Sonnets and Poems of Wordsworth and Milton

Sonnets and Poems of Wordsworth and Milton

Sonnets are poems that have fourteen lines that usually have a

recognized rhyming scheme. A sonnet generally has two sections; with

the first section normally having eight lines and the second section

having six. The rhythm in each line of the sonnet can also apply with

sonnet traditions and the syllables (which is counted in feet) can

define which tradition it is - French, Italian or English. Sonnets

were commonly written in the sixteenth to eighteenth century and often

written to express emotions of happiness, sadness, and love or written

for someone in particular by request. I have chosen to study three of

William Wordsworth's sonnets and one by John Milton. The poems I am

going to study by William Wordsworth are: 'Composed Upon Westminster

Bridge', 'To Lady Fitzgerald, In her Seventieth Year' and 'Composed On

a May Morning'. I have chosen to study John Milton's 'Sonnet to the

Nightingale'.

'Composed Upon a May Morning' is Wordsworth's view of Londonfrom

Westminster Bridge. It was written in the early morning when not many

people were around and the city seemed 'asleep'. The poet writes what

he saw - "Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie...Open unto

the fields, and to the sky;". In 'Composed On a May Morning'

Wordsworth again describes what he sees, but in this poem it is early

on a May morning, in the countryside, watching the surrounding nature.

In 'To Lady Fitzgerald, In Her Seventieth Year' Wordsworth writes

about a lady turning seventy and how she is "beautiful" for her age.

He uses rich language to express her expression and nature, giving the

reader an image of the ...

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watched the lambs in May and Milton listens to the nightingales at

night. Both poets also talk about the presence of a God or gods,

Wordsworth writes "Why to God's goodness cannot We be true,". Both

'Composed Upon Westminster Bridge' and 'Composed On a May Morning'

have two sections where the first section finishes on the eighth line,

which is traditional for sonnets. 'To Lady Fitzgerald, In Her

Seventieth Year' first section finishes on the ninth line. John

Milton's 'Sonnet to the Nightingale' first section finishes in the

middle of the seventh line. While William Wordsworth has kept to the

traditional way of writing the sonnets I have studied I think John

Milton is a more effective writer because he has used rich vocabulary

to show his emotions of love and has compared it with something the

reader can relate to.