Compare and contrast the poems La Belle Dame sans Merci(TM) by John Keats and The Song of Wandering Aengus(TM) by W.B. Yeats

Compare and contrast the poems 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' by John Keats and 'The Song of Wandering Aengus' by W.B. Yeats. In their times, separated by at least 50 years, Keats and Yeats were among the leading exponents of 'Romanticism'. The two poems under consideration epitomise a powerful aspect of the Romantic approach to women: idealised to such an extent that she was so perfect that once glimpsed all life thereafter was dust and ashes. Both poems are narratives, which describe overpowering encounters with women. The encounters leave the men love-stricken to the extent that they believe that there is no point in living. They are doomed to live in a perpetual vacuum. In 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' - the title gives a clear clue as to the theme - the love-lorn hero (typically a 'knight at arms', an heroic character) is discovered miserable and 'woe-begone' in a desolate landscape 'alone and palely loitering'. The voice off- we don't know who the interrogator is in the first three stanzas- sets the scene, adding on the one hand that since 'the harvests done' so it's time to relax and make merry (and on the other that 'with anguish moist and fever due' the knight is close to death. 'The sedge has wither'd from the lake, and no birds sing ' The seasonal references in the first two stanzas present us with the idea of rotting vegetation- dying and decaying like the knight of

  • Word count: 1184
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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GCSE classic poetry

GCSE Classic Poetry Compare the ways that William Blake and William Wordsworth present London in their poems "London" and "Composed upon Westminster Bridge". The two poems "London" and "composed upon Westminster Bridge" give very different views of London. For example Blake gives the impression that London is a depressing, miserable, woeful place filled with sadness and corruption. Whereas, Wordsworth shows London in a very different light. He sees London as a peaceful place in the morning, filled with serenity and beauty. Blake shows many images in his poem. He shows the corruption within the church in the lines: "how every chimney sweeper's cry, every blackening church appals". This shows he thinks that the church should open its eyes to the poverty and hardship in the chimney sweepers lives and he shows that they are only children when he says that they cry. This shows the corrupted innocence of his view of London. Blake shows that he thinks that all of London is controlled by the crown. He shows this in the lines: "I wander thro each chartered street, near where the chartered Thames does flow". He thinks that its not just the streets that are controlled by the crown but the Thames is too. The Thames represents freedom because of its free flowing water, but it is not free because the waterways are owned by the crown. Blake shows that he thinks the people of London

  • Word count: 589
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Two Romantic poems concerning nature are "To Autumn" by John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley's "To a Skylark". These two poems celebrate different aspects of nature:

Navdeep Sahota Saturday, 22 January 2005 English Coursework 'Compare how nature is presented two Romantic poems' Poets of the Romantic Era tried to express their feelings of beauty, nature and decay through poems and other means of literature. Two Romantic poems concerning nature are "To Autumn" by John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley's "To a Skylark". These two poems celebrate different aspects of nature: as the title of the poem suggests "To Autumn" is about the season of autumn, whereas "To a Skylark" is about a skylark, a miniscule bird that is famous for its song. Percy Bysshe Shelley compares the skylark to many different beautiful things to show that the skylark is far more superior to them. The vivid use of imagery throughout the two poems attracts the reader's interest and conveys the writers' creativity. Both of the poems are packed with imagery which not only shows their uniqueness but also the intensity and sophistication of the poets. The first stanza in "To Autumn" concerns itself with extolling the beauty and floridity of autumn, appealing to the senses of sight and taste. The first line immediately arouses visual senses with "mists and mellow fruitfulness". Keats uses "mellow" to depict the colour of autumn, this is most likely to be the rustic colour of ripe fruits and leaves. The purpose of

  • Word count: 1445
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Compare and contrast the difference between modern day and pre-1900 poems on the topic of love and relationships?

