Death and Life in Poetry

Categories: DeathLife

A comparison of how death and life are portrayed in two poems: "Lament" by Edna St. Vincent Millay and "Since Felling Is First" by E. E. Cummings.

"Lament" by Edna St. Vincent Millay and "Since Felling Is First" by e.e. Cummings are two very different poems. The poems, both of which ar dealing with death and life, are different in style and tone.

In Millay's poem "Lament" the theme is dealing with death and how we must act in order to accept it.

In "since Feeling Is First", Cumming's theme is just the opposite. Cummings is saying we should enjoy life by acting like a fool and not taking things seriously. Millay stresses the unimportance of feeling. "life must go on,/ And the dead be forgotten" (15-16).

e e Cummmings' attitude is totally different. He believes that feelings are very important. Cummings stresses that being foolish is better than being smart and serious: "and kisses are better fate/ than wisdom."(8-9).

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Millay uses simple language, whereas cummings uses more complete language.

In "Lament," Millay stresses her point by using an unusual style of writing. The tone in "Lament" is very somber. Millay is writing about the death of a woman's husband and how the wife feels that "Life must go on". (21) although she has forgotten just why. The wife is trying to forget about her husband's death: "and the dead be forgotten" (16). The tone of "Since feeling is first" is a happy tone. A man is telling his girlfriend to enjoy life and stop being so serious.

Updated: Oct 10, 2024
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Death and Life in Poetry. (2020, Jun 01). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/death-and-life-in-poetry-new-essay

Death and Life in Poetry essay
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