Compare and Contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Compare and Contrast - Essay Example This paper thus helps to provide a clear and concise understanding on the basis of these three short stories and poem in order to compare and contrast the same on various levels as is further discussed within the scope of this paper. ‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning is an excellent example of a dramatic monologue which appeared first in the year 1842 in the poet’s ‘Dramatic Lyrics’. The poem has been written about the fifth Duke of Ferrara who was married to Lucrezia di Cosimo de Medici and talks about the kind of influence that wealth, power, as well as pure aristocracy had on the life of the duke. Furthermore, written and composed by Richard Wright, ‘Big Black Good Man’ is a story that first appeared in the story collection of ‘Eight Men’ which was one of the last works of the author. It is about a man by the name of Olaf, who finds himself providing room one fine afternoon, in his office, to a big black man for the sub sequent five or six nights. The third story discussed is ‘Cathedral’ written by Raymond Carver in the year 1983 and was included in his anthology in the same year as well. It is about the spiritual houses of God, on a broad basis of a theme and the theme of blindness and sight prevails throughout the course of the story as the author tries to explain the kind of faith that most people have on God. My Last Duchess has been set during the Italian Renaissance period and reeks of aristocracy and how the rich survived during the time. It mainly talks about how marriage, power and wealth influence a man’s life and how when these factors are involved in play, a man ceases to think about emotions like love, desire and death. In the poem, the Duke does not seem to be in love with his dead wife or even lament about her death. Instead, he enjoys the fact that he narrates to the messenger, how he had had her killed and experiences a sense of joy in doing the same. As compare d to this, Big Black Good Man talks mainly about differences on the basis of colour as the black man asks for lodgings to Olaf and the former gets scared of the consequences of sheltering a man who was so different from the rest of society. Thus it mainly seeks to talk about the period of apartheid that the world faced and how the same was countered in different countries, especially in America. Cathedral aims to discuss the spirituality and oneness that a man can develop with God however, how the same may be based on blind faith at times, without understanding the true consequences of a situation. However, the narrator narrates a story about a blind man, who is later able to open his eyes due to finding sight because of the gift of God and understanding and knowledge of the ways of the world. All three have been written in the form of a dramatic prose or a short story, including Browning’s My Last Duchess, even though it is a poem. However, it is regarded as more of a short dramatic monologue or piece of writing and retains a certain rhyme scale by an iambic parameter and may be read as a story which is being narrated on the basis of certain emotions and feelings. The other two are short stories and have been published in anthologies. All three have wide appreciation regarded all over the world because of their broad themes which has helped readers in an understanding of these different eras. My Last Duchess has a historical background attached to it and talks about the way the Duke