3. Compare the poetry of Lord Byron with the poetry of another famous poet (e.g. Shakespeare's sonnets). How does Byron's poetry rate in comparison? Whose poetry do you prefer and why?
Lord Byron and Shakespeare are both poets and play wrights with famous works, for example, Byron's Don Juan, and Shakespeare's sonnets. Both of these works are made up of sonnets written in iambic pentameter. However in Don Juan, they are all linked in an epic poem about a character Don Juan, and also satirizes humanity in general. The individual stanzas are made up of 8 lines each, with a rhyme scheme of a-b-a-b-a-b-c-c and are written in ottava rima. On the other hand, Shakespeare's 154 sonnets are not meant to be as part of a story. They are put into groups and touch upon themes such as love, beauty, procreation, and mostly revolve around a young boy and a dark lady. Each one consistes of 14 lines (3 quatraines and a couplet), the 9th one being the volta or turning point. And they follow the general rhyme scheme of a-b-a-b-c-d-c-d-e-f-e-f-g-g. In comparison to Byron's Don Juan, personally they are not as engaging to read and have harder language to understand. Because Byron's poetry has a plot and characters, it is more interesting and quicker to read.
3 comments:
You provided some key points on the structure and organization of both Shakespeare's sonnets and Lord Byron's Don Juan, but you didn't give much analysis on the quality and deeper meanings of the two. You did state, however, what Shakespeare's sonnets were about, and that was useful. Also in your comparison of the two, you described how they were organized and stated each of their rhyme schemes. The plot-line of Don Juan could have also been explained more fully, but you already did mention that it was contrasting Shakespeare's poetry. You also could have mentioned the themes, and also you did not make it very clear about whose poetry you liked best. Altogether though it was a great paragraph with very good information concerning the structure and organization, although you still could have gone more in-depth. Good job! :)
I agree with the fact that Byrons poetry is easier and thus more enjoyable to read. It's story-line and characters make it seem like a movie (and I'm pretty sure that they have made one movie, if not more, out of it) However, I still think that its too long and when reading it, i started getting bored, despite all the action and humour. So if I had to choose between the whole Don Juan epic and Shakepeare's sonnets, I think I'd choose Shakespeare.
I agree that Byron's 'Don Juan' is far more engaging to read than Shakespeare's sonnets. In Byron's works there is a consistent plot and characters whose actions intrigue the reader. Yet, I personally find Shakespeare's sonnets to be far deeper than 'Don Juan'. Byron's epic is written in a bantering, sarcastic tone, which tends to detract from the story's depth.
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