Examining Daffodil By William Wordsworth

The poem revealed the level of mesmerism the poet had when met with a dazzling nature acting under the cause and effect mechanism. 

Readers are meant to see how an inanimate can communicate beautifully with animate without the use of spoken words.

William Wordsworth (07/04/1770-23/04/1850) was motivated to write the poem: Daffodil while passing on a stormy day, he saw the breeze orchestrating the daffodils, making them danced so gracefully.

It is revealed that the poem is of two versions: the original and the improved version. 

The original version was published in 1807, having three stanzas while the improved version of the poem was published in 1815, having four stanzas where the second stanza made the improved version completely different from the original. 

It was said that the changes in the lifestyle of William Wordsworth gave birth to the changes found in the second version of the poem

[Listen to the poem Daffodil] and you can also [Read the Two Versions of the Poem]

Both version of the poem: Daffodil has a rhythm of four feet per line, five lines per stanza and maintained a strict pattern of end rhyming scheme that forms ABABCC, DEDEFF, etc. 

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Analysis Of The World Is Too Much With Us By William Wordsworth

The Overview

In William Wordsworth poem "The World Is Too Much With Us", he tells of his dislike towards humans' ingratitude and lack of reverence for nature and its elements.

With the sonnet nature of the poem, Wordsworth professionally arranged his views in two parts; the first part being his complaint, the second part being his resolution. The poet says that human beings have had much of the world this era that their daily life activities blindfolded them from seeing and cherishing the beauties entombed in nature. He decides to derail into "paganism" because he sees more of nature and natural beauties in them than in anything else; deities like Proteus and Triton are his motivators.

The Structure

The poem is a sonnet with the octave (1st 8 lines) about his complains while the sestet (the remaining 6 lines) about his resolution. The first eight lines have the end rhyme pattern of ABBAABBA while the rest six lines have the end rhyme pattern of CDCDCD. 

How much I love to see similes in a poem, this poem has it in line 7 "now like sleeping flowers". There is a classical allusion in the poem making reference to two Greek gods (Proteus and Triton) and with the poet's mention of "pagan" in line 10, the poem snatched few religion. Personification in line 5-6 where the sea has blossom and the wind howling. Alliterations like "bares her bossom" "Great God", imageries also added beauty to the poem.

The Theme

The poem possesses the theme of abundant beauty in nature; which human beings refuse to recognize, ingratitude or lack of appreciation for the available things or readymade thing instead humans chase around the artificials, another the theme in the poem speaks of religion and the beautiful reflection of nature in the so-called "paganism".

William Wordsworth 7-4-1770 – 23-4-1850 was an English Romantic poet.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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How To Understand Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

Detailed Background

What experience led to Shakespeare’s creation of this poem? What reality is in Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare? How does the poem’s background and setting reflect our present environment?

William Shakespeare wrote many sonnets during his lifetime and Sonnet 18 is one among the popular which might be as a result of the varying circumstances surrounded the poem. Almost his sonnets held similar subjects such as love, life, death, beauty, etc. 

This could result from the fact that those subjects were very much in vogue among writers and artist of his era considering the poem of Christopher Marlowe “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” also reflected love. Sonnet 18 is a poem directed towards the poet’s heart of love to someone else (a feminine). The works of William Shakespeare sent a vivid message to the readers showing that the poet was a very emotional person. This reminds me of a movie about the poet titled “Shakespeare In Love” where the poet who acted as a playwright in the movie and was seen busy writing a love poem to impress her newly found lover named Viola de Lesseps; the movie “Shakespeare in Love” was released in the year 1998.

Shakespeare married at the age of 18 as recorded by many articles about the poet and his wife name Anne Hathaway who had three children for the poet. To answer the question of what led Shakespeare to writing Sonnet 18, many research has viewed the sonnet as a poem directed to another lover different from the poet’s wife since Shakespeare was a very famous poet of his time and having a secret lover might not totally be a false assumption. What reality is in the message of the poem? The reality in the poem can be linked to the common nature of human attractions which are mostly propelled by outward beauty and material possessions. 

