‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day’ is about the beauty Shakespeare sees in a certain person, the other sonnet, ‘Let me not to the marriage of true minds’ conveys the theme of true love. Whereas the post-20th century sonnet ‘They say I should not wait about your street’ is about love, and the expectations other women have about feelings, which are expressed.
All three sonnets have the same Shakespearean structure, and they all summarise their feelings about the chosen theme within the last two lines.
‘They say I should not wait about your street’ is a poem, which is structured with the first stanza portraying the views of other women, and the second stanza revealing the view of the woman herself. Hendry uses colloquial language to convey the theme of the sonnet, this may be so that people can understand her situation, and try to relate to it.
Hendry begins the sonnet with the view and opinion of another person, the first few lines express the way women are subservient towards the men;
‘Or go to places where by chance we’ll meet
Or hold your hand unless you as me to.’
These two lines demonstrate the way women try to appeal to men; acting in certain ways, or doing certain things that may make them feel uncomfortable. It also gives the impression that men have control over the relationship as the like to. Hendry portrays these two lines with the sense of weariness, suggesting she is uncomfortable and new to this way of thinking.
She continuous to use this tone within the first stanza of the sonnet, referring to the way the women tell her what to do;
‘They say I should emphasise my waist
And cultivate the arts that make men thirst:’
These lines demonstrate the things women do to tease men, trying to get attention from them, and this also suggests that the main aim of the women is to get a husband, relating back to the pre-20th century view that women had.
The last two lines of the first stanza explain in more detail the way that women play games to encourage men to have feelings for them, but encourage her not to show any feelings for the men. The games that the women play demonstrate a childish approach to an adult relationship;
Should learn to waken lust and yet stay chaste
And should never say “I love you” first’
In some ways the final line suggests that the women are just trying to protect her from a disappointment.
‘But I would come to you clear-eyed and plain
My treasures in a kerchief wrapped…’
The abrupt change of the tone is heard in the first word, the tone is more certain and definite, as well as straight forward and clear, this reflects what is expressed in the first line, she is love, and will not play games, but will tell the person how she feels in a clear and simple way. This line also suggests she will come as herself with no make-up or masks to hide her.
The treasures she brings are not important to others, but are to her; this displays her innocent, pure nature, but also demonstrates a childish aspect of her, such as a weakness.
‘I’d give the first primrose, a daisy chain,
A lucky stone, my heart for your tattoo.’
These two lines display her lack of maturity and innocence further. The ‘first primrose’ is a reflection of spring, and the feelings of her first love like the first primrose of spring. She expresses her love further when she declares that she would give up her heart for his love. The childish items that she would trade for his love are insignificant to other people, but have a lot of sentimental value to her.
‘And when, in time, they say “we told you so”,
My truth I’ll have and they their status quo.’
This final couplet expresses how she feels about the love the man has for her, that he does not feel the same way she does, this also displays how insecure their relationship is. This demonstrates her mature aspect, and is sure she will know the truth about her feelings. The women will tell her she made a mistake, and that they were right, and know that their approaches to relationships are correct. The woman will have learnt from her mistake, and not let it happen again.
Shakespeare’s sonnet; ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ is about the beauty of a love; Shakespeare uses traditional Elizabethan language of the time.
The sonnet begins with a rhetorical question, which dismissed, and the thought is expressed in further detail;
‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.’
Shakespeare decides that the person is lovelier than a summer’s day, and explains that the person does not change rapidly, this could be a reflection of the individual’s personality; they are tolerant, and fair. These first lines give images of warmth and light, and contrast with the next line;
‘Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:’
The first words give a brutal tone, which soften by the end of the line, when references of spring are brought to it. The ‘darling buds of May’ express vulnerability, this line also tries to find a fault with the summer. The colon at the end of the fourth line suggests an expansion of the original idea.
‘Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d:
And every fair from fair some time declined,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimm’d’
The first line refers to the sun; this is a very effective metaphor, suggesting that the sun is wrong in shining too hot. The third line implies that when the sunsets the beauty of people will decline with age. This quatrain focus’ on the effect of age on beauty and the tone is unchanging from the first quatrain.
‘But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st:
Nor shall Death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st.’
Shakespeare uses a counter mount, and uses imagery within this quatrain. Shakespeare is convinced that the person will not loose their beauty, and death is unable to overshadow him, wrinkles will also not affect his beauty. These lines suggest that time, age nor death can change the beauty of the person, conveying that the person is almost beyond human beauty.
‘So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.’
These last two lines contain words that are all mono-symbolic; giving a sense of power and simplicity. A factual tone is used, emphasising the length of the two lines, and the slow pace chosen. The tone also inflicts the idea that the statement cannot be contradicted, and the two lines give the sonnet a balance when read.
The repetition of the words ‘So long’ in both lines emphasise the point made; the beauty is always present.
‘Let me not the marriage of true minds’ is a sonnet about true love which never dies. The sonnet makes some strong links with the church and marriage. There are many images described within the sonnet;
‘Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments: love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.’
The use of the word ‘impediments’ is mentioned in a marriage service, and the third line describes unfaithfulness within a marriage. ‘Alters’ encourage links with the church, and therefore encourage images of love, and never-ending love.
‘It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth is unknown although his height be taken.’
These two lines refer to stars and guiding of the lost, this gives images of the North Star guiding people home. In addition, navigators use the stars for guidance, because they are constant. The star is also personified, with the height of it commented upon.
‘Within his bending sickle’s compass come…’
This line emphasises the sickle, a curved blade, which, in this context, would be associated with death. A strong image of hell is revealed, in contrast to the church images received from the first few lines.
‘But bears it out even to the edge of doom’
The image of hell is resumed in this line, and the use of the word doomed conveys never-ending, forever. The line also implies that true love will still be love even through the bad times, and that love makes you a stronger person.
‘If this be error and upon me prov’d,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d.’
Shakespeare is so confident in true love he expresses it in these last two lines, when he implies that if he is wrong then no man has ever loved. These last lines are hyperbole, exaggerated for effect.
The sonnet has a constant factual tone, and uses iambic pentameter, which is used in all Shakespearean sonnets.
The themes in the pre-20th century compared to the post 20th century sonnet have not changed dramatically; love is still seen to over-power what people say. Beauty is still an element in love, and when you are in love the person is always beautiful to you. Shakespeare suggests that true love is forever, and Hendry also believes this, as in her sonnet she expresses her love, but knows that it is not true love, as he does not feel the same way about her.
The language between the three sonnets have not changed, they have been written so that they can be understood, they language is suitable in the era that they have been written in. The language used by Shakespeare seems incomprehensible to us, because language has changed so much since the Elizabethan times.
To conclude I think that the experiences conveyed through the sonnets by pre-20th century writers do not differ from those conveyed by post-20th century poets, but are conveyed in different ways within the sonnets. Diana Hendry writes of her experience in an unusual way, keeping the Shakespearean structure, but changing the mood into a complicating and confusing one. Her poem gives the impression that at the present time people are confused and uncertain of their feelings.
Shakespeare writes his poems in his traditional way, declaring his love for the person, doing it in the way which reflects his nature, and also the true meaning of love. He also insinuates that people in the Elizabethan times were more conscious of what love is, and how to express their feelings. This suggests that people were simpler, and less confused with materialistic things, which could influence our decisions.
