Sadness, Pain, and Sorrow in 'Skirrid Hill' Jessica Amy Rose 12th Grade

In the poetry collection ‘Skirrid Hill’, Owen Sheers explores the theme of sorrow in a variety of different situations and contexts, showing the reader the dire circumstances of many people in Wales, be it in the past or present. Almost all of the poems in the collection have an elegiac element to them that creates an undertone of sadness even when not directly linking to this theme. However, a handful of Sheer’s poems raises these themes in a more direct fashion, calling attention to the implications of sorrow and loss even when sights and landscapes of apparent beauty are present.

One example of Sheers elegising and depicting sadness is shown in the poem ‘The Steelworks’ where he mourns the loss of an industry and shows the detrimental effect it has on the people who once worked in it. With regards to context, this poem links to a part of Wales called Ebbw Vale where one of the major steelworks was founded. In the 1930s it had the largest in all of Europe however after many decades it closed in 2002, leaving many in that community at a loss when it came to work and possibly by extension, identity. This kind of thing happened all across Wales with other industries such as coal mining and many of these communities have never...