The poems "The Villain" by W.H. Davies, a Welshman, and "Apparently With No Surprise" by Emily Dickinson, an American, have many similarities. Both poems employ similar literary devices and are both similar in tone, and subject matter and theme, despite the differences between their authors.

Both "The Villain" and "Apparently With No Surprise" employ few literary devices. The device most present in both poems is personification. In "The Villain", Davies personifies the stars by giving them sight: "the light of stars, / That beamed where'er they looked." Additionally, he personifies the wind and the corn: "I turned my head and saw the wind / ... / Dragging the corn by her golden hair." He likens the wind to a villain who kidnaps fair-haired maidens and likens the corn to a fair-haired maiden. Likewise in "Apparently With No Surprise," Dickinson personifies the flower, calling it "happy flower", thus giving it human emotion...