Hallie Thompson
Professor Birt
English 200
2 May 2012
Stylistic Approach Among Readers and Writers.

Authors use a certain stylistic approach when writing their piece of work. The use of style in literature helps readers understand how language can suggest moods, images, and meanings throughout the story. Without a stylistic approach readers would have to dig deeper and create their own thoughts and feelings throughout a story, without having any sense of significance. When authors create their specific approach they then must decide if it is appropriate for the audience. Does it deliver the theme and purpose behind writing this piece to the reader? Is the piece appropriate? The writer must answer all these questions before finishing his or her work. After reading many different types of work by various authors there has been two authors that have stuck out, William Blake and William Shakespeare. Each author is able to connect with his readers by creating a mood, theme, and allowing the reader to connect with some type of meaning. In spite of this, the way each particular author uses his certain stylistic approach is completely different and unique than the other one’s. Blake connects with his readers through personal experience and the supernatural. Shakespeare on the other hand, likes for his readers to change their viewpoint throughout his works. They may start out feeling, or imagining, on thing, and then completely change their thought process towards the end. Even though both of these authors have different techniques towards their stylistic approach, their work is still intriguing and unique for every reader. “The Lamb” and “The Tyger”, written by William Blake, both illustrate how the mood can influence the theme and how it is perceived to the audience. While reading “The Lamb” the reader is given a tender and caring perspective as the speaker describes and asks where such a harmless and giving creature came from. However, in the sonnet “The Tyger” the speaker is questioning what type of divine being would create such a creature. “Did he smile at his work, could this be the same being that made the lamb?” (Blake 786). Since the speaker was so genuine towards the lamb, the reader was able to dictate a happy and innocent theme. During “The Tyger” on the other hand, the reader could pick up the sense of fear and disgust from the speaker, relating more of a dark theme. These two sonnets can be looked at as life experiences as well. When a young and naive child enters the world, it comes off as a perfect place. A young person sees a place where everyone is happy, caring, giving, and helpful. The speaker during “The Lamb” is that young child that sees no harm in the world. Everyone is like the lamb, so giving and gentle to its’ surroundings. It is almost as if these young children are blinded to all the bad that happens in the real world. During the sonnet “The Tyger” is when the speaker has finally witnessed the harsh realization of what really happens in the world. The sonnet turns dark and forceful symbolizing the tyger, a creature of power and control. All the negativity, bullying, and greed of the world resemble to tyger. William Blake is a well-known Romantic writer because of the simplicity of the poetic language he is able to use to convey puzzling ideas. The Romantic period itself is rich with literature that makes reference to the supernatural. In particular, Blake's “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” both illustrate Blake's analysis of the supernatural from a context. The poems serve as a critiques point of view of God's relations with the world revealing a duality that combines and reflects the growing interests in sciences during the late eighteenth century. Blake is able to connect with his readers and create a stylistic approach that effortlessly creates a general mood, theme, and image for his readers. Reading just these two sonnets alone, readers are able to connect the sonnets with real life experiences. This helps generate some type of mood for the reader, depending on the life situation. It also creates an image of some soft. Blake describes the lamb as giving because it provides wool for clothing. Even though he is speaking of a lamb, we are able to form an image of someone or something that is genuine and compassionate. His work is appropriate for the audience because not only is he able to deliver the theme and purpose of each work, he allows the audience to tie in real life situations while reading. There are many ways in which an author can deliver certain stylistic approaches. Blake likes to be up front and allow the reader to connect with his or her own personal life. Shakespeare on the other hand, permits the reader to feel one way during one part of the story, or sonnet, and change his or her feelings towards the end. Shakespeare’s work is much more intriguing than Blake’s in that aspect. Also, William Shakespeare enjoyed writing about love and what could or could not of been about his life experiences, while Blake focused more on personal life experiences. Sonnet “130” by William Shakespeare takes a love poem to a unique level. The speaker compares his lover to a number of beauties, which were never in the lover’s favor. The speaker describes her eyes, “nothing like the sun” (Shakespeare 631). The speaker also admits that although he loves her voice, music “hath a far more pleasing sound” (Shakespeare 631). For the first twelve lines this sonnet created a mood for the reader, that love was a joke, for this particular speaker. He did not seem to be in love with his lover, instead he just compared her to beautiful things and then state she was the opposite of them. However, at the end of the sonnet the mood changes. The reader realizes these were all metaphoric ways of describing his lover. The speaker was able to create sarcasm towards the way he loves his wife. He explains that at the end of every day he loves her and who she is. Everyone tends to brag about his or her spouse, or mistress, and create an image of something they are not. Shakespeare told the straight facts of true love. He was able to compare her to all the beautiful things in the world, and although she did not match up to them, she was still the one he loved each and every day. Shakespeare was able to take a stylistic approach and illustrate that the language and meaning can change throughout a piece of work. He was talented enough to generate the reader to feel one way at the beginning of the sonnet, and completely change his or her viewpoint at the end. Being able to change the reader’s perception throughout a piece of work is clever and stimulating. Now, not only has the reader changed his or her mind throughout the story, but also they are able to create a deeper connection with the work. It’s almost like judging a book by its’ cover. You feel one way when you look at it, or at the beginning, and change your viewpoint at the end. Shakespeare was also gifted enough with his writing that it was easy for the reader to create images while reading his work. Shakespeare was a very detailed author who used vivid images anyone would be able to connect with. Comparing his lover to music, the sun, and a rose are all things almost every reader has witnessed. They are all beautiful and elegant objects that allow the reader to connect with those images and rely some type of feeling towards his words. If a reader is able to create certain images and picture what he is writing about the reader will be able to connect more easily with that specific piece. The more a reader can connect with the storyline, or poem, the more significance the work is going to have on that reader. His work is successfully geared towards his audience and very appropriate. Although he was able to sway his readers’ opinions and allow them to create different mood changes, he provided his theme and the readers are able to take away his significance in writing his pieces. After evaluating both of these authors it is easy to notice that there are many different approaches to take when creating a stylistic choice. Some authors are straight forward, while others like to change the readers’ opinion throughout the piece. Either way, not having a stylistic approach is going to make it tougher on the reader to try and connect with the point the author is attempting to get across. If Shakespeare did not change the tone of Sonnet “130” towards the end, the reader would of walked away thinking how insensitive and rude the speaker was. Since Shakespeare did change the tone however, the reader was able to connect more deeply and witness the honesty and purity of the speaker. Even though only two authors were mentioned, all writers make choices about such issues as to what words to use, what details to emphasize, what order to tell and retell events, and how to present one’s own thinking and actions to the audience in which the author is addressing. Each of these seemingly minor choices not only expresses the writer’s relationship to what he describes, but it also affects how readers imagine the events, people, and or places described throughout the work piece. Without allowing the reader to imagine all these details it is hard for him or her to connect with what the author is trying to address. Connecting with the audience not only intrigues the reader to continue on, but it allows him or her to be fascinated with what is going on. As an author you want to grab your audiences’ attention and keep them enticed throughout the entire piece. By authors using, and creating different stylistic approaches it grants them the power to do so. Without these diverse choices in stylistic approaches it would be hard for authors to generate ideas in which they can keep their audience entertained and interested in the details.