5th October 2007 Compare and contrast attitudes towards love and relationships As presented in three of the poems studied. "T he Beggar Woman", by William King, "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell and "Valentine" By Carol-Ann Duffy are all pre-1900 poems which focus on the topic of love and relationships. In this piece of work I will look at the attitudes towards love and relationships in these three poems as presented in the text. The first poem I will look at is "The Beggar Woman" by William King. This poem is set in the seventeenth century when women had no rights, and is about a young gentleman hunter in the woods with his party which he is then separated from. On his way he spots a young beggar woman who he is surprised by as she is quite clean and fresh looking and he is instantly attracted to her. He then asks her to sleep with him, after much arguing she finally obliges and they go through the woods to find a suitable place. Finally, they find one, and the woman's child Bobby seems to be causing a great disturbance so the young hunter offers to strap the baby onto his back. The young beggar woman quickly hands over the baby and departs, leaving baby Bobby with the poor man. There are two main themes to consider here. One is that the woman is trying to teach the man a lesson about being responsible for his own actions. Another theme here from the mans side

  • Word count: 2001
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Compare and contrast the ways in which relationships are presented in the poems My Last Duchess(TM) and The Laboratory(TM)

Compare and contrast the ways in which relationships are presented in the poems 'My Last Duchess' and 'The Laboratory' Both of the poems involve men and women having conflict and problems in their relationship and the extreme actions they take. 'My Last Duchess' is a poem about an arrogant Duke who is determined to make a better choice for his second wife. He is trying to hide his past by covering a painting of his Last Duchess, who was young, attractive and flirtatious. However even though the age difference the Duke could still have expected the relationship to be successful as this type of marriage was not unusual in the nineteenth century. The Duke is portrayed as being extremely discomfited by the expression on his wife's face as the artist painted her. This look on his wife's face is key to understanding the thoughts and feelings of the Duke. He makes it clear to the Count's messenger the kind of wife he wants, and the consequences if she turns out not to live up to his standards. Robert Browning's second poem set in the eighteenth century is 'The Laboratory and also in the same period of the Ancien Regime which explains the way some of the characters behave. Like 'The Last Duchess' this poem includes lots of sleaze and scandal with strong and powerful members of society. The dramatic storylines and monologues are characteristic of the style of poetry at this time.

  • Word count: 1425
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Explore the Presentation of Alienation in Two Scavengers and A View from Westminster Bridge

Explore the Presentation of Alienation In "Two Scavengers" and "Nothing's Changed" Alienation is present through both of the texts although it is shown in dissimilar ways. For example Two Scavengers displays alienation in the withdrawal from living, giving the reader a sense of direction in the poem and supports the context of segregation. "A bright yellow garbage truck," compared to the "elegant open Mercedes." Nothing's Changed however, allows the reader to feel the evocative nature of past events. "I back from the glass boy again." This shows that the poet grew up here. In Two Scavengers, the first part describes the under-privileged life of the scavengers and the second describes the beautiful Mercedes with an equally "elegant couple inside it." This contrast symbolises the huge difference between these two types of people, the working class and the upper class. This has a certain, unique effect on the reader. The desperation of the way it is written has an emotional effect on the reader because you can feel sympathetic towards the scavengers, who are never given an adequate reason why the scavengers are in their unfortunate position. Nothing's Changed, however, is written in six short stanzas, written in short vivid blocks, each one depicting an individual idea, conveying frustration and anger to the reader. Nothing's Changed often uses ideas and memories to explore

  • Word count: 1236
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Compare and contrast how two or more poets approach the theme of love.

GCSE Literature Assignment - Pre- 1900 Poetry Compare and contrast how two or more poets approach the theme of love. I have chosen the poems;- "Ballad", "Porphyria's Lover" and "Shall I compare thee..?" to compare and contrast. "Ballad" was written during the time that most people were illiterate, leaving it to be passed on by mouth, which left it without an author. It describes a dishonest love, where someone feels betrayed by their lover. "Porphyria's Lover", written by Robert Browning, gives you a dramatic insight into the mind of a abnormally possessive lover, and "Shall I Compare thee..?", written famously by William Shakespeare, is about true love, and immortalises someone through the "eternal" lines of a sonnet. "Ballad" describes how a girl falls in love with a shepherd and is too naïve to believe he doesn't love her back. Yet when she loses her virginity to him and gets pregnant, he leaves her and she is left feeling ashamed and remorseful. Between lines 1 to 5, it says: "He stole away my liberty: When my poor heart was strange to men, He came and smiled and stole it then", This has imagery of theft and shows that the shepherd stole her virginity by being kind to her. The way it says: "My poor heart was strange to men", shows she had never really been with any other person until the shepherd came along. This would make her vulnerable to being hurt by him. In

