memories

Memories are such a large part of our lives; they shape our personalities, our views, and our way of life. The following four poems, “Fern Hill”, by Dylan Thomas, “The Video”, by Fleur Adcock, “My Papa’s Waltz”, by Theodore Roethlke, and “Bored”, Margaret Atwood, use paint a picture or tell a story using the memories of the poets
The first poem “Fern Hill”, the speaker discusses his memories from his childhood living on a farm. The speaker’s memory is bright and full of life. The poem shows us life through a child’s eyes; the memory of how the world looked and seemed to him then. “And honored among foxes and pheasants by the gay house Under the new made clouds and happy as a heart was long, In the sun born over and over, I ran my heedless ways, My wishes raced through the house-high hay,” in these lines you are able to see the way his childhood memories and the way in which his memories of his farm are idealized.
The poem “The Video”, by Fleur Adcock, gives another view of a memory. The speaker’s voice in this poem is not as nostalgic as Thomas’s; the speaker shows us a not so fond memory. In this playful recollection, the speaker shows a girls memory of her younger sister’s birth that she wishes was not a memory at all. In a sense she tries to erase the memory by rewinding the baby away in this humourous poem, “She watched Laura come out, and then, in reverse, she made her go back in.” To this speaker, the memory is one that changed her life forever.
“My Papa’s Waltz”, also presents the speaker’s feeling of nostalgia in a humorous and interesting manner. The speaker reminisces about the chaotic “waltz” she would have with her father. The simple rhymes add to the feeling of gaiety to this simple memory of dancing with his father. This poem really presents this nostalgic feeling through its simple phrases and seemingly unimportant details that have impacted the speaker so greatly.
The last poem by Margaret Atwood, “Bored”, takes a string of memories from helping out her dad, in which she remembers herself being so bored. But the speaker realizes that although she was bored at the time, looking back, she appreciates them. She wishes she had not taken them as simply boring tasks; if she could go back she would grateful for the times she had with her father. These memories of these boring tasks, are important because they allow her to look back and realize how much they meant, “Why do I remember it as sunnier all the time then, although it more often rained, and more birdsong?” This poem sheds light on a different aspect of memories: no matter how they felt at the time, they are important to whom we are today.
All these poems present memories in a different way, but after looking at them all each one is conveying the same idea about memories. They show the importance of memories in life they shape who we are and allow us to realize what is really important. We are able to see through the eyes of a child; they hold our imagination, our devious wishes, and the things that we wish we could enjoy all over again. Memories allow us happiness, as well as pain, but in the end they are everyone’s life story. Each of these poems presents this idea through the use of these significant recollections of the past.