A Comparative Study of Three Pre-1914 Love Poems Essay Example

emphasizes the most significant words while reflecting a rhythm that mimics their heart rate, which changes depending on the scene. For instance, "And then my blood rushed to my face" highlights "rushed" and "And then" to illustrate the heart's accelerated pace. This technique assists readers in gaining a better understanding of John Clare's emotions. In contrast to "First Love," William Shakespeare's poem title "Shall I compare thee" uses a different approach.

William Shakespeare composed numerous sonnets of similar form, but they do not engage the reader similarly as this one does.

In my opinion, the title is a reflection of the author's thoughts rather than a direct address to readers. The author is pondering, "What other thing in this world can I use to compare my love?" Eventually, he finds his answer: "a summer's day." The poem begins with this analogy, yet he goes on to describe how his love is "more temperate" than a summer's day. It is worth noting that a summer's day is not always ideal and can have occasional extremes, such as gusty winds or excessive heat.

Shakespeare expresses that his love is "more temperate", indicating that his beloved is even more mild-mannered and lacks any extremes. Unlike "First Love", "Shall I compare thee...?" is a sonnet organized in quatrains, with a rhyming scheme of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet.

The poem's rhythm is crucial, following the iambic pentameter pattern common in many of Shakespeare's works. For example, "And summer's lease hath all too short a date" adheres to the pattern of five iambic feet per line, lending the piece a dramatic and well-paced tone when spoken aloud. In contrast, "To his

coy mistress" by Andrew Marvell takes a unique approach to the subject of love. Written from a first-person perspective, the title suggests that the author, Andrew Marvell, may have been observing a young man as he wrote the piece.

The young man in the poem is immature and selfish, hoping to win over "his coy mistress" with a "seize the moment" attitude. Unlike John Clare's "First Love," the young man in this poem lacks interest in true love and only desires physical intimacy. He expresses his immediate and urgent passion for his mistress with lines like "At every pore with instant fires." This makes it clear that his intentions are solely focused on fulfilling his desire for sex, with no romance involved. This becomes even more evident as we read on in the poem.

Andrew Marvell cleverly uses a pun in the final two lines to illustrate his point - "Thus, though we cannot make our sun / Stand still, yet we will make him run". He uses the word "sun" which, being a homophone of "son", adds depth to his argument. While "sun" represents the inevitability of time passing, "son" signifies their ability to create a new life that will be able to move forward. By acknowledging that he cannot halt time, the young man reinforces his point that they should act now and create a child together. However, this also reveals his immaturity as he is already thinking about having children despite their relationship being in its early stages. It seems he only wants to take advantage of her coy nature and use her for his own desires.

All three poems make use of metaphors

and similes to create imagery. John Clare's "First Love" uses them effectively to illustrate his feelings. One example is “My life and all seemed turned to clay,” which employs a metaphor to depict the change in his world. His inability to be with his beloved results in his surroundings being filled with dark, gloomy colors reminiscent of clay.

"They spoke as chords do from the string" is an example of a simile that portrays the intense emotions of love that are flowing within. To comprehend poetry effectively, one must examine the context and derive meaning from the words. This is particularly crucial while scrutinizing Shakespeare's "Shall I compare thee," one of the many sonnets composed by him during his lifetime and part of the Fair Youth sequence.

The Fair Youth, to whom Shakespeare devoted sonnets one through one hundred and twenty-six, is an anonymous young man. There are numerous conjectures regarding the identity of this enigmatic figure, most of which are based on the initials "Mr. W.H." to which Shakespeare dedicated the sonnets. Among the prevailing suppositions is that the individual is Henry Wriothesley, the 3rd Earl of Southampton, who was an attractive young adult.

Shakespeare was evidently deeply influenced by an individual who is the subject of one hundred and twenty six of his poems. The significance of context when interpreting "First Love" is also critical. John Clare was born into dire poverty and was compelled to undertake grueling manual labor from a young age, with limited access to educational or literary resources. This knowledge of his background informs one's perception of the poem, rendering it simultaneously brilliant and sorrowful. Given Clare's social class, the

"sweet flower" he describes in the poem would have always remained beyond his grasp, regardless of circumstance.

The love mentioned by John Clare likely went unreciprocated and caused lasting emotional damage that ultimately led him to be institutionalized in Northampton. This illustrates the significance of understanding the contextual details of Clare's life and experiences in order to fully comprehend his poetry and appreciate its impact. Comparing the literary techniques utilized in these three poems allows for deeper analysis of their effects on the reader, with "First Love" standing out as my personal favorite.

Despite its innocent writing style, John Clare's tale is a compelling and tragic account because of his unattainable love interest due to social class. Nevertheless, his humble background adds depth and significance to his work. In contrast, "To his coy mistress" lacks substance and history, yet I appreciate its witty and satirical approach to traditional love poems, showcasing a cruder form of love through clever puns and metaphors while utilizing iambic pentameter.

When it comes to "Shall I compare thee...? ", I appreciate the utilization of rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter, though in comparison to "First Love," I find it less relatable and am not particularly fond of its conclusion.

The appealing aspect of "Shall I compare thee...?" is the enigma it holds, as if Shakespeare created an ending adaptable to any poem, seemingly struggling to come up with a fitting conclusion.

Shakespeare's youth, who appears in many of his sonnets, remains a mystery and whether the love depicted in the poems is purely platonic is unlikely to ever be known. Despite this, while studying these poems, I observed multiple literary techniques that I hope to

incorporate into my own writing. It has been a pleasure to analyze these three poems and discover how even works within the same genre can differ greatly in both style and content. For me, this is the essence of the beauty of poetry - it thrives on diverse interpretations and encourages a broad-minded approach to literature.