Examine closely Lore by R.S Thomas and Woman Work by Maya...

Examine closely Lore by R.S Thomas and Woman Work by Maya Angelou. How do the poets show their attitude to life and work in their writing? The poems ‘Lore’ by R.S Thomas and ‘Woman Work’ by Maya Angelou are poems about the working life of two very different people. The poem ‘Lore’ is about a Welsh farmer who enjoys his work and prefers the traditional way of farming. He works hard and has been farming for most of his life, he works for himself. The poem is also written by a Welsh farmer and this voice is used in the poem. ‘Woman Work’ is about a black American slave, she however does not enjoy her work; she gains nothing from it and longs to be free from her work so she can enjoy more important things in her life. Although†¦show more content†¦The slow, steady rhythm of the poem reflects on Job’s life and work because he lives a slow and steady life. The rhythm his lifestyle as he has been doing the same job for most of his life so there is a steady rhythm showing that his life and work is constantly steady. The rhyming couplets in verses 1-4 makes the poem sound more lively, this helps to show that he enjoys his life and although he is old the rhyming couplets help to liven it up. There aren’t any rhyming couplets in the last verse because he doesn’t talk about his life, he talks about how modern machinery uses ‘human souls’ as the fuel so it is not as cheerful as the other verses. Verse 2 introduces Job’s voice. The poem moves from 3rd person to 1st person as verse 2 begins. Job says that it would take more than the harsh weather conditions to stop him from enjoying his life, ‘It needs more than the rain’s hearse’, this also gives an image of death by using the word ‘hearse’. Verse 2 shows a positive attitude towards life and that he is not miserable, ‘Miserable? Kick my arse!’ It shows that he thinks that it would take a lot more than the weather to drive him away from his work or make him miserable. The use of the metaphor ‘great perch of my laugh’ at the end of the second verse helps to support other evidence in the verse showing that he is happy and enjoys his life. Verse 3 has a jaunt rhythm, which reflects on his life, as he lives an energetic life, the rhythm has a fast and