Comparing and Contrasting Poems, Poem Example

Both “Sheep in Fog” and “Non-Flower Desert” create a tone of loneliness. The topics in both poems are used to symbolize a feeling of solitude on the behalf of the narrator. In “Sheep in Fog”, this is evident when the author states “I disappoint them”. She is secluding herself from others because she doesn’t want to let them down and in doing so, she is creating her own loneliness. In “Non-Flower Desert”, the words “The desert solitary smoke straight” convey a similar meaning. In “Sheep in Fog” the author waits to introduce this point of solitude, but it is mentioned immediately in “Non-Flower Desert”. “Sheep in Fog” creates an image of desolation while “Non-Flower Desert” creates an image of abandonment.

A main difference between the two poems is the imagery that this solitude creates. In “Sheep in Fog”, the words create a feeling of darkness that emphasizes the authors loneliness. However, in “Non-Flower Desert”, brighter colors are affiliated with the desolation because stars can be seen. In both poems, the characters feel desolate and secluded, but their feelings are characterized differently based on the opposing imagery. To accomplish this, both poems use similar styles of punctuation. The words in both are expressed in small sentence fragments and larger ideas are denoted by a comma. Furthermore, the sentence scheme is similar in each as well. This sudden starting and stopping of ideas helps the reader develop a more comprehensive understanding of the subjects’ thoughts. While some of these words are spoken out loud, it feels that the true reflection of the poets is happening in their minds, although we are given clues about what these thoughts may be.