"The Flea" by John Donne is
"The Flea" by John Donne is written in the 17th century as is "To his coy mistress" by Andrew Marvell. This we can see by the language used which was typical of that period in time "apt to kill me" and "yea" which are taken from the flea. Both poems also speak of virginity being very important, especially before marriage because if a woman had lost her "maidenhead" before, the husband would have the right to leave her without the need for a divorce.
Both poems have the same theme of seduction. In "The flea" this is put across in each in three regular stanzas where as "To His Coy Mistress" is written in to sections. This is to convey that each stanza is still about the same subject because they are of similar lengths and writing style. The first stanza of "The Flea" conveys the message of how the flea has taken blood from both of their bodies and has combine it in the body of the flea, and so making them united as one "And in this flea, our two bloods mingled be". Donne's argument is based on this flea throughout the three stanza's and goes on to start his persuasion that the flea has had its pleasure in the form of food, and so why can they not enjoy in a sexual relationship and experience pleasure similar to what the flea has had, but without the trouble of wooing her leading on to marrying her. In the second stanza he then goes on to further push his argument (which at this time seems to be going quite well) that in the flea's "living wall of jet" they have been put together even though her parents have doubts "Though parents grudge" and are almost married (since their bloods have been combined and become one which, in that period of time should only be carried out after marriage) "yea more than married are." Towards the end of this stanza his argument seems to be faltering as she is about to kill the flea and so destroying his whole baseline for his argument "And sacrilege, three sins in killing three." He tries extremely hard to persuade her not to by saying she is wanting to kill him and her self "Let not to that self murder added be," because killing yourself is a sin. By the third verse the lady has killed the flea attempting to squash his contention. He then attempts to make her feel guilty "cruel and sudden, hast thou since, Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence?"
"To his coy mistress" is based on the same theme as "The flea" as Marvell tries to woo his unyielding mistress with the hackneyed argument that time is exceptionally precious and does not stop for anyone or anything and that we should live for the moment, enjoying our selves to the maximum. "Times winged chariot hurrying near;" this is a reference to the Greek mythology that the sun was pulled across the sky by the God Apollo. Throughout the three similar length sections Marvell uses flattery and a strong, persuasive argument. In section one lines 1-25 Marvell uses flattery as the introduction to his line of reasoning and assures her that he will always love her, his love growing stronger as this is what she deserves and should be rightfully hers. "For, Lady, you deserve this state, Nor would I love at lower rate."
In the second section of this lyric-like poem he uses the element of fear, but not in a threatening way. "Thy beauty shall no more be found" he tries to make her see that her beauty will fade and if she holds back her maidenhead (virginity) will not be any good to her when she is dead. "That long preserved virginity, And your quaint honour turned to dust." He then tries to convince her that this is the right time through fear "Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound My echoing song: then worms shall try That long preserved " Speaking about her death is not exactly romantic while he is trying to woo her into bed with him.
In the last section he again uses flattery "Sits on thy skin like morning dew" and strong persuasive words to convince her to sleep with him. "And tear our pleasures with rough strife." This idea is taken from hunting, where the hunter tears apart his pray with pleasure. He tries to conquer her fear, knowing that she wants to but at the same time does not want to lose her virginity before marriage. "And while thy willing soul transpires At every pore with instant fires,"
Marvell set his poem in Hull, England. This is where he grew up. We can see the setting because he speaks of the river in hull "I by the tide Of Humber would complain."
"The Flea" has no references to where it is. I think Donne has purposely done this because he des not want the setting to be relevant, as it is not important.
Both poems are written for adults of 14 onwards, for the reason that each poem has complicated words and structures.
I think Marvell wrote this poem to make a strong point of impressive persuasive writting but also to explain that at that period in time, to lose your verginity before marriage was not looked upon lightly; as it meant that the man you married could leave you. It also might have been printed as an awearness of what men were like but involving some humour and light heartediness, expressing the feelings and atitudes of that time. "The flea" was written to show how far men will go to get what they want and is also written in a sightly mocking tone of women and their views on what is important and that it is silly to hang on to your maidenhead when time is precoius and that people could die early.
