Comparison between Archilochus and Stevie Wonder

“No April rain
No flowers bloom
No wedding Saturday within the month of June
But what it is, is something true
Made up of these three words that I must say to you

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart”

39. (fr. 196a), line 42-54

“So much I said; and then I took the maiden

and laid her down

among blooming flowers. Wrapping a soft

cloak about her, cradling her neck in my arms,

… fearful …

just like a fawn …

and with my hands I gently grasped her breasts

… revealed her youthful

flesh, the onset of her prime,

and, fondling all her lovely body,

I released my passion’s force,

Just grazing tawny hair.”

             This particular part from Stevie Wonder’s “I just called to say I love you” depicts a scene where a man is calling her lover on the phone and telling how much he loves her. The first stanza, five lines, that I chose from the lyrics implies that nothing can replace the “three words” – “I love you.” Wonder uses the lovely scenery “April rain,” “flowers bloom,” “wedding Saturday within the month of June” to fulfill the word “love” yet still cannot substitute it.

The excerpt that I took from Archilochus depicts a sexual scene where he is telling the audience how he treated Neoboule. He uses allusive words and sexual metaphors to describe the sexual act that he took on her – “just like a fawn” and “just grazing tawny hair.” He applies sexual metaphors in line 47 – “Fawn” implying Neoboule and he mentions again in the last line again how he handled her like “grazing tawny hair.”

These two very distinctive pieces of writing yet shares similar idea of love. In fact, interestingly, Wonder uses the phrase “flowers bloom” to picture lovely scene, Archilochus also phrased “blooming flowers” into the poem. This indicates that both use “love” in common with flowers blooming. Yet they both are talking about similar topic, two authors have approached “love” quite differently. Wonder only uses charming and lovely scenery in his lyrics but Archilochus describes the lovely scene erotically and sexually with sexual metaphors such as “blooming flowers.” Moreover, structurally, Wonder uses numbers of rhyming words throughout the full lyrics and it is seen in my excerpt that I have chosen such as “rain,” “bloom,” and “June” to make the piece more rhythmic which makes the audience to hear pleasantly. However, Archilochus uses more “epodic verse which combines different lengths of iambic and dactylic meter into brief two – or three-line stanzas.”