Response Question Three

Today's readings include two formal poems and one free-verse. "My Mistress Eyes" and "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day are two drastically different poems by William Shakespeare, but they have a common theme and structure. They are also formal poetry, meaning they have a specific structure and meter. I have the poems posted under the Poetry link. I have also posted a video titled "A Study in Sonnet," which will give you an overview of the sonnet form. Please try to pick out the rhyme scheme of these two poems. Hint: Read your poetry terms list, which will give information regarding the sonnet. Compare the way he approaches each poem. Which do you prefer? Which one is ironic?

For "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," try to first determine the setting, but then look at the visual imagery he is creating and the figures of speech. What diction does he use, meaning does he speak in colloquial (everyday) speech or elevated? I will give you a hint to the poem's meaning. He is walking down a street to a party. How do the images at the beginning of the poem compare to the images further into the poem? Does J. Alfred Prufrock seem as if he is a confident man? Does he convey a sense of insecurity that we've all felt at times when walking into a room where we do not exactly feel comfortable? Why? What parts of the poem can you use to support your answer?

In Dickinson's poem "Because I could not stop for Death," how does she use familiar conventions or everyday things that we know to pave the way to a territory unfamiliar to us all: death?