The Power of Love: Truth, Nature or Society? "Sonnet 67" by Edmund Spencer and "Sonnet 130" by William Shakespeare
Daniel Tavakoli Doctor Gaylord English 101000-25 1/24/2002 The Power of Love: Truth, Nature or Society? "Sonnet 67" by Edmund Spencer and "Sonnet 130" by William Shakespeare are two very different poems which converge at a point of portrayal of the woman having the power over the man in a romantic relationship. These poems have different approaches in conveying this message to the reader. At times the power can be expressed subtly as seen in "Sonnet 67" or very boldly as seen in "Sonnet 130". According to Freudian thought there is also a pre-consciousness in "Sonnet 67" and unconsciousness in "Sonnet 130". These beliefs attribute to the fact that the woman has received her power by Nature and by Society. Nature gives them this power because women are the gateway to existence. And although many might disagree with this fact, Society gives women power as well by idealizing women and setting the rule in stone that man has to love a woman. Contrary to popular belief Society and Nature merge together to form a truth of the woman's power. In these poems the power of women is not an absolute truth, for if it were to be an absolute truth the man would have to directly acknowledge the fact that the women are in control. Instead the authors of the poems indirectly hint to the fact that the woman has the power. These poems also convey the image that the beauty of women is not
Compare and contrast Christina Rossetti 'remember' and William Shakespeare's sonnet 71 in detail, considering how the second poem functions as a rewriting of the sonnet form. Pay close attention to matters of form and style as well as content.
Hughes 1 Compare and contrast Christina Rossetti 'remember' and William Shakespeare's sonnet 71 in detail, considering how the second poem functions as a rewriting of the sonnet form. Pay close attention to matters of form and style as well as content. Shakespeare (15 64 - 1616) has made a large and varied use of the sonnet form. In many ways he has conformed to the traditional Pentrachian form and in other ways he has rewritten that tradition. In doing so he has formed the Shakespearean sonnet form that has become a tradition in its own right. Christina Rossetti (1830 - 1894) has used the Shakespearean sonnet and rewritten it to form a style that both conforms to that tradition and drastically differs form it. This essay will consider the ways in which Shakespeare's sonnet 71 and Rossetti's sonnet 'Remember' are examples of the traditional convention and rewriting of the sonnet form and style. The main theme of sonnet 71 (1609) is the death of the speaker. It has not happened yet, this we can tell the use of future tense visible in the first line, 'when I am dead' (l. 1). He is telling his lover that when he dies they should morn for him much longer after he is buried. This use of theme for poetry makes me question whether the speaker means he thinks he will die in the near future, or whether this is just a melancholic thought into the unavoidable? Is it Shakespeare's
Comparison of two shakespearian sonnets
Compare and contrast two pre-twentieth century sonnets by Shakespeare. Ensure you consider the significant aspects of the poet's style, including his intention and the tradition of the sonnet. A sonnet, from the Italian 'sonneto' meaning "little song", has been a dominant form of verse since the thirteenth century. Sonnets have a fixed form consisting of fourteen lines of iambic pentameter and a specific rhyme scheme depending on the type of sonnet it is. The three types are Spenserian, Petrachian or Shakespearian. In the sixteenth century, Shakespeare deviated from the form and created his own form of sonnet. He wrote over one hundred and fifty in his lifetime and became a master of the genre. Though usually written on the subject of love, sonnets are sometimes also written about beauty and nature. The themes of sonnet 130 - my mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun'- are masked underneath Shakespeare mocking the unrealistic comparisons written by other poets of the time. It is only in line's 13 and 14 we realise that he is in fact praising his lover for being real and unlike the woman who are described in unrealistic fashions. However, in sonnet 18 -'shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' the theme of love is introduced from the opening line of the poem. This distinctly questioning line shows how Shakespeare uses a question to deviate from the conventional sonnet
Compare Shakespeare's Sonnet 12 with Shelley's Ozymandias
