Comparison Of Wordsworth'S And Eliot'S Lonely Poems

Introduction

William Wordsworth was an English Poet who was born in Cockermouth in England. During his childhood, both of his parents died, which shaped the style of his poetry writing in his later ages. He also argued the pecking order of the epic poetry and poets in his age, causing him to be left out, questioned, and feel destitute. He again seldom inquiries himself about his place on poetry, which makes the reader also to question their place in the society. During his entire lifetime, he traveled constantly, and keep continuing his outdoor excursions, therefore, his most famous poem” I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” also presents his enjoyment of loneliness in the natural world.
George Eliot, on the other hand, was a British poet and journalist. During her poetry lifetime, she wanted to escape the standard of women's writing being limited to jovial romances. Therefore, she was also being abandoned and therefore in her famous poem “ I am Lonely” offers the pure depression of loneliness.

Both poets use a collection of form, structural, figurative language and sound devices in order to develop their writing. In a similar matter, both poets present the feeling of loneliness as they are both being left out by the norms of society and wanted to break out from reality. However, their viewpoints vary. William Wordsworth delved into the happiness of being lonely. In contrast, George Eliot displayed the loneliness of being criticized in modern civilization. Loneliness has stayed in their heart for a very long duration, and therefore, their poems must deeply rely on the bleakness of loneliness.

Form and Structure of both poems

The overall form of the two poems are very identical and wants to show the diverse viewpoint of both poets to loneliness. William Wordsworth’s “ I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” used Iambic Tetrameter to show his euphoria and gratification of loneliness and proneness in nature. Iambic tetrameter is a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable, 4 times per line.

This is an example of the first line of paragraph 1: I wandered lonely as a cloud. The bold syllables in the sentences show the stressed syllables in the sentence. The distinct use of Iambic Tetrameter is to mimic the heartbeat of human individuals, makes the reader feel increasingly familiar. Also, heartbeat is a must in human beings, which also shows that the poet this that the enjoyment of loneliness in nature is a precondition in his whole lifetime. Similarly, George Eliot’s “ I am Lonely” used a meter scheme but in a different way. George Eliot used Iambic Pentameter to show her pure depression of loneliness. Iambic Pentameter is a 5 stressed syllables in a line, a stressed followed by a unstressed line. This is an example of a line in a stanza: The world is great: the birds all fly from me. Although both poems have stressed syllables, the number of the stressed syllables are different. The increasing amount of stressed syllables in the poem by George Eliot suggests a longer duration of loneliness and sadness in his life. This also shows her sense of desperation and makes the reader feel how loneliness greatly burdens one’s life.

Not only both poems have a simplistic meter, it also has a very straightforward structure. In “ I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, it used the rhyme scheme of ABABCC. The end of each paragraph is similar to the structure of the end of the Shakespearean sonnet, which suggests that each paragraph is self-sufficient, individual and serves a different purpose, and which also displays that each paragraph’s nature views are varied. In “ I am Lonely “ By George Eliot, the use of end line rhyme schemes are very discernible and clear. In the first two lines of the poem, the poet describes how peaceful and beautiful the world is. In contrast, in the last 2 lines of the paragraph, the poet explains how lonely she was when she lost her little sister. The use of end line rhyme schemes in the first two lines of each paragraph is to show the major contrast between peaceful and loneliness.