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Compare The Poem When I Have Fears By Henry Longfellow

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Hawa Musa Larsen English Literature (AP) 25 October 2017 Compare and Contrast Poems Essay The poems “When I have Fears” by John Keats and “Mezzo Cammin” by Henry Longfellow have many similarities and differences in their overall messages, on their views on life and death, and their views on their goals in life. The two poets can be seen as opposites as one is more hopeful and optimistic, while the other is more pessimistic and accepting of failure. The two poems surround the fear of dying before accomplishing life dreams. In “When I have Fears”, Keats is afraid of his life ending before he has a chance to leave a mark on the world by becoming a famous poet. You can see this in lines 1 and 2 of his poem: “I have fears that I may cease to be / Before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain” (Lines 1-2). At the same time, Longfellow has the same fear in “Mezzo Cammin”, where he’s afraid of dying without accomplishing his life goals/dreams. This is shown in lines 1 and 2 of his poem as well: “Half my life is gone, and I have let / The years slip from me and have not fulfilled / The aspirations of my youth”. Both poets are sorrow in not fulfilling their life dreams and talk about death. The poems talk about how death is inevitable and is fast approaching. The authors convey their fear of the passing of time, and how before they know it, they’ll reach the end of their lives. They talk about their regrets and their past experiences with life. Keats talks about how uneventful his life

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