Please post you thoughts on how the speaker of 'Sweetest Love, I do not go' compares with the speaker in , 'Go, and Catch a falling start. You could focus on the tone of the speaker (include notes on how rhythm and sound convey's speaker's mood), description of women, description of female behaviour, public sphere vs. private experience and views of the the nature of love.
No longer than 100 words.
Mr. D
12 comments:
The speaker is more subtle and tender in the presentation of his argument in 'falling star. Whereas both speakers are similarly derogative of women, the speaker here is lesser so tan the speaker of 'falling star'. In this the speaker’s argument is therefore less explicit as the speaker holds more value towards the women the song is directed to. Here in lies a difference in that 'falling star' the speaker directs his argument towards one women and this argument is not one that is critical of her. The other speaker of the other song, direct his critical argument towards women in general, holding less value towards women.
Antony West
The reader in this poem is not so different from the speaker in ‘Falling Star’ but we do see a difference in their views of women and womens love. In ‘Falling Star’ we see the bitter view of the speaker who seems to have lost, or failed to ever obtain love of a women that he has spent so long seeking. Contrary the speaker in this poem holds a much greater value of womens love and the strength it gives the men. This is clear from the softer use of imperatives used in the poem, compared to ‘Falling Star’, as well as a more comforting tone to the speaker’s arguments to the women. All in all, the poems are not very different. Both have irregular trochaic form, with mono-syllabic words, which give a gentle edge to the deep ideas.
BTW- I think 100 words was a little low, I couldn't expand my thoughts.
The speaker comes across a lot more gentle, his boyish manor from 'Go, catch a falling star' seems to be lost in his love for this one woman. The change from generalising women as a stereotypical group to speaking to one specific woman is what becomes most apparent int his poem. He is comforting towards tho woman, even though it is still in some sense patronising he's care for ladies has generally improves in this poem. The intention is no longer to have a laugh with his pals, but to portray a serious image of what he is feeling.
In ‘Go’ the speaker exudes wit and confidence and is assertive in his manner, directly contrasting the inconstancy that he believes women to possess. ‘Go’ suggests that Jack Donne is companionless which explains the use of euphemisms for impossibility of a ‘woman true and fair’. The second poem shows a tempered narrative voice which lends the female character with a subtle deference; the way he values her emotions directly contrasts the complete void of a female. The persona in ‘Go’ leaves an open ended question as to the constancy of woman, describing them as false but in ‘Sweetest…’ he regards unity as the most profound relationship available to a couple as ‘they who one another keep / Alive, ne’er parted be.’
The speaker in this poem “Sweetest…” compared to the one in “Go, catch a falling star” is more understanding of the opposite sex and is occasionally more comforting. Although at times he seems to be patronising, the poem in whole seems to generally value women, and the speaker accepts the females emotions whether he agree with them or not, rather than degrade them in any way. In contrast to this, In “Go, catch a falling star” the repetitive use of commanding words, such as “Go, Get, Tell…” play a part in presenting a more pessimistic attitude towards women, from the male narrator.
The two songs undermine women collectively, and even though ‘sweetest love’ appears to be a more personal account, a distance is created by the juxtaposition of serious issues and a fluent, up-beat meter. The consistency in the structure suggests that the song may be a well learned routine performed frequently before his travels. The sincerity of his words is lost in the patronising mockery of the woman’s naivety. The degrading of women appears more generalised in ‘go and catch a falling star’ where the song reads less fluently, and more like a rhythmic out bust of resentful emotion. The speaker is openly cynical of women claiming the ‘no where/lives a woman true, and fair’.
DK
The speaker in 'Go, and catch a falling star' uses a critical and cynical tone to present his argument that women are the inconstant sex, whilst the tone of 'Sweetest love, I do not go' has an affectionate tone that reflects its tender sentiment. The tone of 'Falling star' is reinforced by the cold, harsh dimeter and a domineering excess of imperatives, whilst 'Sweetest love' uses non-obstructive enjambment and thoughtful caesura, which allows the poem to flow with nonchalance. The tone Donne adopts in both of the songs are contradictory to one another, and makes us question whether it is the poet's personal views coming through, or a critique of society through a fictitious persona.
-David L
The assertive, sarcastic tone of the speaker in "go and catch" presents a more critical view of the woman in general. The imperatives such as "go,get,find" all contribute to the speakers argument that women are the inconsistent sex. The speaker in "falling star" has a softer, understanding, contrasting tone to that of "go and catch" for the argument is more of a direct one, towards one woman but analysing the tone of this song it still produces that harsh and degrading tone towards the women but that is softer by the tender sentiment of the argument the poem. The patronising tone of the speaker towards the emotion of the female suggests that this is more direct.
The speaker in 'falling star' is far more critical of women, whereas the speaker in 'sweetest love' has a more respectful tone. This may reflect the different situations the speaker is in; in 'falling star' he is apparently speaking to another male whilst in 'sweetest love' he is actually faced with a women who is showing concern and affection towards him. In 'falling star', the technique used is a troachic feet, which suggests the speakers twisted logic. In 'sweetest love', the argument is clearly laid out with a persuasive tone. So where he is trying to be domineering in 'falling star', he is more understanding and subtle in 'sweetest love', using pleasant imagery and references. However, the fact that the arguement is simple and less concerned with wit suggest that he is being patrionising and mocking. The use of imperatives adds to this argument as he may view her as intellectually inferior. It can be thus concluded that although the speakers in both poems are using very different tones and are presenting different arguments, the perception of women is similar, but is more obvious in 'falling star' and more underlying in 'sweetest love'.
-Harjit
I think i went over the word limit...sorry -Harjit
The speakers in the poems seem to be different. The speaker in "falling star" seems much more sardonic, also showing the remnents of the sacred power of love through the imagery of the pilgrimage. Therefore, the speaker shows some positive recollection of women, this seems to be much less a criticism of women then the other song "sweetest". in this poem the speaker is much more tender, showing a sweeter, persuasive sider, this is only underlying the fact that he is condesacening, showing that the women is a blubbering mess, the opposite to that of a patrichan sonnet, which hold women up to be these gods.
Ross
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