Twisted Cookbook Essay Sample
Choose a verse form that deals with a serious topic or issue or presents a pessimistic position of the universe. Briefly outline the thoughts in the verse form and in more item examine the effectual techniques used by the poet to set across his thoughts or positions.
A verse form that through the usage of many effectual poetic techniques. produces a black position of mankind’s hereafter is. “Five Ways To Kill A Man” by Edwin Brock. Throughout. the poet utilizations word pick. dramatic imagination and sentence construction to efficaciously make a image in our heads of how to finish that peculiar method of killing a adult male. The verse form presents us with five “cumbersome” ways to kill a adult male and ushers us through each manner in a manner which is like a “twisted cookbook” and leaves us with a dark contemplation on mankind’s hereafter.
In the verse form. Brock presents us with the narrative of decease. and instructions for killing throughout the ages. get downing with the crucifixion of Jesus. traveling on to medieval jousting. civil war conflicts. World War 1. and World War two. At the terminal of the verse form he presents us with the easy manner to kill a adult male that is possibly non so cumbrous. Using the five stanzas. the poet shows us that the biggest menace to the universe is the universe itself. At the start of the verse form. the poet surprises us by supplying a list of ingredients needed to kill a adult male utilizing a cross.
“You can do him transport a board of wood to the top of a hill and nail him to it. ” Here. we clearly see that the mentions are peculiar to the decease of a adult male on a cross ; who we recognise as Jesus. Brock makes it obvious that he wants us to cognize precisely how to give a adult male this sort of decease: “To do this properly you need a crowd of people have oning sandals. a prick that crows. a cloak to dissect. a sponge. some acetum and one adult male to hammer the nails place. ”
He specifies here to the reader how to make this “properly” . as if he wants us to win. The phrase “one adult male to hammer the nails home” presents us with the sound of the nails being hammered in when read. This shows that the poet has truly singled out the subdivisions he wants to underscore to us as readers. and in a manner he is “hammering” place the message that adult male is a violent being.
As we move on to stanza two. we are presented with the poet taking us frontward in clip to medieval times with knights. Equus caballuss. jousting and conflicts. In this stanza the tone seems rather light and celebratory as the poet continues to name the “ingredients” needed to kill a adult male. These ingredients bring fabulous images to mind. of white Equus caballuss and hero-like knights.
“… for this you need white Equus caballuss. English trees. work forces with bows and pointers. at least two flags. a prince and a palace to keep your feast in.
This set of “instructions” brings to mind scenes from films like Robin Hood. with glorious white Equus caballuss and “good” knights jousting for the royal’s pleasance. But this stanza still has the harsh and barbarous violent death of work forces siting towards each other trusting to be the master for their ain life’s interest. The usage of the word “pierce” in footings of lancing through the armor leaves us with no uncertainty as to the existent intent. which is to kill. As the verse form moves frontward once more. we are brought within one hundred old ages of the present and given World Wars one and two in stanzas three and four.
The first of the two stanzas. written about World War 1. goes farther into the ferociousness of the verse form ; “Dispensing with nobility” This suggests to us as readers that “Dispensing” is equivocal in that it suggests the Lords have been killed off and that the poet is traveling frontward to the common adult male. who is the victim. in the chief in the universe wars. This besides suggests that soldiers in World War one have no concern for the “fairness” or “sportsmanship” of war. The phrase besides refers back to the earlier stanza that suggests the thought of deceasing with a sense of “dying for a cause” further on in this stanza we are presented with the suggestion of the first “weapon of mass destruction” . -the gas- which once more highlights the “dispensing nobility” through the gas being used to kill a big figure of enemies with
non a batch of attempt.
“… if the air current allows. blow gas at him. ” This can propose to us that the “glamour” of war has been lost and it is all about acquiring rid of as many people as possible. as if they were refuse utilizing the first of the chemical arms mentioned as ways to kill a adult male. Again. traveling farther through the stanza. we see the poet utilizing harsher and more barbarous words ; “a stat mi of clay sliced through” . The word “sliced” suggests a atrocious action in many different contexts. In this signifier though it could be foregrounding the fact that the countryside is ruined. Unlike the other ways to kill a adult male. this one is the first 1 that has destroyed anything apart from adult male. The stanza besides provides some false hope ; “… a twelve songs” These vocals are written in order to seek to raise troop’s liquors and seek to animate them to retrieve that they are contending for their Queen and state. The fact that the poet nowadayss peculiarly violent and ghastly images in this stanza suggests the sarcasm of this sentiment.
Traveling into stanza four we are instantly shown that we have moved much closer to present clip ; “in an age of aeroplanes” This suggests. before we have even read past this point that some kind of bomb will be dropped. It besides highlights the fearful attitude adopted in warfare. Further on in this stanza there is the thought of the degree of easiness to destruct about everything for several old ages. ”…fly stat mis above your victim and dispose of him by pressing one little switch. ” This suggests that it is highly easy to finish this method of killing a adult male. It besides highlights the fact that war is one 100 per centum selfishness and anything must be done to “dispose of your victim” .
In the last stanza the author refers back to the start of the verse form to do a point about these ways being cumbersome ; “these are. as I began. cumbersome ways to kill a adult male. ” This suggests that the author wants us to look at the point he is seeking to do about all these methods being cumbrous and awkward. The last of import point in the verse form is used to demo us that arms are non the lone manner to kill a adult male. “Simpler. direct and much more neat is to see that he is populating someplace in the center of the 20th century. and leave him at that place. ” This high spots that populating in the 20th century is. in itself. a decease. Besides. the author highlights the point that no expensive. high powered arms or foreign wars are needed to kill a adult male. all that is needed is a clip when populating through diseases like the pestilence and the first and 2nd universe wars will guarantee that we wipe out 1000s and put on the line our hereafter.
Overall. through the effectual usage of sentence construction. word pick and dramatic imagination. Brock has presented a black position of our yesteryear and our hereafter. He makes the reader reflect on how adult male must take history of our violent nature through the ages in order to see how our hereafter may be different.
