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Mickey Allen

English 101

Mrs. Kelly

March 17, 2008

Poetry Compare/Contrast Essay

Versatility in Poetry

Within the following few paragraphs are examples of the liberties and versatilities of

poetry writers are allowed. Although both of the poems referred to below are small, each

contains several similes and hyperboles. This will be an attempt to compare each writer’s

content.

William Blake’s, “The Sick Rose” contains only eight lines but many hyperboles. Mr.

Blake describes a rose in a way that by the end of the poem the reader is offered many different

possibilities as to what the true subject may be. It is entirely the reader’s choice to decide upon

the matter.

Robert Burns, “A Red, Red rose” on the other hand, leaves very little to guess upon. The

reader knows exactly what the writer is referring to. The writer even spells the word love two

different ways and still the reader understands exactly what the subject is, “O, my Luve’s like a

red, red rose,”(1); “ And I will love thee still, my dear,”(7).

William Blake’s, “The Sick Rose” at the end conveys a sense of finality and destruction

with the line: “Does thy life destroy.”(8), which the reader unmistakably understands as an end.

Very much unlike Robert Burns’ “A Red, Red Rose”, in which from beginning to end he

transfers from his words to the reader’s mind the optimism, hope, and confidence of his feelings.

To say the least it is obvious the writer is quite stricken.

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At any rate, the difference between these two poems, in my opinion, is how Mr. Blake’s

poem can be received completely different by each individual reader. This is a very short piece

of work and at the same time a complex hyperbole. However Mr. Burns’ poem leaves no choice

for the reader but to understand completely that love, any way it is spelled, is exactly the theme

he has on his mind. No doubt, poetry allows any writer liberty and versatility to describe what

they are thinking and feeling.

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Works Cited

Blake, William. “The Sick Rose.” Literature: The Norton Introduction to Literature.

Eds. Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, Kelly J. Mays. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005.

Burns, Robert. “A Red, Red Rose.” Literature: The Norton Introduction to Literature.

Eds. Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, Kelly J. Mays. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005.