In five pages an explication of this poem by Gillian Clarke analyzes symbolism, rhythm, alliteration, and imagery. Four sources are cited in the bibliography.
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can be said to embrace those aspects that tend to lay closest to the human heart, of family, country, and home. The vivid imagery, while made of domestic scenes and
those that one might find from around a Welsh household, their meanings are often universally relevant to all. Dear husbands, fathers, forefathers, this is my apologia, my letter home
from the future, my bottle in the sea which might take a generation to arrive. 5 It would seem that her reason for writing this poem is more
as a reminder to her children and all those who are yet to come, about what life was like in her corner of the world when she was a mother
and a wife. Thus, this poem will be read in the future (or so she hopes) by those in her family. A review by Book News says, "A text that
has the metaphoric and metamorphic power to astonish us into viewing life differently"(Clarke 2002) In her poem, Letter From A Far Country, Clarke speaks from the viewpoint of a
woman and addresses the issue and definition of greatness. In this poem, more so than any of the others in her collection, it can be said that she addresses the
inner soul of a woman to be appreciated for the ways in which she makes the lives of her family easier and more pleasant. A native of Cardiff, Wales, Clarke
uses the familiar surroundings to symbolize many things(Clarke Biography, 2002). She uses the metaphor of a bee, moving in and out of the hive all day long in reference to
the many and varied duties of a housewife as she goes about her day to day chores. It has always been a matter of lists. We have been counting,