Preview

“When I Have Fears” and “Mezzo Cammin” Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
981 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
“When I Have Fears” and “Mezzo Cammin” Essay
Stephanie Villalobos Mr. Domingo
AP Literature; Period 2 August 23rd 2010
“When I Have Fears” and “Mezzo Cammin” Essay
In the two poems, “When I Have Fears” by John Keats and “Mezzo Cammin” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, both of the poets deal with the death that they believe is quickly approaching them and think back to their regrets in life. Keats during the time when this poem had been written had just seen his brother die of tuberculosis and due to this he believed he too would soon die. Longfellow at the time writing his poem had been 35 and due to this was most likely experiencing a mid-life crisis. Similarities between the two poems include the poem’s theme and the thoughts of death that the two men are dealing with. The main difference between the two poems deal with Keats’ fear of not being able to finish writing before he dies and shows this by the metaphors and structure. Longfellow‘s poem then in comparison shows the author dealing with his regrets for his life and not being able to move on from that with the use of imagery, diction and extended metaphor. “When I Have Fears” covers many points on Keats fear of death that Longfellow does not. Keats mainly focuses on his goals of writing. Even in his first line we are able to see how much he fears death. He states that when he has fears that he “may cease to be”(Keats 1), in this understatement he shows his fear to even say the word death. Instead he replaces it with a less direct way of sharing his fear. Keats wishes to write so many books that the amount will be a huge pile of his works. Using “rich garners the full ripen’d grain”(4), gives an idea of the amount of book he pictures that he will write in the future. However, he fears that he “may never live to trace”(7), the glorious books that he will one day write. The use of the metaphor of clouds which you are not able to hold show that he really feels he will never be able to finish. He goes on to say that if he may not write his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Who does not cower in fear upon the thought of death? Almost everybody does! However, people have differing views on the abstract idea of dying. In examining the poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death? by Emily Dickinson and "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night? by Dylan Thomas, it is evident that the poets use contrasting and comparative techniques in their unique presentations of the concept of death. In the poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death? Emily Dickinson presents the idea of acceptance of death, whereas in the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night? Dylan Thomas presents the idea of refusal and opposition to death. Despite the differences in theme, these two poets both use similar figurative language devices, such as metaphors, personification and alliteration as they explore their contrasting ideas pertaining to the concept of death. Through the use of their same literacy techniques, both of the authors have presented two very different perceptions on death: Dickinson's message is acceptance whereas Thomas?is rejection.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In these particular poems about death, there are two different pictures painted of death. It is a clear contrast on the author’s individual point of view for such character. On both poems, the diction used to describe death is different from what I would use to describe death. It is very interesting that death is not described as an enemy, or a powerful and intimidating being. Both poems negate the mightiness of this character in different ways.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first lines of both of these stories talk about theme death. Since the authors being with a funeral moment at the beginning of the story, this is an anticipation of the rest of the story to follow the tone. The setting of both these stories take place in a small town. They are different in the way one is in the south and the…

    • 1137 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As people near the time of their deaths, they begin to reflect upon the history and events of their own lives. Both John Keats’ “When I have Fears” and Henry Longfellow’s “Mezzo Cammin” reflect upon the speakers’ fears and thoughts of death. However, the conclusions between these two poems end quite differently. Although both reflect upon Death’s grasp, Keats’ displays an appreciation and subtle satisfaction with the wonders of life, while Longfellow morbidly mourns his past inactions and fears what events the future may bring.…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Death In Casablanca

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages

    These two are contrasts of each other because one is a person who is already living, in the afterlife, with Death and goes looking through her old life; the other is a man running from his old life and his fear of Death. Both were written during times of war, so the idea that death is either the friend or the enemy would be share among many people during the time. Some people during war may be willing to walk with death, and others may want to keep death away from them. Both ways a journey is taken and Death is meet eventually whether…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Also, both poems are narrated by a single person, implying that the choices that they have made and the hardships they have endured have been alone. This implies a strength and individuality from either narrator.…

    • 1092 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ap Prompt

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the two poems below, Keats and Longfellow reflect on similar concerns. Read the poems carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems, analyzing the poetic techniques each writer uses to explore his particular situation.…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The two poets of “When I Have Fears” and “Mezzo Cammin” tell their fear of not attaining what they want in life through the use of parallelism. Keats uses parallelism by starting his first quatrain, as well as the other two, with the word “when”, conveying that time is moving forward in his life. The use of this word also delivers the idea Keats’s youthfulness during the time he wrote this poem, and illustrates his fear of not showing others his writing potential before he is “[ceased to be]”. Longfellow uses parallelism in line 9, telling readers he’s “halfway up the hill” and that he only “[sees] the past”. The use of this parallelism depicts his older age and his views on the little time he has left to accomplish something major. Both Keats and Longfellow bring forth their ages to get their readers to realize there is not much time left in life, and they must make a choice to do something worthwhile before it is too late.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Yeats’ “The Second Coming” and Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” are two contrasting poems with passionate tones. Yeats’ poem describes a new time that will bring disorder to the world. He explains his ideas in a negative tone that presents a frightening mood. On the other hand, Thomas’ poem is about the struggle against death. He urgently begs his father to battle against death, creating a sad mood. In each poem, figurative language, the theme, and the mood are used to create the authors tone.…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Comparing Death

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the two poems “Death, Be Not Proud,” by John Donne and “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” by Dylan Thomas both deal with the issue of death, yet in different ways. The theme of each one of these poems is the subject of death. Each author chooses to tackle this difficult topic head on, but they do so in different styles. Like day and night the mood in each poem is in total contrast to each other. Although the tone is totally different in each poem, the theme of death is accepted in each as well.…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The two poems “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” written by Dylan Thomas and “Dog’s Death” written by John Updike are very good poems to compare and contrast to each other. They are both about losing someone who is important to you. One is about losing a pet and the other about a person. In “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” the author is trying to convince his father to not give in to death and fight to stay alive and Dog’s Death is about an unnamed puppy that got hurt or became ill that dies on the way to the veterinarian. This paper will define and point out the content, form and style of each poem as well as the difference and similarities of the form and style in both poems also.…

    • 1741 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself as such to him who has done the wrong”…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mezzo Cammin By Longfellow

    • 1141 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “When I Have Fears” By Keats has comparable situations to the poem of “Mezzo Cammin” by Longfellow. Each of these poems are complex in their own way where there are contrasts in them too. Both the authors use similar style of poetic techniques, but have a different perspective on their situation and one deals with not accomplishing as much as possible in life, and the other not acting upon what they really want to do.…

    • 1141 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many themes that are seen in both the poems. These include Revenge, Anger, Depression and Death. The two key themes in the both poems; Murder and Jealousy are both portrayed in different ways according to each killer’s motives.…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Reynolds, David S. “On “The Cask of Amontillado.”” Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Robert DiYanni. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 183-84.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics