COMPARATIVE FORMAL ANALYSIS OF THE POEMS

“SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO A SUMMER’S DAY?” BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE AND “MOTHER

TO SON” BY LANGSTON HUGHES

A PRELIM COURSE REQUIREMENT IN

ELS 108: STYLISTICS

SUBMITTED BY:

JULIE ANN F. ALEMIOS

SUBMITTED T0:

BEVERLY D. PADIN, MA LIT.

INSTRUCTOR
i. INTRODUCTION

The poem “Shall I Compare to Thee to a Summer’s Day?” is written by the well-
renowned playwright and poet, William Shakespeare. This poem is known as the Sonnet 18 in
Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets which was likely written in the 1590s, though it was not published
until 1609, covering themes such as the passage of time, mortality, love, beauty, infidelity, and
jealousy. The poem, like many of Shakespeare's sonnets, grapples with the essence of beauty
and poetry's ability to convey it. Shakespeare's sonnets, based on the Petrarchan (or Italian)
sonnet, deviate from the standard by addressing not just a young woman – as was the norm in
Italy – but also a young male, known throughout as the Fair Youth. “Shall I Compare to Thee to
a Summer’s Day?” is one of the Fair Youth poems, written to an enigmatic male figure who has
eluded some scholars. A total of 126 of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets are thought to be addressed
to the Fair Youth, which some historians have interpreted as evidence of his homosexuality.

The poem "Mother to Son" was written as a famous dramatic monologue by Langston
Hughes, an American poet and writer. In 1922, it appeared for the first time in the magazine
Crisis. The poem depicts a mother offering her son guidance on how to deal with life's
difficulties. It also shows how life can feel overwhelming at times, yet one should never give up.
The poem is written from the perspective of a mother whose life is filled with sadness. She
recognizes, however, that her ability to be strong is the greatest way to deal with these
problems. She claims that life has never been a "crystal stair" for her while speaking about her
life experiences. There are splinters, holes, and areas where there is no carpet. Despite these
stumbling blocks, she has made progress. She motivates her kid to persevere in life by
following in her footsteps. Optimism and the ability to overcome adversity, in her opinion, are
the only methods to overcome life's challenges. The unflinching struggle of a mother during a
difficult period of her life captivates the audience. The poem's key themes are hardship, hope,
and courage.

Formalism is a critical approach to literature that is centered on objects. It concentrates solely

on the work itself, completely ignoring the creator, the work's time and context, and the
audience's reaction to the work. Formalism holds that the only things that count in writing are
their formal characteristics. The aim is to create "a science of literature that is both independent
and factual," a term that is frequently used to refer to poetics. Linguistics will be a core part of
the science of literature because literature is made up of language. The current discourse
hereby aims to present a comparative analysis of these two poems through a closer evaluation
of literary elements, such as the structure or tonal versification and the symbolic transaction of
the poem. Hence, the formalism technique will be used to study these poems, "Shall I Compare
Thee to a Summer's Day?" and "Mother to Son."

ii. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ON POETRY

"Sonnet 18," widely regarded as the most well-known classical Shakespearean sonnet, is
the most popular of William Shakespeare's 154 short lyrical poems because it provides a great
entry point into the enigmatic complexities of Shakespeare's literary works, particularly the
uncanny relationship between the author, his subject, and his audience. In particular, "Sonnet
18" is commonly regarded as a love lyric addressed to a young guy. Scholars believe, however,
that the sonnet can be interpreted in a variety of ways. According to this, the poem's beauty
lies not just in its ambiguity, but also in the poem - the form – itself. Its popularity stems from
the fact that it is a superb illustration of what a sonnet should look like. The structure and
symbolic transactions of William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18" will be explored further in this
reading.

“Sonnet 18” contains 14 poetic lines which is a classic feature of any Shakespearean
sonnet. The poem is divided into four stanzas, the first three of which have four lines each and
the last one of which have only two. One of Shakespeare's sonnets' distinguishing features is
the rhyme scheme's consistency. The ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme is used in "Sonnet
18." A Shakespearean sonnet's melody is one of its most noticeable features. The rhythm, often
known as the beat in a poem line, is the most basic sound device used in "Sonnet18." The foot
of poetry, often known as the syllable, is the name given to each unit of rhythm. Meter is a
pattern in English poetry that consists of five basic rhythms with changing stressed and
unstressed syllables.

Iambs, trochees, spondees, anapests, and dactyls are the different types of meters.
Iambic pentameter is common in Shakespearean sonnets, and "Sonnet 18" is an excellent
example:

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Though art more lovely and more temperate

 The text above shows the stressed syllables in boldface. Note that among the five basic
rhythms of stressed and unstressed patterns, three have two syllable feet; iambic, trochaic, and
spondaic. The iambic follows a /unstressed/ /stressed/ pattern all throughout the end of the
line. The opening two lines of "Sonnet 18" both place the emphasis on the even syllables, while
the odd ones are treated as weak beats. There is an accentual pattern that works "mainly with
syllable contrast". This pattern can be found throughout the sonnet, indicating that the meter is
iambic. Because each line has five two-syllable feet, the sonnet is an iambic pentameter.
Considering these features mentioned above, the poem “Shall I Compare Thee to A Summer’s
Day?” follows a formal verse. Formal verse, such as sonnets and limericks, is poetry that has a
precise repeating pattern. In formal verse, stanzas will have a meter and rhyme scheme that is
consistent.

