Compare and contrast the presentation of the theme of relationship in "Neutral tones" by Thomas Hardy and "Sonnet XVIII" by William Shakespeare.

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Compare and contrast the presentation of the theme of relationship in “Neutral tones” by Thomas Hardy and “Sonnet XVIII” by William Shakespeare.

  William Shakespeare’s poem “Shall I compare thee to a summers day?” or “Sonnet XVIII” as it is commonly referred to was composed at the end of the sixteenth century in the renaissance period. It is an Elizabethan love sonnet. In this era, the people had a taste for witty poems with a common stance for the lover to woo his mistress. Thomas Hardy’s poem “Neutral Tones” was in contrast written on a later date during the Victorian era. Although the poems were written in very different time periods, they both share a similar relevance to their conception of love. Both poems are focused on love as their subject matter throughout, although this does not mean that they are alike in structure, form or style. In fact the opposite is true as the two poems contrast in their portrayal of love.

Shakespeare’s poem “Sonnet XVIII” is in fact a sonnet comprising of fourteen iambic pentameter decasyllabic lines which are divided into three quatrains and one rhyming couplet. Hardy’s poem, in contrast, is written in four by four line stanzas. However both poems have a regular rhyming scheme, Shakespeare’s quatrains have alternate coupling rhymes contrasted to ABBA rhyming scheme, which has a definite end to each stanza, just like the end to the relationship. “Sonnet XVIII” uses positive language and is principally based around summer imagery, which gives a sense of a flourishing, prosperous relationship, in contrast with “Neutral Tones” which uses negative tones and winter imagery for Hardy to discuss his love affair with his mistress that appears to be a more than static relationship. The vowels used by both authors are somewhat significant to their portrayal of how their relationships unfolded. Shakespeare uses majorily sharp vowels –e, i, - as an indication to his perfect love whereas Hardy uses softer, more dragging vowels –a, o, u, - along with soft feminine rhymes, which provides a mood of melancholy and wistfulness and tells the reader that the love has gone from his mistress and he. A very interesting point in comparing these two poems is that Shakespeare’s poem is written in the present tense and is a poetic argument unfolding in front of us, whereas Hardy’s poem is in the past tense and is merely explaining what happened in the break up of the relationship.

Shakespeare’s “Sonnet XVIII” opens with a witty, light-hearted tone-

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

This first line is a rhetorical question, and shows the mistress as a woman full of charisma and allure. The rhetorical question gives a facetious and playful beginning to the sonnet and gives the impression of a thriving, loving, passionate relationship. The way, in which the opening line uses summer imagery, -“Summer’s day”- suggests the loving, amorous, ardent relationship, which Shakespeare intended to present to the readers.

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The speaker continues to express this love he feels for his mistress in the next line-

“Thou art more lovely and more temperate;”

- gives the reader a sense of Shakespeare illustrating his mistress as a woman full of physical beauty, which is an analogy of how he feels intimately for her. All the language used here is positive, it is suggestive of how the mistress is more beautiful than a blossoming summer’s day.

Following the theme of beauty and affectionateness, Shakespeare uses the phrase, -

“Darling buds of May”

- to tell her how much he cares about her, ...

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