"I will put Chaos into 14 lines"

Edna St. Vincent Millay's "I will put Chaos into 14 lines" sonnet is very vague on the surface. If you dig deeper, there could be a variety of interpretations. One interpretation is that this sonnet could be about a man. 'Him' is referred to constantly throughout the sonnet. If you go with that theory, then the sonnet would be about a relationship with the man who seems chaotic to the narrator. The 'I' is trying desperately to make some sense of 'him'. Her goal is to 'make him good' (14). That is only one possible argument, which could be argued, based on textual clues. The more likely interpretation is that this sonnet is about writing a sonnet. What helps lead the reader to that conclusion is evidence from the first line: "I will put Chaos into fourteen lines" (1). 'Fourteen lines' is typically the length of a sonnet, and this particular sonnet is 14 lines. Now that we know what this particular sonnet is about, what does Millay have to say about writing sonnets and how does she say it? These questions will be explored in this paper. The first step is to look at the sonnet structure itself. This is a Petrarchan sonnet and follows the typical structure for this form. There is an octave, sestet and there is a rhyming scheme. The octave follows the typical rhyming scheme of ABBAABBA. The rhyme scheme in the sestet is CDCDCD and is a variation to the typical rhyme scheme. "What

  • Word count: 1042
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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"in the park"

Gwen Harwood's "in the park" Gwen Harwood's "In the park" is a poem about a lonely woman sitting in a park with her children, while a man she once loved passes by. The poem is set in Petrarchan sonnet form, with the first eight lines showing us the woman's trouble and problem. However in the last six lines we see that the woman and this man will never re ignite, the last lines offer the solution to the problem. The title in this poem is very plain and almost reflects the woman and her life. Harwood begins the poem with an image of a poor woman with "out of date" clothes; this is a powerful impression on the reader as it immediately states that she is probably poor. The woman's children "whine and bicker" which shows us that she may have lost interest in her children and is not giving them enough attention as they "tug her skirt". Another child is very bored with herself that is shown through drawing "aimless patterns in the dirt", this notion of boredom reflects directly on the life on the disheartened woman. The last line is very important, it shows us that that the woman has no self-confidence and no will to change things either. The line also shows the reader that she once had a real relationship with a man. The enjambment over the first to second stanza creates a wonderful effect as the reader sees it as "too late" to do anything but if one was to read on they would

  • Word count: 698
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Consider the Development of the Sonnet from the 14th Century to the Modern Day

Consider the Development of the Sonnet from the 14th Century to the Modern Day. The word sonnet is the English translation of the Italian word sonetto, a 'little sound' or 'song'. A sonnet is a poem consisting of fourteen lines, ten syllables in English and Italian and generally twelve in French. There are three basic sonnet forms, the Petrarchan, which is an eight lined and a six lined (octave and sestet) sonnet with no rhyming couplet; the Spenserian, consisting of three quatrains and a couplet; finally the Shakespearian, consisting of three quatrains (four lines) and a couplet. There are different styles of sonnets all over the world. For example, France has its own unique structure that their sonneteers write in and the same with other countries. With all these different countries having different styles of writing that also means there are also different rhyming schemes. Reading sonnets is a great way of learning about different cultural aspects of life; for example during the seventeenth century the central theme of most sonnets was religion. During this time it gave people a great opportunity to learn about many different religions. The use of enjambment occurs in many sonnets. Enjambment is the running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a syntactical break The first sonneteer was Italian, his name was Francesco Petrarch. He was

  • Word count: 1326
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Critical appreciation on Shakespeare's

