Poetic Form Is One of the Core Functions of Language - Essay Example

Poetic form is one of the core functions of language. Nearly all languages and cultures demonstrate considerable emphasis on the nature of poetry and literature as means of expression. Even as poetry is a nearly universal trait of language and communication, there exist a wide variety of poetic forms.

Among the most prominent of these schools of poetic form are the Romantic form and the Sonnet form. This essay considers an example of Romantic poetry in John Keat’s ‘Ode to a Grecian Urn’ and compares it to William Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 1’.

In terms of the effect of this device, it functions to develop a formal aspect of the poem. Whereas more free-form poetry develops a more naturalistic and organic feel, the iambic pentameter notably sets aside these poems from more traditional or experimental forms of language as uniquely ‘poetic’.

            While both poems implement similar forms of meter, they differ in terms of their overriding rhyme scheme. William Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 1’ demonstrates a very structured rhyme form. Consider the first and third lines of the sonnet; Shakespeare writes, “From fairest creatures we desire increase,/
But as the riper should by time decease” (Shakespeare, 1, 3). Shakespeare’s sonnet continues this structured rhyme scheme throughout the poem. Conversely, Keat’s ‘Ode to a Grecian Urn’ implements a more free-form rhyme scheme. While ‘Ode to a Grecian Urn’ implements rhyming, it is not as structured as Shakespeare’s sonnet. For instance, in the first stanza Keats rhymes the second and fourth lines together, however in the second stanza he rhymes the first and third lines, and then the sixth and eighth lines together. The rhyme schemes both function in both poems to establish the text as uniquely poetic. Still, with Shakespeare’s Sonnet, they contribute to a more formal style; conversely, Keat’s rhyme scheme is free form to the extent that it gives the poem a looser feel.

            The poems also share several comparative and contrasting elements of content and theme. From an overarching perspective, both poems are concerned with the predominant themes of the passing of time and beauty. Upon further inspecting these poetic works, however, it’s revealed that they both consider these themes from contrasting perspectives. Shakespeare’s sonnet considers the primary function of beauty to existence, as the entirety of the sonnet is concerned with the importance of beauty to humanity. For Shakespeare, the individual who the sonnet is about is wasting his beauty by not procreating. Rather than procreating and ensuring that this individual’s beauty will be dispersed throughout the world, the individual merely admires himself. For Shakespeare, this is a tragedy as beauty is transitory and can be wasted. Keat’s poem is longer than Shakespeare’s and considers several reflections a man makes upon viewing a Grecian urn. Perhaps the most notable such reflection is the love and beauty in the relationship between two individuals. In these regards, Keats writes, “More happy love! more happy, happy love!/ For ever warm and still to be enjoyed,/For ever panting, and forever young” (Keats, 25-27). Here Keats is indicating the primacy of love, as well as its everlasting nature. In these regards, Keats contrasts Shakespeare, as Keats emphasizes the eternal power of these elements while Shakespeare emphasizes immediacy. Even as both poems emphasize different aspects of beauty and time, in large part the poem’s overriding thematic concern with these elements functions in much the same way. Perhaps Keat’s final lines best encapsulate this concept when he writes, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all  Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know” (Keats, 49-50). In these regards, both poets are emphasizing the primacy of beauty as the fundamental aspect of existence.

            In conclusion, this essay has considered Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 1’ and Keat’s Romantic Era poem ‘Ode to a Grecian Urn’. The essay examined meter and rhyme scheme as well as content and theme. Ultimately, the essay demonstrated that while both poems differ in structure and content, their overriding concern with the primacy of beauty gives them a similar poetic power.