Compare and Contrast John Donne and Edgar Allen Poe Essay Example

the bygone era: "All Kings, and all their favorites,/All glory of honors, beauties, wits,/ The Sun itself, which creates times as they elapse,/ Is now a year older than it was/ When you and I first saw each other.

Both poems consistently echo a reminiscent tone towards a perfect period, initially exposed at the start of the poem. This recurring theme permeates the whole poem through both imagery and vocabulary in Poe and Donne’s works. Poe uses it as a distinct refrain, while Donne employs it as variations of the original concept. The impacts on technique are clear - Poe's poem is more likely to leave an imprint on memory than Donne's. Nevertheless, both poets aim to articulate their individual and private experiences by using universally recognized symbols such as Kings, Princesses, the sun, and the sea.

The resulting theme has a unique distinction. Poe's concise and well-calculated structure efficiently magnifies the poem's somber topics of private agony and despair, instigating a perpetual sense of melancholy within the verses which is precisely the poem's central concept. One can visualize the poem's rhythm and rhyming pattern translating seamlessly into a wordless musical tune, leading to a similar form of radiant sorrow. This detail aligns not just with Poe's artistic beliefs but also with the circumstances of his unfortunate life and profession.

Poe spent the majority of his life in poverty after being rejected by his foster parents. His biological mother, who was an actress, passed away when he was young and this had a profound influence on his subsequent writings, clearly reflected in his tendency towards sadness. "Annabel Lee" was actually inspired by Poe's sorrowful marriage to his younger

cousin, Virginia Clemm, who was only fourteen at the time. Edgar A. Poe and Thomas W. Cleland were associated with the marriage of Edgar Poe and Virginia Clemm.

Cleland affirmed in a sworn statement that Virginia was "of legal adult age, twenty-one years old," but in reality, she was just shy of her fourteenth birthday. ,"who tragically passed away soon after they said their vows. (Quinn 252) Poe's financial struggles and unstable job conditions limited his work to the period's literary journals. His notable contributions include laying the groundwork for the genre of "detective stories," and his influential insights as a critic and literary theorist. His body of work includes short stories, critiques, non-fiction, along with poetry. Sadly, Poe's life was cut short at the young age of forty.

Despite the ambiguity surrounding his death, his life was unequivocally tumultuous and frequently laced with sorrow, leading to a rather succinct, tragic, yet stunning literary oeuvre. (Quinn) On the other hand, John Donne's scholarly journey took him to Oxford, Cambridge, and Lincoln's Inn. His wide-ranging travels included a voyage with the Earl of Essex to the Azores. He earned a name for himself as a poet and public figure after serving as secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton (later Baron Ellesmere), the lord keeper of the great seal. Unlike hardship, Donne experienced royal recognition and fame. ("Donne, John")

Just as Poe's personal history influences the basic elements and themes of his literary creations, Donne's life experiences contribute to the simplicity and thoughtful intellect in his philosophical works and lectures. "All the entirety of a person named John Donne with unique idiosyncrasies and personal experiences; literary norms drawn from ancient elegy,

Medieval scholasticism, courtly love lyric, Renaissance Petrarchanism, amongst others[... inclusive of all these aspects in John Donne's romantic poems with many others beyond enumeration. What binds them together into a cohesive whole is wittiness."(Young 251). Conversely, Poe opted for the grotesque rather than ironic humor and warmth.

"Annabel Lee" characteristically concludes with a monochromatic and monotonic surrender to death, indicative of the poet's typical methods. Although the narrator reconnecting with his deceased lover's body hints at some form of liberation, there's no suggestion of any subsequent revitalization or growth beyond this shared oblivion. The verses, "In the sepulchre there by the sea,/In her tomb by the sounding sea" depict a conflicting push towards and retreat from death. However, this ambiguity is surpassed by the overarching symbol of the "sea" which, in the poem's context, symbolizes oblivion. In contrast to this, nature in Donne's poetry is portrayed as understanding and consonant with the observer's grief, hinting at a purifying and emotional relief experience.

"Live with honor, continue breathing, and pile year upon year until we've lived sixty; this marks our second reign," pertains to Donne's poetry. His poems gravitate towards the cycle of nature and cosmic harmony. His entire body of work - ranging from romantic sonnets to religious or philosophical poems - showcases an extraordinary blend of fervor and intellect. His romantically charged lyrics encapsulate the extensive spectrum of love experience [... ] detecting the origin of divine love within bodily love. His spiritual poetry and preachings reflect a deep concern about death, rot, damnation, and the potential for the soul's divine union with God. ("Donne, John").

On the other hand, Poe's verse grants and conveys the

continuous clash between life and death "The angels not so happy in Heaven,?
Went envying her and me." Donne's perspective is one of life and death existing in constant equilibrium and merging – "When bodies to their graves/Souls from their graves remove." This stark contrast between the two poems and poets could be best articulated by Donne's saying “And then we shall be thoroughly blessed." In “Annabel Lee," the blessed are those who must succumb to death; but for Donne, humanity is mightier than death. He regards death as a delicate component of the vast human experience, far from being suppressive.

The inherent disparity in the poems is mirrored in their construct and articulation. The comparatively fatalistic tones of Poe contrast with Donne's deeply thought-out and lyrically introspective homage. Both poets grapple with the demise of a loved one and, through their profound connection with the departed, arrive at a conclusion about the essence of death: for Poe it comes as an endless oblivion, whereas for Donne it symbolizes a recurring rejuvenation. The topic of human mortality serves as a productive foundation for both poets to craft enduring poems that reverberate through the ages.