Comparison of The Old Cumberland Beggar and Holy Thursday
Compare Wordsworth’s ‘The Old Cumberland Beggar. A Description’ (Romantic
Writings: An Anthology, pp.78-82) with Blake’s two ‘Holy Thursday
poems (Romantic Writings: An Anthology, pp.17 and 32). How do the
three poems differ in their treatment of the theme of poverty?
The title ‘The Old Cumberland Beggar’ (hereafter TOCB) immediately
gives us the concept that the poem relates in some way to poverty.
The words ‘old’ and ‘beggar’, conjuring up an image of an old man
wandering the streets. It is written in blank verse, creating an
informal tone, as in storytelling. With 3 stanzas of differing lengths
and no rhyme scheme, it comes across as a narrative rather than a
piece of poetry. This lack of rhyme and the use of enjambements all
the way through, makes it quite difficult to read as poetry. The
rhythm is of Iambic Pentameter, which does help it flow to a certain
extent, but this is hampered by the occasional awkward syntax. In
contrast, the ‘Holy Thursday’ from Blake’s Song of Innocence,
(hereafter HTSI), written in the form of 3 quatrains, or 4-lined
stanzas, has a rhyme scheme of aabb throughout, with a rhythm similar
to that of a hymn or nursery rhyme. This rhythm and the fact that the
language is very straightforward, creates a lively and easy to read
poem. Blake’s other ‘Holy Thursday’ poem, from Songs of Experience,
(hereafter HTSE), is written in simple language and is in the form of
4 quatrains/4-lined stanzas. The first has a rhyme scheme of abab,
but the remaining 3 stanzas have no rhyme pattern to them. However,
as the rhythm is fairly constant, being of iambic metre, it is quite
an easy read, having also a good syntax.
TOCB follows...
... middle of paper ...
.... Pages 161-181.
Chapter eight: Women Poets 1780-1830 by Amanda Gilroy. Pages 183-203.
Approaching Literature. Romantic Writings: An Anthology. Edited by
W.R. Owens and Hamish Johnson. OU A210anthi 1.2
Barrett Browning, Elizabeth L.E.L.’s Last Question.
Byron, George Gordon Don Juan: Dedication, Canto I.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor Biographia Literia.
Gibson Lockhart, John from the Cockney School of Poetry.
Hemans, Felicia The Grave of a poetess.
Landon, Laeticia Elizabeth Stanzas on the Death of Mrs Heman.
Shelley, Percy Bysshe A defence of Poetry.
Smith, Charlotte Sonnet XXXII, To Melancholy.
Wordsworth, Dorothy Floating Island.
Wordsworth, William Preface to Lyrical Ballads 1802.
Audio
AC12, Band 2, reading of Charlotte Smith, ‘Sonnet XXXII. To
Melancholy’.
AC12, Band 2, reading of extract from Byron, Don Juan, Canto I.
Anne Boleyn in the spring of 1536 and the consolidation of power at court and in
Poetry and music both connections amongst each other, that make each other almost identical. Musicians use poetry to write their songs and sometimes write a poetic song first without the lyrics, then add music in it to finalize the song. Both are two different but the same style of literature. The poem “Promises like Pie-Crust” has two versions to it, the poem itself and the song version, but both are almost identical.
Rhymes are two or more words that have the same ending sound. Songwriters and poets often times use rhymes to help their piece flow better, or keep the audience or readers engaged. Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” is filled with rhymes, with a rhyme in almost every single line: “Brando, the King and I, and the Catcher In The Rye / Eisenhower, Vaccine, England’s got a new Queen / Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye” (line 6-8). Billy Joel uses the rhymes to move from one topic to the next, and the song is even in chronological order from 1950 to 1989. The rhyme schemes of the song are end rhymes as well as perfect rhymes. On the other hand, the poem is completely free verse, or without a single rhyme. This makes the poem less artistic and harder to remain engaged and interested. In addition to rhyming, allusions are another way of displaying artistic
In today's modern world, the use of poetry to communicate and express oneself has become quite rare. One of the main reasons is due to the fact that with such an old style of writing, it is very often hard to understand properly. poetry is indeed difficult to read and hard to understand, but given time, it is a rewarding challenge. Poetry is not only written verse but is used in songs as well. Taken the time to listen to the words of modern songs, you will realise that the lyrics of the song are actually a poem linking modern day music to poetry.
Due to the rhymes, and the short lines in “My Papa’s Waltz” the literary value of the
A rhythm is “a literary device which demonstrates long and short pattern through stressed and unstressed syllables” (CITATION). To create a rhythm in his song, Billy Joel uses end rhyme, internal rhyme, near rhyme, and rhyme scheme. The first rhyme element used by Billy Joel is the end rhyme. End rhyme is when the last syllables within a verse rhyme to make the song flow better (CITATION). He uses end Rhyme when he repeats words at the end of a line with similar sounds. For example, burning rhymes with turning in the lines “it was always burning…Since the world’s been turning” (CITATION).
Meyer compares poems to songs. He says that we have to listen several times a song before we hear it all and before we understand it. The title of a poem provides a sense of what the poem is about. It can tell you about the poem’s subject, tone, and genre. While reading poetry we need to pay attention to elements such as speaker, image, metaphor, symbol, rhyme, and rhythm. Also, Meyer defines doggerel as a “derogatory term used to describe poetry whose subject is trite and whose rhythm and sounds are monotonously heavy-handed”. It is characteristic of children’s game rhymes. In addition, by characterizing poetry as “undefinable” and “unmistakable”, Robinson says that it can have different purposes, subjects, emotions, styles, and forms.
...ration, onomatopoeia, rhyme etc. One of the sound types I will be looking at is Full or perfect rhyme. This sound type is significant as in Dulce Et Decorum Est at the end of each sentence rhymes with the one before the last. This is significant as when reading this poem you notice this rhyming scheme and take more time to stop and ponder over the significance of the language it is based around and what connotations that word has: “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks” and “Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs”. This is one of the most effective rhyming schemes in the poem. Due to every second line rhyming this makes your remember what the poet was trying to put across in the previous lines as all the different lines have a way of tying in with one another.
Rhythm helps to move the poem along and keep the reader alert, which is exactly what Forbes is doing. Most poets use rhythm by having certain lines rhyme after each other; which gives the poem a wispy sensation, causing the reader to stay intrigued.
few tunes, having the same rhythms as the poetry, to be used as melodies for
and rhythm: " Come live with me and be my love " and the rhyme scheme
According to Eileen Gillooly, in Poetry for Young People: Rudyard Kipling, the flowing cadence of the poem is a well honed technique that Kipling often uses. She explains that Kipling worked carefully to make every word count and have a strong impact (4-5).
The tone of a poem can only by recognized when reading carefully and paying close attention to the words and what they might suggest. The rhyme scheme of My Papa’s Waltz is extremely relevant to the poem. For example, in the first stanza dizzy and easy create the rollicking rhythm, as does the following stanza’s with the same pattern. The structure of words create an almost "waltz" like melody. The phrase " we romped until the pans / Slid from the kitchen shelf" and " waltzed me off to bed" (Roethke 5-6, 15), convey a pleasant atmosphere to the reader. The title itself creates an affectionate attitude with the connection of Papa and waltz. The choice of words and details are used systematically to produce thoughts to the reader of happiness and affection, thus, establishing the tone of this poem.
- along with the use of rhythm and rhyme - was created in a very
This paper will focus on how meter, rhythm, imagery, and metaphor create meaning and establish tone.