Shakespeare poem Comaprison
Ben Jonson's "To the Memory of My Beloved, The Author, Mr. William Shakespeare, and What He Hath Left Us" and John Milton's "On Shakespeare" are both tributes to Shakespeare that try to bring to light how he has affected the world. Although the topics of both poems are the same and imagery used in them is similar, there are differences in style and how Shakespeare is depicted. In John Milton's poem, Shakespeare seems to be described through the eyes of a peer while Jonson's poem praises Shakespeare as though the speaker was groveling on his knees. The style of "On Shakespeare" seems calm and concise while Ben Jonson's poem is grandiose and longwinded. Even through different styles and both Jonson and Milton end up with the same argument, that Shakespeare's work should be revered and because of the greatness of his work, he will be remembered forever. Both Jonson's and Milton's poems use images of Greek mythological characters to assert their arguments. The speaker in "To the Memory of My Beloved
Jonson's claim that Shakespeare is to be revered above the gods demonstrates the tone and style of his poem. It suggests that the speaker is trying to ingratiate himself with Shakespeare. Jonson's depiction of Shakespeare and his poetry also illustrates the verbosity of "To the Memory of My Beloved, The Author, Mr. William Shakespeare, and What He Hath Left Us". The length of Jonson's poem seems to demonstrate Jonson's endeavor to portray Shakespeare as above the gods. The tone of Jonson's poem is active and loud while Milton's is calm and serene. The tranquility of Milton's poem seems to be asserted through alliteration and the pronounciation of words. "On Shakespeare" makes use of "soft" sounds like "h", "m", and "w". These sounds make the poem seem more quiet and peaceful. Jonson's poem, on the other hand, has a very loud quality to it. This quality is emphasized when the speaker makes exclamations. The imagery in Jonson's poem also seems much more active than Milton's. "To the Memory of
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Approximate Word count = 676
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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