.. love. In the third verse he continues to prove the depth of his love by stating again he will love her until the seas run dry and the rocks melt with the sun. Through this he creates visual imagery, allowing the reader to visualise the seas and the sun beating down on the rocks.
Burns yet again attempts to show the depth of his love by saying that he will still love her even when life itself is over: Burns begins verse four with: "And fare thee weel" Again Scots dialect, meaning farewell.This reveals that he is leaving her, but we soon discover he is not leaving forever, as he promises to return. For the first time throughout the poem Burns includes an exclamation mark, which is another method of declaring and emphasising his true love for her. He also uses another method for emphasis and making his statement more powerful and spontaneous: he repeats the word and. Burns ends the poem on a hopeful and inspiring note. He promises that he will cross any obstacle to be with her again: this is proof of his deep love.
The tone of the poem is lighthearted, hopeful and tender.This is in contrast to He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven by Yeats and the Lucy poems by Wordsworth, both of which end in a despairing tone. There is a major contrast between Yeats love, Maud Gonne, who was confident, outspoken and infamous and Wordsworths love Lucy who appears quiet and isolated. In contrast to this Burns bonnie Jean Armour seems human and realistic which makes the relationship seem believeable as opposed to Yeats who put his love up on a pedestal and worshipped her.
Another difference between the poems is that at the end of Burns poem the reader is convinced that the two lovers will eventually be reunited, and in real life Burns did actually succeed in marrying his childhood sweetheart. It seems unlikely that Yeats dreams of a life with Gonne will become a reality and in the Lucy poems it is an impossibility as Lucy dies.William Wordsworth was born in Cumberland in 1770, and at thirteen years of age became an orphan. Wordsworth had a new, modern approach towards poetry which in his time was unheard of, he felt poetry should be about emotions and feelings, it shouldnt be inhibited or stifled by politics or city social life. He looked to nature, the English countryside for inspiration and many of his most famous poems involve nature.
Wordsworth changed the direction of English poetry and his influence is still visible today. In I Travelled Among Unknown Men Wordsworth begins by personifying England.He addresses it directly as if it were alive. He speaks of his departure from England and how alone he felt among strangers. It was only when he left England that he realised how much he loved his homeland.
In the second verse he compares his time abroad to a bad dream through the use of a metaphor and to emphasise this he uses an exclamation mark: "Tis past, that melancholy dream!" He makes a defiant promise to himself that never again will he abandon England, and for the second time personifies it and using strong, resolute, vivid language to show his love for England: "To love thee more and more." In the third verse he uses visual imagery to conjure up an idyllic image of his love sitting at her spinning wheel beside a glowing fire among the English hillside. This is the first time he introduces his love and we can tell by his description of her that he cherishes and admires her and wants to protect her.It is a very patriotic image, being secure and comfortable in England, while also showing the strength of his love.
Wordsworth then links his love for England with his love for Lucy, a dual love. The reader begins to learn more about Lucy. She is portrayed as a quiet, lonely girl who is not valued and hidden away from the outside world. The reader is lulled into a false sense of security by the first two lines in verse four.
They sound gentle and English, almost like playing a musical instrument, then suddenly the reader is shocked and saddened: "And thine too is the last green field that Lucys eyes surveyed." This evokes a personal response from the reader. We feel great sympathy for Wordsworth as his love has died. We can now understand why Wordsworth made his defiant vow never to leave England, to leave England would be to leave Lucys memory behind, Lucy and England have become intertwined in his memory. In She Dwelt Among The Untrodden Ways Lucys solitary nature is pursued.
He compares Lucy to a violet hidden behind a mossy stone, Wordsworth uses visual imagery through nature.He then compares Lucy to a solitary star, a solitary and unique person. The last verse takes on a sad, melancholy tone as Wordsworth expresses his deep sadness at her death. Lucy lived and died unknown to anyone.
Her death didnt matter to anyone except him. Her death has evoked pure emotion and vivid responses. She completely changed his life and he will always remember her: "The difference to me!" The final poem A Slumber Did My Spirit Did Seal has a mood of serenity and peace. The pace is slowed down by the language used.When Wordsworth sleeps in that semi-conscious state Lucy is with him and in his mind she is still young and to him she always will be.
Suddenly Lucy no longer seems hidden away or forgotten because she will always be remembered by him, in his mind she is untouchable. Wordsworth has lost his love but in English nature and his dreams he is reunited with Lucy. Compared to Yeats and Wordsworths poem Burns poem, A Red, Red Rose seems less powerful and somehow his love doesnt seem as strong, although it is much more realistic and human , and it actually ends optimistically. In Wordworths poem the more I read the better my understanding of it, the more powerful it became and the more I could empathise with it.
It too reveals much suffering and pain.From the three poems I examined I was most greatly affected by He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven by W.B Yeats. The emotion and power in the poem, and Yeats humbling declaration of his undying love for Gonne was overwhelming. It was heart wrenching to imagine Yeats spreading his dreams beneath her feet and knowing that, in the end, she rejected him.
It is also a poem for today because it is a poem about unrequited love which everyone can empathise with.
