subtle differences between the two poems. In Out of the Blue the heat is personified as a bullying force, driving the man to his inevitable death “bullying, driving”. In Belfast Confetti however, these religious connotations are not present, instead the punctuation creating imagery within the poem. “A fount of broken type”
indicates the endless flow and explosive effect in which punctuation depicted in the poem, abusing its normal role of formulating sentences.

In retrospect, both poets have presented fear through numerous interpretations and meanings, reflecting the subject matter through various forms of imagery. Both poets have attempted to maintain self-control in a state of turmoil and disorder.