The rhyming couplet at the end of the sonnet summarises the theme of immortality in the sonnet in that Spenser uses words surrounding his ideas of mortality and immortality “death”, “love”, “life”. The rhyming couplet between each quatrain and the rhyming couplet at the end of the sonnet are effective in that they give it cohesion allowing the speaker’s situations and events to run smoothly from each other. For example, the second quatrain is his lover’s voice claiming that it does not matter how hard he tries she is mortal and will inevitably die. The rhyming couplet between the end of this quatrain and the start of the next “And eek my name be wiped out likewise./ ‘Not so’, quoth I, ‘let baser things devise’” allow the two separate events of her reply and his final idea of how he will immortalise her to be related and hence the sonnet easier to understand.
Even though the poem was written in 1595 it still has an impact on readers today. For example, the action of the speaker writing his lover’s name in the sand is common to many people in a relationship who would like to preserve an experience forever. As a reader I felt that although Spenser makes the situation in the sonnet seem intimately personal it is infact a very ordinary incident familiar to many couples. The sonnet could therefore have the effect of making those reader’s who are familiar to the incident feel sympathy towards the speaker.
The sonnet ‘Remember’ by Christina Rossetti is also exploring the theme of mortality, however unlike in ‘One day I wrote her name upon the strand’ where the speaker is trying to immortalise his love, the speaker herself is asking to be remembered when she dies. In the octave the reader is given the impression that the speaker is pleading for remembrance however, the sonnet is structured so that in the sestet which follows there is a change of argument and a tone of ambiguity.
The use of the word “Yet” at the start of the sestet is effective in that it emphasises that this is the turning point in the sonnet where the speaker suggests that if remembering will create feelings of devastation ( shown by the darker imagery “ darkness and corruption”) then it will be beneficial for the lover to “forget and smile”. This is an apparent contradiction of the title of the poem which is effective because it draws to light what many readers may feel about mortality: that they want to be remembered even after their death but not if this will bring unhappiness to loved ones. It is unusual for the poet to place a rhyming couplet in the middle of the sestet “And afterwards remember, do not grieve:/for if the darkness and corruption leave”. This is effective however, because as it is unexpected it draws the reader’s attention to the meaning of the poem.
The sonnet ‘Batter my heart’ by John Donne is effectively exploring the theme of faith by using religious imagery and violent imagery to create an impression of the speaker’s wish for a union with God. The tone of the poem which Donne has created is aggressive with a desperation to it, almost as though the speaker is pleading for a union with God “Take me to you”. However, it is ironic that the speaker shows a yearning for freedom yet the only way this can be achieved is to be imprisoned by God “imprison me”. The idea of faith is also explored through the religious tone which is also expressed in the sonnet. For example, Donne includes the theme of marriage, for example “Divorce me” to symbolise the fact that the speaker wants to break away from the sinfulness of his life.
Donne is using natural imagery to describe God’s past efforts to ‘mend’ the speaker, for example the personification of the wind “breathe” and the verb connected to the sun “shine”. This language shows the gentle ways in which God has tried to ‘mend’ the speaker. This imagery is effective because it is a sharp contrast to what the speaker is commanding God to do, for example Donne uses the words “break, blow and burn” to suggest that something more forceful is needed to change the speaker. This presents the theme of faith in that only God has the power to “overthrow” the speaker and even this must be done with extreme violence. The language Donne uses is slightly onomatopoeic and alliterative which is effective as it creates plosive sounds giving an image of torture but suggesting that the speaker is trusting Donne to change him. The enjambement which the poet uses for example, “bend/ Your force” creates pauses making the sonnet sound like a speech or prayer and the jerky rhythm suggests a desperation in this.
Many readers may at first find this sonnet confusing because of the paradox of the emotion which is usually shamed by religious order, that is used to describe the speaker’s longing for a union with God. However, on further readings of the sonnet it is possible that they will sympathize with some of the emotions expressed by the speaker, for example, the feeling of desperation to unite with God and break away from sinfulness which is common to everyday life. I felt that although this sonnet could be regarded as a ‘holy’ one it is not just religious people who will react to the theme of faith in the sonnet. When reading the poem some readers may link their longing to become a ‘better person’ to the speaker’s desperation to be at ease with himself and have God as part of his life.
It is clear that poets such as Edmund Spenser have not simply written sonnets for their own entertainment and well being but for the enjoyment of readers. The situations and experiences which the poets express in their sonnets are often dilemmas or real events which occur in people’s lives in the present day. The effectiveness of these ‘miniatures’ which are compact yet highly emotive is that they invoke similar feelings in the reader regardless of which century they are read in. For example, sonnets which draw together themes of mortality have made readers remember their own feelings of themselves wanting to last forever or their relationship with a loved one.
