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Here's your shmoop du jour, brought to you by Autumn.

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So many bare trees, and not one of them feels an ounce of shame.

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Okay, so we have a "dueling Emilys" situation on our hands here...

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...one poem by Emily Bronte and one by Emily Dickinson.

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They're both about the fall, they're both eight lines long, and neither one especially

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makes you want to throw on a pair of swim trunks and head to the beach.

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So... what are we supposed to do?

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Well, our instructions are to compare and contrast the perspectives on the subject at

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hand -- namely, autumn -- as well as the different ways each poet gets their message out there.

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Okay, a starting point would be good...

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Before we begin, we really need to delve into each poem and figure out what is significantly

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different about the two.

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Is one upbeat and the other pessimistic?

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Does one approach the subject vaguely and the other paint a clear picture?

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Is one pro-September and the other fiercely pro-October?

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Okay, so now that we know what the prompt is...

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prompting us for...

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...it's time for some good old-fashioned analysis.

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One of the main things we're looking for here are the literary devices at play.

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Both authors have chosen the same topic, but they employ different techniques to portray

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unique viewpoints of it.

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So... what are those techniques?

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No better place to start than with the title.

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"Fall, Leaves, Fall" has a trochaic rhythm of stressed and unstressed syllables.

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Basically... it slows down the reading of the poem.

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For example, you could probably zip your way through a random shopping list pretty quickly.

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But if you have to read the lyrics to a song as quickly as possible...

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you might have a tougher time.

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It's because there's a natural melody, a rhythm, a beat to the language.

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WHY would Bronte want to slow down the poem?

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Well, probably because she wants the experience to feel something like her depiction of fall.

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Slow, sad... and a bit painful.

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Not surprising.

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The Brontes were never really known for being "uppers."

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See: Wuthering Heights.

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Autumn has a rhythm as well... as does just about all poetry... but it's a much more familiar,

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iambic rhythm, with a typical A-B-A-B rhyme scheme.

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It flows from the lips -- or the brain -- with greater ease...

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painting an entirely different picture of the season as

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one that is soothing... calming... and painless.

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Now... what about diction, or word use?

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Look at the words Bronte uses: die, decay, drearier...

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Aside from them all being "d" words, they're all...

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depressing. Oh, look -- another "d" word.

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In Autumn, Dickinson instead relies on word choices like "plumper" and "gayer."

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No, she's not writing an ode to Bruce Vilanch.

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In this instance, she means "gayer" as "happier."

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Her word choices make us long for it to be autumn...

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because we could use a little gaiety in our lives.

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Dickinson also uses personification, which makes the season feel alive...

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...while Bronte doesn't. So her depiction of fall is...

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lifeless. Just the way she lives it.

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Okay, now that we've determined the major differences between viewpoints and technique,

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we can form a thesis and get this show on the road.

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You could go a couple ways with this... either by focusing on the tone of each poem...

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"While the speaker of Dickinson's poem rejoices in the evidence of life in autumn, the speaker

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of Bronte's rejoices in the evidence of death"...

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...or you could zero in more on the literary device angle...

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"The speaker of each poem celebrates autumn, and the authors reveal the speaker's perspectives

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through rhythm, diction, and figurative language."

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Then, when writing the essay itself, be sure to both compare AND contrast...

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...in other words, don't just talk about how the two poems are different and forget to

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show how they're also SIMILAR.

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Like... they both use the word "rose."

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But... probably a little more in-depth than that.

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Before you start a-writin'... or maybe after you're done...

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check out this sample essay to get an idea of what those AP gurus are looking for...

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