The trees written
by Joyce Kilmer and Invictus composed by William Ernest Henley have similarities
and differences. The former is all about how the tree reacts to nature’s daily
happenings and how it connects to God for it is Him that created it.
The latter, on the
other hand, talks about how firm and courageous the persona is amidst or
despite challenges or obstacles he faces. Notwithstanding, these two poems’
interpretations, and implications are not the main or focal concern but their
poetical features or elements.
Let us talk about
one of the senses of the poem which is the imagery. Imagery is the use of
secondary details or descriptions that appeal to one or more of the five
senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. These are otherwise known as
“senses of the mind”. The imagery of the Trees s more on the senses of sight or
taste. The example in the first and second stanzas of the poem: “T think that I
shall never see. A poem as lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is
prest. Against the Earth’s sweet flowing breast”. Notice the words “see” and
“mouth”.
Whereas the
Invictus’ imagery stresses on the senses of sight and hearing. Example for the
sense of sight is its first stanza: “Out of the night that covers me Black as
the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be, for my unconquerable
soul”. The word “night” can clearly explain its sense of sight. Another is its
sense of hearing, ‘in the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor
cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance, My head is bloody but unbowed.”
The word “aloud” is being stressed that certainly gives a reason why that poem
has the imagery of hearing.
However, when it
comes to the sound of the poem which is the rhyme, the two poems have also
similarities and differences. Rhyme is the repetition of the same stressed
vowel sounds and any succeeding sounds in two or more words. It has two types:
internal rhyme and terminal rhyme. The internal rhyme has rhyme within the line
while the terminal rhyme has rhyme found at the end of the line.
TREES
I think that I shall never see
A
poem lovely as a tree.
A
tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against
the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
INVICTUS
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole
to pole,
I
thank whatever gods may be
For my
unconquerable soul.
It is pretty obvious that both are
using terminal rhyme. Their difference is their rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme
is the pattern of rhyme form that ends in a stanza or a poem. The rhyme scheme
is designated by the assignment of a different letter of the alphabet to each
new rhyme. The rhyme scheme of the Trees is “AA, BB” while Invictus rhyme
scheme is “AB, AB”. The former has “AA, BB” rhyme scheme because every last
word of a line rhymes with the next last words of the immediate line. While the
latter uses “AB, AB” rhyme scheme because the last words of every line rhyme
right after the next line’s last word.
Besides, their difference is the
number of rhyming lines of the stanza. The Trees uses couplet which is defined
as the stanza of two rhyming lines while the other makes use of quatrain that
has a stanza of four lines.
Furthermore, let us compare and contrast the
types of figures of speech used or applied to these poems. They both have
simile. A simile uses a word or phrase such as “as” or “like” to compare
seemingly unlike things or ideas. In the trees, the simile is found in the
second line of the first stanza. “A poem as lovely as a tree”. The poem is
being compared to a tree. While in the Invictus, its simile is also found or
located in the second line of the first stanza,
”Black as the Pit from pole to pole. The word “black” which modified the
night is being compared to the word “Pit”.
Additionally, the hyperbole as one of
the figures of speech is also utilized. Hyperbole is an exaggeration used to
express strong emotion, to make a point or to evoke humor. “A tree whose hungry
mouth is prest “ shows hyperbole because we know that a real tree has no hungry
mouth but only roots that sip nutrients from the soil. “Out of the night that covers me” , in this line
is so exaggerated because the night cannot actually cover a person.
Similarly, these two poems use two
similar figures of speech – metonymy and synecdoche. Metonymy is the use of one
word to stand for a related term or replacement of word that relates to a thing
or person to be named for the name itself. An example is in the first line of
the fourth stanza of the poem Trees. “A tree that may in Summer wear. The word
“summer” is just a representation of the time. Whereas, the Invictus has a
synecdoche. A synecdoche is the naming of parts to suggest the whole. An
example is in the line “Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody but
unbowed.” Notice the word “head”. It does represent the whole body or life of a
person.
Lastly, they use assonance. Assonance
is the repetition of similarly accented vowel sounds. In the Trees’ lines,
“Upon whose bosom snow has lain; who intimately lives with rain. We can observe
“o” vowel repeatedly used in the former line while “I” vowel is common in the
latter line. On the contrary, the Invictus uses the vowels “e” and “a”. Look
into these lines, “And yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me
unafraid”.
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