Poetry Comparisons

Poetry Comparisons

1. Telephone Conversation

   • Themes: Relationships/Loneliness/Isolation
     • Comparison 1: Hide And Seek
       • HaS=narrative TC=story (third person)
       • Both portray an event where experience gained
       • Main speakers both experence isolation
     • Comparison 2: War Photographer
       • Back from War - alone with experience
       • Caesura used
       • Repetition (rule of 3)
     • Comparison 3: A Mother In A...
       • Helpless=poor child born into poverty (disadvantage)
       • Metaphor comparisons
       • Vivid imagery

2. Once Upon A Time

   • Themes: Childhood to adulthood/Loneliness in society/Change
     • Comparison 1: Half Past Two
       • Childhood, innocence, reminiscing
       • Make up words 'Gettinguptime'
       • Both start 'Once Upon'
     • Comparison 2:Hide and Seek
       • Both have a theme of loneliness
       • Both start positive and end negative
       • Titles symbolise a traditional childhood
     • Comparison 3: Poem at 39
       • Both look back at childhood
       • Both envy the younger character
       • one starts negative (PA39) and the other starts positive (OUAT)

3. War Photographer

   • Themes: War/Death/Suffering/Pain
     • Comparison 1: A Mother...
       • Have similar themes and religious ideas/imagery
     • Comparison 2: Prayer Before...
       • Ideas of pain
       • Suffering in the world, turn to God
     • Comparison 3: Do Not Go...
       • Both have a regular structure
       • Rhyme scheme despite negative and angry themes

4. The Tyger

   • Themes: Innocence VS experience/Religion/Fear
     • Comparison 1: Piano
       • Structure mirrors content
       • Same AABB rhyme scheme
       • Talks about childhood with linked ideas of innocence
     • Comparison 2: Once Upon a Time
       • Based on innocence and experience
       • Symmetrical poems-innocence + experience reflect
       • "they" and "thee", doesn't directly say who but reader can guess
     • Comparison 3: A Mother...
       • Religious imagery in both
       • Innocence of child
       • Both have fear within them

5. My Last Duchess

   • Themes: Death/Love/Loneliness
     • Comparison 1: La Belle...
       • Myth of many cultures traditional ballad
       • Reminiscing (one more obvious), shows death
       • Unrequited love
     • Comparison 2: Sonnet 116
       • Negative imagery
       • Dramatic monologue (personal)
       • Caesura (breaks rhyme)
     • Comparison 3: Once Upon A Time
       • Reminiscent of past
       • Enjambment
       • Stanza size mirrors differing ideas

6. A Mother In A Refugee Camp

   • Themes: Death/Childhood/Love/Loss
     • Comparison 1: War Photographer
       • AMIARC-current war WP-previous war
       • Enjambment
       • More sensual language
     • Comparison 2: Prayer Before Birth
       • Spoken from child's point of view
       • Expects pain and suffering in PBB
       • Spiritual (both) but PBB is less vivid

7. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

   • Themes: Death/Family relationships/Suffering
     • Comparison 1: Piano
       • Juxtaposition in both
       • Negative
       • Piano=innocence+experience DNGG=experience
     • Comparison 2: A Mother...
       • Both use powerful adjectives
       • DNGG=dying old AMIARC=dying young
       • Explicit death described
     • Comparison 3: Remember
       • Titles=imperitive verbs
       • Both about realationships
       • Both want to end the suffering

8. Remember

   • Themes: Death/Relationships/Love/Loss
     • Comparison 1: Do Not Go...
       • 2nd person pronoun
       • Remember=positive Do Not Go...=negative
       • Imperitive verbs
     • Comparison 2: Poem at 39
       • Remembering love
       • Remember=short stanza 39=lots of stanzas
       • Peaceful death
     • Comparison 3: La Belle Dame...
       • Amount of stanzas/structure
       • Talks of the speakers experiences
       • Intensity of love