"A Psalm of Life" and "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" both by poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Emily Dickenson are similar poems expressed by theme, mood, and structure. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow forms a picture in his reader’s minds with his poem by expressing his theme of ‘living life for a purpose." His mood in the poem is inspiring, and motivating. "Act in the living present! Life is real! Life is earnest!" in this quote from the poem, Longfellow explains how a person should live their life for a purpose and make the best of it because it doesn’t last long. Longfellow sends a message to inspire its readers to live actively, and neither to lament the past nor to take the future for granted. Emily Dickenson symbolizes life in
Robert Frost and William Shakespeare have been celebrated by many people because of their ability to express themselves through the written word. Here we are years after their deaths analyzing these fascinating poems about life and death. It’s clear they had similar thoughts about this subject at the time of these writings, even though their characters could not have been more opposite. For both poets, life is too
When comparing Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” and Alan Seeger’s “I Have a Rendezvous with Death,” there is an obvious similarity in the theme: the end of life. Although the perspectives are different and the tones don’t quite mirror one another, there are many similarities between two poems. “I Have a Rendezvous With Death” shares the experience of a young soldier who undoubtedly fears his demise, but because of the belief in the work that he is doing, has conditionally accepted, or at least come to terms with, the fact that it is more likely than not that he will not be returning home from the war. “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” does not give quite as clear a backstory on the protagonist, but a similar acceptance of Death, personified, is evident also. Both protagonists envision their demise and are able to stoically march on into the great unknown.
Essentially I feel that each poem in its own “Funeral Blues” (W. H. Auden), “Death, be not proud” (John Donne), and “Because I could not stop for Death” (Emily Dickinson) are unique in their own way however, I feel that two poems in particular may show more similarity in each other versus all three being compared at once although, I will be comparing and contrasting all three poems towards the end of this essay. For example, When reading “Funeral Blues” (W. H. Auden), I felt a greater sense of similarity to “Because I could not stop for death” (Emily Dickinson) versus “Death, be not proud” (John Donne) so I will begin to discuss those poems first. When comparing each poem I will
The works of Herman Melville and Frederick Douglass are both centered on the topic of slavery. Although both texts are similar in the sense that they focus directly on the theme of slavery, the functions of each work differ drastically. The differences in the works stem from both the style of the text, and the way that this style functions in accordance with the reader. Although Herman Melville’s Benito Cereno is drawn from an actual event, Melville embellishes and alters the event in the style of prose. The prose style used by Melville invites the reader to question the story while understanding that the majority of the work is fictional. The confusion of Captain Delano is brought onto the reader, and therefore engages the reader because of the limited point of view the story is told in. Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass tells of actual events that occurred using twentieth and twenty-first century plain style. This style of writing does not ask the reader to question what he is saying, but feel his emotions as they read the narrative. Although readers may understand both works to be stories about slavery written differently in terms of style, I argue that the way the texts are written sets up the readers interpretation of them. Melville and Douglass differ because Melville’s work invites the reader to think, whereas Douglass’s work invites the reader to feel.
In literature, themes shape and characterize an author’s writing making each work unique as different points of view are expressed within a writing’s words and sentences. This is the case, for example, of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” and Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” Both poems focus on the same theme of death, but while Poe’s poem reflects that death is an atrocious event because of the suffering and struggle that it provokes, Dickinson’s poem reflects that death is humane and that it should not be feared as it is inevitable. The two poems have both similarities and differences, and the themes and characteristics of each poem can be explained by the author’s influences and lives.
