A Comparison of I Remember, I Remember and To the Virgins to Make Much of Time

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A Comparison of I Remember, I Remember and To the Virgins to Make Much of Time As humans we all face the passing of time and inevitably death but how each person deals with this is different. This essay will compare and contrast two poems, called ‘I remember, I remember’, and ‘to the virgins, to make much of time’. A comparative essay will illustrate how differently different people can experience life, yet how connected we all are through this experience we share. Both of these poems deal with the theme of youth and looking back in wisdom, a regret for the passing of time and a longing for it return. The first poem ‘ I remember, I remember’ is written in the point of view of the poet. As the title suggests, this poem is about a mans reflection on his past and his comments on his present. He explains what he felt like as a child growing up, and how he took pleasure with everything that surrounded him. This is highlighted when he writes “my spirit flew in feathers then” this portrays his happiness as a boy and how he felt so free. He doesn’t speak much about his future, creating an impression that he does not want to think about it too much and this keeps the reader at a distance, or maybe he is not enjoying the present and going through deep depression. We assume this when he writes ‘ but now, I often wish the night had borne my breath away’, this draws in the attention of the reader because we are curious in to finding out why things have changed. In line 18,We can feel his regret “where I used to swing”. The majority of the things he tells us are in the past tense which causes the reader to believe the poet has convinced himself he will never again experience joyful events. The theme also clarifies the fact that time does not stand still and things change, and not always for the better, but nobody should have to feel like the poet in “I remember , I remember”.

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