Both Wordsworth and Milton have used archaic language in their poems; Milton has used old English more distinctively and has actually started with “O” in the ‘Sonnet to the Nightingale’. He has also used language such as “yon”, “dost”, “thy”, “ere”, “nigh”, “thou”, “hast”, “had’st” and “thee”. Milton has filled this poem richly with archaic language which distinguishes the period of time in which he had written the poem. Wordsworth has used archaic language more in some poems than others. ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’ has very few archaic words, but he has used “doth”, “Ne’er” and “glideth”. In this poem it is not so much the language that distinguishes the poem to be from early nineteenth century, but the way words have been arranged. For example Wordsworth has written “Earth has not anything to show more fair” which is not a phrase that would be said these days. ‘Composed On a May Morning’ has old-English words which are used very rarely these days such as “shun”, “dams”, “gambol” and “hoar”. These words effect the poem because they are key words, if they are not understood by the reader, the reader will not understand the whole meaning of the poem. Wordsworth has used the most archaic language (from the poems I have chosen) in “To Lady Fitzgerald, In Her Seventieth Year”. He has used words such as “O”, “whene’er”, “thou”, and “meet’st”. This is the only poem based on a person; the other poems are about nature. The language used shows Wordsworth joy of the lady being so elegant at her age. It has a positive tone which is shown in the language like “O Lady bright,” and “...a saintly Mind”.
‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’, ‘Composed On a May Morning’ and ‘Sonnet to the Nightingale’ are all tranquil poems. Both poets have observed nature carefully, to write in detail there emotions of happiness, delight and enjoyment which are shown in these poems. In ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’ Wordsworth has written about the buildings surrounding Westminster Bridge, and how they are “...so touching in its majesty:”, “beauty”, “silent, bare”, “...bright and glittering...”, “beautifully”, “splendour”, “...never felt, a calm so deep!” and “sweet”. These words all give the poem an upbeat tone. The mood of this poem is cheerful, Wordsworth describes the emptiness of the City but shows that in its bareness, he can see its beauty at its best. In ‘Composed On a May Morning’ Wordsworth again writes with an upbeat tone, he is enjoying watching the lambs and delighting in their exuberance. He describes what they are doing, how they are sitting by their mothers “Couch near their dams...” and running around “...wherever he may run”. Wordsworth uses joyful language throughout the poem “heavenly guide”, “joy”, “shining”, and “pleasures”. The language in ‘Sonnet to the Nightingale’ that makes it upbeat is “...fresh hopes...”, “...Lover’s heart dost fill,”, “...jolly Hours...”, “propitious”, “Thy liquid notes...”, “...success in love.”. But after the sixth line the poem is not so joyful, Milton writes sorrowfully, “Foretell my hopeless doom...” and “As thou from year to year hast sung too late”. Wordsworth’s “To Lady Fitzgerald, In Her Seventieth Year” is a cheery and affectionate poem. Wordsworth speaks fondly of Lady Fitzgerald and writes of how she looks and reacts “Such age how beautiful!” “bright”, “refined”, “...favouring Nature...”, “...a saintly Mind”, “gleaming”, and “...the soul is meek,”. In the last six lines Wordsworth compares Lady Fitzgerald to the moon, saying that her beauty has developed with age, like the moon which becomes brighter as night falls.
In ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’ Wordsworth has used a simile to describe the cities beauty, which it has everyday “This City now doth, like a garment, wear...The beauty of the morning;”. He has used a metaphor to describe how the city which works so hard normally, in the morning seems asleep “And all that mighty heart is lying still!”. Wordsworth personifies the houses as if the were alive and sleeping “...the very houses seem asleep;” and he also uses personification when describing the river “The river glideth at his own sweet will:” this has been written like the river has its own mind. Wordsworth use of personification, metaphors and similes in this poem are effective because it makes the city seem as if it were a person and the different features of the city indicate different parts of the person. In “To Lady Fitzgerald, In her Seventieth Year” Wordsworth writes “Thee with the welcome Snowdrop I compare;”, he has compared Lady Fitzgerald to a snowdrop because of what she looks like, she has her back arched like a snowdrop, where the flower is tilted over from the stem. This descriptive language is what gives the reader an image of the lady. Wordsworth has used a simile in ‘Composed On a May Morning’ on the first line “Life with you Lambs, like day, is just begun,”. Wordsworth has said this because the lambs are newborn so, like the morning, they are fresh. He is expressing his happiness, because he obviously enjoys the lambs giving him a feeling of freshness. In ‘Sonnet to the Nightingale’ John Milton talks of the Roman gods, he personifies Jove and Muse “...O if Jove’s will” “Whether the Muse or Love call thee his mate,”. Milton writes that Muse has given the nightingale a heavenly voice, and it reminds him of love. Wordsworth has also used onomatopoeia “Warblest...” to describe the nightingales singing. This affects the poem because the reader can imagine what the birds sound like.
‘Composed On a May Morning’, ‘Sonnet to the Nightingale’ and ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” follow the Petrarchan tradition with lines that rhyme ‘a b b a a b b a’ and the remaining six lines having two different rhymes. “To Lady Fitzgerald, In Her Seventieth Year” does not follow any recognisable rhyming scheme that I know of. All four sonnets follow the English tradition of having ten feet per line. The rhythm and rhyme affect the poems because they are all positive and they are all upbeat.
‘Composed On a May Morning’ and ‘Sonnet to the Nightingale’ are similar poems because both poets talk of surrounding nature that can only be watched at certain times of the year or day. Wordsworth watched the lambs in May and Milton listens to the nightingales at night. Both poets also talk about the presence of a God or gods, Wordsworth writes “Why to God’s goodness cannot We be true,”. Both ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’ and ‘Composed On a May Morning’ have two sections where the first section finishes on the eighth line, which is traditional for sonnets. ‘To Lady Fitzgerald, In Her Seventieth Year’ first section finishes on the ninth line. John Milton’s ‘Sonnet to the Nightingale’ first section finishes in the middle of the seventh line. While William Wordsworth has kept to the traditional way of writing the sonnets I have studied I think John Milton is a more effective writer because he has used rich vocabulary to show his emotions of love and has compared it with something the reader can relate to.
