Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Compare and contrast the poems The Tyger and The Donkey and Essay

Compare and contrast the poems The Tyger and The Donkey and discuss which poet gives us the clearest depiction of humanity. William Blake is a wealthy, upper-class writer who separates himself from the rest of the wealthy community. Blake has a hate for the techniques used by many of the wealthy, company owners who gain and capitalise through cheap and expendable labour, supplied by the ever-growing poverty in the country. Blake makes a point to try and reveal this industrial savagery through his work. "The Tyger" is presented as a metaphorical approach to the struggle between the rich and the poor; good and evil. The several references to good and evil reinforce this idea and meaning. "The Tyger" holds one great metaphorical element, which is, what created the tiger? Good or evil? It raises many theories for the tiger's existence but the main point is to show that there is good and evil in everyone and everything. Blake shows us how something so beautiful can really be both beautiful but still retain a certain ferocity and savagery. Such as the wealthy factory owners of the 18th century, they offered a well-paid job and good employment benefits, but that was all just a faà §ade. The truth was cramped and dangerous working conditions, low pay and long hours; yet the people continued to labour in these factories at their own expense, while the wealthy owner sat back and watched workers toil and cash flow. The metaphor for this is like temptation, desperation and greed can lead people to be fooled, though true these people weren't greedy yet they were desperate for money to survive, although they could not judge correctly for themselves and became entrapped in the businessman's deception. Just like "The T... ...tent, the final stanza sums up everything within the poem, after all the questions it comes to a conclusion in the form of a final question: "What immortal hand or eye dare frame thy fearful symmetry?" "The Donkey" has a unique rhythm, one that also relates to the animal being referred to. The rhyme pattern imitates the donkeys walk, 1-2-1-2, this concept isn't easily recognised, but to notice it, shows the depth of the poem. Chesterton either included this simply by chance or meant to do it, which shows a strong backbone to his writings. Both poems are similar in many respects and both writers share common ideas, the use of animals to portray ideas and the views they have about human kind. Both "The Tyger" and "The Donkey" show elements of each other, and this is reflected in the writer, two great minds, with great mindsets on life and human kind.

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