Assignment no1 Assignment Submit date: Subject: "To his love" Sonnet no "cvi" 106 Object: Write a critical appreciation Teacher: Mrs. Kaukab Tariq Class: BA-1 (a) Student: Madiha Idrees Motiwala Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616, English dramatist and poet, b. Stratford-on-Avon. He is considered the greatest playwright who ever lived. He is also a sonneteer. His father was John Shakespeare. In 1582 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior and pregnant at the time of the marriage. They had three children: Susanna, born in 1583, and twins, Hamnet and Judith, born in 1585. In 1594 Shakespeare became an actor and playwright for the Lord Chamberlain's Men, the company that later became the King's Men under James I. Until the end of his London career Shakespeare remained with the company; it is thought that as an actor he played old men's roles, such as the ghost in Hamlet and Old Adam in As You Like It. In 1596 he obtained a coat of arms, and by 1597 he was prosperous enough to buy New Place in Stratford, which later was the home of his retirement years. In 1599 he became a partner in the ownership of the Globe theatre, and in 1608 he was part owner of the Black friars theatre. Shakespeare retired and returned to Stratford c.1613. He undoubtedly enjoyed a comfortable living throughout his career and in retirement, although he was never a wealthy man.

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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An Analysis of Shakespears "Sonnet 106"

Analysis of Shakespeare's "Sonnet 106" "Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your sonnets." -Oscar Wilde The original sonnets were written by Francesco Petrarca in Italy. The word sonnet comes from the Italian word sonetto meaning "little song". The Italian sonnet is made out 14 verses that are split into two parts. The first eight lines, called the octave, describe the problem while the six last lines, sestet, provides the solution. This form is different than English sonnets such as Shakespeare "Sonnet 106". English sonnets still have 14 verses but they instead have three quatrains and one rhyming couplet. The first part, like the Italian sonnet, presents the problem. The second and third part complicated this situation further. Then the last part, the rhyming couplet, resolves the presented problem usually in a way that makes it a paradox. Sonnets are written in a strict rhyming and meter scheme. Iambic pentameter is used as a device in writing sonnets. This means that each line has ten syllables that alternate from hard to soft tones. The rhyming scheme for English sonnets is abab cdcd efef and gg for the rhyming couplet. We will be taking a look on Shakespeare's "Sonnet 106". Shakespeare's sonnets are much different from Francesco Petrarca's sonnets. Petrarca's sonnets are about love and beauty while Shakespeare's sonnets are mocking

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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“Love, time, death and loss have all been the inspiration for sonnets.” Discuss how this applies to the sonnets you have studied and comment on their technical variety.

"Love, time, death and loss have all been the inspiration for sonnets." Discuss how this applies to the sonnets you have studied and comment on their technical variety. The themes of love, time, death and loss are often and easily linked for obvious reasons. As far back as poetry and writing date, these themes will be clear within them. Often the inspiration for tragic or despairing poetry, one should perhaps observe the sonnets which are particularly linked to such subject matter. William Shakespeare's Sonnet 73 is about time bringing forth potential loss of love and the unavoidable consequences of age. The sonnet opens with a revelation of the time of year, imagery of autumn, the end of the year and the autumn of his own life. It is reflective almost to the point of wallowing; the sun is fading, the yellow leaves "do hang" and there is a poetic link to singing birds, highlighting the ever-present bitter sweet melancholy within the piece. The first quatrain begins to set the tune of the sonnet, using the concept of time within the seasons with an almost literal landscape foundation; the descriptions of nature are at their oldest, ravaged by time and nearing their ending. Shakespeare uses various parallels, drawing one in as the almost literal portrayal being in the 'autumn' of his own life. The second quatrain is also a careful parallel within these concepts of time,

  • Word count: 1783
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Analyse Shakespeares attitude to love

Write 600 words on Shakespeare's attitude to love Sonnet 18 presents an idealistic, romanticised view of love. The true essence of the poem serves to depict the poets' love for the subject through an almost eternal/everlasting love, "but thy eternal summer shall not fade", and even states, "as long as men can breathe...this gives life to thee". Focusing on the stability of love, the subject of the poem is presented to the reader as a somewhat, glorified, perfect human being in that firstly, he is compared to summer, "shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" and secondly, the subject is summer, "thy eternal summer shall not fade." Sonnet 130, on the other hand, presents a more realistic perception of love than the previous. Unusually, Shakespeare, goes against the usual traditional, romanticised, love poetry, to present the reader with a negative comparison that, pokes fun at the typical exaggerated love poetry. "But no such roses see I in her cheeks." In conventional love poetry, we would expect the subject to be elevated and glorified, as in Sonnet 18; yet, this is not the case. The subject of the poem is compared in a negative manner as seen through the poets' senses. He sees her eyes as "nothing like the sun". He compares her smell to that of perfume "and in some perfumes is there more delight", which shows that he is not overly excited by her. We would expect the

  • Word count: 1040
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Shakespeare was much more than just a playwright. He was also an artist of words in the era of language known as sonnet poetry.

