Journal #7

Journal Assignment #7

William Cullen Bryant’s “To a Waterfowl” (p.151) and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” (p.181)

Read the selections and write a detailed response to the following:

1. Compare/contrast the different views of nature that are being presented in the poems. Refer to the list of classical and romantic characteristics and provide specific examples from the poems to support your analysis.

These two poems are very different from one another in their meaning or content but have some similarities as well. The difference between these poems is that “To a Waterfowl” is a more optimistic and peaceful poem while “The Raven” is dark and depressing. One makes you feel good while the other makes you feel bad. These poems have two different views of the world. The most important decisions are either based on logic or your heart. The waterfowl embodies rationality, and balance and more of the leading your choices with logic. The Raven uses emotion and imagination leading more with your heart.
Also, both poems have views on nature but these views are different. In the raven nature is evil or indifferent to his suffering. He thinks it is harmful and torturing him. Nature in “To a Waterfowl” poem makes the writer think of his own life and God and the beauty of nature instead of the darkness of it. The author’s views of nature are very different.
The authors writing styles are also different. The waterfowl is more plain writing while “The Raven” is more ornate. The waterfowl is straight forward unlike the confusion and no resolution in the Raven. Also, both authors write in first person point of view. The setting in these poems is also different. The waterfowl has this sunset that brings a feeling of peace and beauty. In “The Raven” the bird is in the house and not in nature, making the author not interact with nature at all but the animal terrorizing him.
In “The Raven” the writer is dealing with an internal conflict in his mind while the waterfowl speaker comes away with an answer saying if you follow your heart God will lead you in the right direction. The waterfowl symbolizes God and his power of guidance. In the Raven the speaker is looking for that type of feeling but instead the bird keeps telling him “Nevermore” and that there is no afterlife, no heaven, and that he will never be reunited with Lenore.
There are few similarities in the writings but there are some. They are both about birds interacting with a person. There is some type of message the bird, or nature, gives to the person whether it is good or bad.