The Similarities Between the Works of William Cowper

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The Similarities Between the Works of William Cowper
Many works of literature share the same theme even when they are uniquely written. Usually, literary geniuses use literary devices to symbolize an object, a person, or an event rather than stating them literally. Their imaginative minds can create words that are seemingly out of context but when analyzed closely, they refer to the same concept. This is the reason why even a single author can write two poems of different themes that ultimately lead to a single idea. One of these authors is the world-renowned poet, William Cowper. This paper will compare and contrast two of his celebrated works entitled, Hatred and Vengeance, My Eternal Portion and The Poplar Field, respectively.
Although the themes of the poems are different, such that, Hatred and Vengeance, My Eternal Portion talks about these concepts literally and The Poplar Field talks about the reflection of the author upon seeing the destruction of the poplar trees, both share the same ending which is about time and torment.
It seems that Cowper reflects about the time that he has on earth while writing these poems. However, despite having both reflected about time, Cowper was carrying different emotions when he was writing these two. Time and torment were given a beautiful meaning in The Poplar Field while these were described distastefully in Hatred and Vengeance, My Eternal Portion. In the former, Cowper expressed his feelings about his journey to the past, the present, and the future. His words visualized the different landmarks of his life and have shown the consequences of his actions and the outcomes of natural aging to him. He compared his experiences to the withering poplar field. By contrast, Cowper distastefully illustrated time and torment in the latter poem by comparing his journey to that of Judas Iscariot’s, who betrayed his Master, Jesus. Here, time delays his death to let him reflect on the hatred and vengeance that he has been experiencing by betraying his master, who is himself. Cowper expressed his journey with dismay by figuratively telling his past, present, and future journeys and the outcomes of his poor decisions to his life at the present. In the next statements, the first poem refers to The Poplar Field while the second poem refers to Hatred and Vengeance, My Eternal Portion.
In the first stanzas of both poems, Cowper is gradually bidding his goodbye to the reader. In The Poplar Field, he stated,
“The poplars are fell’d, farewell to the shade
And the whispering sound of the cool colonnade
The winds play longer, and sing in the leaves,
Nor Ouse in his bosom their image receives (Cowper).”
This stanza shows how the speaker is patiently watching how the poplars wither and wait for his own fall. This can also be interpreted as the speaker has been seeing the end to his fugitive years. In contrast to this, Cowper also bids his goodbye at the first stanza of the Hatred and Vengeance, My Eternal Portion where he states “Wait, with impatient readiness, to seize my soul at the moment (Cowper).” Here, the speaker is rather impatient to meet his end because his life was full of unspoken...