Poetry question

[theoneadamk]

What is the specific term used to describe two poems that compliment each other, i.e. "The Black Snake" and "The Meadow Mouse" ?

[MorpheusSandman]

Companion pieces? Milton's L'allegro and Il Penseroso are probably the most famous classical models.

[cacian]

Morpheus what is exactly a companion piece?
This is the first I have heard of. Do they have to be written by the same author?

[MorpheusSandman]

A companion piece is a work composed with another in mind that's meant to compliment it somehow. These works can usually stand on their own, but gain in meanings, resonance, suggestions, etc. by being read together. In Milton's L'Allegro and Il Penseroso, eg, the former is in praise of mirth and happiness, while the second is in praise of melancholy and seriousness. William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience are two collections worth of companion pieces where, eg, the "innocent" Lamb can be compared with the "experienced" Tyger. Yes, they need to be written by the same author. If another author writes something with another author's piece in mind then it would just be an allusion or ode or something like that.

[Charles Darnay]

Wordsworth's Ode on Intimations of Immortality and Coleridge's "Ode on Dejection" is another great example of companion pieces.

[MorpheusSandman]

Wait... how are they companion pieces?

[cacian]

A companion piece is a work composed with another in mind that's meant to compliment it somehow. These works can usually stand on their own, but gain in meanings, resonance, suggestions, etc. by being read together. In Milton's L'Allegro and Il Penseroso, eg, the former is in praise of mirth and happiness, while the second is in praise of melancholy and seriousness. William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience are two collections worth of companion pieces where, eg, the "innocent" Lamb can be compared with the "experienced" Tyger. Yes, they need to be written by the same author. If another author writes something with another author's piece in mind then it would just be an allusion or ode or something like that.

How interesting. So if I wrote a piece to accompany someone' else's piece then that would be called an allusion even thought they complimented each other. Is an ode or an allusion not considered worthy or something?

[MorpheusSandman]

No, odes and allusions are worth something in how they highlight meanings in the new piece, but most all artists do this to some extent. There are a great many poems that are written as "responses" to other poems, such as Marlowe's A Passionate Shepherd and Raleigh's Nymph's Reply: http://www.poetsgraves.co.uk/Classic%20Poems/Marlowe/passionate_shepherd_and_nymph.htm However, I'd call the latter a "response poem" rather than call both of them "companion pieces." Marlowe wrote his to be read in isolation, while Raleigh wrote his to be read by an audience that knew of Marlowe's piece. By contrast, Milton wrote L'Allegro and Il Penseroso to be read together from the beginning. So I'd say that's the difference between a companion piece like Milton's and allusions/odes/response poems.