Comparison within the Context of Romanticism within the Four Poems Free Essay Example, 1250 words

The poems by Keats and Wordsworth will be analyzed under the rubric of poems that approach emotions by otherwise dark and/or mysterious means. In this way, Keats makes an Ode to Melancholy as a praiseworthy and thoughtful rendition of how sorrow and sadness integrate within the realm of human emotions. Conversely, Byron and Blake both have a brighter perspective they discuss within the confines of the very same subject matter and theme. By means of comparison and contrast of these four different poems, this analysis will seek to provide a level of discussion and contrast between how the respective authors deal with similar topics and take widely different views concerning the outlook that these emotions portend. Within the opening lines to Ode to Melancholy , Keats identifies sadness and the necessary suffering and sorrow that is accompanied with it. However, rather than seeking to paint a brighter picture of hope for the future or an explanation of how suffering and sadness are merely temporal and fleeting, the author instead chooses to focus upon the understanding and acceptance of suffering and sadness. Although such an approach can be understood as fundamental concepts of Eastern traditions, it was somewhat out of place for Keats own time. Imploring the reader to integrate with the full depth of sorrow and sadness, not to take the easy way out, to drink the poison without hesitation, Keats presents a very dark representation of the means whereby the individual should accept the constraints of sadness and sorrow/melancholy, and seek to come to a more full and complete appreciation for how these emotions can define the approach and life of the sufferer. In a similar way, William Wordsworth s poem, She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways , discusses the sorrowful topic of the death of a woman all but unloved by anyone besides the author. Again, rather than dwelling on the brighter topics of redemption and the hope of an afterlife, a common theme within the period in question, Wordsworth instead focuses on the level of derision, ridicule, and ostracism that the woman faced as a function of her particularly dark and morose outlook on life. We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison within the Context of Romanticism within the Four Poems or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now