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Compare And Contrast London 1802 And Douglass

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William Wordsworth in “London 1802” and Paul Laurence Dunbar in “Douglass” employ formal diction and metaphors to illuminate the social issues of each era; both poems plead for a great historical figure to return to their time period and rectify the evils of society. However, they also differ in purpose and targeted the audience as “London 1802” addresses the social issues in England and the need for values in the Englishmen while “Douglass” represents the African American struggle for rights during the civil rights era.
“London 1802” and “Douglass” both call for the return of two strong historical figures who influenced their respective time periods. By using formal diction and metaphors, each poem exemplifies their message about social issues and …show more content…

In “London 1802”, Wordsworth champions the ideas of Milton’s virtue and manners; he uses formal diction to convey the need for values, “England hath need of thee” “In cheerful godliness; and yet they heart” (Line 2, 13). Wordsworth usage of similes and metaphors comment on the necessity of pure values and morals as he urges the people to help return England to the great country it once was. The people have now turned into selfish beings and Wordsworth advocates the need of these virtues, “Of inward happiness. We are selfish men; Oh! Raise us up, return to us again” (Line 6-7). He also compares England to a swamp as it is now polluted and no longer has its purity “she is a fen. Of stagnant water:” (Line 2-3). Using this metaphor, Wordsworth demonstrates the change England has gone through and how its reputation is no longer what it once was. Dunbar in “Douglass” juxtaposes these same literary devices to demonstrate his message. His usage of formal diction informs Fredrick Douglass of the struggles the African Americans faced “Such days as thou, not even thou didst know” (Line 2). “When thee, the eyes of

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When slavery was abolished in 1865, it was a critical turning point in the journey towards equality for African Americans. Prior to the eradication of slavery writers like Frederick Douglass sought to free millions of slaves in America. While slavery was a well-known and growing problem in the south, it wasn’t as widely recognized in the north. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave‎ Douglass recounts his experiences and tribulations as a slave. In the narrative Douglass effectively uses rhetorical imagery, antithesis, and irony in order to expose the harsh reality of slavery during the 19th century.

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Frederick Douglass and Olaudah Equiano are both great writers who sat down and wrote about their lives as slaves, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The narratives of Olaudah Equiano and Frederick Douglass are presently well known and read throughout the world. Frederick Douglass and Olaudah Equiano are not just writers who gained recognition for a fictional story that they made up, but they gained recognition for a real-life story that could be used to teach individuals a valuable lesson in life. These two great writers have contributed to more than just a narrative about themselves, but a text for society to learn from and gain knowledge. Even though these two individuals are quite unique, their writing styles are

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For my topic on Frederick Douglass’ narrative and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”, I will discuss several details and points. These points will include Douglass’ adversity as a slave and Emerson’s journey in making sense of his life and self-identity. Also, in the discussion, I will add the similarities and differences between the thoughts of Douglass and Emerson on how each felt about their masters or Whites in general. These thoughts include Douglass’ reasoning of writing his autobiography, so that the reader it was intended for could understand why abolishing slavery was so important and Emerson’s hope that people would use their inner voice and learn to confront the issues on hand and not what others wanted to instill onto slaves.

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In wordsworth 's poem, a sense of urgency begins to arise as one contunues too delve deeper into the poem. It can be seen from the beginning where " Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour..." this depicts a cry of help and urgency.

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Fredrick Douglas and Benjamin Franklin are both one of the most famous successful in American history. They both followed a certain milestone to make them successful. Even though they are considered hard workers, they both have different obstacles and different views in their lifestyle. Fredrick Douglas used to be a slave who was a fugitive and Benjamin Franklin was young white man who had a rough time with his parent because his parents are very abusive to him. By comparing the difference and similarities by these two great people in American history even though they had their rough times, that does not stop them from their success.

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One of Frederick Douglass’ most famous speeches is What to the Slaver Is the Fourth of July? In his speech, Douglass invites his audience to view the Fourth of July from the perspective of a slave to expand the understanding of the black experience. In my critical approach to his piece, I will introduce the dialogue regarding the literary approach to Douglass’s speech and the different approaches to his speech. Then, I will continue with a demonstration of the key points of agreement and disagreement to his speech in the secondary literature. Finally, I will offer my personal interaction with Douglass’ speech and the secondary literature.

