“Remind yourself of the poem Skirrid Fawr”
To what extent do you agree that this poem is of central importance to this collection?”
Skirrid Fawr is the poem that almost closes the curtains on the collection. It is a summary of a collection of poems that was described by Robert Frost as, a piece of ice on a hot stove, a collection of poems that ride on its own melting. I believe it is of great central importance to the collection as the last poem stalks the reader mind after putting down the book. The collection starts off with ‘last act’ which gives the reader a sense that he will be breaking conventions throughout the book, to ‘marking time’ where he experiences his first sexual encounter of the collection. His poems involve a wide range of metaphorical devices and themes throughout.
Sheers is describing Skirrid Hill in this poem and he portrays it as possibly his place of solace. “I am still drawn to her back for the answers to every question I have never known”. The enjambment technique is used in this line and this might imply that the ‘questions he’s never known’ may be almost recurring. This supports the idea that he is ‘drawn back to her’ and the reason that he keeps reappearing. Sheers describes ‘her’ to have a ‘holy scar’. This suggests that she may be a connection to a higher power such as God, if he keeps returning to her for unknown answers. The idea that he wants to know the unknown, shows that he himself is experiencing a great struggle for identity, and is almost struggling to accept who he is. Sheers may possibly be describing a woman he has shared romance with. Evidence to suggest this within the poem includes the central motif of body imagery. ‘scar’, ‘broken spine’, ‘unlearned tongue’. The words he has chosen might show a clear message of a ‘broken’ relationship as all body parts describe are presented in a negative light. ‘broken’, ‘unlearned’ and ‘scar’ itself suggest pain.
However, the hill could be simply a metaphor for time....