Marvell and Donne have very original and unique ways of writting their poems to convey each's special intended meaning. Marvell uses plenty of flattery telling his lady that she looks lovely; "skin like morning dew" linked in with rhyming patterns 4/4 at the end of each line which helps to break the poem into phrases which is easier to assess. He has written it in first person narrative "I" and "we" with strong powerful words and linking lines "Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, Lady, were no crime." The punctuation used emphasises his points perfectly. He uses standard english of that period in time" My vegetable love should grow Vaster then empires, and more slow:"and includes references to time and places "Thou by the Indian Gange's side.
Donne has written this poem in first person narrative with strong powerful words and linking lines. It does have a rhythm of four beats to every line and uses rhyming words to link phrases together "this flea is you and I, and this Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is;" The poem is in standard english at that period in time with no dialogues. Dunne is also very sucessful with the emphasis on the words he uses. "It suck'd me first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea, our two bloods mingled be;"
"Cloistered" "marriage" "temple" and "sacrilege" all have religious connections making his argument stronger. In the second stanza the argument appears to be going the poet's way "oh stay, three lives in oneflea spare, where we almost yea more than married are" but the mistress counters this argument with wit and repartee of her lover by squashing the insect" Cruel and sudden,hast thou since Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence?" Then he implores her to stay and I feel he produces a series of clever arguments premised, not in a reasonableness of sex, but in the morality of religion. There is never any reference to love.
The atomsphere of each poem is similar in some aspects but "To his coy mistress" is much more humours then "The flea" which is much more complex and subtle and each poet uses very discriptive words which effects their attempts of seduction. " And pamper'd swells with one blood made of to." Donne discribes what has taken place and what should take place. " And now, like amorous birds of prey, Rather at once our time devour." Marvell discribes using time well. I think Marvell's argument is much more stronger and romatic with sex bringing them into a closer bond while "The flea" just seems to convey messages and arguments on seduction employing logic; both a dialectical logic which he relies on for his progress on question and answers but also a "syllogism logic" which is a three stage argument having two main premises- which would be the first two stanza's, and a conclusion which ties into the third and final stanza while the metapor of the flea is ongoing throughout. Also an irregular tone in places from the structure and the vocabulary used is shown which is effective. Marvell uses different arguments which I consider to be far more effective because it keeps the audience interested and captivated, always planning in their minds or wondering what will happen next and if he will suceed in his passionate plea.
"Choose three poems from the pre-1900 section of your anthology in which the poets present powerful feelings and emotions. Compare the poems showing how the poet uses language to produce these effects"
For my three poems I have chosen to do two by John Keats, 'To Autumn' and 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci', and 'To His Coy Mistress' by Andrew Marvell. In the two Keats poems there is ample description to write about, whereas in the Marvell poem, there is still description, but the themes and aspects contrast greatly with the seriousness of Keats.
In 'To ...
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"Choose three poems from the pre-1900 section of your anthology in which the poets present powerful feelings and emotions. Compare the poems showing how the poet uses language to produce these effects"
For my three poems I have chosen to do two by John Keats, 'To Autumn' and 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci', and 'To His Coy Mistress' by Andrew Marvell. In the two Keats poems there is ample description to write about, whereas in the Marvell poem, there is still description, but the themes and aspects contrast greatly with the seriousness of Keats.
In 'To Autumn' Keats is expressing his feelings towards autumn. He does this, not as if it were a season, but as if it was a person. This knowledge is first gained in the title, as it is being addressed to autumn, this immediately personifies it and gives the reader instant knowledge that this poem will be more than description about the season and is showing the fact that Keats has feelings and emotions connected with it. 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' is a poem in which Keats, taking on the role of his character, is describing events that happened to him in which his emotions were tossed around and played with. Finally, 'To His Coy Mistress' is a poem written by Marvell to amuse his friends, but in which he shows his feelings for a woman. Though she does not exist, he has described their conversation as if it actually happened.