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Because of the statuses of each person who attends Douglass’ school, they have a common ground to discuss with each other. Although Douglass is not technically a slave like most of the others learning from him, he still is in the lowest social tier and African American. Because of their corresponding similarities, the slaves and Douglass bond over their hardships while understanding what the others are going through. It is easy to sympathize with each other because they are in the same situation. During the time period this was written, society purposely made African American slaves feel like they didn’t belong and like they were outcasts.

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Frederick Douglass’s Hope for Freedom Hope and fear, two contradictory emotions that influence us all, convicted Frederick Douglass to choose life over death, light over darkness, and freedom over sin. Douglass, in Chapter ten, pages thirty-seven through thirty-nine, of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, utilizes various rhetorical techniques and tone shifts to convey his desperation to find hope in this time of misery and suffering. Mr. Covey, who Douglass has been sent to by his master to be broken, has succeeded in nearly tearing all of Douglass’s dreams of freedom away from him. To expound on his desires to escape, Douglass presents boats as something that induces joy to most but compels slaves to feel terror. Given the multiple uses of repetition, antithesis, indirect tone shifts, and various other rhetorical techniques, we can see Douglass relaying to his audience the hardships of slavery through ethos, the disheartening times that slavery brings, and his breakthrough of determination to obtain freedom.

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Fredric Douglass wrote, “What to the Slave is Fourth of July” in 1852. In this speech to the American public, Douglass states how great of a country American “was” and how great the forefathers “were”. In contrast to those statements he professes his reasoning for freeing slaves. However, Mary Rowlandson wrote, “A True History of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” in 1682. This captive narrative takes place during the King Philips war, and depicts how the native Americans treated their prisoners of war.

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In the passage from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass is describing his experience when he first arrives in New York as a newly freed slave. He understands that the reader won’t understand the gravity of his situation, so he makes use of imagery to convey the emotions that he faces. While no longer a slave, his slave mentality is still with him, as shown by the mental and physical traits that he shares with the reader, such as an aphorism that he learned as a slave. To convey the strong feelings of excitement and fear that he experiences, Douglass immerses the reader with rich imagery while relating concepts that may not be familiar to the reader with metaphors as a connection to more commonly experienced events. The gravity of his situation is further emphasized with a run-on sentence, listing all the challenges that Douglass faces in New York.

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Throughout history black people have been looked down upon however, Angelou, Douglass, and Hugh’s have helped black people who had gone through those experiences. Angelou, Douglass, and Hugh’s are all black authors who have written exceedingly influential books. When discussing the impacts on black people, Angelou, Douglass, and Hugh’s works are important to consider because they all are some of the biggest influences on the black people at the time. Douglass was one of the most influential authors of the time period because he accomplished everything he did before the Civil War started. Douglass grew up in slavery and escaped all before the Civil War.

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The author of “London, 1802”, William Wordsworth was a romantic poet, he with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to birth the Romantic Age in English literature. We can see his romantic sense in the poem by comparing Milton’s soul to a star in line 9 in the poem and in line 10, where he says, “ Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea”. At this time, in the 1800’s, London was the largest city in Europe, which had wealth and prosperity.

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While a majority of poets struggled to reach recognition for their work, it was not a problem for Paul Laurence Dunbar. With an abundance of achievements and knowledgeable understanding of African American struggles. Dunbar became the most renowned poets of his life time. His ability to write diverse poetry stemmed from his parents experiences as former slaves. Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on June 27, 1872 in Dayton, Ohio and was raised by Joshua and Maltilda J. Murphy Dunbar (Patricia 2).

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Langston Hughes is a well known as an American poet. Langston Hughes was born James Mercer Langston Hughes on February 1, 1902, and died 65 years later May 22, 1967. Langston Hughes made his mark in literature during the Harlem Renaissance as more than just a poet. Langston Hughes was a novelist, playwright, and social activist. Through his works he spoke out on racism, inequality all while still celebrating Black Culture.

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It is noteworthy that Wordsworth is a “writer clearly sympathetic to those around him and truly concerned with social, political and historical dilemmas. ”(O’Neill and Mahoney) The words of Arthur Compton –Rickett only reiterates the above with stating that it was Wordsworth’s ultimate goal as a poet to seek the beauty and grandeur in meadows, hills, woodlands and the mountain peaks and to examine this beauty in terms of spiritualism” Wordsworth’s inclination towards the spiritual aspect of nature is apparent and the divinization of nature that originated during Renaissance, culminates for English literature in Wordsworth. His love for nature can be described through various stages; 1.

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