Poetry Written Analysis

Peter Leuthold

Dr. Ellis

9/17/07

Reading Analysis

“The Birthmark”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud” are three pieces of work which are similar and different in many ways. In the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the love that the poet has for a daffodil is immensely similar to the love found between the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” and the wallpaper itself. “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” both demonstrate cases of feeling lonely and depressed while at the same time, “The Birthmark”, shows how the obsession of a simple birthmark can lead to ones death.

In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the author uses the wallpaper as an imagery to show the suffering which the woman is going through. All the narrator cares about is her husband John, and the beautiful, smelly wallpaper. When the narrator says, “I’m getting really fond of the room in spite of the wallpaper. Perhaps because of the wallpaper”, this portrays that even though the narrator has been stuck in her room because of her illness, she still loves its yellow view.

In, “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the narrator thinks of a daffodil, like the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, to cheer himself up. This poem uses a special narrative structure in order to present the reader with the joy, pleasure, and excitement that fills his mind, while thinking of a daffodil.

In, “The Birthmark”, the main theme of human perfection is displayed between Georgiana, and her husband, Aylmer, who is a scientist. The primary perspective in this literary work is the obsession to change a flaw of Georgiana. “Whether to term a defect or a beauty shocks me, as being the visible mark of imperfection”. This statement made by Aylmer eventually results in the removal of Georgiana’s birthmark which ends her life. The language which Aylmer uses kills his wife, but also makes his dream come true.

Thus, “The Birthmark”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “I wandered as a Lonely Cloud” present their readers with a sense of suffering, loneliness, and the beauty of nature. “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud” use the imagery of a yellow wallpaper and a daffodil in order to show their importance to the narrator. “The Birthmark” also presents its reader with an implication that nature is very important and should not be altered. All three pieces of work demonstrate the importance of different trends in society, and although these all old pieces of work, they still occur today.