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When I Have Fears
- Rhyme Scheme: ABABCDCDEFEFGG --> Shakespearean Sonnet
- Punctuation marks are at the end of the 1st quatrain, 2nd quatrain, 12th line and at the end of the poem.
- Volta at line 13 (or 12 1/2) where he begins talking about how his desires for fame and love don't even matter in the end. I feel like the volta is a bit strange because it just comes so suddenly and unexpectedly a half-line earlier than it usually is. It sort of gives a sense of abruptness because the reader isn't expecting the volta so early.
- Keats spends the entire poem talking about how he wants the typical earthly things -- fame, love, success, admiration... but quickly switches at the end, realizing that none of it matters in the end, especially in comparison to the wide vastness of the world.
- There's also a strong change in tone before and after the volta. Before, there's a lot of rich, idealistic imagery of beautiful skies and fertile plants, while the lines after the stanza are very bleak and simplistic, matching the meaning of the poem.
Written on the Boppard on the Rhine August 25, 1842 Just Before Leaving for Home
- Rhyme Scheme: ABBAABBACDCDCD --> Sonnet
- Punctuation marks are at the ends of the 1st quatrain, 2nd quatrain, and lines 10, 12, and 14. Each punctuation mark is getting closer and closer to the last one, perhaps signaling how quickly death is approaching for the poem's speaker. In addition, each "pseudo-stanza" is also getting shorter, symbolizing the same thing.
- Volta at line 9 where the speaker moves from musing in general terms to actually describing a metaphorical town representing his Past, the faint sound of the waterfall of death in the distance.
- This poem also has a contrast between tones and imagery. In the section describing the Past, Longfellow utilizes rich imagery to describe the beautiful and idyllic town, showing how much he would like to return to the past to redo everything again.
- There's also mention of the "autumnal blast," showing that he is in the autumn of his life, nearing the winter (read: death). Later, he says that he hears the sound of Death in the distance, further emphasizing this point.
The Big Question: Although
Apparently my blog decided to only post half of what I wrote (thanks WEEBLY...), so I'll just leave it like this since they were due last week.