Poem Comparison (Burns and Rossetti) - 1265 Words

Comparison of Robert Burns A Red, Red Rose and Christina Rosetti s A Birthday Though the subject of both Robert Burns A Red, Red Rose and Christina Rosetti s A Birthday is love, the tone, diction, and form of each underline the different themes. The theme of the Burns poem is the beautiful ardency of the lover saying farewell to his love, while the Rosetti poem focuses on the joyous feelings of lovers being reunited. Both poems convey love as an emotion that transcends the immediate world of feeling; thus, references are made by the speakers to eternity, and vivid imagery is employed to describe extraordinary settings. Although both poems focus on love, the tone in the Burns poem is tragic, while A Birthday conveys†¦show more content†¦This form allows Rossetti to present a balanced series of similes in the first stanza, likening her heart to such beautiful things as a rainbow shell / that paddles in a halcyon sea, and then declaring that her heart is gladder than all thes e. By describing the emotions before explaining why they should be so, Rossetti puts emphasis on the reason for the happiness: because my love is come to me. The second stanza of this poem is full of imagery of the preparations to be made for the reception of her love. Details such as a dais of silk and down, vair and purple dyes, and peacocks with a hundred eyes suggest that the surroundings will decorated with sensuous materials to reflect the speaker s pleasure at the thought of her love. This description could be applied literally to a wedding, or a similarly joyous reunion of two separated lovers; however, it can also be a metaphor for the heavenly conditions the speaker experiences when she is with her lover. Burns also uses metaphors in his poem when he alludes to the end of the time with the following lines: And I will love thee still, my dear Till a the seas gang dry Â… And the rocks melt wi the sun: And I will love thee still, my dear, While the sands o life shall run. This instance, as well as the last line of the poem, is an example of hyperbole being used to convey an absolute dedication to the woman the speaker loves. In both poems, the strict form lends itselfShow MoreRelatedThe Goblin Market : Religion And Sensuality2431 Words   |  10 Pageswould prove to be her legacy; Rossetti issued a 567-line masterpiece she called â€Å"Goblin Market,† a story of temptation, redemption, sisterhood, and unconditional love, a story she claimed was merely a children’s fairytale with no truly profound meaning. However, for over a century critics and readers alike have contemplated whether or not that claim was true, discovering dozens of possible messages Rossetti could have been trying to convey through her unforgettable poem. Despite their diversity, theRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night 3329 Words   |  14 Pagesthroughout each of these six poems; however each poet interprets death and its effects in completely different ways. Some poets, such as Christina Rossetti in her poem ‘Remember’, focus on bereavement in a domestic setting; whereas Carol Ann Duffy, Chinua Achebe and Wilfred Owen concentrate upon death as a result of war in ‘War Photographer’, ‘A Mother in a Refugee Camp’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum est’, respectively. Alice Walker in ‘Poem at Thirty-Nine’ and Dylan Thomas in his poem ‘Do Not Go Gentle intoRead MoreLiterary Group in British Poetry5631 Words   |  23 PagesThe history of English poetry stretches from the middle of the 7th century to the present day. Over this period, English poets have written some of the most enduring poems in Western culture, and the language and its poetry have spread around the globe. Consequently, the term English poetry is unavoidably ambiguous. It can mean poetry written in England, or poetry written in the English language. The earliest surviving poetry was likely transmitted orally and then written down in versions that do