Comparative Poetry Analysis
Kaitlyn Hackbarth Hour 2
Introduction
By comparing and contrasting the two poems Sleeping in the Forest and Ode to Enchanted Light we can determine the similarities and differences by looking at the tone and word choice the author uses, the figurative language, and the structure and form.
Tone and Word Choice
When comparing tone and word choice the poems are completely different. Sleeping in the Forest has more of a harsh tone. The words used to describe Sleeping in the Forest gives a scary feel towards the poem. For example in line 15-16 the poem says "I rose and fell as if in water, grappling with a luminous doom". Where as in Ode to Enchanted Light gives a peaceful tone towards the poem. The words the author uses give more of a calming feel of the story. For example lines 5-9 say "light as a latticework of branches shining on every leaf drifting down like clean white sand.
Figurative Language
When it comes to figurative language the poems are mostly similar. For example they both have a metaphor some where in the poem. In sleeping in the Forest lines 5-6 say "I slept as never before a stone on the riverbed" and in Ode to Enchanted Light lines 13-15 say "The world is a glass overflowing with water". Both poems also have a simile. In Sleeping in the Forest one simile that is used is "They floated light as moths among the branches of the perfect trees" and in Ode to Enchanted Light "drifting down like clean white sand". But the difference between the poems are that Sleeping in the Forest uses personification where Ode to Enchanted Light uses alliteration.
Structure and Form
Then when it comes to structure and form they are some what similar. The only thing that is similar about the two poems, in structure and form, is that they both are free verse with one exception of one paragraph that has rhyming. The differences are that Sleeping in the Forest is centered and stanza one shows rhyming where as in Ode to Enchanted Light has uneven stanzas and stanza one shows imagery.
Conclusion
The tone and word choice, figurative language, and structure and form in Sleeping in the forest and Ode to Enchanted Light both have there similarities and differences. The style the author used in each poem affects the poem because the way the author writes determines the way you see the over all message. Someone once said "The Earth has music for those who listen".