One cannot determine his or her place of birth; rather, it is by chance that one person ends up on one side of the world and another on the opposite. Despite the arbitrary nature of birthplace, patriotism remains one of the most compelling emotions. While powerful, patriotism is also acutely diverse: its outcomes range from mere enthusiasm about the country to violence in order to protect its ideals. In the poems “London, 1802” by Wordsworth and “Douglass” by Dunbar, the narrators show their patriotism by using figurative language and structure choices to appeal to distinguished historical figures. The poems use similar figurative language to accentuate the nationalism of the narrators, which arises through the plea to Douglass and Milton.
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In “London, 1802”, Wordsworth directly addresses John Milton through apostrophe – “Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour…” (Wordsworth 1). Syntactically, the exclamation point suggests that Wordsworth has an urgent tone; he is determined that London can still be saved with the right leader. Dunbar, however, begins with, “Ah, Douglass, we have fall’n on evil days…” (Dunbar 1). The apostrophe in “Douglass” has a more somber tone than that of “London, 1802”: the word “ah” serves as onomatopoeia, with the narrator giving a resigned sigh. The two poems differ in that the narrator in “London, 1802” is determined to see the city rise again, while the narrator in “Douglass” has accepted the state of America. However, the poems coalesce around a nostalgic tone towards the leaders of the past, which the narrators show through the act of appealing to historical leaders. The metaphorical descriptions of the countries further emphasize the yearning for earlier leadership. In “London, 1802,” the speaker calls England “…a fen/ of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen” (Wordsworth 2). The archetype of water normally represents life and vitality, but …show more content…
The poems “London, 1802” and “Douglass” are consistent with the pattern for a Petrarchan sonnet, suggesting that they will be about love and will contain a volta. In Wordsworth’s poem, the volta appears in line seven: “We are selfish men; /Oh! raise us up, return to us again” (Wordsworth 6). The poem transitions from describing the state of England to praising the qualities of a leader such as Milton; it progresses from the problem with the country to proposing a possible solution. The author shows his love of country by attempting to eliminate its predicament. Dunbar uses the volta in a different way, instead choosing to illustrate how America has not changed since the days of the Civil War. The first stanza focuses on the past, and after the volta in line nine, the poem shifts to “Now, when…Honor, the strong pilot, lieth stark…” (Dunbar 9). Dunbar shows his patriotism by highlighting the lack of change from the past to the present. The rhyme scheme in “Douglass” aids in indicating the absence of change as well because the rhyme scheme past the volta remains very similar to the scheme in the first eight lines. By contrast, the rhyme scheme in “London, 1802” shifts to a more complex pattern following the volta, maintaining Wordsworth’s argument that something needs to change in order to break England out of stagnation. The structure of
In “London, 1802”, Wordsworth directly addresses John Milton through apostrophe – “Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour…” (Wordsworth 1). Syntactically, the exclamation point suggests that Wordsworth has an urgent tone; he is determined that London can still be saved with the right leader. Dunbar, however, begins with, “Ah, Douglass, we have fall’n on evil days…” (Dunbar 1). The apostrophe in “Douglass” has a more somber tone than that of “London, 1802”: the word “ah” serves as onomatopoeia, with the narrator giving a resigned sigh. The two poems differ in that the narrator in “London, 1802” is determined to see the city rise again, while the narrator in “Douglass” has accepted the state of America. However, the poems coalesce around a nostalgic tone towards the leaders of the past, which the narrators show through the act of appealing to historical leaders. The metaphorical descriptions of the countries further emphasize the yearning for earlier leadership. In “London, 1802,” the speaker calls England “…a fen/ of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen” (Wordsworth 2). The archetype of water normally represents life and vitality, but …show more content…
The poems “London, 1802” and “Douglass” are consistent with the pattern for a Petrarchan sonnet, suggesting that they will be about love and will contain a volta. In Wordsworth’s poem, the volta appears in line seven: “We are selfish men; /Oh! raise us up, return to us again” (Wordsworth 6). The poem transitions from describing the state of England to praising the qualities of a leader such as Milton; it progresses from the problem with the country to proposing a possible solution. The author shows his love of country by attempting to eliminate its predicament. Dunbar uses the volta in a different way, instead choosing to illustrate how America has not changed since the days of the Civil War. The first stanza focuses on the past, and after the volta in line nine, the poem shifts to “Now, when…Honor, the strong pilot, lieth stark…” (Dunbar 9). Dunbar shows his patriotism by highlighting the lack of change from the past to the present. The rhyme scheme in “Douglass” aids in indicating the absence of change as well because the rhyme scheme past the volta remains very similar to the scheme in the first eight lines. By contrast, the rhyme scheme in “London, 1802” shifts to a more complex pattern following the volta, maintaining Wordsworth’s argument that something needs to change in order to break England out of stagnation. The structure of