Related Materials for Sam Watsons Poems...
The Sanctuary - Wright, Judith
This can be related to Kangaroo Crossing
Have a read...
Written in 2 lots of present time, night and morning, the poem addresses the conflict with man and nature. It looks at a forest built up over millions of years which with destruction and loss comes the tention of uncertainty generated by the fear of mans progress. This poem poeticises the collision between the natural world and the destructive potential of human progress and technology when it is alienated from nature. It is a dramatic rendering of the conflict between a vunerable landscape and the human quest for mechanisation. It reveals in a poignantly ironic way the ultimate fragility of nature when human beings plunder without regard to its processes.
The poem is titled Sanctuary and the whole notion of a sanctuary - a place that is safe and secure, protected from the dangers of an alien force, in this case human urbanisation, is treated ironically. Rather than depicting the sanctuary as a shelter, the poem is a biting commentry on the utter thoughtlessness of human endeavour when it despoils and ruins.
The central metaphor of the poem is the road. It is seen to represent the urgent, insistant and brutal force of human progress as it tears through the landscape. The road is described as a "snake" and a "fuse" in both cases suggesting a potentially destructive agent ready to strike. The poem relies heavily on images of darkness to convery the effects of a human race alienated from the cycles of nature. The poem is written in a conversational tone exploiting the rythms of living speach. The run on lines and the questions convey a sense of directness and immiddiacy.
Hope that helped anyone still on here. It helped me revise just by typing it out anyways!
