How do you compare and contrast two poems?

Answer 1

Well, you look for similarities and differences. For instance, are they both about the same topic? Do they have the same rhyme scheme? Do they have similar tones, or goals, or imagery? You have to find something the same about them first, in order to get an effective comparison going, and then you can compare other things that are typical of poetry. Just try not to compare things that are too different. Comparing a 6-page ode to the "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue" type of poem probably won't get you anywhere... but comparing two poets writing about a similar theme might be effective. For instance, I can think off the top of my head two poems that both talk about the departure of a spouse... in one, the man is desolate and alone without his wife, and he spends the poem talking about being with her. The other talks about a wife who greets her husband after a long journey, welcomes him home, and takes care of him, and then when he leaves to go back after his brief stay, she runs back to her lover. ...same theme, but a lot sof differences to talk about. Look for something like that (if you get to choose your own poems to compare). Find two poems that both talk about love, or loss, or loneliness, or whatever, but that talk about it differently.