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These comparisons help reveal that the poets’ purposes re to notice the influence of imagination and to also relish nature. One of the major themes of both these poems is the poets’ expression of a common message of how we rely on our Imagination over and over again. Longfellow, the poet of The Repeal, demonstrates this common theme by scripting, “While within this brain of mine,” cobwebs brighter and more fine. ” (Longfellow 15-16) One of the poetic devices In this quote Is rhyme scheme. The poet uses rhyme scheme to get the readers mind working- It causes the audience to use their Imagination.
This flow and rhyme helps exemplify the common theme of imagination. It does this by prying open the reader’s tightly enclosed mind, making him or her think, and use their imagination to predict what is coming next. By having a consistent rhyme scheme the reader will have a consistent surge of imagination. Emily Dickson then writes in the poem Because I could not stop for Death, “Because I could not stop for Death-I He kindly stopped for me-” (Dickinson 1-2) This quote has many different rhetorical devices which, like The Repeal, also creates the theme of inspiring imagination.
One very powerful device Emily Dickinson has used throughout her poem is the use of hyphens at the end of lines. This way of finishing each line is significant, because It tells the reader, unconsciously, to drift off the page and be creative In a more personal, poetic, and meaningful way. It makes the poem open for Interpretation, This Is why hyphens are so powerful because they bring out the readers creativity and Imagination which Is vitally important.
The poet, Emily Dickinson, is teaching us to soak in and relish the theme of imagination through the use of hyphens. Both of these complex poems, The Repeal and Because I Could Not Stop for Death are based on a fundamental meaning of how imagination is an immense part in our lifestyles. These two poets do this in two separate ways, while Longfellow uses more rhythm and rhyme schemes to convey this message, Dickinson has created a type of poetry filled with hyphens to make the reader be thoughtful, be original, and be imaginative.
The flow of imagination does not stop with simply these two quotes. Longfellow then goes on to say, “All these scenes I do behold/ These, and many left untold,” (Longfellow 62-63) These two lines define the Ideas of creatively and Imagination through the lines’ structure and word choice. “Behold” and “untold” are very powerful forms of Dalton, cause not only do they rhyme, but because they build on one of the poem’s main choice such as “behold” the poet creates an underlying meaning that he is literally grasping the very essence of imagination.
The poet is saying that he can conjure many stories from his mind. Expanding on from this idea Emily Dickinson writes, “The Carriage held but Just Ourselves-I And Immorality. ” (Dickinson 3-4) The poetic devices used here are also along the lines of diction. The buzz words of these lines are rather obvious because the poet has chosen to capitalize them: Carriage, Ourselves, and Immortality. Emily Dickinson has grasped the reader’s attention by capitalizing the words she wants to emphasize, making the reader think about them.
This idea is very important, not only because it gives the world a new poetic device of capitalization to analyze, but because it makes the readers imagination click. Also, notice how “And Immortality. ” is it’s own separate line and sentence. This is key because it puts an abundant amount of emphasis on the word immortality, which is the perfect use of diction; it is referring to how people will live on forever and how people’s imagination will live on forever. These two quotes of Long fellow and Dickinson also share the same theme of imagination.
They both say that through diction, imagination can inspire us to strive and that we have an infinite and vast imagination that should not be forgotten. Although theme is a vital aspect in the poetry of this time period, another equally important aspect is the expression of the tenets of romanticism. One of the tenets of romanticism has two perspectives. From one perspective the poet writes about what is within himself; from the other perspective the poet writes about an external experience dealing with more than one person.
As we analyze The Repeal, we can see how Longfellow has a more inner perspective, “Dull and drowsy, makes me feel/ All its spokes are in my brain. ” (Longfellow 11-12) Longfellow uses the rhetorical device of diction to help describe a tenet. The poet could have made his poem more general by saying “people feel” or “the brain” but instead he chooses to say, “me feel” and “my brain”. Because the poet used this type of diction he helped define the romantic idea of a more personal and inner self.
While this device within this quote is hidden, the romantic principle of the individual self is strikingly clear. Emily Dickinson chooses to o the other direction in her poem Because I Could Not Stop for Death when she scripts, “We slowly drove- He knew no haste” (Dickinson 5-6) Throughout Dickens’s poem she uses the diction and word choice of “we”, not “l” or “myself” The use of diction changes the poem into a more public perspective. It portrays how the poet has a more social mindset. This perspective of romanticism contradicts that of Longfellow.
Although they both use the same rhetorical device of diction, the poets use opposing perspectives of romanticism. One poet is talking about the individual self while the other is referring to herself and other people. Another tenet of romanticism is the principle of nature. During the time period of romanticism nature was a very common tenet to write about. Longfellow The Repeal is a prime example of this, “Human spiders spin and spin,] Backward down their threads so thin” (Longfellow 4-5) There are many poetic devices in these two lines including alliteration, repetition and rhyme.
The device of repetition and alliteration is evident when the poet writes, “spiders spin and spin” this is an important device because it emphasizes the meaning of the sentence. Longfellow then uses rhythm and rhyme to poetic tenet of nature. Because the poet is already vividly describing nature the devices get the reader’s mind working, and further highlight the key tenet of nature. Like the poet Longfellow, Dickinson uses similar poetic devices including alliteration and parallelism to demonstrate the romantic tenet of nature within poetry.
She shows these devices vibrantly when she inscribes, “We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -l We passed the Setting Sun -” (Dickinson 11-12) By using the device of alliteration when Dickinson writes, “Gazing Grain” and “Setting Sun” the poet is drilling the idea of nature into the reader’s brain, because the words sound right gather. She is emphasizing the romantic tenet of nature through these boldly capitalized alliterations. We can see more emphasis on this subject when the poet repeats the phrase “We passed the”.
Emily Dickinson uses repetition to remind the reader of the power and beauty of nature. She also uses repetition to underline the power of nature. We can conclude from the quotes listed above that Longfellow and Dickinson both shared the same interests in nature as a strong tenet of romanticism. Both poets emphasized the fact that we need to soak in and appreciate nature. Coincidentally, both poets also used relatively the same poetic devices to prove how we should take care of nature.
By analyzing these two poems on multiple levels, we can come to a conclusion that both poems and poets support the theme of imagination as well as some of the tenets of romanticism. These tenets include the inner self, the outer self, and nature. Through rhetorical devices the poets, Emily Dickinson and Henry Longfellow, have vividly brought many aspects of poetry together. Both poets aimed at stressing the power and influence our imagination has on us throughout their poetry. The poets also emphasized the power of the individual self as well as the affect of groups.
One last thing both of the poets agreed on was the influence of nature and how we should nurture and protect it. Even though both of these poems are historical, this does not mean that they aren’t still applicable today. We see the common theme of imagination in all of us whether we are little kids playing house or old grandpas reminiscing through the past. The concept and ideas of the inner self and nature are still very important today. People look within themselves to find out answers and search in nature as much as they did a hundred years ago.