Sonnets - These three poems written by Shakespeare are old poems about love.

SONNETS These three poems written by Shakespeare are old poems about love. A man is speaking about love to another to woman, his lover. They are all about comparisons and in situation of telling the truth, being honest, which leads to trouble, buts he gets out of it. They are all about love and time and living in time. They describe love as a strong and passionate feeling. In the poem "Shall I compare thee", the poet began by asking his woman a question, which is a compliment and a comparison, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day"? This question is to tell the woman comparing how beautiful, "fair", she is, "but thou art more lovely and more temperate". He then remembers the bad things about summer, and then life, troubles she will face, by finding faults with a summer day, "And summer's lease halt all too short a date, (lines 3-7), time is short. He also describe the changes in human life in lines 7 and 8, saying accident can occur in life and therefore disfigure the beauty of a woman, "By chance or natures changing course untrimmed". By doing this, he gets himself into trouble but able to get out of it by a strange thought, (lines 9-12), "But thy eternal summer shall not fade". He also made a promise she will "Not by having a dreadful thought of death using personification in lines 11 and 12, "Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade". He also frees himself of

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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'The course of true love never did run smooth'By what techniques does Shakespeare prove this to be the case in a Midsummer Night's Dream?

'The course of true love never did run smooth' By what techniques does Shakespeare prove this to be the case in a Midsummer Night's Dream? I have been studying A Midsummer Night's Dream and exploring how the characters within this play deal with love and the consequences resulting from falling in love. I will be answering the question asked by providing quotes and examples of Shakespeare's technique in showing that 'The course of true love never did run smooth' as well as providing answers as to why Shakespeare made this the case in the play. Shakespeare was born on the 23rd April, in an English town called Stratford-Upon-Avon in the year 1564. He lived for 52 years, and in this time he wrote over 100 plays and sonnets, including 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Macbeth' and 'Henry V'. He died on his birthday, St Georges Day. Another interesting thing to consider is that all of Shakespeare's actors were men because women were not accepted on stage in the 16th century. This would seem quite strange to a modern audience as we have to imagine the lovers' scenes being acted by men. A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's comedies. The main characters in this play are four young lovers - Hermia, who loves Lysander, and Helena, who loves Demetrius. The problem is, both the men love Hermia, which is heartbreaking for Helena. Hermia's father would rather see her marry Demetrius, but

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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I am very bothered" by Simon Armitage, "I wouldn't thank you for a Valentine" by Liz Lochhead and "First Ice" by Andrei Voznesensky are poems where the poet uses different styles of writing.

From the poetry you have studied on the theme of love consider how three different poets have revealed their attitudes and experiences through their writing. As long as there has been poetry there has been 'love' poetry. Many poets express their feelings through their writing, therefore many poets write about love and other emotions and feelings attached to it. Different poets have different styles of writing, so approach that particular subject in different ways. "I am very bothered" by Simon Armitage, "I wouldn't thank you for a Valentine" by Liz Lochhead and "First Ice" by Andrei Voznesensky are poems where the poet uses different styles of writing. "I am very bothered." By Simon Armitage is a confessional monologue. The poet is reflecting on past events, he is addressing a woman he loved as a teenager. The poet does not use a rhyming pattern, but instead uses an irregular pattern in three blocks, possibly because he wants the reader to concentrate on what he has to say, as it is important to him. He uses a personal, narrative style to express his feelings, leading to his final admission: "If you would marry me." although he claims that's not what he wanted to say by saying, "Don't believe me," he wants to make a better impression, to show he can say how he feels without having to hurt or scar her. The poet uses images associated with burning; he describes in graphic

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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'Why would someone wait until marriage to have sex? What benefit is there? Why is virginity a special gift?'

'Why would someone wait until marriage to have sex? What benefit is there? Why is virginity a special gift?' I'm a virgin, and waiting to share that special gift of human sexuality with that one person I will commit the rest of my life to in marriage (when and if :) A strong foundational supports of a marriage is intended to be the exclusive physical/emotional bond of sexual union. One of the most beautiful ways I think of saving myself for my future wife is looking at it this way: I'm going to love her SOOOO much that right now, as I go through life (even though I don't know for sure who it is I may marry :) I am saving this GIFT. And I want to give this GIFT only to her, a one of a kind, the most precious person I will ever meet. And she DESERVES it. That gift I will have hopefully kept to show her that she is something REALLY, REALLY SPECIAL. And you know what, I know she will appreciate that with her whole heart. In today's society it's a rare and unique person who wishes to save that gift of sexual union for his/her lifetime marriage partner. I would encourage anyone questioning, feeling the peer pressure, the societal pressure, the boyfriend/girlfriend pressure, to wait until you both enter that lifetime covenant with each other. What could be more exciting, more special, more emotional than sharing the wonders of sex with your one true and dedicated love!?! Think

  • Word count: 7480
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Comparison of Porphyria's lover by R.Browning & La Belle Dame san merci by J.keats

COMPARISON OF 'PORPHyRIA'S LOVE' BY r.BROWNING AND 'LA BELLE DAME SAN MERCI' BY J.KEATS The narrator in 'Porphyria's lover' is the man who murders Porphria, who is Porphyria's lover. The poem is in past tense, but at the end of the poem it changes into present, it makes you feel that it has just happened. In 'La Belle Dame San Merci' there are two narrators. In verse one there is a person passing by who asks a question and repeats it in verse two, "Oh what can ail thee knight at arms," and "Oh what can ail thee knight at arms" the knight might not be responding because of his love for the faery lady. In verse four the knight takes on the role of the narrator and starts to tell his story. The form of both poems differs. In "Porphyria's lover" there is one long narrative which works well because it enhances the drama, emotions and atmosphere of the story line. The poem is in a monologue because Porphyria's lover talks about the murder, which is different from "La Belle Dame San Merci." "La Belle Dame San Merci," is written totally differently from "Porphyria's lover," It has a regular form of twelve verses, of four lines each and a regular rhyming scheme with every other line rhyming. (Verse 1 and verse 2 are questions, which are answered in verse 12). It's raining when Porphyria came in to the building. She took off her cloak off and hung it up. She then lit the fire

  • Word count: 1546
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Beauty and the Beast- Characters and Plot.

