The similarities and differences between The Legacy by John Donne and The Passion by John Milton - Essay Example

Milton and Donne Comparison Introduction John Milton and John Donne were two renowned English poets who lived in the late 1500s to early 1600s whose works continue to inspire the developments of contemporary poetry. Their works exhibited several similarities and differences which sought to prove that art as representation of the society, will always typify the cultural, economic and political factors of the society they represent. The two authors employ their grammar with relativity to the societies, which they lived. They use words and draw social examples that are of relevance to both their times and societies. The same is similar with poetry among other works of art in the contemporary societies as artists continue to produce works that are of relevance to their audience. The essay below analyses the similarities and differences between The Legacy, a poem by John Donne and The Passion, a poem by John Milton. In analyzing the poems, the essay investigates the contextual, grammatical and poetic features that are either in both or lacking in any and the relevance of the poem to both their contextual societies and the contemporary world. Among the most conspicuous similarities in the poems are their structures, poems have specific structures that help facilitate their recitals. Poems are written in verses of indefinite number of lines. Each poet thus designs the stanzas to his or her specific number of lines. Additionally, the lines in a stanza must have a definite number equal to each other all through. The two poems by the two great poets exhibits this understanding, John Donne’s The Legacy has three stanzas with each stanza having eight lines while John Milton’s The Passion has eight stanzas with each stanza having eight lines. Style and structure are among the many conventional features of poems that have remained unchanged to this date. Poets must structure their poems to particular structures and employ among many other styles to ensure they qualify as such. Another great similarity in the two poems that also represents the contextual background of the two great poets is their use of the English language. The English language has evolved through time to be the perfect United Kingdom or American English spoken in the contemporary society. In the early society, the language was different and the difference in the language is evident in the structure of the two poems. The poets employ the use of the Elizabethan English used in the early English society by poets and authors of the time. The Passion by John Milton has such words as human wight, which he uses to refer to human beings, ethereal for heaven and other grammatically different words as priest for Jesus Christ, Pole for the North Pole star and still for quite. Additionally, the poet uses other words relevant only to his audience of the time and would therefore require translation for the modern day one of such is the phrase wannish white, a form of seventeenth century funeral notices formed by engraving white letters on black paper. The same is evident with John Donne’s The Legacy, which uses such words as thee to mean you among many others (Carey, 55). Language is often a contemporary feature in societies thus impacts the works of art artists will always change their use of language to fit their diverse contexts. The early English society on the other hand preferred the use of the Elizabethan English, which they made the official literary language since just like Latin, they preserved it and sought its increased longevity. Poets and among other literary authors such as play wrights would thus learn and perfect the language in order to translate their works for the general audience. As the English language spread to different continents, the use of Elizabethan English diminished thus compelling the global acceptance of either the United Kingdom or the American version of English, which are currently the only versions of English language used to develop poems among many other forms of contemporary literature. Among other styles that the two poets use in their poems, include the use of rhymes. Rhythm is a fundamental aspect of poetry. Poets must therefore always achieve specific rhythms for their poems a feature that facilitates the recital of the poems. As a key structural component of poetry, rhythm influences the design and composition of poems. Among the features poets use to achieve rhythm include the use of rhymes, refrains and repetition. The two poems employ the features sparingly with the view of achieving their own unique rhythms thus the originality of arts. The passion for example has a specific ab, ab, cdc rhythm pattern. The pattern infers that the first line ends in a word with a similar pronunciation to the third while the second to the fourth as it progresses. With the pronunciation of the words, an audience establishes a specific sound pattern that compliments the recital of the poems. The Legacy on the other hand does not have a definite rhythm pattern, as is the case with the Passion. Poetry just as any other art permits the artists to employ the diverse features, as they deem necessary. The poet thus uses such styles as rhyme sparingly provided they achieve their own unique rhythms. In his poem, John Donne prefers an irregular rhyme pattern as the lines end in words with diverse pronunciation. However, some of the lines have words ending with similar pronunciation and may therefore help establish a definite pattern. To achieve his unique rhythm, the author employs other styles such as the use of words with similar sound patterns in the same line thus defining a specific sound pattern for every line. The first line for example has a combination of died, dear and dies all of which have the ‘D’ sound thus making it definite and rhythmic. In his uniqueness, the poet adopts conversational structure as he employs such literary features as dialogue in his poem. Such features thus influence the recital of the poem since every dialogue, which he clearly marks with quotation marks, will require specific intonations this is evidently different from the structure used by John Milton who adopts a conventional structure for his poem (Lewalski 23). Furthermore, Donne employs another liberty that poets enjoy to this day, in a bid to achieve a specific pattern, he truncates some of the words in his sentences. Such truncations include the words ripp'd, and search'd, evidently, he puts the two words with a similar pronunciation pattern in the same line thus helping with the establishment of a definite sound pattern for his poem. While language has changed through time thus compelling the shift from the use of such languages as Latin and the Elizabethan language the two employ in their poems. The