Ap English Poetry Comparative Essay
Comparative Essay
By Meggen Anderson
Most people expect that all poetry should be close to the same thing if we were to have the same theme, but in fact, although there are many similarities, there can also be many differences too. Upon comparison of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S Eliot and Afternoons and Coffee Spoons by Crash Test Dummies we see just this. These two poems share similarities in theme, and reference to time but do not have similar tones.
The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock and Afternoons and Coffee Spoons share the same theme of illness. This is seen in Afternoons and Coffee Spoons when the narrator says, “I gave the doctor my descriptions, and I tried to stick to my prescriptions.” And “What is it that makes me queasy” both prove he is sick, and the narrator has separated himself from society due to an unknown illness. The Love Song also portrays this when the lyrics say “like a patient etherized upon a table” stating that he is a patient at a hospital. “With a bald spot in the middle of my hair-they will say: “how his hair is going thin” which also states that he is sick and …show more content…
The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock’s tone is sadness. This is proven when Eliot describes the setting in lines 4-9 as half deserted streets, muttering retreats, one night cheap hotels and streets like a tedious argument of insidious intent. Words like half deserted, muttering, restless, tedious and insidious portray this tone. However in Afternoons and Coffee Spoons the tone is more fearful. It’s as though the writer is having these health problems, and is seeing his life being measured out as he gets older. In lines 16-17 we see “Maybe if I could do a play by playback I could change the test results that I will get back” the lyrics display that he demonstrates fear of the future and fear of getting older. He hopes to go back and change the results for a better future. Therefore the tone in these poems
By Meggen Anderson
Most people expect that all poetry should be close to the same thing if we were to have the same theme, but in fact, although there are many similarities, there can also be many differences too. Upon comparison of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S Eliot and Afternoons and Coffee Spoons by Crash Test Dummies we see just this. These two poems share similarities in theme, and reference to time but do not have similar tones.
The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock and Afternoons and Coffee Spoons share the same theme of illness. This is seen in Afternoons and Coffee Spoons when the narrator says, “I gave the doctor my descriptions, and I tried to stick to my prescriptions.” And “What is it that makes me queasy” both prove he is sick, and the narrator has separated himself from society due to an unknown illness. The Love Song also portrays this when the lyrics say “like a patient etherized upon a table” stating that he is a patient at a hospital. “With a bald spot in the middle of my hair-they will say: “how his hair is going thin” which also states that he is sick and …show more content…
The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock’s tone is sadness. This is proven when Eliot describes the setting in lines 4-9 as half deserted streets, muttering retreats, one night cheap hotels and streets like a tedious argument of insidious intent. Words like half deserted, muttering, restless, tedious and insidious portray this tone. However in Afternoons and Coffee Spoons the tone is more fearful. It’s as though the writer is having these health problems, and is seeing his life being measured out as he gets older. In lines 16-17 we see “Maybe if I could do a play by playback I could change the test results that I will get back” the lyrics display that he demonstrates fear of the future and fear of getting older. He hopes to go back and change the results for a better future. Therefore the tone in these poems