I think that this poem is structured very cleverly. Each line has ten syllables. Every other line in the poem rhyme, e.g. day with May: and temperate with date. The last two lines in the poem are different. These are a rhyming couplet. The poem is divided into two parts by an octet and a sestet. The first part has eight lines making it the octet. The octet sets up an argument that all living things die and become forgotten. The second part has six lines this makes it the sestet. The sestet is the part of the poem that answers the argument set up by the octet. The octet describes the beloveds’ beauty. It also tells us that like all other living things nature the beloveds’ beauty shall fade with time. That argument is contradicted by the sestet because Shakespeare says that he can make the persons beauty become immortal. He achieves this by describing the beauty in the poem. Then whenever picks up the poem and reads it they will know that the person described is beautiful. I think that in a way this doesn’t work because Shakespeare didn’t tell us who the person was. He did not write the name, age or anything that gives us a clue about who the person was.
The next poem “Even Tho” also doesn’t tell you who the beloved is. In this poem all we know is that the beloved is a man. The poem doesn’t really have a definite structure. The only similar verses are verses two; three, four, and five, each of these has four lines. None of the lines within the poem rhyme in some sort of pattern. Grace Nicholls uses fruit to describe her passion towards another man. She uses a lot of metaphors when comparing herself to fruit, jellyfish, sea moss and tongue. The whole poem is written in English but no the Queens’ English.
The second line “but won’t let you devour” says that she doesn’t want to be controlled by the man that she loves. She then goes on to say although she wants an independent relationship she feels nervous whenever her man is around. When she says “leh we go to de carnival” she says she is a banana and he is and avocado. I think that this means that they come together and love another because, both fruit mentioned come from the same part of the world and are both exotic. She then says in the next verse to sweet one another up”. This could mean that they get a little saucy. In the last verse she says that she no longer wants to be with that man and wants to break free. They should become two individuals and have their own personality.
The next poem “Song” is again different from the others. It structured quite simply. Each verse has four lines and each pair of lines is a rhyming couplet. W.H Auden wrote Song in 1956. I think this poem is homosexual as Auden is a male and in the first line of the third verse he wrote, “he wrote he was my north”. Although this does not strongly suggest it is a homosexual poem, the man Auden is referring to could be a member of the royal family or a famous person he looked up to.
The first verse I think basically says stop everything, a man is dead, remember and respect him. The next verse is similar using lines that symbolise death. In verse three Auden uses metaphors to describe his love towards the man. The first line “he was my north, my south, my east and west” says to me that Auden thought that man was everything for him. He then says that he thought his love would last forever, but he was wrong. The last verse is heartbreaking. Auden gives the impression that he cannot go on living without the man anymore. He says that everything is worthless so nothing in this world means anything to him.
I think that these poems are al brilliantly written. Each one is different in its own way. My favourite poem has to be “Even Tho”. I liked the Caribbean writing style and irregular structure. I think that the younger generation would appreciate it as well. “Even Tho” was fun to read. It was different from the others because it didn’t talk negatively about love. It was cheerful and creates a happy feeling.