The men in both poems are similar in one way as they are both seducing the woman in the hope that she will sleep with them. However they both act very different. The man in “THCM” is more romantic as he takes the time to admire and appreciate the woman “An hundred years should go to praise Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze.” Whereas in “The seduction” He doesn’t care about her wellbeing at all and just takes advantage of her “and he muttered little slag.” I don’t think that there are many similarities between the two women, except the fact that they are both being seduced by men. The women in “THCM” is obviously very shy “This coyness, Lady were no crime.” However the female in “the seduction” is more outgoing and appears more confident.
I have already mentioned the different ways in which the men seduce the women, but I think this is an important point and needs some examples. In “The seduction” The man is clumsy and uses physical advances to seduce the woman. “With the fingers that stroked her neck and thighs.” The male in “THCM” however is more flattering and eloquent. He has chosen good persuasive language “The graves a fine and lonely place, but none, I think do there embrace.”
Josephine Sowden
The style and language used throughout the poems are quite different. However both contain enjambment, which quickens the pace of the poem. “THCM” is written in rhyming couplets for example “time-crime.” Whereas in “The seduction” this happens much less frequently. In “The seduction” there are a total of 17 stanzas in all, but the entire poem is cut up into small sections which allow it to flow and results in the reader reading it quickly. In “THCM” however there are only three stanzas throughout the poem, which represent a different time frame.
As “THCM” was written in the 16 hundreds the nature of society at that time was much more traditional and people had much more conservative views towards sex. However in “the seduction” (written in the 1980’s) peoples moral standards had declined. People are more laid back and have much more liberal attitudes towards sex “and the kisses that tasted of nicotine.” I think this definitely comes across during the poems, and is a clear difference.
In conclusion it is clear that both are poems are about a man seducing a woman in the hope that she will sleep with him. I believe the biggest difference between the poems is to do with the date when they were written. Both time eras had completely different attitudes to sex, which is why the men go about a different way to seduce the women The poem that I find more persuasive and effective is “THCM” because the man actually loved the lady ”I would love you ten years before the flood” and his intentions were slightly more pure it seems, compared to the man in “the seduction” who simply took advantage of the woman and didn’t care for her one bit. I also think that it is very cleverly written and is interesting how each stanza represents a different time frame.