"To be or not to be that is the question." This line was from one of Shakespeare's more famous plays, Hamlet. Although many people don't know this, Shakespeare was much more than just a playwright. He was also an artist of words in the era of language known as sonnet poetry. Sonnet poetry divides into three quatrains (four-line groupings) and a final couplet, rhyming abab cdcd efef gg. The structure of the English sonnet usually follows the Petrarchan, or explores variations on a theme in the first three quatrains and concludes with an epigrammatic couplet. In sonnet sequences, or cycles, a series of sonnets are linked by a common theme. Within Shakespeare's Sonnet sixty, Shakespeare explains the importance of life and how precious time is to man by using imagery that relate to time. In the first four lines of the sonnet, Shakespeare is explaining how life is always changing and also how the life of man is short, just as the wave of the seas makes it's way toward the shore. In lines number two and three of the sonnet, Shakespeare is telling the reader that life goes from generation to generation; not necessarily as exactly as the last life but similar. Just as man produce offspring to carry their name from generation to generation and like the waves, "each changing place with which goes before," their offspring look similar but not identical to the "master mold" from which

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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A critical appreciation of 'to my mother' by George Baker.

Sonnet To My Mother Most near, most dear, most loved, and most far, Under the huge window where I often found her Sitting as huge as Asia, seismic with laughter, Gin and chicken helpless in her Irish hand, Irresistible as Rabelais but most tender for The lame dogs and hurt birds that surround her,- She is a procession no one can follow after But be like a little dog following a brass band. She will not glance up at the bomber or condescend To drop her gin and scuttle to a cellar, But lean on the mahogany table like a mountain Whom only faith can move, and so I send O all her faith and all my love to tell her That she will move from mourning into morning. George Barker A critical appreciation of 'to my mother' by George Baker This sonnet by George Baker is, as the title suggests, a tribute to his mother, evidently, at the time of the aerial bombardment of Britain by the Luftwaffe in the Blitz during the Second World War. The poet was then, apparently, living in a far distant part of the world, as he refers to his mother being 'most far'. This was probably some time between 1942 and 1943 when Baker was living in the U.S.A and Canada. The poet's intension is not only to pay tribute to his mother but, more specifically, as the poem is addressed 'to' her, to send her his love and expression of his firm belief that she will 'move' from 'mourning to morning', in

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Compare and Contrast three of the “Best Words” poems on love relationships. Examine the natures of the relationships conveyed and the ways in which the poets present them. Which of the poems most interests you? (provide your reason).

Compare and Contrast three of the "Best Words" poems on love relationships. Examine the natures of the relationships conveyed and the ways in which the poets present them. Which of the poems most interests you? (provide your reason). The three poems that I have chosen to examine are: 'Ballad', which is anonymous, 'Shall I Compare Thee...' by William Shakespeare and 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' by John Keats. The three poems have both their similarities and their contrasts, which makes them a good selection to study. The first and most obvious contrast, and reason for contrast between the three pieces is the time they were written- with the Ballad being anonymous, we cannot say when it was written, but the other two were written a couple of centuries apart. 'Shall I Compare Thee...' during either the sixteenth or seventeenth century and 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' in the nineteenth. This gap, in the times they were written, means that some of the language used in the poems is different, both from each other and from language spoken now. A further reason for the contrast in language used is the audiences they were written for. The Ballad was passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, and would have most likely been told in inns and taverns. 'Shall I Compare Thee...', being written by William Shakespeare was aimed at people who attended the theatre. This ranged

  • Word count: 2138
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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