In 'To Autumn', time plays a very important factor. Keats brings up the point that the season autumn is just part of an endless yearly cycle and that life is also part of this cycle. He illustrates this by having the image of the "maturing sun", this gives the feeling that time is slowly passing and that every year the sun is born in spring and dies in winter. The emotions encapsulated in this is that Keats is trying to console the sorrowful autumn which is sad as it is dying, he even brings in images of death with "sort-dying", "mourn" and "dies". This is again referring back to the theme of time and the fact that it will eventually end. The indication that Keats is sad about that is indicated by the adjective "wailful", which is used when death and sadness are present, indicating that he feels strongly about the fact that autumn, the sun and time are dying slowly. Time is also a main theme in 'To His Coy Mistress'. Marvell is creating the images that if he had all the time in the world, how much he would spend it just looking at her
"An age at least to every part"
This shows that he wishes time can never end and that he will never grow old and neither will his mistress. He really wants this to happen and feels very strongly about it as,
"Nor would I love at a lower rate"
indicates. He then creates a fantastic metaphor with the line
"Deserts of vast eternity"
This is brilliant when interpreting his feelings. He uses the adjective "vast" which creates an image of an enormous object, it is also very onomatopoeic which means that it sounds like what it means, and it is said slowly which increases the effect of it. The context that it's in is of time but it is also describing his love and affection for his mistress and that it is absolutely huge. Marvell also creates images of death and that what he and his mistress will eventually end and the time they wasted can never be regained, he does this by using the words "vault", "ashes" and "grave". He is increasing the feeling of his love in that he is trying to cram as much of it as possible into the time that they have but even that will not be enough and they will regret this when they are both dead.
In 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' an incredibly beautiful woman seduces a knight. Keats indicates the feelings that the knight has feelings for the woman by using words, which are traditionally used with love and affection. Examples are "garland", "fragrant" and "sweet", though these words are not linked directly with love but they are associated with it and courting, which is what the knight and his lady are doing as they have just met. 'To His Coy Mistress' also contains similar references with "song", "sweetness" and "pleasure". Keats in his poem gives the impression that the relationship between the knight and the lady is very unruly as the adjective "wild" is repeated three times. It is also taking place in an undignified place, "elfin grot"; this does not quell the feelings that Keats is still expressing for the lady and the beauty that he is describing is still evident. Throughout 'To His Coy Mistress' feelings of love are expressed blatantly and more subtly, as "love", "heart", "lust" and "pleasures". As well as having these indicators throughout the poem Marvell uses phrases and metaphors such as
"...while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew"
"My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow"
The iambic rhythm increases the effect of his words by having the compliments come in a regular torrent, further helping him get across his feelings more easily.
'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' is about the supernatural. This is indicated within the tone of the poem and also the words that are included within the poem. The tone of it is very dreamlike and it portrays an absence of time. Keats creating the image that the knight is in contact with people beyond the grave, gives the lack of time. Also the reader builds up a picture that the woman is not entirely human as she takes him to her "elfin grot". She also feeds him strange substances such as "roots of relish sweet", which can induce hallucinatory effects further deadening the knights judgement. She also gives him "honey wild and manna dew"; both of these are traditional foods associated with the Gods. In some ways Keats is saying that she is being blasphemous in taking them but she takes them with such ease in that she could be allowed to take them. Either way it backs up the feeling that she is not human as she is either in league with the Gods or a very powerful enemy of them, for who else would incur their wrath? This gives a feeling of wonder to the reader, as this is something beyond this world. Keats himself is expressing his feelings that no human knows for sure what lies beyond this planet and by showing the idea of there being something that we don't understand, puts the love between the knight and the woman into greater context as their feelings are spanning two worlds. On the other hand 'To Autumn' is about nature and the real world. It is concerned with the passing of time within a season, or, as Keats personifies it, a person. Nature, especially the seasons, is a continuos cycle whereas; the supernatural portrayed in 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' is a long line, which has no end. Yet, in both, Keats is portraying deep feelings of love, kindness and affection, which are displayed clearly. Marvell also displays his feelings of love within poems, imagery and words.
