G.C.S.E English and English Literature Coursework Poetry Assignment

Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.

In this essay I am going to compare and contrast ‘When we two parted’ a poem of George Gordon, Lord Byron’s written in 1815 and Letitia Elizabeth Landon’s ‘Love’s last lesson’ written in c1838, both poets are British and of the romantic period.

promises his utmost respect and loyalty in an attempt to make her want to leave with him. He

Not only do these poems share differences through the speakers childhood, but also through the tones of the works.

Similarly, the phrase ‘the next moment, you are no longer there’ is perhaps suggesting that he was shocked at seeing her go so suddenly. However, the fact that when she next reappears she is ‘perfectly framed shows us that the joy of seeing her after thinking she has gone for good is a surprise to him. ‘Fragrant survivors of last night’s frost’ shows us that the flowers are strong, which is a suggestion that their love is strong. In the fourth verse the phrase ‘my heart misses a beat at love for you’ shows us that the love was so intense that time seemed to stop too. ‘Knowing a time will come when you are no longer there’ shows us that he is not looking forward to that time and that he knows it is inevitable. ‘Meanwhile let us make sure we clasp each shared moment’ shows us that he wants to make sure they use their time together wisely, and ‘in cupped hands, like water we dare not spill’ shows us they know that their time together is precious.

The speaker says, “…older than the flow of human blood in my veins” (Line 1). Blood is only developed when a fetus is being grown, in the Mother, but within the blood lies DNA of their ancestors from past generations. The speaker uses human blood to relate to the fact that our blood is old and connected to our heritage because we carry their DNA inside of us. “I’ve seen its muddy bosom” (Line 9). Muddy, implies a bleak outlook of not being able to see the end. Lose of hope. “Turns all golden in the sunset” (Line 9) the ominous of a sparse future comes to an end with the sunset signifying hope and a new beginning. The association to his ancestors’ bleak past is his what binds their experiences to him.

Prompt: Read the following two poems very carefully, noting that the second includes an allusion to the first. Then write a well-organized essay in which you discuss their similarities and differences. In your essay, be sure to consider both theme and style.

In the final stanza, he makes the reader sad as he assumes the inevitable will happen and she will die. He expresses this through metaphors such as a “black figure in her white cave”, which is a reference to the bright white hospital rooms and although he is the black figure he thinks she just sees a shadow which could be the grim reaper or even death himself, coming to end her journey. No one wants to deal with the sorrow of losing a loved one for good, as

telling her that if he had all the time in the world he would use it

Reflections Within is a non-traditional stanzaic poem made up of five stanzas containing thirty-four lines that do not form a specific metrical pattern. Rather it is supported by its thematic structure. Each of the five stanzas vary in the amount of lines that each contain. The first stanza is a sestet containing six lines. The same can be observed of the second stanza. The third stanza contains eight lines or an octave. Stanzas four and five are oddly in that their number of lines which are five and nine.

that she is deeply in love, even though she has only just met him, "Go

can only feel. The greatest poems tell stories that readers wish to be true. They open doors to

Therefore we have two poems which are deliberately changing their structure from the norm in order to create effect. However, these effects have totally different intentions, which lead to the end of the similarities and the first of many differences between the two poems.

Ozymandias is a poem about a traveler, who is from a distant land, which traveled to a desart. The traveler wandered across a statue in the middle of the desart. The statue was enormous, but it was shattered into pieces. The one specific piece that caught his eye was

The speaker is really focusing on the full range of motion in the whole poem. A good example is especially when it talks about the declaration that (if he had time) he would love her “ten years before the flood” and “till the conversation of the Jews” combines hyperbole and allusions to create motion, in this case, a sense of rapid movement through time. He also uses the Biblical language ironically to poke fun at the mistress, whom he accuses of wanting something (like eternal love) while saying in the same breath that he would give this to her if he has time. This is the only instance of allusion in the