"Shall I Compare Thee to Summer's Day?" is a poem about the beauty of a person's
character and soul, and how it persists even after other types of beauty, such as summer, fade
away. The poem uses First Person Point of view which is evident by the usage of the pronoun
"I". Of the 154 sonnets, Sonnet 18 is the most well-known and well-loved. It's also one of the
clearest in terms of language and intent. Shakespeare asks his friend at the beginning of the
piece. The speaker is undecided on whether or not to compare the young man's attractiveness
to that of summer. Then he abandons the plan, believing that his friend is far too flawless to be
compared to summer. He emphasizes in the following phrase that his good friend is more lovely
and temperate than summer. The beauty of his love is milder and more restricted than the
beauty of the summer, which is extreme with its scorching days. In particular, "Sonnet 18" is
commonly regarded as a love lyric intended at a young man. Scholars believe, however, that
the sonnet can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Shakespeare asks the sonnet's addressee –
who is most likely the same young man, or 'Fair Youth,' addressed in the other early sonnets –
if he might compare him to a summery day. Shakespeare employs symbolism in addition to
metaphors and imagery to express how his lover compares to the seasons other than summer.
The four seasons are represented throughout the sonnet, beginning with spring in line three,
"Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May," which denotes birth or rebirth. Summer, line
4 “And summer's lease hath all too short a date:" can signify youth and how young beauty does
not continue as long as some people wish. "And every fair from fair sometime declines, / By
chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd," lines seven and eight, describe autumn and the
unpredictable passage from childhood to adulthood. Death and the end of everything are
symbolized by "Nor shall Death brag thou wandr'st in his shade" (line eleven). The beauty of
Shakespeare's beloved is reflected here, except that their beauty is perpetually fresh and
beautiful, defying the end of summer, the shift of autumn, and the death of winter. Eternity is
the general theme of the poem. The tone of the sonnet is endearing and the poet is trying to
convince the readers of the eternal beauty of the young man.

Meanwhile, the poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes was first published in Crisis
magazine in December of 1922. Hughes' collection The Weary Blues, published four years later,
featured it as well. This is one of his most well-known and relatable works. Readers from many
walks of life can relate to this poem and put themselves in the shoes of either the child or the
mother, or both. It's an emotive composition meant to serve as a reminder of life's challenges
as well as a motivation for the courage required to overcome them. The poem “Mother to Son”
is an example of a dramatic monologue. There are no formal rules for dramatic monologues:
there is no meter or rhyme scheme that they must follow. This allows Langston Hughes, the
author of "Mother to Son," to catch the mother's voice in its entirety. The poem is made up of a
single stanza with a total of 20 lines. It's written in free verse and incorporates terminology
from African American Vernacular English (AAVE), a dialect of English often spoken in African-
American communities. The poem isn't bound by the lyrical traditions of white cultures. Instead,
it produces a style of writing that is sensitive to the poetic richness of the mother's voice and
faithfully recreates that voice for the reader. In a dramatic monologue, the poet takes on the
voices of another person. Because "Mother to Son" is written in free verse, there is no set
meter. The poem's rhythm, on the other hand, is loose. Some of the lines are quite brief, such
as line 7, which is only one syllable long. Some of the lines are quite long, such as line 6, which
includes ten syllables. This allows the poem to stretch and compress in response to the
speaker's vocal patterns. As a result, the poem feels conversational and personal, as if the
reader is listening in on a real discussion. It doesn't have a rhyme system, and the poem
doesn't end on a rhyme. As a result, the poem has a conversational, straightforward tone to it.
After all, rhyme can appear unnatural and "poetic" in the sense that it isn't something that
happens naturally in regular conversation: poets must work hard and bend their words to make
a poem rhyme. Because "Mother to Son" does not rhyme, it feels authentic to the speaker's
voice: it catches the way her voice sounds in its natural state, rather than disguising it in poetic
language.
 Hughes uses an older female speaker to give advice to a son who is part of the younger
generation. In “Mother to Son,” the poet speaks in the voice of a black mother. She describes
the struggles and obstacles she’s faced in a racist society—and she gives advice to her son
about how to survive those obstacles. Symbols such as "tacks" are also employed to depict the
sharpness and discomfort of life's obstacles. Splinters signify inflammatory discomfort, as well
as the challenges of eliminating and conquering it in everyday life. Even the metaphor of life
being likened to a flight of steps refers to life's hard journey. The crystal stair, on the other
hand, depicts clarity and perfection, a life that the mother claims was not given to her. Hughes
uses a negative extended metaphor in this poem, comparing the speaker's life to a stairway
that "ain't been no crystal clean." In other words, rather of describing what it is, she develops
the metaphor by describing what it isn't. The metaphor is, without a doubt, highly symbolic.
The staircase symbol symbolizes the fact that one must begin at the bottom and work their way
up. It is instantly recognizable as a powerful symbol of wealth. The crystal staircase also creates
the idea of not being there, even though it is, implying comfort. It's also a symbol for openness.
Its texture, once again, denotes smoothness. She implies that life isn't always a 'smooth ride.'
In general, the poem's theme is determination to live despite adversity. Furthermore, it
emphasizes the fight for life that one will endure but will still have the strength to confront it
day by day. It also depicts the affection and motivation of a mother to her kid, who looks after
him and gives him guidance so that he is better equipped to face life.

iii. CONCLUSION

Reading both the poems, both differ a lot from their tonal versification and
symbolic. “Shall I Compare Thee to Summer’s Day” overall uses a formal verse, with rhyming
scheme, and set meter and “Mother to Son” uses free verse, no rhyming scheme and loose
meter. However, both shares a common ground - love, although the speakers of both poems
differ on the type of love they are pertaining to. "Shall I Compare Thee to Summer's Day"
generally talks about a love that is very romantic and on the other hand, the "Mother to Son"
talks about filial love, a strong affection that we feel towards our parents and children.