David_42
06-11-2010, 10:45 AM
Here's an essay my friends and I wrote for school and so we decided to publish it here. =) Enjoy =)
Shall I compare thee to Annabel Lee?
Have you ever entered a saloon and the people there started talking about two poems by the names “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?” and “Annabel Lee” and found that you had nothing to add to the conversation? Well fortunately for you we have dissected these poems for you and written our thoughts in this essay. Shakespeare’s sonnet “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” and Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” are two different and similar poems because they both use imagery, metaphor, personification, synecdoche, rhyme, symbol, alliteration, rhythm, and meter in different and similar ways to convey their message.
First both poems use imagery in similar ways to give you a picture of beauty. Imagery is used to paint a picture of something and both poets use it to describe the one they love(d). For example in line six of “Summer's Day” it says “his gold complexion dimmed.”(Probst, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and inc 561) In this line Shakespeare is saying that the girl is as beautiful as the sun, but even the sun doesn't last forever. In line eleven and twelve of “Annabel lee” Poe writes this “winged seraphs of heaven, Coveted her and me.” (Poe) He is talking about how even the beautiful heavenly creatures envied their love. You can see both take something that's already beautiful and use imagery to describe the one they love.
Second, in both poems Metaphor is used differently. A metaphor compares two things and in these poems metaphor is used differently where Shakespeare is comparing his love to a summer day and Poe is comparing him and Annabel to children. In line two of “Summer's Day” it says: “Thou art more lovely and more temperate.” (Probst, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and inc 561) Here metaphor is used to compare the girl to a wonderful summer's day. However in line seven of “Annabel Lee” we read this “I was a child and she was a child.” (Poe) The element of metaphor here is used to compare both themselves to children saying that their love was as pure and innocent as children. The use of metaphors in both poems are used differently in where one is using it to compare a summer's day to his love while the other compares him and his love to children.
The next element they use is personification, both poets use this element to describe a natural event in a unique way. Personification gives an inanimate object a human characteristic, both poems use this element to describe how the wind can destroy something beautiful. For example on line three of “Summer's Day” it sayeth this “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,” (Probst, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and inc 561) and in line twenty-five and twenty-six of “Annabel Lee” we read this “wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.” (Poe) In these two quotes wind is used by both poets to give the characteristic of destruction to wind in order to show how beauty is destroyed. Therefor these two poems use personification in similar ways by describing how wind destroys mortal beauty.
Next we shall talk about synecdoche, both poets use this element in similarly different ways. Synecdoche is a figure of speech that describes a part for the whole, both poems use it to immortalize something but at the same time they are immortalizing different things. The synecdoche of “Summer's Day” on lines thirteen and fourteen beckons this: “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, this gives life to thee.” (Probst, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and inc 561) In this quote the writer describes the life of man as just breathing and seeing to give her immortality. On line twenty-nine through thirty-one of “Annabel Lee” states this “Neither the angel in heaven above, nor the demons down under the sea, can ever dissever my soul from the soul, of the beautiful Annabel Lee.” (Poe) In this phrase Poe talks about beings that are highly contrasting but very powerful to describe the whole world in where no one can separate the immortal love that they have. The element synecdoche is used by both poets to make something immortal, but these poems are immortalizing different things, and are therefor similar yet different.
Next we shall speak of rhyme, both poems use it differently. Rhyme is the repetition of similar sounds, both poets use different rhyme patterns to give their poems a different sound. For example in “Summer's Day” the rhyme pattern is this “abab cdcd efef gg.” The rhyme is constant throughout the poem and gives the poem a very happy sound to it. However, in Annabel Lee the pattern is faint with every other line mostly using the words “sea, Lee, and me.” (Poe) The constant repetition of these words throughout the poem give it a sad and sorrowful tone. Therefore these poets use the element of rhyme completely differently to set the tone of their poems.
In continuum our element for comparison is symbol, which is used in both poems similarly. A symbol is a tactile object that is a representation of something deeper, this element is used in both poems to symbolize beauty and amazement. As is visible in line six of “Summer's Day” “...his gold complexion dimmed.” (Probst, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and inc 561) This symbol means that means that the sun will always set and lose its beauty. In lines eleven and twelve of “Annabel Lee” it says this “With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven, Coveted her and me” (Poe) In this quote they talk about how the seraphs, who symbolize perfect beauty, still covet their love. Therefore these poems use the element of symbol similarly to show beautiful and amazing things.
In this next element for comparison we'll talk about alliteration, as “Annabel Lee” uses it frequently but “Summer's Day” uses it rarely. Alliteration is the constant repetition of the same sounds, “Annabel Lee” uses this element greatly to give the poem a very sad feeling, whereas “Summers day” does not use this element very much. In “Annabel Lee” on lines one through six ending with the words: “ago, sea, know, Lee, thought, me.” (Poe) The constant use of the long “e” sound is used throughout the poem to give it a sad tone. Whereas in “Summer's Day” Alliteration is used rarely because the poem already has a strong rhyme pattern that gives it an upbeat and happy tone. The element of alliteration is used very differently because one poem uses it frequently to emphasize sadness, while “Summer's Day” does not use it nearly as much because the poem already uses rhyme.