Three poems that are somehow associated with time are: 'Porphyria's Lover', 'To His Coy Mistress' and 'Amen'. These poems all explain and explore time in different ways, time passing, time standing still and so on.
The main theme of 'Porphyria's Lover' is about the wish of one man for time to stand still, that is for things to remain the same. The man achieves this in a very unique way by killing, the one he wishes not to change. In the diseased mind of the man, making the world stop, and indeed this woman could be said to metaphorically "be his world" in the sense that she is the only thing he cares and thinks about, is a way to make sure that she never stops loving him. When the speaker says, "That moment she was mine, mine, perfectly pure and good", this is suggesting his possessive attitude. His intense desire for her to always love him is the reason for him to want time to stand still. Time then, in this poem is portrayed as a thing that changes and alters things, and making time stand still is a way to preserve things in their desirable state, a rather macabre state in the case of this poem.
Time is used in this poem to emphasize that states of mind, opinions and physical matter all change, and there is no real way to stop this. It shows the futility of trying to stop time, as it can only bring you grief, not to the conscience of this insane man, but certainly to "us at home". The man in this poem attempted to stop time but this only serves to enforce the point as this resulted in the death of the woman he loved, disastrous consequences for most of us.
'To His Coy Mistress' uses time in entirely a different light, instead of the emphasis being put on time stopping, this poem concentrates on the implications of time passing. This is made clear even in the opening line of the poem, where the speaker says
"Had we but world enough, and time, this coyness, Lady, were no crime." In this poem, time is seen also seen as the enemy that changes things. The poem is also filled with images of long stretches of time, used to exaggerate and further deceive and seduce the woman.
"Till the conversion of the Jews", for example gives us an image of a long way into the future. The first stanza is little more than an introduction, where the man tries to appear patient, only in the second stanza are the images of the unpleasantness of time and the future made apparent, for example in line 23:
"And yonder all before us lie deserts of vast eternity". The word desert suggests infertility and lifelessness, the future that time brings on in undesirable, unattractive and empty. Therefore, the reason of the man's argument is not to waste time, and take advantage of it while they are still young. Time as a changer is the theme that stretches throughout this poem, as it did in 'Porphyria's Lover'.
If this man is to convince his mistress to have sex with him, then he has to make the future appear unattractive. When he says "And at my back I always hear time's winged chariot hurrying near", at the start of the second stanza, he wants to create and image of a force inexorably moving closer to them, and with every inch, the bleak, lifeless future seems hopeless. It also says that time is always at your back, that is you can never escape from it, it will always be looming over you like. "Hurrying" tries to demonstrate that this is happening very quickly, as does the image of a chariot, time passes more quickly than you think.
One of the main reasons this woman does not want to lose her virginity is her honour. The man cunningly tries to circumvent and negate this obstacle by saying
"Then worms shall try that long preserved virginity, and your quaint honour turn to dust." This is basically saying that if the woman dies unfulfilled, her honour will be worth nothing, and that in the grave, worms will destroy her body and break any laws that she had kept in the lifetime about her virginity and honour. All there is in the future is the grave, where nothing matters, so what is the point in trying to keep your virginity until you die where it will count for nothing? This is the underlying and fundamental theme of the second stanza.
The third and final stanza merely reinstates the fact that the man loves her, and compliments her with a few positive words so that she will not go off him.
The final poem, 'Amen' is in some way alike to and other ways dissimilar to "To his cot mistress". In the way that it deals with the passing of time it is alike, but how it treats the subject of the passing of time is different. It concentrates more on the positive side rather than the negative.
In the first verse, Rossetti writes:
"It is over. What is over? Nay now much is over truly!" This could sound both positive and negative, for example either a time of strife and hardship is over, or a time of happiness. However, the next lines make clear the meaning:
"Harvest days we toiled to sow for; Now the sheaves are gathered newly". The image of the hard days of work during the harvest, and the bounty that follows make it clear that time passing in this case is a good thing.
