Though the reader understands that this is impossible as the beauty of youth cannot last forever, Shakespeare makes a point to remedy this. The speaker in the poem notes that his love's timelessness will be ensured through his actions of writing about her. No matter what happens to either of them through the course of their own lives, the beauty of the woman being written about and love that existed at the moment of the poem's writing will be carried unaltered through the ages to come -- which has proven true for centuries.
Ezra Tompkins' poem, "What is it that Compels," focuses on the themes of love, death, and the fleetingness of human existence. The poem centers upon the speaker after the death of his father and his observance of the way his mother is handling the death of her husband. Tompkins' poem deals with the hardships that come when one loses a spouse, as the two individuals lives have melded into one, essentially connecting two individuals into one of the most close-knit and connected relationships that can exist.
The speaker in this poem, however, is not part of this relationship directly, but as the son, makes up a branch of the relationship created by his parents. In looking at the entirety of the situation from an outsider's perspective, the speaker is able to pick up on every single detail of his surroundings, providing for imagery that further explains the situation. The speaker notes the "feeling of being a spectator at a private screening," because in looking at his mother's mourning, even he feels like an outsider (Tompkins 43). Similarly to Shakespeare's "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day," Tompkins works to describe the complexity and intensity that love can bring, therefore describing how the loss of that love can affect an individual.
William Blake's "To See the World in a Grain of Sand," focuses on the themes of age and perception. Blake begins: "To see the world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of...
This seemingly represents the perception of things humans cannot fully explain. How humanity perceives things that could be labeled "miraculous" is the focus of the poem. It also deals with how this perception may be affected by our age and how long we are able to experience the beauty and truths that nature possesses.
In connecting nature, humanity, and the connection between the two, the reader is able to understand the beauty, timelessness, and knowledge that exist in looking at the world around us and discovering what the meaning of life itself really is. Though this meaning may be different for each reader depending on his or her perspective, many would believe that this is what Blake set out to bring out in his readers in writing this piece.
Whether in portraying perseverance, love, death, age or perception, each of these poems, as different as they are at first glance, delves into themes surrounding the complexity of the human condition. In understanding the meanings behind such works, one can begin to understand that although each of us may focus on certain facets of the human condition in our description of it, there is no getting away from it, as it connects us all.
References
Blake, William. "To See the World in a Grain of Sand [from Auguries of Innocence]."
The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake. Harpswell, Maine: Anchor. 1997. 80-84. Print.
Shakespeare, William. "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?" Love Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare. New York, NY: Doubleday Press. 1957. 13. Print.
Stallworthy, Jon. "Sindhi Woman." Rounding the Horn: Collected Poems. Manchester,
UK: Carcanet Press. 1998. 22. Print.
Tompkins, Ezra. "What is it that Compels?" Giant Book of Poetry. Jamul, CA: Level
Four Press. 2009. 43. Print.
Poetic Themes