Next we shall cover the element of rhythm, both poems use this element differently. Rhythm is the alternation of stressed and unstressed sounds, the rhythm of “Summer's Day” is very structured whereas the rhythm of “Annabel Lee” is not as structured. “Summer's Day” is a sonnet which is a poem consisting of fourteen lines with rhyming structure. (Probst, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and inc 560) Whereas Annabel Lee does not have a specific structure but still has specific meter throughout the poem. Rhythm in both of these poems is slightly different because one follows a specific structure while the other does not.
Next, both poems use different types of meter. Meter is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, these two poets use different meters to set the tone of their poems. Shakespeare mostly uses iambic pentameter as is visible in line one of “Summer's Day” “shall I comPARE thee TO a SUMmer's DAY?” This meter gives the poem a nice and cheery tone. Whereas Edgar Allan Poe uses primarily anapests as is visible in line one “It was MANy and MANy a year aGO.” (Englishteacherman) Which gives the poem a very sad tone. By this evidence we extrapolate that these two poets use different meters to set the tone of their poems differently.
By these nine body paragraphs we conclude that the poem “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?” and “Annabel Lee” have their own similarities and differences. First off both poems use imagery to convey an image of beauty to their audience. Metaphor is used by Shakespeare to show how summer's beauty is not as great as his sweetheart's beauty, while Poe uses it to compare him and Annabel Lee to children. Both poets use personification to give wind human characteristics. Both use synecdoche to immortalize two different things. The rhyme schemes of both poems are different. Symbol is used in both poems to symbolize beauty and amazement. Alliteration is used frequently by Poe but rarely by Shakespeare in these poems. The rhythm is more structured in “Summer's Day” than in Annabel Lee. And lastly both poems use completely different types of meter to set their tone. So the next time you enter a saloon and they start discussing these poems you will hopefully have new information on this subject which you can use to communicate in an intelligent manner.
Work Cited List
Probst, Probst, Holt Holt, Rinehart Rinehart, and Winston, and inc inc. Elements of literature Holt Rinehart & Winston, 2000. 560, 561. Print.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." Poemhunter n. pag. Web. 18 May 2010.<http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/annabel-lee/>.
Englishteacherman, . "Scansion is Fun! (Really…This isn’t just the English Teacher talking…)." (2009): n. pag. Web. 18 May 2010 <http://englishteacherman.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/scansion-is-fun-reallythis-isnt-just-the-english-teacher-talking/>.
Shall I compare thee to Annabel Lee?
Have you ever entered a saloon and the people there started talking about two poems by the names “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?” and “Annabel Lee” and found that you had nothing to add to the conversation? Well fortunately for you we have dissected these poems for you and written our thoughts in this essay. Shakespeare’s sonnet “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” and Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” are two different and similar poems because they both use imagery, metaphor, personification, synecdoche, rhyme, symbol, alliteration, rhythm, and meter in different and similar ways to convey their message.
First both poems use imagery in similar ways to give you a picture of beauty. Imagery is used to paint a picture of something and both poets use it to describe the one they love(d). For example in line six of “Summer's Day” it says “his gold complexion dimmed.”(Probst, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and inc 561) In this line Shakespeare is saying that the girl is as beautiful as the sun, but even the sun doesn't last forever. In line eleven and twelve of “Annabel lee” Poe writes this “winged seraphs of heaven, Coveted her and me.” (Poe) He is talking about how even the beautiful heavenly creatures envied their love. You can see both take something that's already beautiful and use imagery to describe the one they love.
Second, in both poems Metaphor is used differently. A metaphor compares two things and in these poems metaphor is used differently where Shakespeare is comparing his love to a summer day and Poe is comparing him and Annabel to children. In line two of “Summer's Day” it says: “Thou art more lovely and more temperate.” (Probst, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and inc 561) Here metaphor is used to compare the girl to a wonderful summer's day. However in line seven of “Annabel Lee” we read this “I was a child and she was a child.” (Poe) The element of metaphor here is used to compare both themselves to children saying that their love was as pure and innocent as children. The use of metaphors in both poems are used differently in where one is using it to compare a summer's day to his love while the other compares him and his love to children.
The next element they use is personification, both poets use this element to describe a natural event in a unique way. Personification gives an inanimate object a human characteristic, both poems use this element to describe how the wind can destroy something beautiful. For example on line three of “Summer's Day” it sayeth this “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,” (Probst, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and inc 561) and in line twenty-five and twenty-six of “Annabel Lee” we read this “wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.” (Poe) In these two quotes wind is used by both poets to give the characteristic of destruction to wind in order to show how beauty is destroyed. Therefor these two poems use personification in similar ways by describing how wind destroys mortal beauty.
