English Literature Essay

The â€Å"Infant Sorrow† is a short, two stanza poem featuring a young baby who is in fear that his mother and father do not love or want him. The young baby first feels sorrow when, â€Å"My mother groaned†, here the baby is feeling like his mother does not want him although she could me â€Å"groaning† about a number of things. The mother could already have a lot of children and not want to bring another up into the world or she may not have enough money, the â€Å"groaning† could also however be due to the pain of child birth. The young baby then sees his father, â€Å"my father wept† this is also a feeling of loneliness for the child. But as with the mother, the father could be crying for a number of reasons, the â€Å"weeping† of the father is not tears of joy as in innocence it is tears of sorrow. This initial sorrow is loneliness and neglect, this is because of the mother and fathers reaction to its birth. The second feeling of sorrow is helplessness, the baby feels helpless in the world, this should not happen because the mother and father should help and look after it. â€Å"Helpless, naked, piping loud†, using the word â€Å"Helpless† suggests that the new baby feels vulnerable, which is extremely experienced for a baby. Using the word â€Å"naked† shows embarrassment for the baby. It shows that the baby is feeling insecure and without warmth. The choice of words used by the baby are experienced throughout the poem, they all show the sorrowed feelings of the baby during child birth. b) How do language and form communicate the emotions expressed in this poem?  The emotions expressed in this poem are all experienced; there are feelings of sorrow, depression, loneliness, and vulnerability from the baby.  In the first stanza the words â€Å"groaned† and â€Å"wept† are used to show the emotions of the parents; however they can be interpreted in many ways. When the baby talks of the dangerous world it has just entered it suggests â€Å"leaping†, this could mean that the baby has been pushed into an experienced world and situation, this could also be a reason for the mother and father to be upset about the birth. The baby refers to itself as â€Å"a fiend†, an experienced word meaning a cruel wicked and inhuman person, this shows that the baby has strong emotions of neglect from its parents. The whole of the first stanza symbolises the change of state for the new born baby, it changing from being in the womb to being in the dangerous outside world and having no one to look after it, â€Å"helpless†. The opening stanza also shows that the real world is a dangerous place to live in, it is unpleasant and un secure for the baby. In the second stanza the baby is talking about its true feelings and again how its mother and father are reacting to it. Throughout the poem we know that the fat her is in control, he has power over the new born baby, we know this from phrases such as â€Å"Struggling in my father’s hands†, suggesting that the fathers hands are controlling the baby. The baby also talks of â€Å"swaddling bands†, in the past these have been seen as ways to keep your baby close to you and wrapped up tightly to create the atmosphere of being in the womb, however here â€Å"swaddling bands† are used to symbolise restraint and control of the father and separation from the mother completely. In innocence, a baby is suggested to be a gift from God, something to admire, look after and love, however, in experience the baby is seen as corrupt, in â€Å"Infant Sorrow† the baby is hidden away, â€Å"Bound and weary† To end the second stanza the word â€Å"sulk† is used, normally the word â€Å"sulk† would be linked with children or teenagers, youths mainly however here the baby uses â€Å"sulk† to describe its own emotion. This shows a sign of rebellion on the baby’s behalf, the baby has simply given up trying to fight against these feelings of hatred from this mother and father, â€Å"To sulk upon my mother’s breast†.