In the second verse though, time takes on a more dismal countenance. This theme most expresses itself when the words
"Lives are finished; time diminished", are presented. The image of death as a consequence of time shows us that the writer is not always so keen for time to pass. And the words "time diminished", suggest that the life of everything is existence is shortened, time itself is drawing to a close. This can be interpreted in two ways, either that the world free of time will be good, for example no death or termination of anything. Or that without time nothing can exist, as without time there is no sustenance or particular nature to anything.
More distressing material is created with the line
"Was the fallow field left unsown?" This refers to the many missed opportunities in the past, that are now closed forever due to the passing of time changing everything that made these opportunities possible.
The poem finishes on a more hopeful and reassuring mote however, beginning in the third line of the last verse:
"Spring shall bloom where now the ice is". This explains that the ever changing time can change things for the better, in this case the passing for cold, barren winter, to the fertile, youthful spring.
Time, then can not only destroy and terminate, it can also create and revitalize.
A reader of a love poem has a specific. Prejudiced view of love poetry. Generally, it is that love poetry is sentimental and flattering. It is supposed to talk about flowers and chocolates, romance and passion from one person to another. The reader expects imagery of harts and roses, and cliched similes and metaphors. An affectionate and caring tone should be used. The should be honest, sentimental and, above all, romantic.
However, this is often not the case. Love can be portrayed as passionate and sexual, romantic and caring, destructive and heartbreaking, and, unfortunately, possessive and deadly.
The types of love in a poem can be reflected in many ways. One of these ways is the structuring of the poem. "To His Coy Mistress" has a syllogism structure, the first stanza is the 'if', from the 'if, but, so' syllogism argument. This is shown in the first line 'Had we but world enough, and time'. This stanza also uses many hyperboles to emphasise the writers love for his mistress, such as 'love you ten years before the flood', meaning that he would love her forever, and then ten years. As the main theme of this poem is sex, many physical references are made, such as 'two hundred to adore each breast'. The main purpose of this stanza is to compliment the mistress to show how great it would be if they had enough time, as they could 'walk and pass our long days/by the Indian Ganges side'. This is a very romantic scene, and the mistress would feel complimented by it. There are very few references to the personality and character of his mistress, ad this shows that Marvell is only interested in sex. However, like most of this poem, it can be taken another way. Marvell mocks romantic convention by using blatant double entendres such as 'my vegetable love should grow'. This can be taken romantically, about his love growing, or as a sexual phallic image. This also hints at his attitude towards women - that they are his, to be used for whatever he wishes.
Things change a lot by the second stanza. It is the 'but' part of the syllogism. Marvell says that they do not have enough time for all of the romantic things in the first stanza, so they should go on ahead and have sex. To illustrate the point that he is running out of time, he personifies time 'I always hear/times winged chariot hurrying near'. This verifies the fact that they will not be able to have sex soon, if they don't do it now. He says that ahead lie 'deserts of vast eternity', meaning that if she doesn't have sex with him, she will have noting to look forward to, because she will no longer be desirable. The writer than goes on to say that if she doesn't, she will die a virgin. He uses vulgar and insulting imagery to illustrate his point and try to shock her, such as 'worms shall try/that long preserved virginity'. He is using a phallic image to show that if he doesn't have sex with her, lesser man (the 'worms') will. Basically, he is trying to establish the fact that she cannot 'win' unless she has sex with him. He sums up the 'but' part of the syllogism by saying 'the graves a fine and private place/but none I think do there embrace', urging her to have sex with him before its too late.
The third and final stanza is the 'if' part of the syllogism. It begins with 'now therefore', which indicates that he thinks she now wants to have sex with him. He describes her as being young and beautiful by saying how 'the youthful hue/sits on thy skin like morning dew', and passionate - 'at every pore with instant fire'. This shows that he wants her to realise that it would be great if they had sex. There are numerous references to fun and games, such as 'now let us sport while we may/and now like amorous birds of prey'. This reinforces the point that sex would be good. He also says how time would be beaten if they had sex - 'stand still yet we will make him run'. This emphasises that all the things that would happen to her in the first stanza won't happen if they have sex.
