How does the language of this poem reveal the writer’s attitude to planners and city planning? In this poem the writer conveys to the reader about her feelings towards cities and planners in the language she uses in the poem.
Atwood starts the poem off in a calming a slow paced tone. The work “cruising” shows this as it is a calm and relaxed word. The poet had lured the readers into a false sense of security because after the first two lines the calm tone changes completely. “What offends us is” is the turning point in the poem it shows that it is not really the positive poem that we hoped it to be. Also the word “offends” is very strong and emotive it makes the reader feel like the place has done something wrong or horrible. The writer wants this as it manipulates the readers to feel the same dislike towards the place like she does.
The writer then goes on to describe what the place in like in a disapproving and negative tone. She uses words like “pedantic” for the houses which stresses how ordered, level and perfect they are. The trees are “planted” and “assert” which show that nature is twisted and plotted in neat spaces where convenient. This makes the place unnatural because nature had been forced into a neat and orderly form. The grass is “discouraged” and clamped down so it can grow in the perfect way people want it to grow in. It does not reach its full potential; it is stifled by the grass cutter. Nature is not supposed to be like that, it should be wild and free.
The place is quiet, “No shouting here, or shatter of glass” the absence of sound is unnatural and unhuman. These are people’s homes you would expect there to be laughing and talking but no, there is an absence of soul and possibility of noises that could be there. It is cold, heartless and quiet. Also the writer uses sibilance her, “shouting…shatter”, this use of alliteration creates a