Connotative Explanation

Humans are bound to get attracted to someone’s oblivion and by so doing they seek medium to express their attraction the same way as Shakespeare embraced the use of a sonnet as a means of expression but the words of the poet are considered too far from reality as he highly immortalized his addressed lover. In the present society we live, civilization has brought many better ways of expressing love than the use of sonnet. Nowadays, lovers use television, radio, mobile phone, internet chat, and many more as medium of love expression. Season and time still have effect on lovers till date, many lovers still channel their romance towards summer, winter, not to mention popular festive seasons.

The subject matter in the poem “Shall I Compare Thee to A Summer’s Day” (Sonnet 18) is about the beauty possessed by a lover which the poet considered immortal. Shakespeare compared the outward appearance of the lady or woman in discuss “to a summer day” as seen in line one of the poem. He mentioned the great qualities of the lady not excluding her flaws via the description of the summer season. Summers are lovely, moderate but sometimes harsh and short live. Feel free to [VIEW DETAILED EXPLANATION>>>] .

The dominant poetic device in the poem is metaphor where the whole subject of love, beauty and death are compared to a summer season. It will not be quite wrong to say that summer in the poem is a symbolism broadened with the use of metaphor. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” in line 1, the attribute of the summer extended through the poem from where the summer is “more lovely and more temperate” in line 2 down to where the summer qualities of the lady will overcome death. Feel free to [VIEW DETAILED EXPLANATION>>>].

Structurally, the poem “Shall I Compare Thee to A Summer’s Day” by William Shakespeare is a sonnet. Sonnet is a form of poem that originated from Italy which has a total of fourteen lines that follows a strict rhyme pattern. Most Shakespearean sonnets end with rhyming couplet and “Sonnet 18” is not an exception. Sonnet 18 has the following theme namely the theme of love, the theme of immortality, the theme of immunity and check [VIEW DETAILED EXPLANATION>>>]

Likely Questions:-

1. Examine the theme of immunity in Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare
2. Shed light on the concept of “summer's day” as regards Shakespeare's poem
3. What is the thematic preoccupation of the poet in Sonnet 18?
4. Explain the use of metaphor in Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare
5. Discuss the changing mood of the poet in “Sonnet 18”
6. How relevant is the use of metaphor in Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?
7. Give a detailed justification to the title of the poem Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry

(the Leo with wings flying)

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Joy And Pleasure By William Henry Davies

"Joy and Pleasure" by William Henry Davies is a poem of class. The title of the poem is in form of a symbolism where "joy" symbolizes poverty while "pleasure" symbolizes riches; this can be further proven in line 1 and 2 respectively where joy and pleasure are personified: "Now, joy is born of parents poor/ And pleasure of our richer kind".
With simple diction, alternate end rhyme scheme pattern, symbolism and personification; the readers are able to see the contrasting opinion embedded in the poem.

There are lots of simile in the poem for the purpose of juxtaposition. In line 9 "Joy’s like a Bee" in line 11 "pleasure’s like a greedy
Wasp" in line 13 "Joy’s like a Lark" in line 15 "Pleasure like a Cuckoo". "Pleasure’s a Moth" is an instance of metaphor while "sings and laughs with strangers near" seen in line 20 is a good example of alliteration.

"Now, joy is born of parents poor,
And pleasure of our richer kind;
Though pleasure’s free, she cannot sing
As sweet a song as joy confined."
According to the stanza one above, joy is capable and lively in its condition of poverty while pleasure is free but not lively and free in its condition of riches.

"Pleasure’s a Moth, that sleeps by day
And dances by false glare at night;
But Joy’s a Butterfly, that loves
To spread its wings in Nature’s light."
According to the stanza two, the freedom in poverty can be expressed even in daylight while that of riches is confined to arenas such as nightclubs.

"Joy’s like a Bee that gently sucks
Away on blossoms its sweet hour;
But pleasure’s like a greedy Wasp,
That plums and cherries would devour."
According to stanza three, "joy" which symbolizes poverty is seen to  maintains moderation, prudence, and decency in dealing with freedom while "pleasure" is voracious and greedy in dealing with any slight chance of freedom acquired.