"First Love". However, is quite different, although it has many similarities. It describes how the writer sees a girl and immediately falls in love with her, and his depression when he cannot be with her. It emphasises her beauty in the first stanza by using similes - 'her face it bloomed like a sweet flower'. This stanza also emphasises his love for her, and how he is instantly love struck - 'stole my heart away complete'. This shows that he has fallen in love with her on the spot, and thinks she is the only person he could ever love. He seems mesmerised by his love for her - his 'legs refused to walk away', and it seems that time slowed down for him, because his 'life and all seemed turned to clay'. To show how mesmerised he is, repetition is also used, such as the use of pale - 'pale as deathly pale'
In the second stanza, Clare depicts how much he loves her by using metaphors such as 'words from my heart did start', describing how his heart yearns for her.
He also describes how 'the trees and bushes around the place/seemed midnight at noonday', which shows how his love for her has blinded and confused him. This is, of course, exaggerated, but reflects very well the feelings of the writer.
The last stanza is extremely sad. The write uses rhetorical questions such as 'Are flowers the winters choice', which indicates that he is cold and lonely, like winter, and the girl he has fallen in love with is a flower. He says that a flower cannot be with winter, which is very true. He says that he 'never saw so sweet a face', which exhibits his belief that he will never find someone else that he loves, and that 'his heart has left its dwelling place/and can return no more', meaning that he can never love again because the girl has taken all of his love. This part of the poem is depressing and as such gives the reader a good indication of the characters emotions.
"First Love"'s major difference with "To His Coy Mistress" is in the content of the poem. Clare describes the girl as being extremely beautiful and it is clear that she has "stole my heart away complete" that he cares for her a great deal. However in "To His Coy Mistress" Marvell seems to have little concern for the emotions of his mistress, and we know this because he tries to scare her into bed in stanza 2. The imagery used is also very different. Clare's imagery shows his own emotions such as "are flowers the winters choice". On the other hand, in Marvell's poem the writer mocks romantic scenes and later in the poem vulgar insulting imagery is used. However this is very effective in both poems. Although there many similarities between the 2 poems, for instance the fact that neither of them include the lady's point of view, or refer to her personality at all, except for the one line in "To His Coy Mistress" "and the last age show your heart".
The third poem I shall compare is "My Last Duchess" by Browning. This is a poem not so much about love, but about possessiveness. The Duke is showing a servant of his new wife a painting of his last wife. This in itself is symbolic as he says "since none puts by/ the curtain I have drawn for you but I", meaning that he is the only person who can look at the painting. This possessiveness of his wife is reinforced by his use of the word "my", even in the opening line. This contrasts with "To His Coy Mistress" and "First Love" as in "To His Coy Mistress" he acts as if he doesn't care about her or if he loses her. In "First Love", since Clare indicates that the girl has his heart, she owns him rather than the other way around.
Generally this poem is about control, and this is shown in its structure. It is an iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets, indicating that it is planned and thought through. It also uses dramatic monologue which shows that the duke is in control as he is doing all the talking. This is similar to "To His Coy Mistress" but wildly different from "First Love", because the writer indicates that his emotions are out of control.
The behaviour and actions of the duke also indicate the fact that he is deeply possessive. He says how she was "too easily impressed", and how she "ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody's gift". He is saying that she treats him as she would treat anyone, and she treats his gifts, which are doubtless more impressive than any other in the same she would treat a "bough of cherries". The anger over this point expresses his egotism. This is also shown in the way that he constantly drops names - "Frau Pandolf" and "Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me". This shows that he is self centred, and this is exhibited in the way that he looks for compliments when he says "even had you skill/ in speech - (which I have not)" and he wants people to think he is better than they are. This also occurs in "To His Coy Mistress" when the writer indicates that he is better than other men when he says "worms shall try/ that long preserved virginity". But in "First Love", the writer feels he is inadequate when he says "are flowers always the winters choice?".
