Poem Analysis

Kiwon Harris

Dr. Williams

Poem Analysis

October 7, 2022

A piece of writing where words are arranged beautifully and have a sound and deep

meaning is called a poem. When a person frequently expresses his emotions, it is called poetry. A

poem contains symbols, topography, and rhythms. The symbols that are used in a poem have

different interpretations and meanings. In this essay, we will compare and contrast two poems by

their features, and we will focus on what messages these poems carry.

Edgar Allan Poe is an American author and poet. He is one of the foremost American

authors and poets of his age. Usually, in his poems, mysterious and sorrowful stories are found. His

themes are gloomy and sorrowful. After reading his poems, beautiful emotions are stimulated in

the minds of his readers. "The valley of unrest" is a poem written by him in 1831. Elizabeth Barrett

Browning was an English poet who was famous for her love poems. She wrote "Mother and Poet,"

which was inspired by some true stories. The two poems "The valley of unrest" and "Mother and

Poet" were written for the soldiers who died fighting in the field. Both poems represent the poets'

feelings towards the soldiers and the grief of their loved ones.

"The valley of unrest" is a cemetery and sorrowful poem. There is only one stanza in the

poem that is made up of 27 lines. Moreover, the author Poe used the rhythm scheme in the poem.

For example, "dell" with "dwell" and "stars" with "wars" On the other hand, "Mother and Poet"

consists of 20 stanzas, and each stanza is made up of 5 lines. Furthermore, a conventional rhyme

pattern is used in this poem. Throughout the poem, the poet used either the ABABB rhyme scheme

or the English quintain rhyme pattern. This means that a couplet is formed by each stanza's last two

lines. For instance, in the stanza of her poem, "east" and "feast" rhythm together. Additionally, in

the second stanza, "year" and "here" are rhythm together.

Poe starts describing the graveyard right from the first line. He described the graveyard

where soldiers are buried. According to the poet, the soldiers are buried, but their spirits are

restless, and therefore he calls the graveyard "the valley of unrest." In his poem, Poe, when all the

soldiers left the place to join wars, the valley was silent. The daytime sunshine, which fell on the

flowers, was a vivid crimson hue in contrast to the starlight. He says that the operation of the

sunlight is lazy. Here the reason why the poet said this is because Poe wants his readers to know

that he night to the day. Poe further says that those who visit the cemetery can now feel buried

soldiers' presence. They will see the restlessness. They will see nothing is motionless. Here the

poet is referring to the breeze and moving leaves that represent the presence of the spirits of the

soldiers. He further says that the strong winds coming from seashores move the leaves. Here he

says that it is the spiritual presence of the soldiers that moves the leaves. Here he uses another

symbol. According to the poet, the visitors can feel them and can hear their voices as well through

the "unquiet heaven." Here the unquiet heaven means the unquiet sky. Lastly, the poet describes

the growing lilies in the graveyard and their waving motion. "And weep above a nameless grave!"

explains the soldiers who were buried without a ceremony. "Nameless grave" symbolizes the

graves that do not receive a proper ceremony which is miserable.

Similarly, Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem 'Mother and Poet' contains several symbols.

Moreover, unlike the poem "the valley of unrest," it has several stanzas. The presence of literary

devices made this poem more touching and emotional to the readers. In the poem's first stanza, the

words "Dead" and "And" are repeated. The second stanza, italicized "this," is a metaphor for the

poet's heartfelt anguish. The "east sea" and "west sea" are metaphors used in the same stanza. The

final two lines of this verse include hyperbole. There are metaphors used in every stanza of the

poem. The poet use "you" for her countrymen. Unlike "the valley of unrest," many rhetorical

questions can be seen in this poem. In the third stanza, to glorify motherhood, she uses rhetorical

questions such as: "What art can a woman be good at? Oh, vain!" and "With the milk-teeth of

babes, and a smile at the pain?" The poet has employed this technique in many other places as

well. Another symbol that is used in the poem, "green laurel-bough," shows the soldiers'

achievements.

Looking at both poems, we observed that the context of the poem is quite similar. The

theme of both poems is soldiers and their sacrifice. Both contain themes of sacrifice, loss, and

grief. However, Browning's poem also contains the theme of courage and hardships. The poet has

endured the sudden death of a beloved brother, and that is the reason why she conveyed the pain of

losing loved ones successfully. To reveal the important truths about nature, both poets have used

symbols, but the symbols that are used in them are different. Some of the symbols represent the

same meaning while others represent different meanings, such as the "Heaven" in Poe's poem

shows the sky. However, Browning's poem "Heaven" holds its actual meaning.

When it comes to the language, both poets used poetic language in both poems. Both poets

used figurative language. In addition to that, both have adapted a rhythmic manner. However, Poe's

poem has only one stanza, but Browning's poem contains 20 stanzas, and each stanza contains five

lines. Metaphors, symbols, hyperbole, and personifications are used more in this poem, such as

"laurel-bough" in the sixth stanza symbolizes the son's achievements. Moreover, "tyrant" is a

personification of the war in the fifth stanza. Poe's poem is structured in a manner that addresses all

the soldiers and the grief of their loved ones. However, Browning's poem is about the soldiers and

the pain of a mother who lost her soldier sons. The pain a mother suffers is focused here. Both

poems use imagery and symbols with different meanings. For instance, Imagery from Poe's poem

includes "lilies weeping for the nameless graves," and imagery from Browning's poem includes

"hewing out roads to a will." Moreover, both poems use poetic devices that make both poems

interesting and intricate.