Compare the poems

Compare the poems 'Upon his Leaving his Mistress' by John Wilmot and '[I am very bothered when I think]' by Simon Armitage. By vigorously studying the poems 'Upon his Leaving his Mistress' by John Wilmot and '[I am very bothered when I think]' created by Simon Armitage, a number of distinct formal features being used by these poets can be exposed. Each poet evidently uses a unique style, apparent from a first reading of the pair. It is valuable for scholars to consider the techniques used by the poets in order to structure their poems, and also why they chose to use them.

They effectively enable the poet to convey their thoughts most effectively.

Each poem mentioned consists of 3 stanzas, yet the regularity of Wilmot's poem is clear, as it has three stanzas of equal length, each being 7 lines long. This serves to provide the poem with constancy, which places the poet's thoughts in a recognisably organised fashion.

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Comparatively, Armitage has created a poem with unequal stanzas; the first being the longest with 7 lines as in Wilmot's, this is followed by a quatrain and a final 3 line stanza.

This irregularity can also be observed from other features of the poem which uses iambic pentameter for the majority, yet is interrupted with several lines of varying length. His poem, seemingly illustrating his inner feelings, comes across as a thought more effectively this way. It is clear that Wilmot's poem devises the use of tetrameter, where as Armitage uses an inconsistent metre.

The titles of the poems appear to use a similar technique, with the internal rhymes with in the title lines. The Earl of Rochester uses 'his' and 'mistress'. Armitage uses a slightly less obvious rhyme, with the same vowel sounds in 'very' and 'when'. This is further demonstrated; particularly with the line containing 'slipped' and 'middle finger in' of Armitage's work. Armitage's title is placed in brackets, evoking the thoughts of the poet.

Wilmot uses a further technique with the repetition of 'his' to add emphasis to the word. This word 'his', is important to the poem's identity in which circumstances of this 'his' are explored. Repetition is also used in other parts with the use of 'yours' in line two. End rhyme is used by Wilmot; his poem has an 'AABBCCC' rhyme scheme in each stanza. The two pairs of rhyming couplets and the group of three presents an effective linguistic feature. Armitage uses this technique only twice, 'burner' and 'over' being an case in point.

Wilmot appears to have paid attention to metre in his poem, as even the title is in tetrameter, unlike Armitage's which is uneven with nine syllables, and this occurs also in the proceeding poem of Armitage's. Metre is an important element in poetry as it is what provides an acoustic effect when read aloud. Wilmot's poem appears more measured, where as Armitage devises his metre in order to make his poem speech like and free flowing, it is not however not free verse. Both poets have lines that run into each other, in order to guide the reader through. They both in cases use enjambment, preventing lines from finishing on one line, allowing it to continue onto the next.