Q1 Saturation Experience compare & contrast prompts 1-3 February 2017

Longfellow: italian (8-6) Q1 2008: Reflecting on Similar Concerns John Keats’s “When I Have Fears & Henry W. Longfellow’s “mezzo cammin” In the two poems below, keats and longfellow reflect on similar concerns. Read the poems carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems, analyzing the poetic techniques each writer uses to explore his particular situation. Both are sonnets Keats: English (4-4-4-2) Longfellow: italian (8-6)

Sampling of lead paragraphs using the 2-sentence template Sampling of lead paragraphs using the 2-sentence template. Keats/Longfellow sonnets 1. Both “When I have Fears” by JK and “mezzo cammin” by hwl explore human despair through their poetic structures, extended metaphors, and regretful tones. While keats uses an english sonnet to emphasize the despair of love and keats’s italian sonnet conveys the sadness of aging, both poems use mystical metaphors and a depressed tone to support their concerns. 2. Both “When I have Fears” by JK and “mezzo cammin” by hwl recall the unaccomplished dreams and goals the speakers had in earlier years as they approach the ends of their lives. However, the speaker in “when I have fears” suggests that although worthwhile to explore, these life possibilities become less important as he looks into the “wide world,” while the speaker in “mezzo cammin” feels “sorrow” as he ponders the unachieved possibilities and then becomes fearful of death. 3. In Both “When I have Fears” by JK and “mezzo cammin” by hwl the speakers use the sonnet form to express their thoughts and fears on death. In when I have fears, however, the speaker expands on his fears of death in general and a deep longing from a romantic perspective for everything he will miss when he is gone, whereas in “Mezzo Cammin” the speaker expresses the regrets that he will take with him to his grave and then reflects upon his past.

more lead paragraphs using the 2-sentence template more lead paragraphs using the 2-sentence template. Keats/Longfellow sonnets 4. In Both “When I have Fears” by JK and “mezzo cammin” by hwl the speakers explore the concept of isolation and its causes. In “when I have fears,” however, the speaker expounds his fear of future isolation while in “mezzo Cammin” the speaker laments his current isolation and the indelible past that caused it. 5. By using various metaphors and vivid diction, Both “When I have Fears” by JK and “mezzo cammin” by hwl the speakers explore their apprehension of death and their inability to fulfill their aspirations. However, in “when I have fears” the speaker exploits the sonnet structure and insinuating diction to focus on his or her beloved, while in the longfellow sonnet, the speaker uses an extended metaphor and more direct diction to explore his or her own intense emotions.

Both are italian sonnets Q1 2013: addressing death & remembrance christina rossetti’s “remember” & Henry W. Longfellow’s “the cross of snow” the two sonnets below address death & remembrance, but from different perspectives. Read the poems carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast how the poets use literary techniques to explore the grieving process. Both are italian sonnets Octave (8)+ sestet (6) *The shift from the octave to the sestet is the ‘volta” or ‘turn’—a shift in thought or argument. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volta_(literature)

lead paragraphs using the 2-sentence template lead paragraphs using the 2-sentence template. rossetti/Longfellow sonnets Both christina rossetti’s “remember” and henry w. longfellow’s “the cross of snow” explore the depths of death, remembrance, and bereavement. In Rossetti’s sonnet, however, the perspective is from the dying, a speaker who is at peace with her fate and worries only about how her beloved will go on—whereas in longfellow’s sonnet the speaker is stuck in an endless cycle of mourning and cannot come to terms with the fact that his love is dead and that he has consequently stopped living. through an array of literary techniques, both christina rossetti’s “remember” and henry w. longfellow’s “the cross of snow” explore perspectives on death, mourning, and remembrance. In “remember,” however, the deceased speaker urges her loved ones to move on and find new sources of joy in their lives, while in “the cross of snow” the speaker describes the lengthy depression and monotony in which the beloved’s death has stranded him. There were other good ones, but I do not have time to type up their texts! 

Q1 2010: coming of age! Samuel johnson’s “to sir john lade, on His Coming of Age” & A. E. Housman’s “When I Was One-and-Twenty” Each of the two poems below is concerned with a young man at the age of twenty- one, traditionally the age of adulthood. Read the two poems carefully. Then write a well-organized essay in which you compare and contrast the poems, analyzing the poetic techniques, such as point of view and tone, that each writer uses to make his point about coming of age. The suggested poetic techniques are good ones in this q1. Most of you wisely paraphrased (in the margins) each stanza—and some of you also did as directed, making notes of alliteration, imagery, anaphora, simile/metaphor, repetition, etc. Doing so is a huge time-saver.

lead paragraphs using the 2-sentence template. Johnson & housman poems 1. Both samuel johnson’s “To sir John Lade, on his coming of age” and a.e. housman’s “when I was one- and-twenty” warn against the dangers of adulthood’s newfound freedom. While johnson uses a playful tone and meter, as well as storytelling throughout, to warn of the dangers of having control over your own wealth, housman warns of young love through his woeful tone and rhyme, illustrating the wistful ramblings of a now-wiser man. 2. Both samuel johnson’s “To sir John Lade, on his coming of age” and a.e. housman’s “when I was one- and-twenty” explore the concept of maturation concerning young men who are just entering legal adulthood. However, while Johnson focuses more on financial maturation, mocking sir john’s careless attitude toward his inherited wealth, housman examines the mental aspects of maturation, sharing a personal experience in a regretful tone. 3. Both samuel johnson’s “To sir John Lade, on his coming of age” and a.e. housman’s “when I was one- and-twenty” contemplate the experience of reaching adulthood and its accompanying freedoms and burdens. In “sir john…,” however, the speaker encourages a young man to enjoy the freedoms of adulthood while reminding him to beware the failures that such freedom can bring, while in “when I was one-and- twenty,” the speaker regrets his own irresponsible decision to dismiss the advice of his elders when he turned twenty-one.