Compare and contrast the treatment of love and loss in the two poems that you have studied.(Despairing Lover and Funeral Blues)

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Poetry Coursework

Compare and contrast the treatment of love and loss in the two poems that you have studied.

Love is one the ways of showing emotional feelings to another person; it is the thing that makes us human. It is about passion, romance, commitment and loyalty. But love isn’t always as it seems, it has a darker side of envy, jealousy, betrayal, affairs, pain and hate. Love can be explored in various ways; parental love, friendships and relationships. It is not always clear why and hoe people fall in love but that doesn’t matter because it is all about the feelings you get out of it, good and bad. Love is addressed widely in our societies in our magazines, on television, films, and in books. I am now going to discuss two poems by Auden and Walsh that explore love and loss in different ways.

“The Despairing Lover” is about a young fickle man, Damon, who loves “Phyllis the fair”. No matter how hard he tries “he could not move her”. His rejection by “Phyllis the fair” drives him to a “precipice”. Suicide seems like the only way to end his “woes”. However, his irrational behaviour only lasts until the cliff edge as his fears force him to think more rationally. Upon reflection of life he realises that he will find a new love “calmly returns to his cottage again”. “Funeral Blues” is similar to “The Despairing Lover” in a sense as it addresses love and loss and the devastating effects it can have. However, Auden’s loss is expressed in the bitterest terms. Auden’s loss is permanent and so his conclusion is “nothing now can ever come to any good”.

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“The Despairing Lover” is divided into three sections. Each section is a different step in Damon’s emotional journey. The opening stanza focuses on Damon’s rejection by “Phyllis the fair”, the language is elaborate and melodramatic, and his “anguish” and “unrequited love” is a reflection of Damon’s state of mind. This despair appears to be sincere until Damon reaches the cliff edge. The second stanza focuses on Damon’s thinking which becomes more rational as his actions change and Damon stands to put his life into perspective and sadly reflects upon life’s torments.

The third and final stanza, revels a philosophical ...

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