"Joy’s like a Lark that lives alone,
Whose ties are very strong, though few;
But Pleasure like a Cuckoo roams,
Makes much acquaintance, no friends true."
According to the fourth stanza, "joy" chooses friends wisely with deep and lasting emotional connection while "pleasure" acquire to many friends who are not true.

"Joy from her heart doth sing at home,
With little care if others hear;
But pleasure then is cold and dumb,
And sings and laughs with strangers near."
According to the fifth stanza, another character trait surfaced between both contrasting symbols. "Joy" is portrayed to be very reserve while "Pleasure" is full of showoffs.

There are varying themes in the poem, such as poverty, riches, prudence, friendship, avarice, moderateness, etc.

"Pleasure’s a Moth, that sleeps by day/ And dances by false glare at night" since moths are fond of the shining lights at night, "false glare" could probably be the colourful bulbs seen in nightclubs.

William Henry Davies also called W. H. Davies is an English poet born 3rd of July 1871. He died on the 26th of September, 1940 due to ailments from his lost leg. According to the article on Wikipedia, "Davies' health continued to deteriorate and he died, in September 1940, at the age of 69. Never a church-goer in his adult life, Davies was cremated at Cheltenham and his remains interred there."

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Deep Analysis Of Over The World's Rim By William Faulkner

Over The World's Rim by William Faulkner is dominated by rhetorical questions. I guess this four stanza poem is motivated by the swift and steady rotation of the earth, time and seasons. At the moment Faulkner wrote the poem, it was December (end of the year): "Over the world's rim, drawing bland November/ Reluctant behind them, drawing the moons of cold" referring to line 1-2.

With the aid of rhetorical questions the poet wondered why the seasons keep dying and resurrecting on earth, he wondered if he had once had such privilege before he was born to this earth where he owned his living to death's limitation:
"What do their lonely voices wake to remember
In this dust ere 'twas flesh? what restless old

Dream a thousand years was safely sleeping
Wakes my blood to sharp unease? what horn

Rings out to them? Was I free once, sweeping
Their wild and lonely skies ere I was born?"

William Faulkner then enviously encouraged time and seasons to keep enjoying their freedom of continuous existence while he maintained his own inferiority because of his limitations as a mortal being.

The vivid themes are the virtues in nature, the comparison between mortal and immortal, impact of death on humans, etc. There are run-on-lines, imageries, and the use of poet license in the craft of the poem. Each stanza of the poem is four lines with end rhyme scheme of ABAB.

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Write On The Epic Elements In The Proud King By William Morris

NECO JUNE/JULY 2016 QUESTION:-
Write on the epic elements in "The Proud King" by William Morris.

ANSWER:-
What Is Epic? According to the dictionary of English language, an epic is an extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a deity or demigod (heroic epic) or other legendary or traditional hero.

Judging by the totality of the poem, its form is truly epic. It holds a long detailed narration of more than 840 lines about Jovinian (a very proud king) who because of his riches, worldly respect and status, became very proud to humanity and God. He lost his status and recognition within a twinkle of an eye but regained it after days of shameful experiences accompanied with sincere repentance.

Another epic element of the poem "The Proud King" by William Morris can be found in the poem's setting and diction. The poem's setting is far behind this period, it belongs to the period when monarchy is supreme, the period when horse riding is for the royals, the period when hunting is a royal delight. The problem of the proud king began when he rode his horse out on a fun hunting expedition. The diction likewise shows epic element with the poet's use of old English language "...everything thou hast to say" though the rhythm and the rhyme scheme are carefully chosen.

MOST NOT MISS:-
>>>Analysis of the Proud King
>>>Analysis of Day by William Morris
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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis Of Parable By William Soutar

He was a Scottish poet, born in 1898 at Perth. He had his university education at Edinburgh. For the last years of his life, he was invalided as he suffered from paralysis. He died in 1943.

