...ARE USED BY SHAKESPEARE TO PUT FORTH HIS IDEAS IN SONNET-130? IS HE COMPLETELY ANTI-PETRARCHAN? [16] 1st part The language spoken and written of great romances is often poetic, passionate, and filled with metaphors of beauty and devotion. In short, the language of love is the language of exaggeration. William Shakespeare ‘s most powerful description of love is when he satirizes this method of writing and in so doing instead claims that honesty and sincerity are the greatest literary devices when speaking the language of love. Shakespeare's sonnet number 130 demonstrates this. This sonnet hooks the reader from the very outset while maintaining sonnet structure and using literary devices as a source of irony. Shocking the reader by using an unconventional method of satire to introduce a topic is the most effective way to hook an audience. Shakespeare begins his sonnet with the line; "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun -" (line 1). The reader immediately becomes curious to the poet’s reasoning for speaking in this tone. The first quatrain of this poem introduces the topic of beauty.The second quatrain enhances the topic and adds sentiment. In the first quatrain he describes the looks of his mistress, while in the second quatrain he relates how these looks affect him. The third quatrain releases this sentiment, the narrator concludes that he is aware of the ordinary nature of his mistress. The sonnet also satirizes literary devices such as metaphors...
Words: 643 - Pages: 3
...Karmvir Sidhu ENG 111 - 64 Sandra E. Terry Feb 7, 2011 Sonnet 130: Imperfectly Perfect The secular world is increasingly fixated on the concept of beauty and the pursuit of perfection, however this preoccupation is not unique to the 20th century. While traditional love poems in the 18th century generally focused on glorifying a woman's beauty, Sonnet 130 written by William Shakespeare goes against the conventional culture of love poems and instead describes the realistic nature of his object of affection. In Sonnet 130, the idea of love and is intensely expressed and taken to a greater level of intimacy where beauty lies within an individual and not just on the surface. The allegorical meaning is presented through images that allow the reader to understand the poem beyond its literal meaning. In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130, the notion of perfection is evaluated to a point where it is almost made irrelevant in relation to beauty and true love. In Sonnet 130, it seems as if William Shakespeare laughs at the idea of idealism and perfection. The expressions of discontent and dissatisfaction give the poem a satiric tone. This poem is written in Shakespearean iambic pentameter, commonly used by Shakespeare in many of his poems. It follows the ABAB-CDCD-EFEF-GG rhyme scheme. The first 12 lines are all rhyming pairs, followed by the rhyming couplet. In the first 4 lines of the poem the speaker expresses his lady’s lack of perfection and almost complains about how she does...
Words: 1013 - Pages: 5
...Lady Mary Wroth: A New Voice Lady Mary Wroth’s voice arises out of a culture that did not want to hear what she had to say because of her gender. She was a female in a male’s world. Regardless of this predicament, Lady Mary Wroth wrote and had published The Countess of Montgomery’s Urania, Love’s Victory and Pamphilia to Amphilanthus. Her sonnet series, Pamphilia to Amphilanthus, was the first English compilation of poetry to be written by a woman. In the male dominated world of Petrarchan love sonnets, Lady Mary Wroth creates a place for herself by manipulating the Petrarchan tradition of a male speaker and replacing it with the voice of a female, with both female and male characteristics. This produces poetry that flips the Pertrarchan tradition inside out, because by defying the rules of society, Lady Mary Wroth brings attention to herself and gives insight into autonomy and the tension between genders during the Early Modern period. Lady Mary Wroth existed in England at a time when women were expected to be silent and obedient. In fact, in “Lady Mary Wroth and Women’s Love Poetry”, Naomi Miller mentions that “letters that document the Court Furor indicate that Wroths’s gender, her choice of genres, and her social position outside the inner circle of power rendered her authorship unacceptable” (196). Wroth’s family was extremely literary, her father was a poet and she was the niece of Sir Philip Sidney and Mary Sidney, both of who wrote. Her father’s poems were only stumbled...
