POETRY ANALYSIS Argumentative Essay Example For Students

POETRY ANALYSIS Argumentative Essay It is possible to compare and contrast poetry from different literary periods by selecting a poem from each period and examining its use of structure, style, and imagery to enhance its theme. In the Elizabethan period, â€Å"Lullaby,† by Richard Rowlands; in the Romantic period, Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s â€Å"Youth and Age;† in the Victorian period, â€Å"A Child’s Laughter,â€Å" by Algernon Charles Swinburne; and in the Modern period, Jessica Hagedorn’s â€Å"Sorcery,† the reader will come to the conclusion that they have minor similarities as well as significant differences in the areas of structure, style, theme and imagery.The Romantic poem called â€Å"Youth and Age,† by Samuel T. Coleridge and the Modern poem, â€Å"Sorcery,† by Jessica Hagedorn are similar in structure. Out of these two poems, neither one of them have stanzas that have a set number of lines, nor do they have set rhyme schemes. For example in â€Å"Yo uth and Age,† there are three stanzas which contain at first seventeen lines, then twenty-one lines and finally eleven lines. In comparison, â€Å"Sorcery† has seven stanzas with a varying number of lines in each stanza. Thus, these poems are free verses. In Algernon C. Swinburne’s â€Å"A Child’s Laughter,† he uses his own particular rhyme scheme to portray the message of his poem. Each stanza consists of five lines and every fifth line rhymes. For example, in the fifth line of the first stanza the speaker states, â€Å"All sweet sounds together† and in the fifth line of the second stanza the speaker states, â€Å"Wind in warm wan weather.† In Richard Rowlands’ â€Å"Lullaby† there is also a pattern. Each stanza consists of six lines and every fifth and sixth line is the same through out the poem. These repeated lines are as follows: â€Å"Sing lullaby, my little boy† and Sing lullaby, mine only joy.† Therefore, â€Å"A Child’s Laughter† contains an aabbc- ddeec pattern and â€Å"Lullaby† contains an aabbcc-ddeecc pattern. Furthermore, in â€Å"A Child’s Laughter† the speaker addresses children, he states, â€Å"Something seen and heard of men Might be half as sweet as when Laughs a child of seven.† By this quotation, the audience can surmise that the speaker means that there is no sweeter sound he can hear, than that of a child’s laughter. In â€Å"Lullaby†, the speaker’s choice of subject is also children, he or she states, â€Å"Meantime his love maintains my life and gives my senses her rest.† In other words, this child is his or her only reason for living. The reader can infer that these poems are similar in theme because both of their messages stress the innocence and sweetness of children. All of the poems that have been chosen appear to have a common style. In Richard Rowlands’ â€Å"Lullaby† and â€Å"A Child’s Laughter,† by Algernon Charles Swinburne both speakers mediate on his love or passion for children. In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s â€Å"Youth and Age,† the speaker focuses on the nature of the aging human. Last but not least, in â€Å"Sorcery,† by Jessica Hagedorn, the speaker stresses the beauty of an individual. Because each of these poems mediate or focus on life, nature and/or love, they can be classified as being lyrical in style. There is a drastic change in the use of language from the Elizabethan and the Romantic periods to the Victorian and the Modern periods. In â€Å"Lullaby† and â€Å"Youth and Age,† the poets use words like â€Å"thy† and â€Å"Thou,† when in â€Å"A Child’s Laughter† and â€Å"Sorcery† words like those are replaced with the words â₠¬Å"you† and â€Å"I.† Because the Elizabethan and Romantic poems are written in this manner, they seem to be more difficult for the audience to grasp, however; the use of these words made the poems very easy to classify in periods. The reader can infer that as opposed to all the rest of the poetry, the theme of â€Å"Sorcery† seems to be more straightforward. For example, after reading the lines â€Å"there are some people i know whose beauty is a crime†¦who make you so crazy that you don’t know whether to throw yourself at them or kill them,† the reader knows right away that the theme of the poem is that outstanding beauty in an individual can never be overlooked. In contrast, the lines â€Å"Nought cared this body for wind or weather† and â€Å"When Youth and I lived in’t together,† in the poem â€Å"Youth and Age† make it hard for the audience to figure out or analyze its theme. To the reader, it seems as thought the message is hidden. The speaker means the older you get, the weaker you are physically. In â€Å"A Child’s Laughter,† the poet, Algernon Charles Swinburne, uses images of sound to explain the lines â€Å"All the winds on earth may bring All sweet sounds together† and â€Å"Sweeter far than all things heard.† By this, the speaker is stating that no other harmonious sound in the world is as pleasing as the sound of laughing children. In contrast, Jessica Hagedorn in her poem, â€Å"Sorcery,† does not use images of nature, but decides to use images of vision instead. The speaker states, â€Å"they most likely be walking down the street when you least expect it trying to look ordinary†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Because of this quotation, the reader can visualize a good looking indidvidual standing out in the crowd.One speaker is expressing his or her love of children and the other is expressing lust of the flesh, thus; the type of imagery used by each poet helps in implementing the poets’ message. Moreover, in â€Å"Lullaby,† Richard Rowlands chooses to use the images of emotion to convey the endearing love that a parent has towards his or her child. For example, the speaker states, â€Å"Upon my lap my sovereign sits And sucks upon my breast† and â€Å"Sing lullaby, my little boy, Sing lullaby, mine only joy,† which signifies that because this child is the speaker’s most precious treasure, he will provide for the child the best he could. Lastly, in Coleridge’s â€Å"Youth and Age† the poet uses images of nature to explain how â€Å"Friendship is a sheltering tree†¦the joys that came down shower like, Of friendship, Love and Liberty, Ere I was old.