Poems Contrasted "Bright Star" and "Choose Something Like a Star" are two poems very different in form and theme. The theme in "Bright Star" is that when in love nothing is more beautiful than your lover. While the theme of "Choose Something Like a Star" is that humans need to be individuals. However these two poems do have a few things such as subject and apostrophe, in common. In the poem "Bright Star" by John Keats the author uses apostrophe when speaking to the star. He addresses the star as if it could respond. In this poem the speaker explains the aspects of the star that he does not want to have. In the first eight lines he sees the star as something holy and chaste. Keats describes the moving water as priest like, and the star as an "eremite". The narrator does not desire these qualities. He wants instead to be forever with his lover. The narrator is also expressing his desire to be like the star in some ways. He wants to be able to stay always constant and forever with his love, as the star is always constant in the sky. The speaker uses the imagery of being "forever pillowed upon his fair loves breast" to portray his desire for an eternity with her. "Bright Star" is written in the form of an Italian Sonnet, and constantly uses the letter s for alliteration. Perhaps to remind the reader of the constant star the poem is about. In "Choose Something Like a Star" by Robert Frost, the author uses apostrophe in the beginning when his speaker addresses the star. However Frost's speaker continues his conversation with the star throughout the poem. The speaker in "Choose Something Like a Star" is trying to get the star to give him information he can use as he lives his life. He asks the star to "say something to us we can learn". He also asks the star to "tell us what elements you blend". The speaker asks the star what it is made of. He wonders how the star remains constant and never waivers. The speaker in this poem seem to be faced with indecision, and is looking to the star for advice and guidance. The speaker says "It asks a little of us here. It asks us for a certain height" he is saying the star expects a certain amount of goodness and rightness from us. He also says "So when at times the mob is swayed, to carry praise or blame too far, we may choose something like a star to stay our minds on and be staid". He means that when men go too far and you find yourself swept up with the crowd you can grasp a star, and it will always be constant. In "Choose Something Like a Star" Frost alludes to the Eremite Keats uses in his poem "Bright Star". Saying "and steadfast as Keat's Eremite" Frost once again points out the stability of the star.

This poem is done in iambic tetrameter and does have rhyme, but not in any specific scheme. In conclusion, while at first "Bright Star", and "Choose Something Like a Star" may seem to have much in common, they in fact share only similarities in apostrophe and subject. by nicolectc@hotmail.com