Fleur Adcock Essay Comparison (‘On a Son Returned to New Zealand’ & ‘For Andrew’)

“Poems arise almost always out of personal associations and particularly out of the closest human relationships.” 
In what ways and with what effect does Adcock explore this idea?

Fleur Adcock seems to seek comfort from familiarity within her poems, predominantly with people, places and senses. This is particularly evident in the poems ‘For Andrew’ and ‘On A Son Returned To New Zealand’ where various language devices are used such as colloquial language, imagery and personal pronouns. Adcock uses imagery and personal pronouns to express ideas of love for her firstborn son, as her divided loyalties keep them separated (both geographically and emotionally). Changes in the tone of the poem mark when she is with, and when she is separated from her son. Other devices, such as pathetic fallacy, are present to signify the distance and feeling of remorse for her beloved son.

Seeking comfort in familiar people, places and objects is a key feature in the poem ‘On a son Returned to New Zealand’. There seems to be a desire to re-claim a more personal nature in the relationship with her son Gregory. As shown in “He is my green branch growing in a far plantation” Adcock feels great happiness and pride in nurturing her eldest son. Repetition of the personal pronoun “my” can be seen three times in the poem. This is greatly significant in showing her want to claim her son, as a significant part of her life. It shows Adcock’s feelings of remorse for playing an absent role as a mother in the young boys life. Remorse is shown by the metaphoric imagery of a green branch - signifying happiness, love and most importantly showing Gregory to be one of the branches of her family tree.

Her divided loyalties between her flourishing writing career in England, and the raising of her eldest son, Gregory, in New Zealand prevent Adcock from having such an impact in her son’s life that she desires. It is for this reason that she feels a feeling of betrayal almost to her son, and this is reflected with the sombre tone which becomes apparent whenever she is separated from Gregory. Great exaggeration from Adcock in explaining her hardships, e.g. “I was in a hot railway carriage, crammed between Serbian soldiers and peasant women on sticky seats...” creates a sense that Gregory is her only hope in a dark world. The tone created in the above quote is flustered and unpleasant. This signifies Gregory’s relevance to his mother, and how when he is not with her (which is more often than not), life seems very dull and complicated to Adcock. This is greatly significant in helping one truly understand Fleur Adcock’s deeply personal style of writing, and how real life connotations shape meaning in her work.

A child’s natural curiosity is presented in an atypical and very interesting approach in the second poem, ‘For Andrew’. Lack of colloquial language is interesting (although a small degree of such wording is present), as one would think if talking to a child such language would be present. To communicate the poem in a way in which any old kid would understand Adcock chooses instead to adopt a colloquial style of layout, to portray descriptive language devices (and direct address) in a simplistic structure. The enjambment of “you cannot believe me, convinced that if you always eat plenty of vegetables and are careful crossing the street you will live forever”. A single simple sentence spans over three lines (showing enjambment), which makes it easier to understand for a young child. This simplicity of playful content is used to reflect the thoughts and vocabulary of a child’s. Such simplicity is rather common of Adcock’s style where she uses complex words and well thought out structure to add sophistication to her poems.

Sombre tone is created, with such imagery as the pathetic fallacy of "winter storms" in line 27. This is used to signify Adcock’s deep feeling of personal remorse for the distance from her son, both geographically and emotionally. Adcock’s prevailing love for her son, despite flawed circumstances of Gregory’s childhood, is shown in the above mentioned poem, On A Son Returned To New Zealand. Regarding Adcock’s relationship with Gregory, contrast (in tone) is used to address her deep love. Pure desire and fondness of her eldest son is further emphasized with the quote: "He is my bright sea-bird on a rocky beach". This provides a rather sorrowful tone as Adcock describes her life (and its hardships) as "a rocky beach". There is however some sense of rare joy in her life; created by her rare and distant relationship with her son.

This solemn tone and imagery is also explored in Adcock’s free verse poem of ‘For Andrew’, which explores many aspects of life’s realisms such as life and death. The aim of the poem is to explore a mother’s duty and responsibility in communicating the truths of life to a young child; in this case Adcock’s younger son Andrew. It deals with the common conflict of trying to correctly inform her son whilst also fulfilling the motherly duty of protecting the innocence and youth of one’s child. Such fulfillment is shown with the quote: “though you and I may die tomorrow or next year, and nothing remain of our stock”, showing Adcock’s blatant disregard for a cocooned approach to raising her son. The harsh reality of “though you and I may die” is one which many mothers would rather protect their young from hearing. However Adcock’s unorthodox approach is one which shows compassion in a different way.

Rather than being negligent as a parent, in her opinion, Adcock presents the truth in an abrupt manner. This is rather ironic in comparison to the approach she adopts with her eldest son Gregory. She seems to be devoting her early teaching of her younger son to a more factual approach - showing Fleur to be a realist. Whereas for Gregory (whom she absolutely adores) she would be more inclined to present a more enchanting impression of the real world. It shows a true division in tone between the two poems; where the relationship with one son (Gregory) is glorified compared to Andrew’s upbringing which is relatively conventional. This simplicity is explored in many ways, where the issues raised in the latter poem are ones common of any child, however in ‘On A Son Returned To New Zealand’ the complexity of their relationship is explored.