In this assignment I will compare and contrast three poems based on the theme of
love. I will look at ‘He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven’ by W.B Yeats,
Robert Burns’ ‘A Red,Red Rose’ and the ‘Lucy Poems’ by Wordsworth. I
will focus on each poet’s tradition and culture, the poet’s use of language
and the similarities and differences between each poem. I will conclude the
assignment with my personal response. ‘He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven’
was written by W.B Yeats. William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin in 1865. He
abandoned his painting career after only three years to pursue a writing career
with lyrics and plays. He eventually developed his own individual style and his
work was known for being particularly ‘Irish’. He went on writing for the
rest of his life, and eventually died in 1948. In the poem ‘He Wishes For The
Cloths Of Heaven’ W.B Yeats expresses his love for Maud Gonne. Gonne was an
extreme Nationalist who rejected W.B Yeats and eventually married Major John
MacBride in 1903. After this period there is a noticeable change in Yeats’
poetry, perhaps because he realised his dreams of a life with Maud could never
become a reality. In ‘He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven’ the tone is calm
and peaceful, due to the sibilants used, nasal and ‘L’ sounds which combine
to create a dreamlike tone: “Silver light” “Softly” “Embroidered
cloths” To help the tone flow peacefully along there are no exclamation marks,
dashes or monosyllables to interrupt the flow. Yeats creates a soft rhyming
melody and tune, almost like a lullaby. The natural stress in each word helps to
create the rhythm, A B A B C D C D. Yeats’ use of language creates very clear
visual images, eg ‘heaven’ has connotations of peace ,serenity, almost a
nirvana. Likewise ‘embroidered’ has connotations of perfection, an infinite
array of colours. Throughout the poem Yeats concentrates on colours, especially
different shades of blues of the sky, representing the passage of time, seasons
changing but that throughout all the changes the sky still remains beautiful yet
unattainable. In the first four lines of the poem Yeats creates a detailed image
of heaven and its perfection and beauty. Through this he states his wishes/ In
the following four lines he reveals what he would do with those wishes. He lays
his soul bare, and shows the depth of his love by declaring his undying love for
Maud Gonne. The only person who deserves such wealth as the heavens, is Maud. If
Yeats were God, and owned the heavens, the only one worthy of receiving them
would be Maud. He elaborates on this by saying even the heavens would only be
good enough for her to walk upon. By stating this, Yeats is exalting his love:
she is like a Goddess and he is undeserving of her. He deems himself unworthy
and humbles himself. In the following line Yeats writes: “But I, being poor,
have only my dreams.” Through this, Yeats suddenly becomes more realistic: he
knows he is not God and he knows he doesn’t own the heavens. The only thing of
value and beauty he owns are his dreams. He has made himself vulnerable by
spreading all his dreams and desires before Maud, and now she must decide if she
will return his love and make his wildest dreams come true, or trample and tear
his cloths and shatter his dreams. The poem ends softly: “Tread softly because
you tread on my dreams.” He is waiting anxiously to see her reaction and is
gently pleading that she will not reject him. Through this last line he is
begging her to be kind: she has his heart and dreams in her hand; she has the
power to decide his fate. This poem is similar to Burns’ and Wordsworth’s
poems in many ways. All three sound like a song, a gentle calming lullaby. Each
poem creates visual imagery from nature surrounding them. They are also similar
due to the language used. None of the poems use complex, elaborate, difficult,
language but instead, plain language that is easily understood by all, Burns’
poem also contains some Scots dialect. The three poems are also similar as the
subject of all three poems is love. In both Wordsworth’s and Yeats’ poem the
love was unreturned. The most striking thing about ‘A Red, Red Rose’ by
Robert Burns is the ScotS dialect used. Burns was born in 1759, as the son of an
Ayrshire farmer who was an avid reader and helped in his son’s education.
Burns’ work is amoung the best loved in the English language possibly because
of the thought and passion he poured into his comic and dramatic poems and
verse, and his sense of humour and skill for satire. Burns could also be thought
of as the saviour of English poetry because of his ability to depict everyday
life in rural Scotland and his use of Scots dialect, this gave English poetry a
new lease of life. He died at the age of thirty seven of rheumatic fever in
Dumfries. In the first line Burns compares his love to a ‘Red, Red Rose’
using a simile. By repeating ‘Red’ twice he emphasises the depth and
strength of the colour to the depth of his love. Burns repeats many phrases eg
‘dry’ twice for emphasis and rhyming reasons. Every second and fourth line
rhyme which succeeds in creating a lullaby effect. He elaborates: “Newly
sprung in June” This is to show that his love is still young and vulnerable
but will keep growing until it becomes full and strong and will blossom into
full radiance and beauty. Burns then compares his love to a beautiful song that
is sweetly played, again a simile. He is comparing a beautiful tune to a
beautiful love that will never age as music never ages. In the following line
Burns directly addresses his love for the first time using an example of Scots
dialect: “My bonnie lass” Throughout the poem many examples of Scots dialect
are visible and these succeed in constantly reminding the reader that the poem
is easier to relate to, the love is easier to relate to. By directly addressing
his love he makes her appear more human and the relationship more realistic.
Burns actually addresses her six times throughout the poem. In the second verse,
he talks of his deep love for his ‘bonnie’. He is in love with her as much
as she is beautiful and will continue to love her: “Till a’ the seas dry”.
This is the same as saying he will love her for all time, she should never doubt
the sincerity and commitment of his 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
Wordsworth’s 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 shouldn’t 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 Lucy’s 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 Lucy’s memory behind, Lucy and England have become
intertwined in his memory. In ‘She Dwelt Among The Untrodden Ways’ Lucy’s
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 didn’t 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 Wordsworth’s poem Burns’
poem, ‘A Red, Red Rose’ seems less powerful and somehow his love doesn’t
seem as strong, although it is much more realistic and human , and it actually
ends optimistically. In Wordworth’s 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.