Comments on Long Distance II - Tony Harrison

Reading the second part of the poem hasn't changed m opinion of the character.


Throughout the poem we learnt tat the father character is not over the death of his wife, which happened two years ago, its really cute how he still caters for her by 'putting a hot water bottle on her side of the bed and still went to renew her transport pass'.
When i was reading the poem it just made me feel sorry for the father because its like he has lost his true love and his son doesn't really have time for him because he has grown up and has a busy lifestyle, also that no matter how he tries he will never be able to fully recover of his grief that he has over his wife and the pain that he feels will never fade. The thing that upsets me the most is that he feels the need to hide all of his wife's stuff whenever someone comes round as if he is doing something wrong, to make it look like he is alone, surly its wrong that he has to do this? Surly its understandable that he has lost his wife and he is going to take some time to recover.

The son is telling the reader what his father does in his free time, its really depressing but cute at the same time that the father is so obsessive of his wives possessions that he has no longer got anytime to spend time with his son, who has become neglected.

The father is convinced that the mother will one day return, thinking that he would one day ' hear her key scrape in the rusted lock and end his grief' However the son believes that 'life ends with death and that is all' this is a negative thought

Analysis of princess and the pea.

We have taken the original of the faitytale princess and the pea and adapted it into a modern style story. The story we wrote is still similar concept to the original by having a dansel who takes refuge into a strangers house, however the owner of the house then decides to trick her and unfortunatly unlike the original the princess doesn't ever leave the household and doesn't get to live with her true love (the prince). Although this story has been altered it still hodls the same hidden meaning, the way we wrote our interpretation is different because instead of having a narrator tell the story, we made the extract into first person including not only the princess but the prince. We included a diary extract written from the prince to help the reader conclude the story rather then leaving the story on suspence. We thought we would write our story like this becuase no other fairytales have been written in this way menaing with the actual characters point of view and feelings. We used descriptive techniques throught to capture the audiences interest and to make them want to read on, there are a few metaphors to include a variety of narration and to give the story alot more life and description.

Hamlet Act 1 Analysis.

The first sign of tragedy occurs when the ghost, which is later revealed to be the murdered farther of Hamlet and the former King. After the Ghost appears and re-appears several times they conclude that it will not speak to them and realize that it will only speak to Hamlet, so they decided to inform him of their sightings and that they believe the ghost is an imitation of Hamlets father. This indicates that there is something special and different about Hamlet, even before he is introduced properly to the reader.

The main themes that are introduced in this act are betrayal and vengeance. Hamlets fathers ghost appears and tells Hamlet that he wants to speak to him alone, the ghost then informs that he was murdered by his brother (Hamlets uncle) who is the present king. However, he tells Hamlet to kill Claudius to get revenge he also constantly tells Hamlet to 'Swear' that he will do it.

After reading his first soliloquy, we think that Hamlet is simply upset by the loss of his farther and his mother's decision to re-marry his uncle, Claudius, so quickly. He says that because of this, there is nothing in his life worth living for and he considers suicide ('flesh would melt' line 129). However, despite his anger, he says that he must 'Hold my tongue' (line 159) and keep his feelings quiet, this could be because he loves his mother and doesn't want to hurt her and he must remain loyal to the crown - he cannot criticize the King or he could face a punishment.

Questions I had from reading act 1 was:

Why did Hamlets uncle do that to his brother? because he was close to his mother? wanted air to the throne because Hamlet was to young to become king when his dad died.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone

This poem evokes strong emotions from start to finish. The first stanza seems to have a sense of denial,

“Stop all the clocks, Cut off the telephone”


These first few lines give the impression that the writer doesn’t want to accept the truth, by stopping time and shutting people out he may be able to preserve the delusion that nothing has happened for a little longer. Denial is also the first of five stages of grieving using the Kübler-Ross model, perhaps Auden is simply going through the motions of grieving, taking it one stage at a time. The second stanza contains the line,

“Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead”


“Moaning” is a very onomatopoeic word from this you can almost visualize the type of aeroplane he meant and the “moaning” noise it would be making. The sound of the words could also be linked with the mourners in the church, the sadness and lamenting.