Words: 1550 - Pages: 7
...Comparing ‘Love That Doth Reign and Live within My Thought’ with the Unseen - Dr. Helen Fisher’s ideas about love The poem ‘Love That Doth Reign and Live within My Thought’ was written by Henry Howard, the son of the Duke of Norfolk who was executed for treason at the age of 30. It deals with themes of confusion of love, love itself, and death. He talks about a man being in love with a woman who does not return his feelings, this is also known as ‘courtly love’ and Henry was one of the first to introduce unrequited love as a main subject in the 16th century. The form of this poem is in a Shakespearean sonnet made up of 14 lines (3 quatrains followed by a final rhyming couplet) and is a translation of a Petrarchan sonnet. It follows the rhyme scheme ‘abab, cdcd’ and so forth, and uses inverted feet – this portrays the poem as quite masculine. Because this poem was written so long ago, there is a lot of archaic lexis and sophisticated language for example: ‘ire’ and ‘eke’ thus immediately showing the reader the time period that this poem was written in. The narrative stance of this poem is in 1st person, but mainly in the 3rd person – describing a knight. The unseen text is written by a biological anthropologist named Helen Fisher, straight away this makes it apparent to the reader that this is a more analytical and scientific view of love. Both texts talk about love, however she talks more about lust and intimacy. In paragraph one she supports love and talks about the symptoms...
Words: 552 - Pages: 3
...Shakespeare’s Sonnets: Form: 14 lines, each with ten stressed and unstressed syllables known as iambic pentameter (rhythm of the heartbeat) Genre: Lyric poetry – Lyric poetry presents the deep feelings and emotions of the poet as opposed to poetry that tells a story or presents a witty observation. Rhyme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG Rhymes may be ear-rhymes or eye-rhymes: an ear-rhyme is one that rhymes in sound, e.g. “increase” and “decrease”; an eye-rhyme is one that rhymes by sight, e.g. “compare” and “are”. Structure: This rhyme sequence sets the usual structure of the sonnet as three quatrains (sets of four lines) concluding with 1 couplet (a pair of lines). It is usual for there to be a pause for thought in the sonnet’s message at the end of each quatrain, especially the 2nd, in order to add tension, with the sonnet resolving to its objective in the final couplet, just as a song normally resolves to its root chord at its close. To convey the sense of resolution and completeness at the end of the sonnet there are often key-words, or tie-words, present in the closing couplet that are also present in the earlier quatrains. This structuring provides a framework on which to build the words, phrases, themes, rhymes, syncopation, punctuation and rhythm of the sonnet making it, at its best, a self-contained work of art. Having established this structure though, the author can then go on to breach the framework to add tension and meaning: a quatrain will not necessarily comprise...
Words: 2143 - Pages: 9
...Bosompra 1 Nana Bosompra Donya -Tag El Din Tutorial # 2 February 27, 2014 Comparison A sonnet is a fourteen line lyric poem of equal rhyming lengths , normally written in iambic pentameter. There are two types of sonnets that are very popular in English poetry. The rhyme scheme of sonnets follow two simple patterns: the Italian sonnet also known as the Petrarchan sonnet after the most influential of the Italian sonneteers. It contains an 8-line 'octave' of two quatrains, rhymed abbaabba, followed by a 6-line 'sestet' usually rhymed cdecde or cdcdcd. The fist eight lines introduces a problem or issue to think about, while the remaining 6 lines offers a resolution or opinion. The two sonnets being compred have this in common. “Whoso List To Hunt “ by Sir Thomas Wyatt and “Sonnet 67” by Edmund Spencer can be compared metaphorically as well as literally. The sonnet by Sir Thomas Wyatt is about a hunts man who is trying to catch a deer but is not having any luck. “ But as for me, helas, I may no more. The vain travail hath wearied me so sore, I am of them that farthest cometh behind (lines 2-4). All the chasing is making the huntsman tired and doubtful he realizes that he is so far behind the hunt. Edmund Spencer’s sonnet is similar to Wyatt’s with regards to the deer hunting. The man in this sonnet is chasing his stalked prey that has gotten away from him. He is sick and tired of spending all of his time hunting the deer so he sits down in the shade with his dogsd...
Words: 335 - Pages: 2
...trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert… Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal these words appear: ”My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away. Analysis of Ozymandias "Ozymandias" is a fourteen-line, iambic pentameter sonnet. It is not a traditional one, however. Although it is neither a Petrarchan sonnet nor a Shakespearean sonnet, the rhyming scheme and style resemble a Petrarchan sonnet more, particularly with its 8-6 structure rather than 4-4-4-2. Here we have a speaker learning from a traveler about a giant, ruined statue that lay broken and eroded in the desert. The title of the poem informs the reader that the subject is the 13th-century B.C. Egyptian King Ramses II, whom the Greeks called “Ozymandias.” The traveler describes the great work of the sculptor, who was able to capture the king’s “passions” and give meaningful expression to the stone, an otherwise “lifeless thing.” The “mocking hand” in line 8 is that of the sculptor, who had the artistic ability to “mock” (that is, both imitate and deride) the passions of the king. The...