Beauty and the Beast- Characters and Plot A long time ago, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away, but she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart, and as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his twenty-first year. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast..........

  • Word count: 2891
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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La Belle Dame Sans Merci Analysis

La Belle Dame Sans Merci 20th September 2008 La Belle Dame Sans Merci is an allegorical poem that uses folklore and tradition to represent ideas about life and impending death. These two contrasting themes are represented with the use of nature as a moderator for the author's imagery and diction throughout the twelve stanzas of the poem. We can relate the emotions conveyed by the young, dying knight to the author, who was also very young at the time and was dying of tuberculosis. Stanzas 1 - 2 Stanza one opens with an unknown persona in the 3rd person. This suggests an omnipresent, mysterious being that knows of the subject. The unknown person immediately addresses the subject as the 'knight-at-arms' who is 'alone and palely loitering'. This unknown speaker is an ambiguous character; he could be a mere passer-by that asks the knight 'what ail thee' or maybe a voice inside the knight's head encouraging the knight to pick himself up from a world 'where no birds sing'. The author uses the environment to describe the state of the knight, for example, the withered sedge could symbolize the knight's bad health. The second stanza opens, repeating the first line in the first stanza. The second stanza then goes on to describe the knight as 'haggard' looking in a world where the 'harvest's done'. This incremental repetition shows a different perspective on the knight. The first

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Comparing Shakespeare and his sonnet, 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day', The well known poet and songwriter of the Jacobean age John Donne and his poem 'The Flea', and the well known American poet Walt Whitman and his poem 'To a Stranger'.

Love is a theme which seems to be unescapable. It is in everyday life and it affects everyone. Love has been a topic of much of the great literature which we keep in high esteem. Thus it is an ideal theme to do as the three poems being analysed are pieces of great literature, mainly from the cannon of literature. In this lecture the poets being analysed are the immoral poet and play writer of the Elizabethan age, Shakespeare and his sonnet, 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day', The well known poet and songwriter of the Jacobean age John Donne and his poem 'The Flea', and the well known American poet Walt Whitman and his poem 'To a Stranger'. 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day' was one of William Shakespeare's most famous sonnets. It was written in the Elizabethan Age which was from 1588 - 1603. In the Elizabethan age it was customary for gentleman to write love sonnets about their lover and give it to them. As William Shakespeare was a brilliant poet and play writer of that age he was thought of to be the ideal English Renaissance man and was thought of very highly by nobles of the land. Shakespeare's upbringing was irregular to that of someone else in his position. His father John Shakespeare was a Glover and leather merchant which was not a highly paid position. His mother Mary Arden was a landed heiress which allowed for some benefits to come to Shakespeare

  • Word count: 2355
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Comparing between Freedom and Lady of Shalott

Comparing between Freedom and Lady of Shalott In both poems, Freedom and Lady of Shalott, the titles are quite mysterious, as they don't give much information as to what the poem is about. When reading Freedom, we thought the poem would be about cages and being locked up. However, the poem turns out to be about love and relationships. We were surprised because love is thought to be good. The same happened when we read The Lady of Shalott, as it is a mysterious name, which only suggests that it is about a lady. After reading the poem we were surprised because the poem starts of being about cages and being locked up, but then changes and combines with love. When this happens we can see that both writers have the same opinion that love is painful and hurts. Although in freedom he talks about love being confined whereas in some way Lady of Shalott says that love sets you free. However, both writers express that love has consequences. Freedom is arranged effectively on the page as it is all in one verse. Although this poem is short, it doesn't matter because he gives us all the information. It suits being like this because it gets straight to the point he wants us to know about. Because this poem is set out like this it shows that he doesn't want you to question his views or think about them, he just want you to accept them. Also the way it is laid out creates an

  • Word count: 3057
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Compare and contrast the way love is presented in My Last Duchess and two other pre 1914 century poems we have studied.

Compare and contrast the way love is presented in My Last Duchess and two other pre 1914 century poems we have studied. The poems I will be studying are My Last Duchess, First Love and A Woman to her Lover. I chose these poems because the all have something in common and they all have something different about each other as well. My Last Duchess is about a man who marries and woman and then kills her. He kills her because she doesn't appreciate him and she flirts with other man instead of him. We also learn that he has had other girlfriends that he has murdered. I chose this poem because it is from a mans point of view about love and instead of talking about love in general the poet talks about his girlfriend. First Love is about a man who is in love with a woman but she never notices him. Even though she doesn't like him he still loves her. This is what makes this poem so interesting. I chose this poem so I could compare it with My Last Duchess because they are both from a male prospective. A Woman to her Lover is about a woman who thinks that her boyfriend is using her as a housewife and just wants sex. She will only marry him if he is dedicated for life, then she they will love each other forever. I chose this poem because is it from a woman a woman. This means that I can then compare this with the other two poems that are written by men. In My Last Duchess there is a

  • Word count: 1120
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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