I need to compare and contrast the themes of Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" and Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love." Where do I start?
Your assignment is twofold:
1. You'll need to read each poem and take careful notes about the theme(s) you find in each one. Take notes about each poem on separate pages.
2. You'll need to plan and write a comparison/contrast paper. I'll give you general directions for this type of paper below.
Here are two websites that will help you read and reread these poems carefully and with thought:
http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/markport/best/study/poetry.htm
and
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/poetry-explication.html
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Whenever you are writing a comparison/contrast paper (paragraph, essay, research paper), you need to plan it out very carefully on paper first.
Try this:
1. Write all the information about one of your topics on one page.
2. Write all the information about the other topic on another page.
3. Then put them together in this order:
1. Intro
2. All about topic A
~~~2A. detail 1
~~~2B. detail 2
~~~2C. detail 3
~~~2D. detail 4
~~~2E. detail 5
3. All about topic B
~~~3A. detail 1
~~~3B. detail 2
~~~3C. detail 3
~~~3D. detail 4
~~~3E. detail 5
4. Concl.
The number of details for each topic will vary depending on your main points. I would include comparisons (how they are similar) in the introduction and conclusion, but sections 2 and 3 and all those details will be stating and explaining how they are different.
There are two recognized patterns for writing comparison/contrast papers. One is casually referred to as "zig-zag,” but can be very confusing for the reader if you don’t use transitions effectively. The other is topic-by-topic (which is what I've outlined above) and is much easier for the reader to follow.
See http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/comparcontrast.html for further help with comparison/contrast writing.
Once you have organized your information, please re-post if you’d like feedback from someone here.
To compare and contrast the themes of Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" and Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love," you can begin by analyzing each poem individually, identifying the main themes, and then considering how these themes are similar or different.
1. Start by reading and analyzing "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell. Look for recurring ideas, emotions, and motifs within the poem. Consider the following questions:
- What is the central theme or message of the poem?
- How does the speaker approach the idea of time, love, and seduction?
- What attitudes or arguments does the poem present about love and the passage of time?
2. Next, move on to reading and analyzing "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" by Christopher Marlowe. Again, look for recurring themes, motifs, and emotions within the poem. Ask yourself:
- What is the central theme or message of the poem?
- How does the speaker portray love, nature, and desire?
- What attitudes or arguments does the poem present about love and its idealized nature?
3. Once you have individually analyzed each poem, make a list of the main themes found in each one. Take note of any similarities or differences between the themes in the two poems.
4. Use your list to compare and contrast the themes of both poems. Consider the following questions while making these comparisons:
- Are the themes of both poems similar or different?
- How do the poets' approaches to love, time, seduction, and nature differ?
- Do the poems present contrasting viewpoints or do they share common ground?
By following these steps, you can explore the central themes of each poem and compare them to understand how Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" and Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" differ or overlap in their exploration of love, desire, and the passing of time.