"Choose your favourite journey poem. What are the distinctive qualities of this poem? How are poetic techniques used to achieve the poets purpose?"“Sailing Home from Rapallo”By Robert LowellThere are many distinctive qualities in the poem “Sailing Home from Rapallo” by Robert Lowell. One of the most distinctive characteristics of the poem is the fact that the reader experiences Robert Lowell’s personal journey. Lowell focuses on a specific event rather than emotions, and he constantly changes his tone of voice, interrupting the poem. Lowell also brings other exterior characters and emotions into the poem. Lowell uses many poetic devices to bring his poem to life; Lowell uses onomatopoeia and extreme juxtapositions to enhance his poem. He also uses symbolism and irony to convey his ideas and emotions. Robert Lowell likewise uses irony and sarcasm to enrich his poetry.One of the most distinctive characteristics of the poem is the way the reader experiences Robert Lowell's personal journey. At the end of the poem Lowell shocks readers with the reference to his mother, whose corpse is "wrapped like panetone in Italian tinfoil". By this stage it can be seen that the poem itself is a journey through Lowell's emotions, from the initial suffering to the final callousness and apathy. Lowell is initially overcome with grief, but as he takes a physical journey back to New England, he is forced to take an emotional journey into the complex relationship he has with his mother. It is only after he embarks on this emotional journey that he comprehends his true feelings towards his mother, and completes the journey by the end of the poem. Robert Lowell reaches the conclusion that he was never very close to his mother, and is not as affected by her death as he thought he was. Robert Lowell's emotional voyage and evolving character combine to make a journey, which is a distinctive quality in the poem "Sailing Home from Rap...
