Comparative Essay Of 4 Poems Essay

In this essay I will be talking about the comparison of characters in the following poems: Mother any distance, Havisham, The Laboratory and My Last Duchess. When we first look at these poems they all have something in common, they are all about relationships. Mother any distance is about a mother and son relationship, Havisham shows a failed relationship with her fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, The Laboratory shows a relationship in shreds that leads to the use of poison and finally My Last Duchess shows the differences between two people in a relationship and what it can lead to. The structure in Mother any distance is approximately sonnet length but not exactly, this could show that it is a loving relationship but in a different way, as it is a mother and son. This shows that they are very close to each other. Havisham on the other hand has 4 x 4 line stanzas and is very precise. This could mean that it has been rehearsed over the years and she knows exactly what to say. The Laboratory is very different from Havisham structure wise as it has 12 stanzas varying in length and split up. This shows that she is making it up as she goes along. Finally My Last Duchess is only1 stanza, which adds more flow to the overall piece. The duke in my last duchess is a rich, handsome man who believes that he deserves to be treated better than anyone else. When talking to an envoy he recalls the story of how his wife acted and that he had her killed because she treated everyone equally not just him and was quite flirtatious. The duke can be compared to the poisoner in The Laboratory as they both are involved in death/murder. The poisoner however wants revenge on her husband as he is cheating on her. Compared to the duke the poisoner acts much less calm and more psychotic. The idea of revenge also appears in Havisham, she is an old woman who was jilted on her wedding day. She now hates all men and wishes to have her revenge on the man that ruined her life. Havisham uses bitter and twisted language to portray her emotions. As with all of these poems love appears somewhere and it is the same with Mother any distance but this time with a mother and son. The writer uses measurements and distances to show a parting relationship, as the son is moving into a new house. Havisham and The Laboratory are very similar if we look at thoughts and attitudes. They both show strong hatred/anger and they both want revenge so much that they seem to turn psychotic with insanity. Mother and my last duchess on the other hand are possessive and controlling. The mother wants her son to stay and always tries to help him as she thinks he needs a second pair of hands. The duke tries to control his wife and expects her to let her beauty speak not her mouth. â€Å"Seen not heard† and thought that she would respect his 900-year-old name. The difference though is that the duke acts very calm about it all so much so that it almost justifies his actions. In conclusion all 4 poems are related to each other yet are about different subjects. My last duchess shows the duke seeing his wife as an object not a person. The laboratory shows how far people will go to get revenge. In Havisham we see the effect of breaking someones heart and finally we see how we need to let go of those who we love and let them make their own path.