Verified Document

Compare Poems Essay

¶ … Station of the Metro by Ezra Pound and My Father's Waltz by Theodore Roethke Ezra Pound's poem In the Station of the Metro and Theodore Roethke's poem My Father's Waltz both reflect the darker side of human nature. Though these works paint a very different picture, they each allude to the desperate conditions that we all face from time to time as human beings.

Pound's poem compares faces in the crowd at the metro to apparitions or ghosts, like petals on a wet black bough. The imagery evokes dark feelings of foreboding and death. It may be interpreted as a reminder that we are all born only to face the same inevitable end. The poem is constructed much like a Japanese haiku as is of only three lines. This simplicity adds to the poem's texture and adds power to the message. The reader is left to interpret the intent of the poem, and presumably each will develop their own understanding based on personal experiences.

Roethke's poem is a sad sustained condemnation of his abusive relationship with...

The poem speaks of being beaten on the head, painfully dragged around by the wrist, and "waltzed" off to bed. It also alludes to his mother's tacit approval of this behavior by refusing to intervene. This poem is constructed in four stanzas each of four lines with an a, b, a b, rhyme scheme. This simple format adds to the innocents of the poem. The irony of this poem is that despite the ill treatment of his father the boy still "clings" to him and hangs on like "death."
Both Pound's and Roethke's poems deal with death and underscore the quiet desperation that dominates the lives of ordinary people. Both poems address difficult subject matter that most of us avoid contemplating on a regular basis.

Wild Nights -- Wild Nights by Emily Dickinson and Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare

Emily Dickinson's poem Wild Nights -- Wild Nights and William Shakespeare's Sonnet 73 both take a look at love from different perspectives. Dickinson's poem is a portrayal…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Dickenson, Emily. Wild Nights.(1861). 9 August 2012.

Pound, Ezra. In the Station of the Metro.(1913). 9 August 2012.

Roethke, Theodore. My Father's Waltz (1942). 9 August 2012. <http://gawow.com/roethke/poems/43.html>

Shakespeare, William. Sonnet 73, (That time of year thou mayst in me behold). (1609). 9 August 2012. <http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/sonnet/73>
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Comparing Poems
Words: 769 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

Robinson, Whitman, And Wordsworth Poems are often vehicles of personal reflection and expression. Poets often write poetry to communicate their personal messages to the world. Edwin Arlington Robinson, Walt Whitman William, and Wordsworth, are three poets who write messages for the world through their poetry. This paper will examine the theme, tone, and literary devices in the poems, "Richard Cory," and "Oh Captain! My Captain!" And "I Wandered Lonely as a

Robert Frost Speaker/Persona Poems. Comparing Poems "Stopping
Words: 1833 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Robert Frost speaker/persona poems. Comparing poems "Stopping Woods a Snowy Evening," "The Road Not Taken," "Acquainted Night." Argue prove position. Instructions: 1300-1600-word analytical essay arguing to prove the author Robert Frost did use the same speaker/persona in his poems. Comparing poems "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," "The Road Not Taken," and "Acquainted with the Night." Argue to prove my position. Using reasonable evidence found mainly in the poems to

Comparison and Contrast A Poem for My Librarian Mrs Long
Words: 647 Length: 2 Document Type: Poem

POETRY Poetry: Compare and ContrastThe poetry �A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long� written by Nikki Giovanni and �Theme for English B� by Langston Hughes have been composed by African-American poets who have been victims of racial discrimination since childhood. Their poems depict the same period, 1950-51 of their early days. Where one poem narrates a thankful letter to the librarian who helped the poet explore the world of books,

Poem Analysis The Very End by Tom Sleigh
Words: 689 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

The poem that is reviewed in this brief essay is The Very End, as written by Tom Sleigh. As is indicated by the essay assignment prompt, the poem is about Sleigh’s grandmother. This is made quite clear on the page with the poem. Indeed, there is the text “For my grandmother” just below the title of the essay. What follows is a poem that is not terribly long. However, there

Poems and Chinese Literature
Words: 3009 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Chinese Cultural Revolution in Literature There are a number of stark images found in the works of literature reviewed by Dao, Cheng, and Hua in this assignment. Specifically, this paper details the imagery evinced in Bei Dao's "Resume," Gu Cheng's "Curriculum Vitae," and Yu Hua's "On the Road at Eighteen." That imagery and those works in general are thinly veiled allusions to the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which took places in the

Poems About Life's Constant Movement Toward the End
Words: 1108 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

deliberations -- deeply thoughtful, philosophical ponderings -- about traveling through life and encountering troubling decisions, then asking questions vis-a-vis those decisions. Frost's "The Road Not Taken" turns out to be the road that was taken, although the speaker assures the reader that it was a tough decision. And in Rossetti's "Uphill" the speaker is unsure of the future but must keep traveling even though at the end of the

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now