A Divine Image by: William Blake

Cruelty has a human heart,
And Jealousy a human face;
Terror the human form divine,
And Secresy the human dress.

The human dress is forged iron,
The human form a fiery forge,
The human face a furnace sealed,
The human heart its hungry gorge.

This poem by William Blake talks about the dark nature of humanity. He uses personification to express his ideas on human nature. He personifies cruelty as the human heart, jealousy as the human face, terror as the human body, and secresy as the way people dress. He then uses reverse personification to compare man to inanimate things. He compares man's clothing to iron, man's form to a forge, man's face to a furnace, and man's heart to a gorge. Throughout this poem he uses personification to express his belief that man is equal to the worst the world has to offer. He means this both through emotions and objects.

To Sleep by John Keats

O soft embalmer of the still midnight,
    Shutting, with careful fingers and benign,
Our gloom-pleas'd eyes, embower'd from the light,
    Enshaded in forgetfulness divine:
O soothest Sleep! if so it please thee, close
    In midst of this thine hymn my willing eyes,
Or wait the "Amen," ere thy poppy throws
    Around my bed its lulling charities.
Then save me, or the passed day will shine
Upon my pillow, breeding many woes,--
    Save me from curious Conscience, that still lords
Its strength for darkness, burrowing like a mole;
    Turn the key deftly in the oiled wards,
And seal the hushed Casket of my Soul.

               I have never agreed with a poem more than this one. This poem by John Keats is about the soothing and healing nature of sleep.  He says, "O soft embalmer of the still midnight, Shutting, with careful fingers and benign, Our gloom-pleas'd eyes, embower'd from the light Enshaded in forgetfulness divine." These lines are basically saying that sleep, through it's comfort, is able to make you forget about your troubles. This is only the first time that he talks about how sleep helps him forget about his problems. He believes that sleep is very soothing, he even says, "O soothest Sleep!" He even capitalizes sleep as if to accentuate the word. He says,"Save me from curious Conscience," meaning that he believes that sleep has the ability to clear conscience. I agree with him totally sleep can clear conscience, at least for it's duration.