The issue of fencing abodes or properties is not new in poetry, Robert Frost has a poem about fence he titled Mending Wall. This William Soutar poem "Parable" no except, it's about two neighbors believe in the marking of their boundaries with fence would prevent them from stepping on each other's toes and by so doing, everlasting peace would reign. Priority was so much placed on their fences to extent the bricks of their buildings were taken down to improve the solidness of their fences but the maintenance of the fence brought them quarrel or fight that made their fences buried them alive.

Parable is a three-stanza poem with end rhyme pattern of AABBCCDD; the rhythm is strictly planned by the poet to maintain the minimum of four feet per line of the poem. The satirical ingredient used by the poet made the poem a very lively one. The poem used military words like barricaded, battlements, ramparts to show that it was not love that propelled the neighbors to build the fence but fear, jealousy, anger and hatred which culminated into war that destroyed them both.

The theme of self-destruction is one among the themes of the poem. Both neighbors unknowingly built their minefields (their fence) in quest for peace and security "Two neighbors, who were rather dense/ Considered that their mutual fence/ Were more symbolic of their peace/ (Which they maintained should never cease)" in line 1-4. Their intended peace led to no-peace and their destruction "They curse, they strike, they break the wall/ Which buries them beneath its fall" in line 29-30.

Another theme is the fear of neighbor's encroachment. Each neighbors as described by the poem speaker were exercising fear, none trusted his neighbors with his belongings and in disguise of peace they thought could secure their properties.

Futility is another theme of the poem. In the sense that the characters in question held high value towards what they shouldn't; their belongings to the level that they sacrificed their dwelling to preserve their futile boundary.

Limitations created with fences. Soutar, through this poem showed that the benefit of having a home fenced is way lesser than the disadvantages. Fences prevent socialism, trustworthy cooperation, neighbourliness. Fence can be a hindrance in time of necessitated rescue.

Other poetic devices that flavored the poem are: metaphor in line 6 "substantial warden", in line 21 "they uprear". Simile in line 16 "like a gathering blot". Oxymoron in line 16 "battlements of peace". Alliteration in line 16 "built the battlements" in line 22 "full of fear" in line 24 "dwelling houses down". Apostrophe in line 14 "Higher! Higher!". Repetition of the following words "fence" "higher" "day" "neighbor".

COMMON QUESTIONS:-
1) explain the poet's use of sarcasm in the poem "Parable"

2) Of what relevance is the poem "Parable" to our modern day society?

3) Compare and contrast Mending Wall by Robert Frost with Parable by William Soutar

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Examine The Relationship Between Man And Nature In The Solitary ReaperBy William Wordsworth

Question:- Examine the relationship between man and nature in The Solitary Reaper.

Answer:- The poem by William Wordsworth; "The Solitary Reaper" is such that gives expression to the overwhelming influence that nature exercises on a romantic poet, especially William Wordsworth. The poem is about the attraction and effects the song from a farming lady had on the poet.

According to the question, "the relationship between man and nature" should be interpreted as "the relationship between human being and his or her environment". This can be viewed in two ways, the relationship between "the solitary reaper"(the lady farmer singing) and her environment, the relationship between the listener(William Wordsworth) and his environment.

Both the singer and Wordsworth(the listener) got united to nature(their present natural environment) with the beauty of music or musical melody. The solitary reaper used her singing to suppress all worries that were assumed by the poet in the context of the poem while the poet, on the other hand, show

ed the effects of the song on other entities like "the weary bands of travellers", "Vale profound/ is overflowing with the sound", "Breaking the silence of the seas".

Even though the poet confessed he didn't understand what the song was saying and tagged it to be "plaintive numbers", the last four lines of the poem, showed the poet was still able to hear the lady's song in his own heart, when the distance he had covered had prevented him from hearing the lady's voice:
"I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more"

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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The Theme Of Vanity In The Proud King By William Morris

So many themes run through this narrative masterpiece; among them are the supremacy of God, the act of sin and repentance, the effective power of death, etc.

This article will be discussing the theme of vanity. "The Proud King" by William Morris reminds the reader through his prominent character (Jovinian) of how vain life and wealth are.

