In Wild Oats It explains that a person, over the course of time, comes to realise that his greatest desires of love, are unattainable, and second best things will have to suffice. The central purpose of this poem is to show that love is one of these great desires and despite flashes of promise it contains scarcely anything that is more than fragmentary. Larkin reveals this through tone and diction. Both poets seem to focus a lot on the physical side of love where lust and desire are involved however Abse makes it sound more sensual and even spiritual when he speaks of Eros in his poem. Larkin portrays this sense of objectification in his poem with regards to woman as he describes a woman as a ‘bosomy English rose’ and then follows on to call her ‘beautiful’ throughout the poem portraying the sexual lust involved with love.
‘To His Coy Mistress’ is a comedic depiction of unrequited love, showing how love can be represented in a light-hearted way whilst communicating the deeper significance of what it means to feel this way about someone. Likewise, ‘Sonnet 43’ presents us with a serious topic, portrayed in a carefree way. ‘To His Coy Mistress’ is set into three stanzas of unequal length, each showing a new stage in the relationship. The beginnings of each stanza are a giveaway as to what we should expect from it. ‘Had we’ tells us that the persona is fantasising about what could happen, and that the images created here have in fact not happened yet.
“Not a day since then I haven’t whished him dead”-Havisham This is very effective as the aggressive tone shows “Havisham” has been rejected and her love is causing her pain. Similarly in “Valentine” “Carol Ann Duffy” uses a very forceful tone with words like “here” and “take it” which tells us her lover is not being very co-operative and like “Havisham” suggests a degree of pain within there love. The theme of love is taken to a deeper level by “Carol Ann Duffy” when she shows through literary techniques that the pain of love can be dangerous. The theme of love is contrasted by violent metaphors in both poems. “Ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with”-Havisham This is another example of the pain of love and it is particularly effective as it shows the extreme physical tension within “Havisham” and describes the pain of love as a driving force of murder.
In the early seventeenth-century, English poets used metaphysical poetry to enlighten highly intellectual and often abstruse imagery in their works, which further advanced the poetic style of John Donne. Donne’s poetry makes use of complex images, which are remarkably convincing to the reader. Despite the use of extensive techniques and varying images, the greatness of Donne’s poetry is the simplicity in the ideas expressed. John Donne’s poem, “The Triple Fool,” suggests unrequited love and folly through his use of creative imagery, sorrowful diction, and assertive tone. Firstly, Donne's poetry is highly distinctive and individual, adopting a multitude of images.
In the poem “Medusa” gender conflict through control is also illustrated when she says: “a suspicion, a doubt, a jealousy”. This depicts that she feels ownership over her husband and wants him to “be terrified” if he does not obey her commands. However, in “Les Grands Seigneurs” the narrator conveys that after she was “wedded, bedded … a toy, a plaything … wife” she is nostalgic for the first three stanzas to how men were towards her before she was married as she is now powerless. We can depict that there was less gender conflict before she was married. Moreover, in “Medusa” powerlessness is also portrayed when she rhetorically questions herself “Wasn’t I beautiful?
In Christina Rossetti’s poem “Cousin Kate”, there is a theme of commitment. It is mainly about how one man shows his loyalty towards two women, “Cousin Kate” and the speaker. The lord shows no commitment towards the speaker and uses her for his own sexual pleasure. “He wore me like a silken knot,” in this quote the verb “wore” is comparing the speaker to something that can be used. Also the simile “like a silken knot,” the use of this simile is comparing her to something soft and fragile, therefore there is a theme of possessiveness and this shows that lower class women in the Elizabethan era were easily manipulated by higher class men.
She portrays her personal voice through the use of sonnets, specifically Petrarchan. It is commonly used by males to woo their unattained love. Both composers portray love as idealistic, however it is interfered with by life. It is a universal theme shown through the different time periods. Nevertheless, Elizabeth Barrett Browning advocates that the strength of love can help overcome the obstacles.
Alternatively, it could mean that their love is so strong that it causes a change to the rhythm of the poem, as it conquers time. “To His Coy Mistress” is similar to this; it’s made up from rhyming couplets like “grow” and “slow” throughout the whole poem, which I think, is because the poem is meant to persuade his lover to sleep with him. The rhyming makes it sound witty and well-constructed; so the woman can understand it more easily and is more likely to want to sleep with him. However, like “Hour”, it contains some half rhyme “lie” with “eternity” and “try” with “virginity”. This is found in the second premise which is aimed at being realistic- the poem starts off with “but”- and the truth is often
The poem’s theme appears to be about unrequited love and a man wooing his “coy mistress” to sleep with him, but this poem does has a deeper meaning, which is really impressive and therefore is striking. The theme of mortality is highlighted in this poem through word choice and by using imagery which reinforces the idea of death. Words relating to death such as “ ashes” and “grave” are used to emphasise the lack of time that we have and the stark contrast between the slow, idyllic first stanza and the sped up, heavier second stanza shows the difference between the idealistic eternity and the reality that we are all mortal and have to die at some point. Another deeper theme introduced is the idea of “carpe diem” which is shown through the lustier language in the poem, word choice such as “time devour”, and also through the quickened pace of the second stanza. The speaker is not simply asking the “coy mistress” to sleep with him, what he is saying is if there was all the time in the world then life would be ideal but there is not so they have to live for the moment.
Too often, though, our bond is over shared pain . . .” Beauty and looks are, in general, a shared burden of expectations between men and women. I appreciate the way in which Bordo uses work and pleasure in constructing her essay, although I do not feel that that style made this essay any easier or harder to read than others. The pace of the essay moves slowly, but it is directed in a powerful and meaningful way.