"Tangi" by Hone Tuwhare
In the poem "Tangi" by Hone Tuwhare, the main idea is how different cultures approach and deal with death and grief at funerals. The author expresses how he feels at both a traditional english funeral and a Maori tangi. Tuwhare uses two techniques to communicate the main idea of how different cultures approach and deal with death and grief at funerals. He uses negatives which change to positives and contrast of the two funerals.
One technique the author uses to show the main idea is the use of negatives in the start of the text when he is talking about his experiences attending english funerals. Tuwhare uses repeating negatives such as "I did not", "nor detect", "death was not hiding", and "nor could I find her ". These negatives create a negative mood and are very effective to indicate to the reader that the author feels uncomfortable with the customs of an english funeral and that it does not help with the closure of the death for him. When Tuwhare is talking about how he feels when he goes to a tangi, all of the negatives change to positives. For example, "But I heard her", "and I caught her beauty", and "a softer pain". These positives create a positive mood and show that the author feels more comfortable and at peace when he attends a tangi because it is a more natural way for him to deal with the grief of the death. It helps the reader understand that the way the Maori culture approaches death and grief at tangis helps the closure of the death for the author.
Another technique the author uses in this poem is the contrast of the two different funerals of the different cultures. Traditional english funerals and Maori funerals- tangis. The author uses contrast of the two cultures to tell the reader what he is talking about. When he is talking about english funerals, he makes this obvious to the reader by referring to "bordered path" and "violets and carnations". When the author refers to the bordered path, that suggests that he is talking about an english funeral because bordered paths are far more common in european environments. The reference to violets and carnations tells the reader that he is probably talking about and english funeral because those flowers are known to be mainly found and used in european countries so for there to be a frolic of them, it's most likely english. When Tuwhare is expressing his feelings about tangis, he shows the audience that he is talking about tangis by referring to certain practices of only a tangi such as "the green-leaved anguish of the bowed heads". When the author mentions this, it is clear to the reader that the author is talking about tangis. A green-leaved anguish is a bunch of leaves worn on the head at at Maori funeral- a tangi.
In this poem, "Tangi", Hone Tuwhare is talking about death itself rather than the death of just one person when he refers to "her". This is an interesting and different idea which makes this poem very unique. The author uses two techniques to communicate the main idea of how different cultures approach and deal with death and grief. One of those techniques is the use of negatives at the start of the text to create a negative mood which change to positives at the end of the text to create a positive mood. The other technique Tuwhare uses is contrasting between the two different cultures, Maori and english, of how they approach and deal with death and grief in their funerals.
By Josh Lopdell
One technique the author uses to show the main idea is the use of negatives in the start of the text when he is talking about his experiences attending english funerals. Tuwhare uses repeating negatives such as "I did not", "nor detect", "death was not hiding", and "nor could I find her ". These negatives create a negative mood and are very effective to indicate to the reader that the author feels uncomfortable with the customs of an english funeral and that it does not help with the closure of the death for him. When Tuwhare is talking about how he feels when he goes to a tangi, all of the negatives change to positives. For example, "But I heard her", "and I caught her beauty", and "a softer pain". These positives create a positive mood and show that the author feels more comfortable and at peace when he attends a tangi because it is a more natural way for him to deal with the grief of the death. It helps the reader understand that the way the Maori culture approaches death and grief at tangis helps the closure of the death for the author.
Another technique the author uses in this poem is the contrast of the two different funerals of the different cultures. Traditional english funerals and Maori funerals- tangis. The author uses contrast of the two cultures to tell the reader what he is talking about. When he is talking about english funerals, he makes this obvious to the reader by referring to "bordered path" and "violets and carnations". When the author refers to the bordered path, that suggests that he is talking about an english funeral because bordered paths are far more common in european environments. The reference to violets and carnations tells the reader that he is probably talking about and english funeral because those flowers are known to be mainly found and used in european countries so for there to be a frolic of them, it's most likely english. When Tuwhare is expressing his feelings about tangis, he shows the audience that he is talking about tangis by referring to certain practices of only a tangi such as "the green-leaved anguish of the bowed heads". When the author mentions this, it is clear to the reader that the author is talking about tangis. A green-leaved anguish is a bunch of leaves worn on the head at at Maori funeral- a tangi.
In this poem, "Tangi", Hone Tuwhare is talking about death itself rather than the death of just one person when he refers to "her". This is an interesting and different idea which makes this poem very unique. The author uses two techniques to communicate the main idea of how different cultures approach and deal with death and grief. One of those techniques is the use of negatives at the start of the text to create a negative mood which change to positives at the end of the text to create a positive mood. The other technique Tuwhare uses is contrasting between the two different cultures, Maori and english, of how they approach and deal with death and grief in their funerals.
By Josh Lopdell
