Question

Write two to three sentences explaining the similarities and differences between the haiku by Bashō and the first stanza of Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud." Consider each poem’s structure and use of motifs.
Sample Response: Both poems try to capture a single moment, and they describe an experience in the natural world. Both poems use the motif of flowers. The poems have very different structures, however: the haiku is only three lines long, while Wordsworth's poem is longer and uses rhyme.

Answer 1

Both poems try to capture a single moment, and they describe an experience in the natural world. Both poems use the motif of flowers. The poems have very different structures, however: the haiku is only three lines long, while Wordsworth's poem is longer and uses rhyme.

Answer 2

Both poems are similar because they are both about nature and are also presented in a sad tone at first. 

“I wandered lonely as a cloud” is a lyrical poem and it depicts Wordsworth’s response to nature’s beauty while the haiku by Basho represents the imagery of spring day.

Their structural difference is that the haiku only has three lines with 5, 7, 5 syllables each line while “I wander lonely as a cloud” has a stanza with six lines in iambic tetrameter.