The poem opens as follows:
"In a far country that I cannot name,
And in a year long ages past away,
A King there dwelt, in rest and ease and fame,
And richer than the Emperor is today:"
The mammoth wealth and high status triggered the pride in Jovinian to the extent of believing himself a God on earth but within a blink of eye, he was mysteriously dethroned and relegated to a state of wretchedness: "the real King by the roadside lay, Panting, confused, scarce knowing if he dreamed" (line 253-254), "The hot sun solely burned his naked skin" (line 100).

According to line 190-193 of the poem, those who saw Jovinian admitted he resembled their king but refused to reckon with his laments and never gave him the respect he used to get:
"He to the King is nothing in aught
But that his beard he weareth in such guise
As doth my lord: wilt thou that he be brought?
Perchance some treason 'neath his madness lies"

In a nutshell, the theme of vanity is based on the fact that nothing is certain on earth.

Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Prove That The Proud King By William Morris Is A Narrative Poem

Narrative poetry is such that tells tale with the use of dramatic elements. Paradise Lost by John Milton, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
The Proud King by William Morris also falls under the category of narrative poetry; and we shall support this claim with just four points below:

(1) Lengthiness:- One of the common characteristics of a narrative poem is the three
digit length of lines it mostly possesses. The Proud King by William Morris has a total of 849 line which is way more longer than Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner which is merely 625 lines in total. William Morris' attempt to give a detailed account of Jovinian's err and repentance led to such mammoth number of lines.

(2) Storytelling:- As mentioned before, tell-tale is paramount in the craft of a narrative poetry. In the poem "The Proud King" by William Morris, a certain wealthy and highly respected king who goes by the name Jovinian, suddenly became proud and arrogant by likening himself to God. When the morning arrived, he decided to go hunting and stopped by a river to swim but an angel sharing his resemblance took his kingly robe and horse. Jovinian became a nuisance none could recognize him despite his multiple try to claim his rightful status. When he finally became sober and repented, the angel put him back to his throne.

(3) Poetic devices: It has been noted that most narrative poetry embrace the use of dramatic monologue which is not lacking in the poem "The Proud King" by William Morris. Another poetic device common in narrative poetry is apostrophe; in the poem we see "Ah God!" occurred many times in the words of Jovinian.

(4) Rhyme and rhythm:- "The Proud King" by William Morris was carefully composed to follow a stick rhythm and its end rhyme pattern looks ABABBCC.

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Analysis Of Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day

As we cherish and praise William Shakespeare for his sonnet 18, let's not forget Giacomo da Lentini, also known as Jacopo (il) Notaro, an Italian poet of the 13th century, who invented sonnet.

Like most of the 154 Shakespearian sonnets, sonnet 18 was also speaking of love. That is why the theme of love, the theme of immunity and the theme of immortality can be found in the poem.

Some new generation pupils might find it hard to understand the language of the poem because it's archaic. We refer to it as the Elizabethan English; except for those familiar with the old king James Version of the Holy Bible.

The language of this sonnet is said to be the simplest in comparison with other Shakespearean sonnets. The tone is calm with an optimistic mood of assurance.

Let's look at the themes:
The Theme Of Love:
Shakespeare revealed his love through the image of beauty, simplicity and certainty. He compared his lover to "...a summer's day?/ thou art more lovely and more
temperate" (line 1 and 2) because those qualities of hers, he cherished.

The Theme Of Immunity:
What is Immunity? The state of being insusceptible to something of having strong resistance. Few of the things human being cannot resist are death, aging, etc. Shakespeare made readers to realise in Sonnet 18 that his lover was immune to aging and death. From line 3-8, he wrote how summer, sun, flower, etc. come and later die or disappear; starting from line 9, he told the readers that his own lover will neither grow old, lose beauty nor die.
"But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,"(line 9-11)

The Theme Of Immortality:
"When in eternal lines of time thou grow'st.
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."(line 12-14)
The poet made us to know that his lover will live forever as far as men live and eyes continue to see things written because he has immortalized her with this Sonnet 18; that's the power of poetry.

William Shakespeare (April 26, 1564-April 23, 1616) was 52 years old before death. An English poet and writer, he married Anne Hathaway with three children.

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