Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the central ideas of "sonnet 75" by edmund spenser and "sonnet 71” by william shakespeare. consider how structure supports the development of ideas in both sonnets. 

Both discuss their love for another; Spenser says his love will outlast the world, while Shakespeare wants to be forgotten in order to spare his love any pain. 

Spenser is trying to immortalize his love, although the waves (or the natural world) wash away his words. The tide says that Spenser is being foolish. However, at the end of the poem, the final couplet adds further meaning: that nothing lasts forever -- except for their love.

Shakespeare's poem is a bit more negative. He says that after his death, his love should not mourn him. Shakespeare says he so loves the subject of the poem that he would rather be forgotten than a source of grief. The couplet adds further meaning to this idea by saying that he doesn't want his love mocked for his grief.

Thus, both poems discuss love and the passage of time; their individual messages differ.