The penultimate poem I will compare is "Shall I Compare Thee" by Shakespeare, which is quite different to all the other poems I have studied. It is a 'traditional' love poem'. It basically compliments Shakespeare's wife/girlfriend/mistress by comparing her to a summers day. He then goes on to say why she is so much better than one. He explains this claim by highlighting the shortcomings of summer, such as "summers leave hath all to short a date", meaning summer is too short, and she is great all the time. He also personifies summer as in "Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines/and often is his gold complexion dim'd". This personification of summer emphasises the fact that summer, like people, has its shortcomings. He says that summer is too hot, while she is mild, that it is often clouded, though she is always perfect, and that she is gentle rather than shaking "the darling buds of Maie".
The structure of the poem also shows love for the lady. Sonnet form is used, which is the traditional form of love poetry. The iambic pentameter resembles a heartbeat and the rhyme scheme of ABAB shows that it is organised and tightly structured. This suggests that the poem is a careful and reasoned argument, and that he has put a lot of effort into complimenting her.
This is the only poem so far to link up with the first impression of love poetry. It is different by a long shot to "My Last Duchess" because it shows that Shakespeare accepts the woman as a person and is happy to compliment her, unlike the duke, who would like to be complimented. It is quite similar to "First Love", as it depicts the woman as someone of great beauty.
"Porphyria's Lover" is the last of the five poems. It is the most extreme of all the poems. It begins by setting the scene with reference to the weather, such as "the sullen wind was soon awake". These references, written in the romantic style, contrast with the next part of the poem. This gives an impression of unrest and foreboding. The main theme of the poem is obsession. This is shown in the structure of the poem - a dramatic monologue. The weather and contrast of Porphyria's warmth is reinforced by the claim that "Porphyria worshipped me" and that she is "perfectly pure and good". This indicated that he thinks that she is a good person and this makes his later actions more shocking.
When he kills her, he attempts to justify his actions to himself "I am quite sure she felt no pain". This shows that he doesn't not feel guilt over murdering his girlfriend, and is led to think she wanted to be killed. This could mean that he wants be with her always, dead or alive, or that he thinks that she wants to be with him, even if it means death. This is indicated by the words "the smiling little rosy head/so glad its has its utmost will", giving the impression that she wanted to be killed.
Another contrast in poem is that between innocence and guilt. Porphyria is "smooth, white" indicating her innocence, and she is murdered by someone who feels no guilt. The obsessive love is also indicated by this as he says "thus we sit together now", meaning that he thinks she wants to be with him, although she may have felt differently, had she been alive.
The love in this poem is similar to that in "My Last Duchess", as Porphyria's lover is also extremely possessive. However in "My Last Duchess" the duke hates his wife, whereas in "Porphyria's Lover" he is clearly devoted to her, as he gives an impression of respect and desire in his description of her. The contrasts in this poem of Porphyria and the grimness of the atmosphere are also used in "Shall I Compare Thee" for the same purpose - to highlight the goodness of the fine woman in question.
Overall there are 5 types of love in these poems. The first, in "To His Coy Mistress" is passionate, lustful and free, and this is similar to that in "First Love" as the writers talk only about looks and not personality. One of the other types of love is quite unique in these poems - the caring, affectionate love shown in "Shall I Compare Thee". It is perhaps the best expression of love that the reader gets and the only display of 'true love'. The other two types of love are very different to all of these, the possessive types shown in "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover". This is the worst form of love as in "My Last Duchess" the duke is so possessive of his wife that he treats her as an object whereas in "Porphyria's Lover" he is so obsessed with her that he wants to kill her to be with her forever. The poem that displayed that displayed one type of love very well was "First Love". It shows how the boy is immediately taken by a girl he sees and his heartbreak when he cannot be with her. However the type of love most people would like to feel is that in "Shall I Compare Thee" which displays a staggering amount of compliments for the lady in the poem.
Overall these poems are very different in their portrayal of love, but each manage to convey it to the reader exceedingly well through use of structure (such as the dramatic monologue form of "My Last Duchess" that shows his self centeredness and control), language (such as the complementary language used in "Shall I Compare Thee"). Imagery is also used effectively (as in "First Love" when Clare describes himself as "winter" and girls as "flowers" to show that he does not comply with them). The actual content used is also very effective as in "To His Coy Mistress", where the syllogism and the tactics of complements and frightening are used to, what is in my opinion, good effect
