We have been looking at two poems in detail – “sonnet eighteen” by William Shakespeare and “song” by W.H Auden.
The poem “sonnet eighteen”, is about somebody who is comparing somebody who he loves to a summer’s day. Making comparisons between them. By doing this it shows his feeling them are what he feel on a summers day which is happy and peaceful. During the poem she is compared to things that occur in a summer’s day such as the sun.
On the other hand “song” is about the grieving process of somebody who has lost a lover. In this poem it moves from place to place showing how his lover was involved in his life.
The purpose of “sonnet eighteen” is for him to show how much he loves them and to declare his love, by comparing them to the things he loves about a summer’s day.
While “songs” purpose is for him and others to grieve for their lost and to let people know how much he meant to them.
The emotions in each poem are very opposite as “sonnet eighteen” is a happy poem where someone is being complimented on being like a summer’s day, as if they are perfect with no faults. But “song” is a sad poem where the listener is being told of the lost of his lover and how it has and will affect his life.
The structure of “sonnet eighteen” is like other sonnets where as it has fourteen lines each having ten syllables, this allows the poem to flow during each line.
“Song” consists of four verses each containing four lines. By having the same number of lines in each verse it sounds much better as it make it much more consistent throughout the verses.
The language used in both poems has been though about carefully selecting appropriate language for each verse. In “sonnet eighteen” the words that are mainly used are describing words more know as . These are used as the lover is being described and compared to a summer’s day.
In the poem “song” this is also the case. The words choosen for the poem “song” are mainly objects as they all have a purpose to the people in everyday life which is what his lover was to him.
During both poems similes, metaphors and personification are used an example of personification in “sonnet eighteen” is when they are compared to the sun by having a “gold complexion”.
The movement in both poems are very important as it sets the pace giving a feeling to the listener.
In “sonnet eighteen” the first twelve lines consist of three, four line sections known as a quatrain, in which alternate lines rhyme. The sonnet ends with two lines which rhyme known as a rhyming couplet. “Song” also has alternate lines that rhyme.
By looking at both poems I can see similarity and difference between them. Both poems are well written and get there point across to the listener. I think they are both very good love poems but in a different way as one is about how a person that is in love with someone and the other how someone was in love and has now lost them. but they are both love poems as they both show feelings for others they care about a lot.
