The poems Pietà by James McAuley and November by Simon Armitage are conflicting as they revolve around the theme of life. Life, death and pain are something that every person will experience here on earth. Life... Death... Pain... The existing themes are already comparing but with the poet's application of poetic techniques the two poems are able to be effective. The confronting theme of life is shown through poetic techniques in the poems, Pieta and Novembre. The cycle of life is represented through the Pietà and the November in two different ways. Unfortunately, the child's life is cut short because he "only lives one day". In the month of November, however, the subject of the poem speaks of a Grandmother who finds herself at the end of the cycle of life. This is different from the Pietà's child who is unable to live, or does not have the opportunity to live a long life. This could make the audience reflect on the purpose of life. Armitage uses consonantal alliteration and visual imagery, in “sparkles of sunshine,” to symbolize that “the only thing you can get, from this life,” is beautiful happy moments. This logic is true for many non-believers as the purpose of life is unknown to them and the only positive reason for life is to create happy memories. In November, the last moments of life are shown through enjambment and flow. The audience is involved in the journey that takes the woman to the hospital as if it were you, "with your grandmother taking four short steps until [your] two." This is effective as the audience can put themselves in the shoes of the narrator in the story. This is different from Pietà which is written in the past tense and is unable to put itself in the mother's shoes, but the audience is more understanding towards the mother. and the loss of his son. The theme of death... at the center of the sheet... daughter once. Pieta also uses the repetition of "touch" and repeats "I can't" to reiterate the unjust death of the mother's child. Since the mother is confused and doesn't know how to react to this situation, Armitage uses structure to reflect the tone of the poem as it has five three-line stanzas that have a depressing tone. The couplet at the end shows an elevated tone while the rest is in a depressed tone. pain.Pieta and November are both different in the way they approach writing and the way they illustrate life, death, and pain through their poetry. The poetic techniques of symbolism, enjambement, alliteration and visual imagery are key techniques to the success of their poetry as they often provoke and confront the audience.