Words: 862 - Pages: 4
...ARE USED BY SHAKESPEARE TO PUT FORTH HIS IDEAS IN SONNET-130? IS HE COMPLETELY ANTI-PETRARCHAN? [16] 1st part The language spoken and written of great romances is often poetic, passionate, and filled with metaphors of beauty and devotion. In short, the language of love is the language of exaggeration. William Shakespeare ‘s most powerful description of love is when he satirizes this method of writing and in so doing instead claims that honesty and sincerity are the greatest literary devices when speaking the language of love. Shakespeare's sonnet number 130 demonstrates this. This sonnet hooks the reader from the very outset while maintaining sonnet structure and using literary devices as a source of irony. Shocking the reader by using an unconventional method of satire to introduce a topic is the most effective way to hook an audience. Shakespeare begins his sonnet with the line; "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun -" (line 1). The reader immediately becomes curious to the poet’s reasoning for speaking in this tone. The first quatrain of this poem introduces the topic of beauty.The second quatrain enhances the topic and adds sentiment. In the first quatrain he describes the looks of his mistress, while in the second quatrain he relates how these looks affect him. The third quatrain releases this sentiment, the narrator concludes that he is aware of the ordinary nature of his mistress. The sonnet also satirizes literary devices such as metaphors...
Words: 635 - Pages: 3
...Structure in “Sonnet” In his poem “Sonnet”, Billy Collins uses the Petrarchan method to carry his reader through the creation of a sonnet. He takes his reader line by line through all fourteen lines explaining metaphorically the complexity and conflicts that are contained in the octave. He also uses his octave to almost post mockery at the strictness of Elizabethan sonnets. He then finalizes with the resolving manner of the remaining six lines. He creates this poem ignoring the iambic rule associated with a typical sonnet. Collins’s use of literary devices, rhyme scheme, and imagination plays an important role in the structure of the poem, “Sonnet”. The author uses simile to describe the structure of the poem. He compares “…ten more [lines] left like rows of beans.” (Ln 4). A sonnet is fourteen lines and the poet already used up four lines and tells us that the remaining ten lines are like rows of beans. He starts off by saying all you need in a...
Words: 589 - Pages: 3
...British Lit / Test Two Review Essay Questions 1. The genre of “The Fairie Queen” is a romantic epic. Epic poetry is the highest form of poetry; long and episodic. It is a narrative that contains many adventures, a central character, journey to hell, gods and goddesses, and it starts in the middle (in medias res). The Fairie Queen is allegorical of the Protestant Reformation. It contains many biblical allusions supporting the Protestant faith and criticizing Catholicism. It is written in Spenserian stanza, stanzas of nine iambic lines; the first eight are pentameters and the ninth is hexameter with the rhyme scheme ababbcbcc. 2. The term Renaissance translates into “rebirth”. This was a great revival of art, literature, and learning in Europe; marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world. The Renaissance began in Europe around 1390; this was around the same time of the Canterbury Tales. The Renaissance did not begin in England until1485. It was so late coming to England because of the civil war due to the “power struggle” between the House of York and the House of Lancaster. This Civil War was called the War of the Roses. The two houses fought until they killed each other off and in 1485, King Henry took crown and this was the beginning of the Tudor Dynasty. England finally had a level of peace allowing its people to acknowledge and then take part in this renewal of life, vigor, and interest. 3. The difference in doctrine between Protestantism...
Words: 2370 - Pages: 10
...Compare and Contrast the poem ‘Sonnet CXXX’ by William Shakespeare and an extract describing Iranian love poetry from the book Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahriar Mandanipour published in 2009. The poem and text are connected the the techniques used by the poets to describe women in love poetry. Shakespeare’s sonnet, written for his mistress the Dark Lady is part of his sequence parodies of Petrarchan blazon objectification of the female form, similarly the extract from Censoring an Iranian Love Story explores the technique used by Iranian Sufi poets in the past, the humour here is also tongue in cheek as the narrator makes reference to body parts that were ignored in comparisons as their use would be considered inappropriate. The form and structure of of both texts vary, Text A is a Shakespearean sonnet with a abab, cdcd, efef, gg rhyme scheme with a volta before a couplet, whilst using iambic pentameter in a first person setting. Text A additionally uses caesurae to present stereotypical images of idealised beauty. Text B on the other hand is a single paragraph of continuous prose and detailed descriptions which similarly are used to portray the ideals associated with Iranian beauty, Text B however uses a third person narration. Text A written for Shakespeare’s mistress uses comparative nouns to describe desired qualities of an Elizabethan woman, and the qualities which have been bestowed own his mistress. He does this by pairing nouns such as “red”,“coral” as...
