Comparing Authors
Comparing Authors
William Shakespeare and W.H. Auden are widely known for their great poems. Shakespeare’s “My Mistress Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun” is a love unlike any poem from the Elizabethan era. Shakespeare does not use false comparisons to describe his lover like most love poem do, which is refreshing. W.H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues” is another love poem that is little gloomier. However it shows how much death can affect an individual’s life. Together Shakespeare and Auden use similar and different poetic elements from tone to persona to enlighten the reader, however Shakespeare’s poem conveys its meaning of love more effectively.
One example how the poets use different poetic elements to help communicate their meaning is through the use of persona. In Auden’s poem, it is unclear on if the speaker is male or female. Only thing that is known that whoever is speaking the person is mourning their lovers’ death. Even though in sixth line in second stanza and in the ninth line in third stanza Auden uses the word he to describe someone, it is still unknown who the speaker is. In Shakespeare’s poem, the persona is informal who a male uses negative statements to portray this love for this wife. This can be concluded because Shakespeare uses the word mistress and she when describing the person who he is writing about. This is one rare times in a Shakespeare poem that you know the fact to be true and there is no need to question it. Through Shakespeare’s’ use of persona it helps the reader understand his meaning of love easier, while Auden lack of exactly knowing who is speaking does not help the reader understand this message. Another poetic element were Shakespeare does a better job at is through the tone.
Another element where both poems are noticeably different is through the tone. In Shakespeare’s poem the tone is more honest with a bit of mockery. In the ninth and tenth line in the first stanza Shakespeare compares his lover voice to the sound of
William Shakespeare and W.H. Auden are widely known for their great poems. Shakespeare’s “My Mistress Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun” is a love unlike any poem from the Elizabethan era. Shakespeare does not use false comparisons to describe his lover like most love poem do, which is refreshing. W.H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues” is another love poem that is little gloomier. However it shows how much death can affect an individual’s life. Together Shakespeare and Auden use similar and different poetic elements from tone to persona to enlighten the reader, however Shakespeare’s poem conveys its meaning of love more effectively.
One example how the poets use different poetic elements to help communicate their meaning is through the use of persona. In Auden’s poem, it is unclear on if the speaker is male or female. Only thing that is known that whoever is speaking the person is mourning their lovers’ death. Even though in sixth line in second stanza and in the ninth line in third stanza Auden uses the word he to describe someone, it is still unknown who the speaker is. In Shakespeare’s poem, the persona is informal who a male uses negative statements to portray this love for this wife. This can be concluded because Shakespeare uses the word mistress and she when describing the person who he is writing about. This is one rare times in a Shakespeare poem that you know the fact to be true and there is no need to question it. Through Shakespeare’s’ use of persona it helps the reader understand his meaning of love easier, while Auden lack of exactly knowing who is speaking does not help the reader understand this message. Another poetic element were Shakespeare does a better job at is through the tone.
Another element where both poems are noticeably different is through the tone. In Shakespeare’s poem the tone is more honest with a bit of mockery. In the ninth and tenth line in the first stanza Shakespeare compares his lover voice to the sound of