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Comparison of \'Inversnaid\' by Gerard Manley Hopkins and \'Sonnet\' by John Clare
Refer to the guides on the two poems on the GCSE Bitesize website before posting your notes:
Inversnaid
Sonnet
Inversnaid
Sonnet
| Sonnet | Inversnaid | |
| Subject Matter | a lake and its surroundings [serene water --> beautiful nature] | a stream and its waterfall [vigorous water --> almighty nature] |
| Themes | - passion and love for nature - nature is beautiful and delightful (the simple pleasures of nature delight the speaker) - Appreciation for nature | - the sheer force of nature that is overpowering and awe-inspiring - the dynamism, power and grandeur of nature - appreciation for nature |
| Perspective | First person narration | Third person narration |
| Tone | loving and joyful passionate and enthusiastic personal Childlike, unsophisticated -repeatedly uses phrases 'I like', 'I love' -simple and straighforward like a child who likes to 'play' -corresponding to the pureness and simplicity of the nature, as well as the innocence and simplicity of a child desired by the poet | mighty and sombre with awe and admiration reflective and filled with gratitude at the end -changes in the last stanza with the use of a rhetorical question |
| Diction | simple and direct -simple vocabulary: "happy", "love", "like", "play" -repetition of simple words: "bright", "clear" -shows simplicity of nature -the speaker sounds childlike, showing his genuine joy towards the natural scene Use of Dialect words -"Moor Hen" - Is this dialect?, "flag nest" suggest informality, the speaker is at ease and enjoying himself use of words that are mixture of other words - " twindles" a mixture of 'twist', 'twitches' and 'dwindles', the specker uses words like this becuase he is considering the nature as a whole. different things in the nature can actually be united and appreciated as a whole in the same way. Isn't this Inversnaid? repetition of simple expression - shows the poet's straightforward joy in response to nature, as well as the simple mind of a child - also suggests being close to nature takes the poet's mind off trouble and worries, making everything seem simple and natural descriptive - portraying the scene for the readers in various senses (zooming in from afar) | descriptive and evocative -Coinage: "twindles", "darksome" -Portmanteau words: "pitchblack", "windpuff" -Unconventional grammar: subject of the sentence in the first stanza changes from "this darksome burn" to "the fleece of his foam" -unconstrained quality of the language shows the unconfined quality of the waterfall, the movement of the water is free-flowing Use of Dialect words -"burn","fell" and "degged"mimics colloquial speech to allow readers to identify with the speaker The words in final stanza are simple,difference from the first-third stanza(mixture of words) -simple message carried out Use of rhetorical question - to catch reader's attention, then express the poet's own ideas |
| Imagery | "white wool sack clouds sailing" -elements of nature are reduced to human terms -shows how the speaker's love for nature is personal and intimate insects and beetles described as ''sport[ing]'' and at ''play'' -enjoying themselves, energetic the scene is full of brightness and colour - "white clouds", "gold Mare Blobs" "whitening lilies", "bright day", "bright beetless" --> this shows the poet's joyfulness and happiness in appreciating the nature | "horseback brown" -suggests that the waterfall is as energetic and powerful as a galloping horse -suggests the water is deep brown colour as it may carry a lot of soil particles. Use of animal imagery -"fawn-froth", "the fleece of his foam", the reference to young deer and sheep yet again emphasizes how energetic the waterfall is the scene is a bit dull - "horseback brown", "darksome burn" -->the poet does not use colourful colours to print his work. |
| Sounds/ poetic devices | Steady rhythm: Iambic pentameter and enjambment -mimics the sentence structure of normal speech -the speech is conversational and colloquial -as if the speaker is sharing his personal thoughts with readers Alliteration of 'w' and 'r' sounds -"where reed clumps rustle like a wind shook wood" -gives soft and soothing sounds, suggests the tranquility of the scene Repetition -"I love to[...]" -reinforces the speaker's passion and love for nature -emphasis the idea of love, brightness The Five Senses - Sight :the view that the poet sketches out for us - Hearing :The reeds rustling -Touch: the summer winds Personification Summer is personified as a joyful person with a "beaming" smile. - let us to feel the arrival of warmth and happiness Willow is personified as a person as it is " leaning" over the lake. | Sprung rhythm -with presence of extra-syllables:"muddy water rushing down" Stressed syllables alliterate -gives complex rhythm to the poem -the rhythm suggests the inconstant and energetic movement of the waterfall Repetition or alliteration of long 'o', 'd' 'r', 'f', 'w' sounds -"rollrock highroad roaring down", "fell-frowning", "it rounds and rounds despair to drowning" -evokes a more tense and energetic atmosphere -gives a watery feeling to the poem, suggesting the fluidity and depth of the waterfall Alliteration and anaphora -"Degged with dew, dappled with dew" -enhances the rhythm of the poem, reinforces the idea of how lively nature is Personification - the brook is personified as a person or animal as it "tread through " its bank - the "beadbonny ash tree" is personified as a girl wearing a necklace -- praises the beauty of the ask berries. -shows dynamism of nature Repetition and reversal -"of wet and of wildness? Let them be left, O let them be left, wildness and wet" -emphasizes the speaker's yearn to get his message across: his love and gratitude towards the wild beauties of nature |
| Punctuation/ syntax | No punctuation -suggests how creatures are carefree and that nature is unconstrained -shows the speaker's spontaneous flow of emotions, his love and passion for nature is natural and genuine -suggest freedom and without constraints. | Commas to generate short pauses -phrases vary in length -varies the pace and rhythm of the poem -reinforces the idea that the waterfall is unrestrained and dynamic |
| Structure/ form | Rhyming couplets (rhyme scheme: AA BB CC DD EE FF GG) -gives the poem an echoing quality, such that the poem gives a gentle and comforting feeling -creates a gentle, soothing feeling which is very suitable to a poem about summer and water - in the form of a sonnet (always 14 lines) | Rhyming couplets (rhyme scheme:AA BB) - helps to convey the movement of the rushing water -suggests the fluidity of the waterfall, -the rhyming seems to mimic the sounds made by the stream tripping over stones - four line stanzas -a steady beat of four stresses -the last sentence is just two sentences |
davidjohncock |
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| davidjohncock | Well done, everybody. | 0 | Nov 17 2008, 2:41 AM EST by davidjohncock | ||
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Thread started: Nov 17 2008, 2:41 AM EST
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This is a very thorough discussion of the similarities and differences between these two poems. Between you, you have managed to come up with a lot of insightful and appreciative detail, showing sensitivity to how sound, style, diction and structure all play a part in creating the overall effect of the poems. Keep it up!
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