Words: 702 - Pages: 3
...My Galley by Thomas Wyatt the Elder "A rain of tears, a cloud of dark disdain ", Sir Thomas Wyatt words in “My Galley”. Wyatt was a 16th-century English lyrical poet attributed to introducing the sonnet into English. Thomas Wyatt was born to Henry and Anne Wyatt at Allington Castle, near Maidstone, Kent, in 1503. Little is known of his childhood education. He was remarkably gifted man. His first court appearance was in 1516 as Sewer Extraordinary to Henry VIII. In 1516 he also entered St. John's College, University of Cambridge. Around 1520, when he was only seventeen years old, he married Lord Cobham's daughter Elizabeth Brooke. She bore him a son, Thomas Wyatt, the Younger, in 1521. He became popular at court, and carried out several foreign missions for King Henry VIII, and also served various offices at home. Wyatt’s “My Galley” is a sonnet typically ranges according to the tradition of Petrarchan. It has the same five rhymes a, b, c, d, e, and can be divided in two parts which is octave and sestet. The sonnet was written by Sir Thomas Wyatt in 1557 during the Renaissance Period in England. The subject matter of a poem can range from being funny to being sad. Wyatt uses of metaphor and imagery presented a quite pessimistic view. Wyatt is talking about despair, and probably means religious despair. It seems to me that he wrote about the 'sin' of losing your faith in God. He uses the common metaphor of a ship in trouble at sea. " ”My Galley” charged with forgetfulness...
Words: 1751 - Pages: 8
...The opening line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 is a surprising simile: 'My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun'. We might normally expect poets, especially those of Shakespeare's time, to praise the women they love by telling us that their eyes do shine like the sun. But a writer of Shakespeare's calibre is not going to follow the herd and make exaggerated comparisons; here he is describing reality. Over the next few lines Shakespeare continues to describe his mistress in terms of the senses of sight, smell, sound and touch, but there is no flattery here. Colours are focused on first: 'Coral is far more red than her lips' red' tells us that lips are not naturally a bright red colour. Pale skin would have been sought after, but Shakespeare's mistress had dun-coloured breasts, dun being quite a dark colour. It seems that she did not have soft, sleek hair, as in line four it is compared to wire. Shakespeare relates that he has seen beautiful two-toned or 'damasked' roses, but that there is no rosiness in his mistress' cheeks. The poet is quite forthright in telling us that his mistress has bad breath; in fact it 'reeks', and there is no hint of perfume. Line nine gives the first compliment: 'I love to hear her speak', but Shakespeare admits in the following line that he would actually prefer music to her voice. In line eleven Shakespeare implies that the way his mistress moves could not be compared to a goddess, and he goes on to say 'My mistress when she walks treads upon the...
Words: 959 - Pages: 4
...1. FFFFDEVOIR NR 1 THE COMMENTARY OF SHAKESPEARE ‘S SONNET 12 When I do count the clock that tells the time , And see the brave day sunk in hidoeus night, When I behold the violet past prime, And sable curls all silvered o’er with white, When lofty trees I see barren of leaves, Which erst from heat did canopy the herd, And sumer’s green all girded up in sheaves Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard : Then of thy beauty do I question make ...
Words: 1172 - Pages: 5
...Within the atmospheric poem, “Anthem for Doom Youth” by popular war poet Wilfred Owen, the harsh and melancholic nature of war is fully exposed. Owen makes excellent use of language, from and structure to further retell the horrors of war. Owen makes use of structural devices to even highlight the damaging context of war, “Anthem” the is a 14 line poem into two stanzas, the rhyme scheme differs slightly from a Petrarchan sonnet (ABABCDCDEFEFGG) however this is ironic as the general theme of a sonnet is that of love- one may believe “Anthem for doomed youth” is in response to an unrequited love of God. Further Owen’s use of an irregular rhyme scheme (ABABCDCDEFFEGG) suggests the unharmonic nature of war; however the usage of full rhyme highlights the hope that the soldiers had, which was never requited. Owen’s use of the phrase, “passing bells” is metonymical of a soldier’s funeral; the relevance of this is that, the funeral is alluded to on the first line of the poem thus pragmatically suggests that the soldiers were dead before they even began. Owen also explores metonymy through the diction choice, ‘anthem’, which acts somewhat ironic as the connotations of an “Anthem” are proud and glorious juxtaposing with the lexical connotations of ‘doomed’, Owen does this to parody the joyous and inaccurate propaganda given to the soldier of the time. Moreover, ‘anthem’ alludes to an important religious song which often expresses joy, again used ironically to reveal the horrific nature...
Words: 764 - Pages: 4