Task: Compare Shakespeare's Sonnet 12 with Shelley's Ozymandias Both of these Sonnets have been written to show the effect that time has on everything in this world. Though each of these sonnets have been written about completely unrelated subjects, they still both portray the message that everything changes with time. On writing about mutability, Shakespeare has used nature and human life as the basis for his sonnet and the reader is told of how the passage of time changes everything beautiful to destruction. Shakespeare begins his sonnet by giving an obvious example of mutability, describing the daily process of when day turns into night, taking away the brightness and joyfulness of the day, and leaving the world in the brutal darkness of night: "And see the brave day sunk in hideous night." He also gives the example of youths losing their beauty and appeal as they age; "And sable curls, all silver'd o'er with white." This line describes a young man or woman growing up, and how their black curls have turned silvery with age. The first eight lines of the sonnet, describe and give many examples of the destruction that time has on the beauty of nature. In the next quatrain, Shakespeare has come to the conclusion that everything in the world eventually loses its splendour and beauty and will die. "Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake, And die as fast
Shakespeare the satire -
Christopher Pierce ENG 102 0/15/2004 Paper #2 Shakespeare the Satire Many authors compose sonnets about women whom they loved. Most of these authors embellish their women's physical characteristics by comparing them to natural wonders that we, as humans, find beautiful. Shakespeare's "My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun" contradicts this idea, by stating that his mistress lacks most of the qualities other men wrongly praise their women for possessing. Shakespeare presents to one that true love recognizes imperfections and feels devotion regardless of flaws, while satirically expressing his personal thoughts on Petrarchan sonnets. Through the use of comparisons, the English sonnet and an anti-Petrarchan approach, he creatively gets his point across. "My Mistress' Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun" uses comparisons to express Shakespeare's idea of love as opposed to lust. A lustful man would focus on a woman's pleasing physical characteristics, such as white breasts, beautiful hair, red lips, and fragrant breath; however, Shakespeare's mistress possesses none of these great characteristics. Shakespeare, instead, uses metaphors to express her physical shortcomings. "Coral is far more red than her lips' red" (line 2) describes his mistress' faded lips. "If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head" (line 4) shows the coarse, unkempt and dark color of her
The Presentation of Women in Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 and Griffin's Sonnet 39
The Presentation of Women in Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 and Griffin's Sonnet 39 What attitude do their presentations of women reflect? Discuss in detail how the poets' choice & use of language influences your reading of poems. It is evident in both Griffin's poem and Shakespeare's poem that their love for their beloved is matchless; however the presentations and the personal interpretations of the two poets give a totally different message to its readers. It is often in Shakespeare's sonnet 130 that we realize he ridicules his mistress and praises her in a way that misleads its readers to believe that Shakespeare doesn't love her. Whereas, in Griffin's Sonnet 39, he puts his lady as the central motive of the poem and this is obvious as almost every line in his poem begins with the word "her." Without a doubt, the first line in both poems portrays a direct contrast from each other. In Griffin's poem, he compares his lady's hair to "threads of beaten golds" (line 1), which suggests the high status and attractiveness of his lady. On the contrary, Shakespeare begins his sonnet by depreciating the status of his mistress as she is "nothing like the sun" (line 1). This is also seen in the latter lines of the sonnet; her lips are not as red as coral, her breasts are dun-colored and the black wires growing on her head. (lines 2-4). In Griffin's sonnet, we can see how he praises
Sonnet 130: The Meaning Analysis
Sonnet 130: The Meaning Analysis On the face of it this poem looks like a love poem, but yet there is so much more hidden in the lines. One can initially analyse this poem by looking at each line to find out the true meaning. My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; My mistress' eyes look nothing like the sun. This is the opening to the poem and on 1st reading it seems to mean the opposite of what Shakespeare may have intended. However this line sets the tone for the rest of the poem. Coral is far more red than her lips' red; Coral is far more red than her lips are red. If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If snow is white then her breasts are dull brown If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. If hairs are wires, then black wires grow on her head I have seen roses damask'd, red and white, I have seen roses of pink, red, and white But no such roses see I in her cheeks; But her cheeks are like none of these colours And in some perfumes is there more delight And some perfumes smell more delightful Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. Than the breath that reeks from my mistress I love to hear her speak, yet well I know I love to hear her speak, yet even though I know well That music hath a far more pleasing sound; That music has a far more pleasing sound I grant I never saw a goddess go; I know I have never seen a
Pre-1914 Poetry William Shakespeare (1562-1616) Sonnet 29, and Sonnet 130.
