“Tangi” by Hone
Tuwhare
The poem “Tangi” is a poem by Hone Tuwhare. “Tangi” is about how different cultures deal with death and grief at a European funeral and at a Maori Tangi (funeral). In this essay I will talk about the language features used which are the use of negatives and the contrast of the two different funerals and how the language features helped me understand the main ideas of the poem.
The important ideas in the poem are the European funeral and the author uses the use of negatives to show this. During the first part of the poem the author uses negatives such as “not” and “nor” to explain his feelings towards the European funeral. An example of this is “I did not meet her” which is describing that he feels out of place and loneliness towards the European funerals. However later at the Tangi the language changes from being negative to being positive. During the second part of the poem the author uses positives such as "Heard" and "Beauty". An example of this is "But I heard her with the wind". This shows that the author is found and connected. This use of negatives and positives helped me understand the main idea about the author being at European funeral that shows that he feels disconnected and uncomfortable about the funeral.
The author also uses contrast to show the main idea of how different cultures deal with death and grief. The author uses lots of negative words and uses metaphors that describe his feelings being loneliness and out of place at the European funeral. An example of this is “nor could I find her”, this shows he feels discomfort and lost. At the Maori Tangi it’s the complete opposite. He feels belonging and engaged. An example of this is “and caught her beauty by the coffin.” This shows that he feels in place and included. All this shows that the author is showing discomfort at the start and comfort at the end of the poem. This helps me understand the main idea of how different cultures deal with death and grief.
In conclusion I think that the author’s purpose of this poem is to show how two different cultures deal with death and grief and how the author feels about the two funerals. To show his purpose the author used the use of negatives and the contrast between the two different cultures.
The poem “Tangi” is a poem by Hone Tuwhare. “Tangi” is about how different cultures deal with death and grief at a European funeral and at a Maori Tangi (funeral). In this essay I will talk about the language features used which are the use of negatives and the contrast of the two different funerals and how the language features helped me understand the main ideas of the poem.
The important ideas in the poem are the European funeral and the author uses the use of negatives to show this. During the first part of the poem the author uses negatives such as “not” and “nor” to explain his feelings towards the European funeral. An example of this is “I did not meet her” which is describing that he feels out of place and loneliness towards the European funerals. However later at the Tangi the language changes from being negative to being positive. During the second part of the poem the author uses positives such as "Heard" and "Beauty". An example of this is "But I heard her with the wind". This shows that the author is found and connected. This use of negatives and positives helped me understand the main idea about the author being at European funeral that shows that he feels disconnected and uncomfortable about the funeral.
The author also uses contrast to show the main idea of how different cultures deal with death and grief. The author uses lots of negative words and uses metaphors that describe his feelings being loneliness and out of place at the European funeral. An example of this is “nor could I find her”, this shows he feels discomfort and lost. At the Maori Tangi it’s the complete opposite. He feels belonging and engaged. An example of this is “and caught her beauty by the coffin.” This shows that he feels in place and included. All this shows that the author is showing discomfort at the start and comfort at the end of the poem. This helps me understand the main idea of how different cultures deal with death and grief.
In conclusion I think that the author’s purpose of this poem is to show how two different cultures deal with death and grief and how the author feels about the two funerals. To show his purpose the author used the use of negatives and the contrast between the two different cultures.