Comparing Poetry
"Prayer to the Pacific" and "Sleeping in the Forest"
Introduction
"Prayer to the Pacific" and "Sleeping in the Forest" are very different poems, but can also be alike in many ways. The tone, word choice, detail, and form, all help determine the overall structure of a poem, as well as how it sounds.
Tone and Word Choice in "Prayer to the Pacific"
The poet seems to enjoy nature. The word choice seems happy and cheerful but at the same time, serious and meaningful. The author seems to have imagination and a happy mind. She uses words that create images in my mind of happy things.
Tone and Word Choice in "Sleeping in the Forest"
The poet is probably scared of the world because she says, "I thought the earth/ remembered me..." in lines 1-2. The poem's words have a feeling that's more sad than "Prayer to the Pacific." The poet said the speaker was "grappling with a luminous doom" in the water. Since grappling means struggling, the speaker was struggling in the river.
Figurative Language Choices in "Prayer to the Pacific"
There is a lot of imagery in this poem. In lines 6-8, the poet says, "Pale/ pale water in the yellow-white light of/ sun floating west..." In line 5, the poet states that the water was as "Big as the myth of origin." That is a simile because it uses the word "as." The choices in figurative language help enhance the poem's happier feeling.
Figurative Language Choices in "Sleeping in the Forest"
There is a metaphor in lines 6-7 that says, "a stone on a riverbed..." She's comparing herself sleeping to a stone. In line 10, it says, "bright as moths among the branches..." This is a simile because it uses the word "as."
Structure and Form of "Prayer to the Pacific"
The lines kind of look like waves. Where the words are placed have a lot to do with the sentence structure and rhythm patterns. You read from top to bottom. There are many examples of different structures in many poems. Most poems are different structures. This poem has a lot of different structure and form.
Structure and Form of "sleeping in the forest"
The poem is shaped kind of like a tree. In the forest, there are a lot of trees. The sentences are kind of like everyday, normal sentences. The rhythm kind of adds to the sad and depressed word choice.
Conclusion
These poems have very different tone, word choice, detail, and form. In "Prayer to the Pacific" and "Sleeping in the Forest," the authors have different styles. "Sleeping in the Forest" has a more sad feeling and "Prayer to the Pacific" has a happier feeling.