The third stanza is almost where he permits himself to remember his love. Like light at the end of a tunnel; a truly loving sentiment in such a somber poem.
As Auden moves onto the final stanza the atmosphere of the poem moves too. The poem slips into depression or even anger. Almost as a child throws a toy with frustration Auden orders for the night sky and the oceans etc. should be put away or discarded. And as we know from the Kübler-Ross model, Anger is the second stage of the grieving process. Perhaps if Auden had extended this poem he may have progressed through the last three stages, but as the success of the poem proves; it doesn’t need extending

The princess and the pea

Dear Diary
I’ve had the worst day of my life, after the most boring banquet with the duke and his wife my coach had a broken wheel and they had no spare coach which was utterly profound so I had to walk… and of top of the despicable occurrence it started to rain; its such a shame since my silk green garment was absolutely wrecked,
Luckily after walking down a very melancholy lit country road I came across a luxurious mansion… it was incredibly beautiful; with grand white pillars that towered to the sky, majestic gold doors and windows that exploded light into the swallowing pit of darkness that I had succumbed to.
I speedily tottered in my now mud encrusted heels towards the nearest window that displayed an extravagantly decorated front room. As I peered in I could see a gorgeous fire place with a flaming orange ball blowing heat across the marble tiled floor… I longed to be warm, to feel the comfort that this mansion holds.
With this new impulse I headed towards the door… a door unlike most doors, the detail was so intricate I could see the household must have been important… However I still believe my home is much more divine than this.
As I gracefully held the bell handle and plunged it down a few times just to make sure I wouldn’t be ignored I heard a distant tapping that grew louder and sharper as the seconds commenced. Although I knew it was help a part of me was quite frightened by this small detail… it sent a shuddering chill down my spine. Now the sound was projecting through my ear drums and I couldn’t ignore it….. Just as I thought it would never end the door slowly slid ajar to release the face of a very small woman who was embellished in fine jewellery and a beautiful purple gown. Her pristine composure was quite surprising since the lady of the house never opens the door usually especially at this late hour…where were the maids? Eventually after what felt like hours her voice echoed through the high roofed hallway asking who I was. As I was briskly repeating to the elder lady of my awful troubles this godlike man appeared in the distance.
At that point I realised I must have looked a fright, my hair was strewn like an unkept bush and my dress was so ghastly at this point… I dare to think…. I must have appeared to be a common person to these hospitable people that took me in for the night. Thankfully the extremely handsome, spellbinding gentleman who I now know is her son and the PRINCE persuaded his mother to allow me in for the night until I can call for someone in the morning to collect me. They collected a maid from the lower quarters to bathe me (which happened to be the most luscious smelling oils… id say they had a hint of rosemary to them) then guided me to a newly made guestroom with the highest pile of mattresses you ever did see; god knows why there are so many mattresses… this family have very strange ways and sadly I don’t find it to much comfort but if my thoughts are correct there is something lurking in amongst them all so I’m just about to have a quick gander and see if I can solve this treacherous annoyance. Hopefully my bad luck is over and I can have a joyous slumber.









To the unfortunate Receivers of this letter,
I am dreadfully sorry to inform you of the loss of your eldest daughter. The only consolidation I can give you is what I can conclude of her death.
She was the victim of a cruel test of my mothers. I assure you, I knew nothing of her scheme until early this morning when she confessed all, since which she has been banished by my father for crushing such a beautiful flower which your daughter was.
My mother, looking for a match for me, was unbelieving that your daughter was a princess and proceeded to test her by making her sleep upon 50 mattresses with a single pea hidden within them, knowing that nobody but a real princess would have skin delicate enough to feel the offending vegetable.
Upon finding her diary (enclosed) I believe she felt the pea and attempted to find it among her mattresses, only to fall from the great height and be crushed by the weight of the felonious bedding.
I can only offer my deepest apologies and assure you I am grieving with you, such a loss will be hard to live with. I have joined the armed forces in the hope I may join her in the eternal kingdom.
Yours terribly sincerely,
Prince Arthur.

What's so good about Hamlet?

Why is it considered to be one of the most dramatic plays in English Language.

Hamlet is considered to be on of the most dramtic plays in the English Language due to its timeless factors dealt with for example the death of parents, sense of duty, truth, illusion, nature of reality/ sanity and many more. The way Hamlet is written because he spends so much time wondering about death and the values of life tha amazing thing is Hamlet then decides wee're scared of death because we dont know what happens afterwards. And death is something that anyone and everyone will have to face and no one knows what to expect or what will happen. That 'To be or not tro be' speech is famous for a reason, and Shakespeare put it all really eloquently.

Some people love watching it in theatres because Hamlet tells the troupe of players how to act, and the way it is written is like Shakespeare himself is telling the people how to perdorm. Other people who have read the novel of Hamlet have said its not the language which makes the play so good because if you think about the language its very complicated and limits people from understand and interpretating the play a couple of centeries later.

Some people can't even answer the question: What makes Hamlet so good?

Pride and Predjudice

'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.'
Pride and Predjudice by Jane Austen.


The reason why I like this opening paragraph is because it makes you want to read on to find out whether the man in possession of a good fortune actually does want a wife and whether he finds one, kind of makes the book sound like a romance novel. The writer is trying to make the opening paragraph more convincing and more welcoming for the reader to carry on, it kind of leaves a cliff hanger because it kind of made me personally want to read on.