† The speaker feels that life’s joys of friendship, love and liberty are appreciated more when you are older. One poet is expressing the love that a parent has for his child and the other is expressing the affects of growing old, so again, the imagery in each poem helps the poet to develop his message.In conclusion, after each period has undergone careful study, one discovers that in the modern poem, â€Å"Sorcery,† by Jessica Hagedorn, the theme is the most effective. The poet’s use of imagery and choice of language makes the theme easier for the audience to comprehend, than that of any other period. The other poets’ messages seem unclear because their uses of imagery and chooses language only make the themes of the poems more confusing. - 1 - EssayIn Algernon C. Swinburne’s â€Å"A Child’s Laughter,† he uses his own particular rhyme scheme to portray the message of his poem. Each stanza consists of five lines and every fifth line rhymes. For example, in the fifth line of the first stanza the speaker states, â€Å"All sweet sounds together† and in the fifth line of the second stanza the speaker states, â€Å"Wind in warm wan weather.† In Richard Rowlands’ â€Å"Lullaby† there is also a pattern. Each stanza consists of six lines and every fifth and sixth line is the same through out the poem. These repeated lines are as follows: â€Å"Sing lullaby, my little boy† and Sing lullaby, mine only joy.† Therefore, â€Å"A Child’s Laughter† contains an aabbc- ddeec pattern and â€Å"Lullaby† contains an aabbcc-ddeecc pattern. Furthermore, in â€Å"A Child’s Laughter† the speaker addresses children, he states, â€Å"Something seen and heard of men Might be half as sweet as when Laughs a child of seven.† By this quotation, the audience can surmise that the speaker means that there is no sweeter sound he can hear, than that of a child’s laughter. In â€Å"Lullaby†, the speaker’s choice of subject is also children, he or she states, â€Å"Meantime his love maintains my life and gives my senses her rest.† In other words, this child is his or her only reason for living. The reader can infer that these poems are similar in theme because both of their messages stress the innocence and sweetness of children. All of the poems that have been chosen appear to have a common style. In Richard Rowlands’ â€Å"Lullaby† and â€Å"A Child’s Laughter,† by Algernon Charles Swinburne both speakers mediate on his love or passion for children. In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s â€Å"Youth and Age,† the speaker focuses on the nature of the aging human. Last but not least, in â€Å"Sorcery,† by Jessica Hagedorn, the speaker stresses the beauty of an individual. Because each of these poems mediate or focus on life, nature and/or love, they can be classified as being lyrical in style. There is a drastic change in the use of language from the Elizabethan and the Romantic periods to the Victorian and the Modern periods. In â€Å"Lullaby† and â€Å"Youth and Age,† the poets use words like â€Å"thy† and â€Å"Thou,† when in â€Å"A Child’s Laughter† and â€Å"Sorcery† words like those are replaced with the words â₠¬Å"you† and â€Å"I.† Because the Elizabethan and Romantic poems are written in this manner, they seem to be more difficult for the audience to grasp, however; the use of these words made the poems very easy to classify in periods. The reader can infer that as opposed to all the rest of the poetry, the theme of â€Å"Sorcery† seems to be more straightforward. For example, after reading the lines â€Å"there are some people i know whose beauty is a crime†¦who make you so crazy that you don’t know whether to throw yourself at them or kill them,† the reader knows right away that the theme of the poem is that outstanding beauty in an individual can never be overlooked. In contrast, the lines â€Å"Nought cared this body for wind or weather† and â€Å"When Youth and I lived in’t together,† in the poem â€Å"Youth and Age† make it hard for the audience to figure out or analyze its theme. To the reader, it seems as thought the message is hidden. The speaker means the older you get, the weaker you are physically. In â€Å"A Child’s Laughter,† the poet, Algernon Charles Swinburne, uses images of sound to explain the lines â€Å"All the winds on earth may bring All sweet sounds together† and â€Å"Sweeter far than all things heard.† By this, the speaker is stating that no other harmonious sound in the world is as pleasing as the sound of laughing children. In contrast, Jessica Hagedorn in her poem, â€Å"Sorcery,† does not use images of nature, but decides to use images of vision instead. The speaker states, â€Å"they most likely be walking down the street when you least expect it trying to look ordinary†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Because of this quotation, the reader can visualize a good looking indidvidual standing out in the crowd.One speaker is expressing his or her love of children and the other is expressing lust of the flesh, thus; the type of imagery used by each poet helps in implementing the poets’ message. Moreover, in â€Å"Lullaby,† Richard Rowlands chooses to use the images of emotion to convey the endearing love that a parent has towards his or her child. For example, the speaker states, â€Å"Upon my lap my sovereign sits And sucks upon my breast† and â€Å"Sing lullaby, my little boy, Sing lullaby, mine only joy,† which signifies that because this child is the speaker’s most precious treasure, he will provide for the child the best he could. Lastly, in Coleridge’s â€Å"Youth and Age† the poet uses images of nature to explain how â€Å"Friendship is a sheltering tree†¦the joys that came down shower like, Of friendship, Love and Liberty, Ere I was old.† The speaker feels that life’s joys of friendship, love and liberty are appreciated more when you are older. One poet is expressing the love that a parent has for his child and the other is expressing the affects of growing old, so again, the imagery in each poem helps the poet to develop his message.In conclusion, after each period has undergone careful study, one discovers that in the modern poem, â€Å"Sorcery,† by Jessica Hagedorn, the theme is the most effective. The poet’s use of imagery and choice of language makes the theme easier for the audience to comprehend, than that of any other period. The other poets’ messages seem unclear because their uses of imagery and chooses language only make the themes of the poems more confusing. An Elizabethan, a Romantic, Victorian, and Modern poem Bibliography: