Compare and contrast the different types of relationships depicted in the poems The Sick Rose(TM), Ballad(TM), To His Coy Mistress(TM) and A Woman to her Lover(TM)

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Arandeep Heer        English Literature Coursework        Mrs Lambert

10B

2008-06-24

Compare and contrast the different types of relationships depicted in the poems ‘The Sick Rose’, ‘Ballad’, ‘To His Coy Mistress’ and ‘A Woman to her Lover’

The poems chosen all explore a different aspect of love through the use of poetic features, language and range of perspectives. Whilst ‘Ballad’ was a female perspective, showing her physical relationship with a very devious man, ‘To his Coy Mistress’ is from a male perspective, as he attempts, through a seductive yet rational argument, to win over his coy lady. ‘A Woman to her Lover’ is also from a female perspective about a woman who demands equality. On the other hand, ‘The Sick Rose’ shows an assault and destruction, telling of a secret love between man and women, possibly through rape or sexually transmitted diseases. Out of all the poems I read, the aspects of physical and spiritual relationships interest me the most because they provide diverse views towards love.

‘Ballad’ which is a traditional song, of oral tradition, presents male courtship through the use of language, seasonal metaphors and through the story it tells. It is made up of quatrains, rhyming couplets and a refrain, the range of words which rhyme together emphasise the emotions and tone of the poem. ‘Ballad’ is about a deceitful philanderer, who seeks a beautiful maid. The man gets the lady pregnant and, throughout the last few, we see how she wants to kill herself and the baby. The maid is the speaker of the story, which gives a female perspective, of the story and an insight into the consequences of courtship for the victim.

The opening of the poem begins with the line ‘A faithless shepherd courted me’. The word ‘faithless’ immediately tells us that the man is not committed. Furthermore it says, ‘he stole away my liberty’, the use of euphemism creating the impression that the man has stole her virginity and freedom. We later see that the liberty is her virginity and decorum. Therefore, this leaves the maid with no freedom, because in past times it was thought that a single mother was greatly detested and unlawful children were not respected. In addition the ending of stanza one reads:

‘When my poor heart was strange to men, he came and smiled and stole it then’.

 This illustrates a very naïve maiden, who seems very innocent. A calculated effect is gathered as he sees what she’s like, and then he takes advantage of her. The repetition of the word ‘and’ creates a very step by step calculation.

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In the second quatrain, the maid uses seasonal metaphors to show their happiness together; however, the second two lines of the quatrain, illustrates the shame of her pregnancy   :

 ‘When my apron would hang low,

  me he sought through frost and snow’.

:         When it puckered up with shame,

 and I sought him, he never came.’

The opening line creates a picture that the maid is fine and slim, ‘would hang low’. The second line captures how he would only look after her when there was no responsibility. The use of a ...

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