The poem is about love between an old couples in faded when time pass. Elizabeth observed that her old parents didn't seem to love each other anymore, they sat close to each other nut they were separated. The poet make use of simile to compare her parents' passion as flotsam, to show that their passion grew cold. She also used a religious diction - 'chastity' to describe their love did not have any sexual intercourse. She also used a contrast image in "...whose fire from which I came, has now grown cold?" to emphasis their love was cold now although their passion once liked a fire. From this, the poet wonders why the love between old couple was weaker than that between young couples. Elizabeth also make use of simile to show that time is a feather which is hardly notice, to indicate that love between couples weakened by time. She is calm. She thought that time is an agent that weakens love.
Theme of Telephone Conversation:
Telephone conversation is a poem about a black African talked to a British landlady in the phone. He wanted to rent a house. Instead of discussing the price and location, they discussed the caller's skin colour. The poet make use of simile to compare the caller's skin colour to plain and milk chocolate, for emphasis the topic of racial discrimination. The poet also makes use of metaphor, use "lipstick coated, long gold- rolled cigarette- holder pipped" to represent the landlady, for emphasis that the woman seems educated but actually she cares about the skin colour the most. The poet thought that it is absurd that the educated British don't seem to be educated as they judge people by skin colour. He exposes that people should not make judgement in advance on the basis of someone's race, but after meeting him and judging him for what he is and not how he look. He felt very angry on the whites judge people by other's race. He showed the nature of racism. He also makes use of humour to laugh at the 'educated' British.
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