structural features and styles of poetry have not changed. Contemporary poets still use such styles as truncation and must establish rhythm for their poems. The two poets just as any other even in the modern day society employ such features and styles as repetition, the use of rhymes and refrains in their poems. Additionally, modern day poets also still enjoy truncation and are at liberty to use other words from different dialects in a bid to achieve both rhythm and relevance with their target audience. Just as stated earlier, poems must always have some relevance with to their target audience. This compels the representation of the society through the themes poets address in their poems. Besides the above structural differences and similarities, the same is evident in the themes the poets address in their poems. Both John Milton and John Donne wrote their poems at a time of political upheaval and religious flux. Most of their works including the two poems The Legacy and The Passion exhibit these features of the society. Additionally, their works portray other social and cultural features that they witnessed and therefore sought to criticize in their works. However, the works of the two authors differ as each had relative criticism and views to the prevailing behaviors in their diverse societies. The passion is the best example of a work that criticizes the religious beliefs of the early English society. In a work that John Milton considered one of his worst, he analyses the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, one of the pillars of Christianity thus the Roman Catholic. John Milton was born in London to a family of devout Catholics. However, at the time the Roman Catholic was facing several challenges especially in England thus leading to the formation of Protestants, which Milton later joined to the discomfiture of his father who later disinherited him. Milton was thus a critic of some of the roman cultural practices and the dictates of the Roman Catholic key among which was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In his poem, he describes Jesus as the most perfect hero and scathes the Roman for their acts of cowardice. In the poem, the poet addresses such familiar themes as crucifixion, which every Christian understands, and addresses the theme of death as Jesus later died. Death is one of the most conspicuous themes in John Donne’s poem The Legacy. Donne begins his poem with an ironic line in which he discusses the seriousness of his departure from his dear ones. He compares his departure to his death in order to portray the seriousness of the same. This implies that the society had known the seriousness of death among them and would therefore draw immediate connection to the ideas he portrays in the poem. However, the portrayal of death differs in the two poems as John Milton views the death of Jesus as a passage through which Jesus redeemed the world while John Donne views death as the bad monster that will make his loved ones miss him should he depart from them. The relative portrayal results from the different messages the two poets seeks to portray in their poems. The portrayal of death is evident even in modern day poems. Death is one cultural concept that has retained the same impact in humans. It separates loved ones thus bringing sorrow to families. The death of Jesus Christ on the other hand has remained a landmark in Christianity as Christians from all over view the death as historic and restoration of humans by God In a similar tone, both the authors adopt a sorrowful tone to their poems. Poets all over the world throughout the history of the art have learnt the essence of tone in their poems. Tone facilitates the communication role of poems. It helps understand the poem from the poet’s perspective. Tone is therefore a fundamental aspect of poetry that facilitates both the recital and the communication of the major themes in the poem. The two poems maintain sorrowful tones as they address death one of the most sorrowful occurrence in the life of any human. John Milton discusses the death of Jesus Christ that he considers one of the most sorrowful event in the history of Christianity. The brutal and cowardly murder of Jesus Christ denied the world a hero who sought to save humanity from their sinful nature. The death of Jesus Christ thus depressed him. The same is evident in John Donne’s poem that begins in a sorrowful tone as the persona in the poem discusses his departure from his loved ones. He equates his departure to his death as he claims that it will cause misery and sorrow as through his death. Another evident similarity in the two poems is their approach to politics, both John Milton and John Donne were born and lived in a politically volatile society and most of their works touched on politics, the two poems do not. As one of his most boring poems, the Passion does not discuss the political undertones of the early English society. John Milton retains his criticisms to the death of Jesus Christ and does not digress to the myriad church politics that resulted in his crucifixion. To achieve this, the poet retains his criticism to the act and its evident effects. The same is evident in John Donne’s poem. The short three-stanza poem discusses the departure of the persona and links the misery such an act would cause to his death. He thus limits his disappearance to the death without seeking to discuss any political or economic aspect of the society. The choices of the issues in a poem that one discusses are relative to his choice and understanding of the issues. Poets are free to choice as many issues to discuss as possible provided they communicate the gist of their poems effectively. Concisely, poetry is an age-old art that has evolved with time to represent the changes in the society. As a representation of the society, poem just as any other type of art analyses the developments in the society by allowing relative criticism by the specific poets. Poems have specific structures and styles, which the poets must adhere to; this has been the case since the inception of the art. Poets therefore develop their poems in adherence to specific styles and employ unique features that complement the message by aiding the recital thus constituting such as poem. The two poems discussed above employ such and in their creations, the poets create natural masterpieces that have remained relevant even in the contemporary society. Works cited Carey, John. John Donne. Life, Mind and Art. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1981. Print. Donne, John. The Legacy. Massachusetts USA: Peter Smith, Gloucester, 1965. Internet resource. Milton, John. The Passion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959. Internet resource. Lewalski, Barbara K. The Life of John Milton. Oxford: Blackwells Publishers, 2003. Print. Read More