The two poems I have chosen to compare for this essay are 'How do I love thee?' by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and 'A Birthday' written by Christina Rosetti. Both of these poems describe love in different ways, the two poets use many different ways to describe the sensation of love. They can use the use of colours, object, or living thing to show the sensation. The poets use objects to show their love, as love in an emotion it cannot be seen or touched, so the poets try to turn this emotion into something they can touch, see and feel.
Both poems possess different themes and features that will be compared and contrasted throughout, however, are connected through the discourse of love. The four letter word with so much meaning, but what really is love? Can a definite meaning be placed upon or it, or is it perhaps a matter of opinion? John Donne’s poem, A Valediction Forbidding Mourning is a plea written to Donne’s wife asking her not to mourn his absence. The Latin title provides an insight into the poem’s meaning, ‘when we part, we must not mourn’ or in simpler terms, ‘to bid farewell’ (A Valediction Forbidding Mourning, 2009).
In Shakespeare’s sonnet 130, the speaker ponders the beauty, or the lack thereof, of his lover. Throughout the sonnet, the speaker presents his lover as an unattractive mistress with displeasing features, but in fact, the speaker is ridiculing, through the use of vivid imagery, the conventions of love poems and the way woman are portrayed through the use of false comparisons. In the end, the speaker argues that his mistress may not be perfect, but in his eyes, her beauty is equal to any woman who is abundantly admired and put through the untrue comparison. The speaker paints a picture of his lovers’ uninspiring beauty. In the first quatrain by describing his, “mistress’ eyes” (Shakespeare 1) as they, “are nothing like the sun” (Shakespeare
While “They Flee From Me” portrays men as the victim to women and their deviousness, “Amoretti” takes an opposing turn from how most poetry of that time wrote about love by celebrating it in a positive and joyful way. “Amoretti” was a change and very different from most writings about love which expressed either death or dismay and Spencer talks about it as the most joyful experience . Because of this it’s safe to say no one dies, is severely depressed, overcome with jealousy, or vengeance. The inspiration for “Amoretti” is Spenser’s experiences obtaining his wife and the love tale between the two before their marriage. These poems provide thoughts and visions of love as exciting, joy-filled, and most importantly a pleasure to be in.
Shakespeare's My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun Many authors compose sonnets about women whom they loved. Most of these authors embellish their women's physical characteristics by comparing them to natural wonders that we, as humans, find beautiful. Shakespeare's "My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun" contradicts this idea, by stating that his mistress lacks most of the qualities other men wrongly praise their women for possessing. Shakespeare presents to one that true love recognizes imperfections and feels devotion regardless of flaws, while satirically expressing his personal thoughts on Petrarchan sonnets. Through the use of comparisons, the English sonnet and an anti-Petrarchan approach, he creatively gets his point across.
He does not shower his Mistress with praises of good looks, however in the concluding two lines, he surprises the reader by shifting the rhyme scheme to express his of love. He loves her not because of her looks, but he thinks she is just as extraordinary as any person. Millay’s sonnet is about her life and how she has lost opportunities to form a relationship and is now alone and lonely. Millay makes use of the rhyme scheme to Nanda 1 tune into the theme of her lost love saying, “I have forgotten, and what arms have lain under my head/...and in my heart there stirs a quiet pain for unremembered lads/...Thus in ... ... middle of paper ... ...ws what birds have vanished one by one/ Yet know it boughs more silent than before” (9-11 Millay). Here Millay feels like a lonely tree and where her lovers have vanished and her life has grown silent.
For instance, he starts the fourth stanza with “and a quick look in the mirror with show/ that you are neither the boots in the corner” (lines16-17). Traditionally, poet would grandiose on a woman’s beauty or the traits that are attractive. Instead, the speaker denies that her appearance is neither rough nor is her face forgetful by stating that she is not like “boots in the corner.” The metaphorical comparison is succinct. Collins omits the typical infatua... ... middle of paper ... ...alistic romance place the speaker and his love in their own realistic fit. Although he can list the lover’s shortfalls, he able to show that he lacks her good traits.
Despite the different eras in which they were written, T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock centers on a theme of love and rejection similar to that in Robert Browning’s The Last Ride Together. In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, it is unclear whether Prufrock is really in love with the person he is speaking to in the poem, and this reflects the sensibilities that came with modernist poetry. Prufrock is afraid of rejection, and is on the edge about whether or not to confess his love. In The Last Ride Together, it is clear that the speaker is eternally in love with the person he is addressing, which actually rejects typical beliefs of the Victorian era, since the Victorians believed in chaste marriage before true love.
Another poem with a negative tone is ‘Villegiature’ by Edith Nesbit who was writing after Blake. This poem is not about the restrictions of marriage but about a possible romance that has fallen apart. Blake’s poem seems... ... middle of paper ... ...at if they stay together their love will never die. In Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s ‘How Do I Love Thee?’ there is also use of hyperbole. For example in the last line she says ‘I shall but love thee better after death’ Barrett Browning uses the hyperbole to show romantic love.
The poem explains that a showing a lot of emotion might weaken their love, and reduce it to be ordinary and routine. According to Donne, their love is inspiring and heavenly. He wants to explain to her that other husbands and their wives, who know only physical... ... middle of paper ... ...ompass, is balanced, symmetrical, and intellectual. As a whole, John Donne’s, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” is a love poem and shows an appreciation towards a love that holds its strength even through separation. The poem is a series of metaphors and comparisons which each describe a way of looking at their separation that will help them avoid mourning.