Next we shall talk about synecdoche, both poets use this element in similarly different ways. Synecdoche is a figure of speech that describes a part for the whole, both poems use it to immortalize something but at the same time they are immortalizing different things. The synecdoche of “Summer's Day” on lines thirteen and fourteen beckons this: “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, this gives life to thee.” (Probst, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and inc 561) In this quote the writer describes the life of man as just breathing and seeing to give her immortality. On line twenty-nine through thirty-one of “Annabel Lee” states this “Neither the angel in heaven above, nor the demons down under the sea, can ever dissever my soul from the soul, of the beautiful Annabel Lee.” (Poe) In this phrase Poe talks about beings that are highly contrasting but very powerful to describe the whole world in where no one can separate the immortal love that they have. The element synecdoche is used by both poets to make something immortal, but these poems are immortalizing different things, and are therefor similar yet different.
Next we shall speak of rhyme, both poems use it differently. Rhyme is the repetition of similar sounds, both poets use different rhyme patterns to give their poems a different sound. For example in “Summer's Day” the rhyme pattern is this “abab cdcd efef gg.” The rhyme is constant throughout the poem and gives the poem a very happy sound to it. However, in Annabel Lee the pattern is faint with every other line mostly using the words “sea, Lee, and me.” (Poe) The constant repetition of these words throughout the poem give it a sad and sorrowful tone. Therefore these poets use the element of rhyme completely differently to set the tone of their poems.
In continuum our element for comparison is symbol, which is used in both poems similarly. A symbol is a tactile object that is a representation of something deeper, this element is used in both poems to symbolize beauty and amazement. As is visible in line six of “Summer's Day” “...his gold complexion dimmed.” (Probst, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and inc 561) This symbol means that means that the sun will always set and lose its beauty. In lines eleven and twelve of “Annabel Lee” it says this “With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven, Coveted her and me” (Poe) In this quote they talk about how the seraphs, who symbolize perfect beauty, still covet their love. Therefore these poems use the element of symbol similarly to show beautiful and amazing things.
In this next element for comparison we'll talk about alliteration, as “Annabel Lee” uses it frequently but “Summer's Day” uses it rarely. Alliteration is the constant repetition of the same sounds, “Annabel Lee” uses this element greatly to give the poem a very sad feeling, whereas “Summers day” does not use this element very much. In “Annabel Lee” on lines one through six ending with the words: “ago, sea, know, Lee, thought, me.” (Poe) The constant use of the long “e” sound is used throughout the poem to give it a sad tone. Whereas in “Summer's Day” Alliteration is used rarely because the poem already has a strong rhyme pattern that gives it an upbeat and happy tone. The element of alliteration is used very differently because one poem uses it frequently to emphasize sadness, while “Summer's Day” does not use it nearly as much because the poem already uses rhyme.
Next we shall cover the element of rhythm, both poems use this element differently. Rhythm is the alternation of stressed and unstressed sounds, the rhythm of “Summer's Day” is very structured whereas the rhythm of “Annabel Lee” is not as structured. “Summer's Day” is a sonnet which is a poem consisting of fourteen lines with rhyming structure. (Probst, Holt, Rinehart, Winston, and inc 560) Whereas Annabel Lee does not have a specific structure but still has specific meter throughout the poem. Rhythm in both of these poems is slightly different because one follows a specific structure while the other does not.
Next, both poems use different types of meter. Meter is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, these two poets use different meters to set the tone of their poems. Shakespeare mostly uses iambic pentameter as is visible in line one of “Summer's Day” “shall I comPARE thee TO a SUMmer's DAY?” This meter gives the poem a nice and cheery tone. Whereas Edgar Allan Poe uses primarily anapests as is visible in line one “It was MANy and MANy a year aGO.” (Englishteacherman) Which gives the poem a very sad tone. By this evidence we extrapolate that these two poets use different meters to set the tone of their poems differently.
By these nine body paragraphs we conclude that the poem “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?” and “Annabel Lee” have their own similarities and differences. First off both poems use imagery to convey an image of beauty to their audience. Metaphor is used by Shakespeare to show how summer's beauty is not as great as his sweetheart's beauty, while Poe uses it to compare him and Annabel Lee to children. Both poets use personification to give wind human characteristics. Both use synecdoche to immortalize two different things. The rhyme schemes of both poems are different. Symbol is used in both poems to symbolize beauty and amazement. Alliteration is used frequently by Poe but rarely by Shakespeare in these poems. The rhythm is more structured in “Summer's Day” than in Annabel Lee. And lastly both poems use completely different types of meter to set their tone. So the next time you enter a saloon and they start discussing these poems you will hopefully have new information on this subject which you can use to communicate in an intelligent manner.
Work Cited List
Probst, Probst, Holt Holt, Rinehart Rinehart, and Winston, and inc inc. Elements of literature Holt Rinehart & Winston, 2000. 560, 561. Print.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Annabel Lee." Poemhunter n. pag. Web. 18 May 2010.<http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/annabel-lee/>.
Englishteacherman, . "Scansion is Fun! (Really…This isn’t just the English Teacher talking…)." (2009): n. pag. Web. 18 May 2010 <http://englishteacherman.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/scansion-is-fun-reallythis-isnt-just-the-english-teacher-talking/>.