Emily Dickinson, who lived from 1830 to 1886, also had a large impact in the American Romantic period. However, she would never know of the impact she had due to the fact that her writings were not published until after her death. The subject of her poetry ranged from religion to nature, which both are large influences to this time. One poem that fits in very well with this era is “Because I Could Not Stop for Death.” The poem begins by saying, “Because I could not stop for death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality.” This poem deals with human immortality and what occurs after we die. The desire for knowledge and wanting to understand what we currently do not are influences in American Romanticism. Dickinson seemed to be consumed with death and what happens to humans after death, she even wrote to a priest to ask what the state of mind was of a friend she had while he was on his deathbed. Her fascination with death played a major role in many of her
T.I 2008 song “Live your life” song is basically telling you to live life to the fullest and don’t go out looking for what you don’t have. Be grateful for what you have and just “live your life”. Now Longfellow's poem “A psalm of life” is telling you basically the same thing, just in a more complex way. “Life is a but an empty dream” said in stanza one. Although they have some differences the similarities between T.I and Longfellow's are clear.
Two literary pieces, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by, Dylan Thomas and “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by, Emily Dickinson are both poems that discuss the topic of death. While there are some similarities and comparisons between the two poems, when it comes to the themes, both poets writing styles are quite different from one another which makes each poem unique. Thomas and Dickinson both use identical figurative language devices and other literature symbolisms as they explain their main themes which contrasts the differences to the concept of death. These distinct variations between poems are apparent in both the form, and how the choice of words is used in the poems. Both of the authors have presented two very different ideas on death. The poems are well distinguished literature devices, they share minor similarities and differences between each other and how they present the meaning of death to a toll.
To begin with, both Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson spoke about not only a person dying, but the people who were left to live through that person’s
There are many poets that have been writing some of the most amazing poems in the world for years upon years. Poetry is a great way to write about some of the most meaningful things in one’s life, without directly having to state what you’re trying to say some of the times. A lot of poets write about events within their lives as well as things in everyday life in the lives of everyone in the world. The poems “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) and “Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) both use great diction and varying tone in their poems to portray their individual perspectives about life.
The infamous poem “A Psalm of Life,” written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and chapter 39 of the book of Psalm in the Bible share many similarities as they both give advice on how to live one’s life. However, there are several differences in the two. In “A Psalm of Life,” the author wants to send out the message of not to live life in pursuit of death, but rather embrace every moment of it in pursuit of happiness. Although heaven maybe the ultimate goal in the end, we should all work to live life to the fullest . Life does not end with death, the soul lives on after earth, “Dust thou art, to dust returnest/Was not spoken of the soul.”
Charles Dickens' Hard Times and David Lodge's Nice Work ----“Fact, fact, fact, everywhere in the material aspect of the town; fact, fact, fact everywhere in the immaterial.” – Charles Dickens In the early 1851, London staged the Great Exhibition to show the world, the achievements and inventions of the Industrial Revolution. Many people believed that this showed how much better, safer and healthier Britain was than its neighbours in Europe. People living in mansions amid lawns and fountains, with horse drawn carriages certainly felt that life couldn’t be better. However behind the publicity and the royal occasions there was another England, not so glorious.
Emily Dickinson is one of the most famous authors in American History, and a good amount of that can be attributed to her uniqueness in writing. In Emily Dickinson's poem 'Because I could not stop for Death,' she characterizes her overarching theme of Death differently than it is usually described through the poetic devices of irony, imagery, symbolism, and word choice.
“To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle,” said by Walt Whitman. The poem “O Me! O Life!” by Walt Whitman talks about the contributions that people can give in life. Robert Frost’s poem, “Road Not Taken” talks about the impact of different choices a person makes in their life. The poem by Carl Sandburg, “Who Am I” discusses how truth is the bases of life. The common thread shared between all three poems is the hardships that life has to offer, because although, when it comes to troubling times what is the right choice.
Both the “Valediction Forbidding Mourning” by John Donne and “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson contain age-old themes. These themes focus on inevitable feelings and events of life; love and death. Although both “Valediction Forbidding Mourning” and “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” contain the two themes, they differ greatly in how they are presented and what they represent. In “Valediction Forbidding Mourning,” a husband traveling away from his wife is consoling her.