Collection 5: Skills Review
Essay Question
In an essay, compare and contrast these two poems, paying particular attention to the
speakers’ attitudes toward their cities. How do different literary devises enhance the
meaning of each poem? Be sure to consider how Blake’s poem reflects some key issues and
characteristics of the English Romantic period and how Walcott’s poem paints a complex
and challenging portrait of contemporary life. Do some of the same issues and problems
appear in both time periods? Explain.
Task breakdown:
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In an essay, compare and contrast these two poems, paying particular attention to the speakers’
attitudes toward their cities. = THESIS
How do different literary devises enhance the meaning of each poem? Be sure to consider…
o how Blake’s poem reflects some key issues and characteristics of the English Romantic
period and
o how Walcott’s poem paints a complex and challenging portrait of contemporary life.
Do some of the same issues and problems appear in both time periods? Explain.
STUDENT MODELS
MODEL A:
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In William Blake’s “London,” he explains the horrific sight of his small town in London. He
catches [your] attention when he repeats the beginning “In every.” It helps to describe the
sorrow he saw and felt. Blake uses unique word choice. Instead of saying “madness,” he uses
[manicle]. I think Blake did an excellent job explaining what he saw and how he felt about it.
Although Walcott describes what he sees, he’s not bothered by it. He sees it as a good
thing; he sees it as history. It’s not as saddening as what Blake wrote, but still, it takes an
[affect] on [you]. Walcott doesn’t rhyme as much as Blake but it’s still a good story.
MODEL B:
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In William Blake’s “London” and Derek Walcott’s “The Virgins,” they both portray a time
and place lost tottime and world change. William Blake’s poem talks of his London lost to crime and
the undirected attention to the cities hygiene, drugs, and prostitution. He talks of the loss of the city
and the inability to go back to a time that is lost where London thrived. Derek Walcott’s poem talks
of his home town of Fredenkstad lost to tourism like a poison flowing through [your] [????], slowly
killing away all that once was taking away his small country hometown. Yet at the same time
booming the city to great new things and bringing in society and riches. (same response cont’d on
next page…)
Blake’s poem reflects some [????] issues and characteristics of the English Romantic period
and Walcott’s poem paints a complex and challenging portrait of contemporary life. Blake expresses
the effect of plague and [????] to a great city and this relates directly to the English Romantic period.
Where Walcott’s poem is able to still grasp on the picture of what Fredrikstad once was and how
simple life used to be. The same issues appear in both poems to great towns are becoming modern
and growing in times whereas the people are lost, all that they know in that process. Blake’s poem
shows a town that has already been ravaged by time whereas Walcott shows a town in the process
at the toll of time.
MODEL C;
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“London” and “The Virgins” talk about their cities and what they saw in the poem. London the
narrator talks about the curses in his city. As in “The Virgins” he talks about what the city has
become and what took over.
Literary devices in these two poem create the meaning of these poems by defining exactly what
happened or was going on. Blake’s poem is about main problems as Walcott’s poem talks about all the
problems and situations. Literary devices help in this situation to clarify what exactly went on.
In both poems issues and problems appear from both poems. “The Virgins” talks about how the
city changed from time periods. In “London” it explains what he sees from a point of view on how the
city became different throughout the years.
MODEL D:
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In the poems Virgins and London the speakers attitude toward their cities is reflected of one
another. The tone in Virgins is bitter. But the major difference in tone between the speakers in both poems
is, the speaker in ”The Virgin” is not bothered by what he sees.
Different literart devices enhances the poems in many various ways. In the poem London the
literary device is used “Blasts the newborn infants tear…” In “The Virgins” the speakers literary device is
irony. Some of the same issues do appeare in both time periods. In Both of the poems the speakers tone
was unhappy. But in the poem “Virgins” focused more on the aspect of his city’s people’s hypocrisy.
MODEL E:
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These two poems are closely alike in many ways. Both writers are disappointed in
the way their city has turned out. It went to be nice from when they remember it and
how its falling apart and dirty and nasty. I’m sure the elders in my town don’t like how
much it has grown and expanded.
Imagery allows you to notice how the city looks and compares it to thinks that
you may or may not have seen in your life.
MODEL F:
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The poem “London” by William Blake and “The Virgins” by Derek Walcott both
describe cities that are in social ruins. These poems express powerful words and feelings
in changing times.
In “London,” Blake remarks feelings of woe on the people’s faces as he walks by the
sees the church losing its color; London no longer has a strong religious background. He
feels as though London is no longer appealing or beautiful as it once was.
In “The Virgins,” Walcott describes the free port of Frederiksted. The economy of
the city depends on tourism. He says anyone will pay anything or price just to live “the
good life.” He describes the emptiness he feels as tourism grows and & the hopelessness
that remains.
These poems use literary devices to add meaning to their poems. Although they use
different devices, both poems convey the feelings effectively.
MODEL G:
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The poem London and The Virgins both describe cities that the poets think are
on the verge of social ruin. London depicts the poor living conditions of England in
the early nineteenth century. Derek Walcott’s The Virgins describes Frederiksted it
is one of the oldest port cities on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix Frederiksted
is now a free port where tourists can purchase goods without paying customs duties.
The speakers’ attitudes toward their cities the attitude of William Blakes poem
London is kind of sad because the poem describes some sad thing for example “an
infants cry of fear.”
The attitude of Derek Walcott’s poem The Virgins is a feeling of despair for
the Virgin island of St. Croix in the city of Frederiksted.