Select one of the three sets of poems below to compare and discuss:
Each set of poems allows you to explore a major tendency of Romanticism, whether: (I) political and social protest; (II) celebration of visionary reality and the ability of poetry to escape the real; and (III) reflection on the superiority of visionary reality and art over nature and reality.
Select one of the three sets of poems and compare and discuss common themes, differences, and poetic elements that poets use to get their message across, such as use of imagery, personification, alliteration, simile, metaphor, repetition. Conclude by highlighting one romantic characteristic that you feel all the poems you discuss reflect.
William Blake, “The Chimney Sweeper
Charles Baudelaire, “The Poor Child’s Toy”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Kubla Khan”
Charles Baudelaire, “Get Drunk”
John Keats, excerpt, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
Charles Baudelaire, “The Double Room”
Discuss elements of style as well as theme (focus on some poetic elements: imagery, pattern, personification, alliteration, etc.) Support what you say with direct examples from the poems. Be analytical.