  • Word count: 1720
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The Hero vs. The deserter

Compare and contrast two of the poems of the World War 1 their structure, their imagery and the language used. In this part of English essay I will be exploring the similarities and the differences between the two different World War poems. The poems that I have chosen are "The hero" by Siegfried Sassoon appeared in printing in 1917 and is about a real war poem thinking of those left behind when it shows respect and admiration for the mother and the way that the poet has revealed the truth about the situation happening in both sides of the story compared with the poem written by Winifred Letts in 1916 named "The deserter" that tells the story of a young British soldier who is shot for desertion and describes the feelings and fate of a man terrified and proper shocked at the same time by the war. The reason that I have chosen these two poems is because of the titles. They both suggest different meanings. In one hand Hero is someone displaying courage and the will for self sacrificed totally dissimilar from the deserter displaying someone who abandons the duty and does not have courage. This story is quiet shocking by picturing the fear felt by the soldier who run off only to be caught and shot by his own army ,and in the other side it shows the Deserters mother who thinks that her son died 'a hero' by saying "He was serving his own country". This poem is actually

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  • Word count: 892
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Compare and Contrast 'To His Coy Mistress' by Andrew Marvell and 'Sonnet 116' by William Shakespeare.

Compare and Contrast 'To His Coy Mistress' by Andrew Marvell and 'Sonnet 116' by William Shakespeare. In this assignment I will compare and contrast two poems To His Coy Mistress written by Andrew Marvell in 1650 and Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare written in 1590. Both on the theme of love and time and both written to be sent to an unknown recipient. Neither of these two poems were intended to be published. The first major difference between the two poems would be that the structure is noticeably different. Marvell attempts syllogism by dividing his poem into a three-part argument. However, experts say Marvell has not succeeded in this technique. Stanza one talks about how if they had all the time in the world they would be able to take their time and not have to rush to be together. Part two of the poem is written to shock and remind the recipient that one day she will die and then it will be too late. The third and final stanza is written to encourage her to be active and agree with what she is saying. Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 is a closed form poem. This means the poem is written to set rules. A sonnet must include one rhyming couplet at the end, fourteen lines in total, a set rhyming scheme, written to the theme of love and to be divided into an octet and sestet. Sonnets are also written in iambic pentameter, meaning that there are 10 syllables per line.

  • Word count: 1195
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Show how Tennison in particular, but also Browning use poetic effects to convey their descriptive and emotional meanings.

Show how Tennison in particular, but also Browning use poetic effects to convey their descriptive and emotional meanings. For this essay, two poems will be compared: the second half of 'Morte d'Arthur', written by Alfred Lord Tennison, and 'How they brought the good news from Ghent to Aix', written by Robert Browning. Both of these poems were written in roughly the same period (about halfway through the 19th century), but they both express different emotions: pessimism is expressed in Morte d'Arthur, in a way that suggests that all great societies eventually die away, which is apparent with the description of the death of King Arthur in the poem. How they brought the good news from Ghent to Aix expresses a different meaning; it expresses optimism, with its rapid rhythm conveying excitement. When these poems were written, Britain was undergoing a revolution: industrialisation was taking place on a large scale, and Darwin's Origin of Species had shaken the foundations of society; previously, there had been a blind faith in religion, but this was undermined. In the second half of Morte d'Arthur, there are many instances in which poetic effects are used to emphasise not only the storyline, but to further enhance the descriptions of various things in the poem. For instance: "behold an arm, clothed in white samite..." the assonance in white samite emphasises the beauty of the arm

  • Word count: 931
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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