In “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe and “To a Waterfowl” by William Cullen Bryant, both poems seem to be very similar, as they both deal with a man and their experience with a bird. Due to the different views of nature and the differences of the Neo-Classical and Romanticism styles of writing, the intricate details of the poems are very different. The views of nature of the poems used by the offers differs the major points, such as tone, message, style, order, etc., but the general idea of each poem are very similar.
Both poems, “The Raven” and “To a Waterfowl” begin as both having a man interacting with a specific bird, but after that the differences begin to show. Bryant writes a poem about a man pondering what exactly the lesson is that the bird he is observing is teaching him. He writes about a waterfowl that even though is alone, is guided along in the sky. The man then wonders if “there is a power whose care teaches thy way along that pathless coast.” The poem’s setting, which is during sunset, adds to the peacefulness and serenity of nature. The man exclaims that the same power that guides the bird to its destination will “lead my steps aright”. In the poem “To a Waterfowl”, it is written in the Neo-Classical style, and focuses more on logic, rather than emotions. The tone is very opposite to “the Raven”, as it can be described as peaceful, calm, positive, and optimistic. In “To a Waterfowl”, nature in the waterfowl makes him think about how God will lead him in his life. The poem relies mostly on logic, because it only alludes to religion. The classical view is that nature is something to observe and meditate on.
The poem “The Raven” is written in the Romantic style, allowing more emotion to affect the aspects of the poem such as tone. The tone of the raven can be described as dark, gloomy, depressing, and dreary, due to the fact that the main character in the poem lost his love and believes he is being tormented by a raven. The tones relate to the view of nature in each poem, as in “The Raven” nature is evil or indifferent to the man’s suffering and does not make him feel better and is torturing him, and is also considered very hostile. As the Romantic style is very emotional, the lingering mental stability of the man provides more “instability” and darkness to the poem. This is especially true, when Poe uses rhyming of “Nevermore” and the name of his lover, “Lenore”, to exemplify an idea, as well as darken the tone. Imagery supports Poe’s view of nature, as it uses many words like, “black, demon, devil, plutonian, ghastly, dreary, and weak.” The settings of these poems allow us a glimpse on the views of nature expressed in them. The setting of “The Raven” is during the witching hour on a dark December night, but the man actually experiences the act of nature inside the house, which makes it seem unique that the bird is coming for him specifically. He stated that it took place “once upon a midnight dreary, while [he] pondered, weak and weary.” The style in which he writes develops the poem into being a perfect example of Poe’s view of nature.
In both of the poems the styles of the poems relate to the view of nature in each of them. In “The Raven” the ornate style is used to describe the intense, distress, sadness, and agony the man is going through, which in turn describes an unclear, confusing, and difficult aspect of nature. On the other hand, “To a Waterfowl” has a somewhat plainer style of writing, possibly due to the fact that less emotion is being described, since the man is reflecting on his life and God, which describes a clear, peaceful, and a sense of knowing aspect of nature. “To a Waterfowl” shows order, due to the plainness, calmness, and serenity of nature, rather than the erratic, emotional, and disorderly thoughts of the man in “The Raven”. The writing styles and view of nature truly change the major aspects of a poem.
Since “The Raven” is heavily based on emotions, a lot of irrationality is displayed, due to the loss of logic in the poem. Bryant’s poem, on the other hand is more rational, but is vaguer than the emotionally detailed poem by Poe. Even though both of the poems started off somewhat “similar”, their endings are completely different. Bryant’s poem ended with the man feeling happier and more at peace with his life, but in Poe’s poem, it ended in the man being more depressed than before. The poems both pertain to birds but because of the different right styles and views of nature, they both ended up very different. Even the birds are very different, which is due to the views of nature, as Poe's raven is viewed as a dark and evil being, but Bryan's bird is characterized as a peaceful and guiding being. In the end, both poems have started out looking very similar, but with different views in nature and different writing styles, many differences are present in the two poems.
Both poems, “The Raven” and “To a Waterfowl” begin as both having a man interacting with a specific bird, but after that the differences begin to show. Bryant writes a poem about a man pondering what exactly the lesson is that the bird he is observing is teaching him. He writes about a waterfowl that even though is alone, is guided along in the sky. The man then wonders if “there is a power whose care teaches thy way along that pathless coast.” The poem’s setting, which is during sunset, adds to the peacefulness and serenity of nature. The man exclaims that the same power that guides the bird to its destination will “lead my steps aright”. In the poem “To a Waterfowl”, it is written in the Neo-Classical style, and focuses more on logic, rather than emotions. The tone is very opposite to “the Raven”, as it can be described as peaceful, calm, positive, and optimistic. In “To a Waterfowl”, nature in the waterfowl makes him think about how God will lead him in his life. The poem relies mostly on logic, because it only alludes to religion. The classical view is that nature is something to observe and meditate on.
The poem “The Raven” is written in the Romantic style, allowing more emotion to affect the aspects of the poem such as tone. The tone of the raven can be described as dark, gloomy, depressing, and dreary, due to the fact that the main character in the poem lost his love and believes he is being tormented by a raven. The tones relate to the view of nature in each poem, as in “The Raven” nature is evil or indifferent to the man’s suffering and does not make him feel better and is torturing him, and is also considered very hostile. As the Romantic style is very emotional, the lingering mental stability of the man provides more “instability” and darkness to the poem. This is especially true, when Poe uses rhyming of “Nevermore” and the name of his lover, “Lenore”, to exemplify an idea, as well as darken the tone. Imagery supports Poe’s view of nature, as it uses many words like, “black, demon, devil, plutonian, ghastly, dreary, and weak.” The settings of these poems allow us a glimpse on the views of nature expressed in them. The setting of “The Raven” is during the witching hour on a dark December night, but the man actually experiences the act of nature inside the house, which makes it seem unique that the bird is coming for him specifically. He stated that it took place “once upon a midnight dreary, while [he] pondered, weak and weary.” The style in which he writes develops the poem into being a perfect example of Poe’s view of nature.
In both of the poems the styles of the poems relate to the view of nature in each of them. In “The Raven” the ornate style is used to describe the intense, distress, sadness, and agony the man is going through, which in turn describes an unclear, confusing, and difficult aspect of nature. On the other hand, “To a Waterfowl” has a somewhat plainer style of writing, possibly due to the fact that less emotion is being described, since the man is reflecting on his life and God, which describes a clear, peaceful, and a sense of knowing aspect of nature. “To a Waterfowl” shows order, due to the plainness, calmness, and serenity of nature, rather than the erratic, emotional, and disorderly thoughts of the man in “The Raven”. The writing styles and view of nature truly change the major aspects of a poem.
Since “The Raven” is heavily based on emotions, a lot of irrationality is displayed, due to the loss of logic in the poem. Bryant’s poem, on the other hand is more rational, but is vaguer than the emotionally detailed poem by Poe. Even though both of the poems started off somewhat “similar”, their endings are completely different. Bryant’s poem ended with the man feeling happier and more at peace with his life, but in Poe’s poem, it ended in the man being more depressed than before. The poems both pertain to birds but because of the different right styles and views of nature, they both ended up very different. Even the birds are very different, which is due to the views of nature, as Poe's raven is viewed as a dark and evil being, but Bryan's bird is characterized as a peaceful and guiding being. In the end, both poems have started out looking very similar, but with different views in nature and different writing styles, many differences are present in the two poems.
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