Name – Dean Spellman
Subject – English
Module – Poetry
Title – Comparing & Contrasting Rosalind’s “Madrigal” with David Harsent’s “The Apiarist Dreams of the Queen”
“The Apiarist Dreams of the Queen” by David Harsent and “Rosalind’s Madrigal” by Thomas Lodge are two poems separated by time, but draw together in essence. Despite “Rosalind’s Madrigal” being written circa 1591 and “The Apiarist Dreams of the Queen” having been written in 2011, these poems both encapsulate the timeless feelings of love, lust and longing. They not only share certain aspects but equally, are contrasted by elements of their respective times. I intend to draw attention throughout this essay to some of the more prominent aspects of these works, specifically to key areas in which the pieces are similar and divergent. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the structure and form of the works will be offered, with focus on the imagery and rhythmic significance involved. It is my intent to offer up a detailed analysis on the many contrasts and similarities between these poems and to give an insight in to my opinion in the pieces individually.
With respect to the chronology of the works, “Rosalind’s Madrigal” will be my first address. This is a four stanza prose poem which engrosses us in the all too familiar tale of unrequited love. In this poem the protagonist is longing after her beloved who, seemingly reciprocates the love. The line “within mine eyes he makes his nest” suggests willingness on the part of the beloved to be with her. However, in the last two lines of the first three stanzas, sets in the unrest of the lovers mind. Metaphorically speaking, the lover, a woman, is a flower and her beloved, a bee. A bee that will sting and cause pain at any sign of unease. This, we can see as being a very clever personification of love in the form of a bee. We see a likening of the sweet or bittersweet “sting” of love with the sting of a threatened bee. The lover even goes as far as to...