Jane Eyre, Hamlet And Keats

To convey a sense of argument, imagery and perspective, authors use various types of language, syntax and vocabulary to achieve this. An extract from Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, a soliloquy from Hamlet, by William Shakespeare and Ode to Autumn, by John Keats all have a number of striking similarities between them, as well as a few differences, which will be analysed to show.

Unlike Hamlet and Autumn, the extract from Jane Eyre, doesn’t have any particular argument, but the use of language is similar to that of Keats and to some extent Hamlet. Jane Eyre is a character existing in a narrative in the first person, as is Hamlet in his soliloquy. This brings a sense of identification and realism to the reader, “I did not feel the cold, though it froze keenly” (Bronte, p143) indicated the narrator’s feelings and experience. The narration is written in the past tense, “in those days I was young” (p143) to add to the affect of a recollection and to bring the sense of an autobiography.

Jane is not an omniscient narrator, like Hamlet, therefore the reader can see things she does not, such as the gloomy significance of the extract and how it is an indication of her future relationship with Mr Rochester, and Thornfield. The whole of the novel is written in elaborate, complex sentences, which perhaps is the author’s way of demonstrating Jane’s intelligence and eloquence. The style of language and it usage is similar to that of Keats. Bronte uses active verbs such as “rising moon” and “blended clouds” (p143) and “noise” breaking out, and integrates them into the elegant prose to bring a sense of movement to Jane’s surroundings. An idea of sound is also achieved by the use of onomatopoeic words such as “tinkle of the nearest stream” and “whispering” (p143) this brings a sensuous aspect to the prose, something that Keats also manages to achieve in his Ode to Autumn. There is even a small degree of alliteration “wave wanderings” (p143) something, which Keats also uses.

The imagery in Jane Eyre is plentiful, for instance the moon is personified as female, “The rising moon . . . she looked over Hay” (p143) the images are conjured up through pictorial descriptions used by Jane, as with Keats. We get the impression that Thornfield is slightly intimidating, we know the hall is “grey and battlemented” (p143) and that the woods are “dark”.