Being 21 defines a threshold into adulthood where an individual's actions further define them in life. By allowing the leniency and confidence to make mistakes and learn, 21-year-olds live free from obligations and constraints. “To Sir John Lade, On His Coming of Age” and “When I Was Twenty-One” by Samuel Johnson and AE Housman respectively characterize the feeling of freedom that comes with turning 21. In the cadence of the poems, both poets reflect on their experiences at the age of 21 and convey a message about freedom. By telling readers how to experience life at 21 through different perspectives, with attitudes of freedom in one and caution in the other, Johnson and Housman recommend an adventurous view of the future. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Each poem echoes the advice given to the twenty-one year old from different perspectives to create a personal atmosphere. Johnson uses his poem to address Sir John Lade, a colleague, whom he congratulates for enduring life and advises him to let go and enjoy the year ahead. He writes: “Detached from the tether of the miner,” explaining that Sir John is free from the expectations and obligations by which he was once bound. Throughout his poem, Johnson uses words referring to birds, including "flew", "feather", and "fly", which have connotations of freedom and weightlessness. By being “released,” Johnson conveys the image of a liberated bird. In contrast, Housman uses a personal anecdote that he was counseled to elicit the image of a caged heart. At the beginning, a "wise man" tells the narrator to live freely but to keep "his heart apart." Housman reveals that he did not listen, "no need to talk to me", as a means of advising readers, just as the wise man did with him. Through this personal memory, Housman's analogy serves to encourage readers to live freely while Johnson used a broader perspective of all 21-year-olds to convey a similar message. In conveying the message, both authors create different tones in their poems which ultimately lead to different themes. approaches to the same advice. While Johnson encourages worry-free freedom, Housman instead describes a warning to live cautiously. Johnson's poem is naturally cheerful and tells readers to "let him wander as he pleases" or not worry too much. So the ABAB structural rhyme scheme of each stanza creates this light and fun tone throughout the poem. Housman, on the other hand, seems regretful from the start when he recalls his experience at 21. He writes: “It is largely paid for in sighs. » Without a clear rhyme scheme or syntax reflecting remorse, it creates a dark tone in relation to Johnson and conveys a message of warning. He hopes the reader will live cautiously and listen unlike him when he was 21. The contrast of attitudes reveals the duality of freedom that the two authors emphasize. Johnson and Housman describe the double-edged nature of freedom through their premise of living to 21. In the final quatrain, Johnson informs, “You can hang yourself or drown yourself at last.” » This line stands out from the cheerful attitude of the rest of the poem as Johnson describes one must live to one's full potential until the end or "drown" in a mundane life of obligations. So, the 21st year determines the rest of life as they finally have the freedom to live on their own terms and they must choose to live adventurously or worry-filled. Similarly, Housman leans towards.