Regina Forrester 4thNovember, 2002 GCSE ENLISH Pre-1914 Poetry William Shakespeare (1562-1616) SONNET 29 SONNET 130 Compare and contrast Shakespeare's attitude to his mistress in these two sonnets "Will you then write me a sonnet in praise of my beauty?" Margaret Much A Do 5.2 "It is the east, and Juliet is the sun" Romeo Romeo and Juliet 2.2 Shakespeare is renowned not only for his ability in writing plays, but also for his talent in writing sonnets. Shakespeare wrote over one hundred and fifty sonnets, most of which concern love and affection. In this essay, we will be looking at two of his famous sonnets, Sonnet 29 and Sonnet 130. Shakespeare's description in Sonnet 29 gives us a clear insight of what people expected to read in the sixteenth century. However, Sonnet 130 counteracts Sonnet 29 by subverting convention. We will be looking at their similarities and differences. In Sonnet 29, Shakespeare is expressing his admiration of a loved one. The sonnet reflects on the poet's insecurities ("I all alone between my outcast state"); this illustrates his state of self-pity. As we read on further through the poem ("And look upon myself and curse my fate") we can comprehend that this poet is almost self-loathing. He feels envious ("like him with friends possessed"); and, as we draw nearer to the octave ("With what I most enjoy contended least") we
The Dark Lady in ShakespeareŒs Sonnets.
The Dark Lady in Shakespeare´s Sonnets Index Introduction page 3 The Identification of the Dark Lady page 4 Epilogue page 11 Bibliography page 13 Introduction More than three and a half centuries ago there was a small volume, entitled "Shakespeare´s Sonnets: Never Before Imprinted", published in London. It contains 2155 lines and 1055 rhymes. There are 154 short poems, all except three which are regular sonnets of fourteen ten syllables lines and also a narrative poem called "A Lovers Complaint". Most of the first 126 sonnets are clearly addressed to a young man (most likely Mr.W.H., who is mentioned in the dedication, see p.7), and seem to form one sequence, which is terminated by a poem of six couplets, not in sonnet form, which tells the story of a girl who has been seduced and abandoned by an attractive but hartless young man.1 Of the remaining twenty-eight, all except 129 and 146, in which the poet moralises on the themes of lust and human vanity, appear to have been written either to or about a mistress. She seems to be the same women referred to in the sonnets 33-35 and 40-42, which deal with a wrong done to the poet by his friend.2 The Sonnets 127-154 tell us about the theft of Shakespeare´s mistress by another man.3 The mistress is described as being black in her hair as well as in her eyes, her skin is dun, she has neither red lips nor rosy
Discuss the use of sonnets through the ages.
Discuss the use of sonnets through the ages. Sonnets became a popular form of poetry from the sixteenth century onwards in Elizabethan England. Although the sonnet originated from Sicily sometime in the thirteenth century, over time it developed into three types, Petrachan, Spenserian and Shakespearian. The sonnet can always be recognised by its fourteen lines, traditionally of iambic pentameter with a clear rhyme. Sonnets often discuss different themes and attitudes of the periods of time they were written in. Many sonnets of Elizabethan England, were written by perhaps the most famous poet of that time, William Shakespeare, hence the English sonnet was named after him. Sonnets proved very popular around this time. The Shakespearian sonnet can be described as a romantic, dramatic and often clichéd portrayal of love. Sir Philip Sydney's sonnet 'with how sad steps, O moon thou climb'st the skies!' is a depressing story of a young man's heartbreaking experience with the person he loves. He considers that everything in the surrounding area is joining him in his mourning and he even begins to consult the moon about his recent troubles. He speaks harshly of women and how they do not want to love someone but yet want to be loved. This sonnet is typical of the era in which it was written because it shows us an exaggeration of love and a mourning of lost love.. The atmosphere