Charlotte Smith's "On Being Cautioned against Walking on an Headland Overlooking the Sea, Because it was Frequented by a Lunatic"
“On Being Cautioned against Walking on an Headland Overlooking the Sea, Because it was Frequented by a Lunatic,” Charlotte Smith’s sonnet, comments on the poet’s feelings toward this lunatic and the thought process he instigates in her mind. By using different syntax to describe her two characters, Smith draws the attention of the reader to the message in the sonnet instead of the scene on the surface. The structure of the English sonnet also lends to the poem’s power, giving Smith a perfect avenue to deliver her message.
The poem begins by describing the lunatic as a man with very animal tendencies, “with starting pace” and “with wide and hollow eyes” (lines 2-3) These characteristics alone give the reader a vivid image of how this man acts, and immediately sets low expectations for his character in a social and intellectual sense. His primitivism shows as “his cold bed upon the mountain turf” (6) is mentioned, furthering the image of a wildly sav...
Lauren Alleyne uses the rigid form of the sonnet to navigate through the healing process after being sexually assaulted. Ten years after that night, she writes the sonnet sequence Eighteen, which deviates from the typical sonnet form in the aspects of the speaker, subject, and format. Playing off of the standard sonnet form, Alleyne is able to recount the emotions of that night during the first sonnet in the sequence. The typical sonnet tends to objectify the female body or one’s lover; in this sequence, the sonnets address what happens when an individual acts on these objectifications and assaults Alleyne. Alleyne deviates from the standard subject and speaker of the typical sonnet form to begin the healing process; the process begins
Schoenberg’s libretto is drawn from Otto Hartleben’s German translation of the Belgian poet Albert Giraud’s Pierrot lunaire. In its original form, the work consists of fifty rondels (an antiquated poetic form structurally reliant on textural repetition) describing various commedia scenes and happenings. The poems vary widely in content, some depicting country idylls, others monstrous hallucinations or images of grotesque violence. Hartleben’s translation, by all accounts a significant improvement on the original, applies Expressionistic imagery and techniques to Giraud’s poems, heightening the already latent sensation of frenzied autobiographical narrative.
In Gift from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh shares her thoughts on relationships, love, inner peace, and contentment. During her vacation by the sea to relax and detach herself from the hectic outside world, Lindbergh masterfully provides insights to a reader of any age or gender. Her poetic and flowing style allows the reader to easily absorb the themes from her meditations. She warns against the pitfalls of modern life because of what she calls hectic rhythm, as opposed to a more fluid and natural primeval rhythm. By removing herself from the outside world, she is able to look at life, love, and relationships from a different perspective. Also, she allows the natural world to help her make connections. She provides advice on how to treat our relationships with other people, and our ever evolving relationship with the outside world.
In the poem “An Echo Sonnet, To an Empty Page” poet Robert Pack introduces the narrator who is referred to as the “voice” and his alter ego/subconscious who is referred to as the “echo” in the poem. They exchange questions and answers which reveal the poets prospects and attitudes toward life. The “voice” seems like unsure man, afraid to make a change in his life and live it, because he fears his inevitable mortality. The “echo” which is the man’s subconscious/ alter ego answers the voices questions showing the man a view on life. Beautifully designed, this poem uses the traditional form of a Shakespearean sonnet with the addendum of the “echo” communicating a direct message to the reader. Various literary techniques like symbols, juxtaposition,
Bradstreet, A., & Kallich, M. (1973). A Book of the Sonnet: Poems and Criticism. New York: Twayne Publishers.
The short story is generally a study in human terror. Furthermore, the author explains Poe use of a particular style and technique, to not only create the mood of mystery, but to cause the reader to feel sympathy for the narrator. Poe makes a connection between the storyteller and reader with knowledge and literary craftsmanship.
In the poetry of Margaret “Stevie” Smith (1902-1971), life and death are constantly being juxtaposed. For Smith, life was usually a painful or tedious experience and death a blessed escape from its misery and futility. Having had a religious upbringing, she is also much preoccupied with God, but cannot accept traditional Christian teaching about redemption and heaven. Death is seen as an end, rather than a beginning and a relief, instead of a gateway to a reward. In “Not Waving but Drowning”, Smith’s philosophy of life as a pointless and sad experience for many people, is focused on the event of a drowning man. In the style of the poem, she writes characteristically, here, in the off-hand, irregular lyricism - often bordering on the conversational - which is the distinctive feature of her manner.
Moran, Daniel. “Sonnet XXIX.” Poetry for Students. Ed. David Galens. Vol. 16. Detroit: Gale, 2002. 146-147. Print.
The first half of the poem creates a sense of place. The narrator invites us to go “through certain half-deserted streets” on an evening he has just compared to an unconscious patient (4). To think of an evening as a corpselike event is disturbing, but effective in that the daytime is the time of the living, and the night time is the time of the dead. He is anxious and apprehensive, and evokes a sense of debauchery and shadows. Lines 15-22 compare the night’s fog to the actions of a typical cat, making the reader sense the mystery of a dark, foggy night in a familiar, tangible way. One might suppose that “In the room the women come and go/ Talking of Michelangelo” refers to a room in a brothel, where the seedy women for hire talk about elevated art between Johns (13). The narrator creates a tension in the image of dark deserted streets and shady activities in the dark.
Symbolism and imagery plays a large role in Gwen Harwood’s poems “Suburban Sonnet”, “ Suburban Sonnet: Boxing Day” and “Father and Child”.
Lastly, in 'Glasgow Sonnet' Morgan uses imagery to emphasise how ghastly and somber the Glasgow tenements are of a place. The poet shows us how destitute the tenements are as they are described as being very poor quality with 'roses of mould' growing on the walls. Even though the reader normally associates 'roses' with love and nature, the word mould creates an appalling picture of the spores accumulating across the room. This at first glance could be viewed as a joyful and happy image yet the place is completely opposite when we realise it is not flower but a fungus. This reveals to the reader how their is absolutely nothing positive about this place it is disease ridden, uninviting and uninhabitable. The reader forces us to think about the environment the family are subjected to living in Glasgow in this era which is a modern
...e speaker admits she is worried and confused when she says, “The sonnet is the story of a woman’s struggle to make choices regarding love.” (14) Her mind is disturbed from the trials of love.
In Charlotte Smith’s Elegiac Sonnets, Smith uses nature as a vehicle to express her complex emotions and yearning for a renewal of her spirit. Utilizing the immortal characteristics of spring and the tempestuous nature of the ocean, Smith creates a poetic world that is both a comfort and a hindrance to her tortured soul. Even while spring can provide her with temporary solace and the ocean is a friend in her sorrow, both parts of nature constantly remind her of something that she will never be able to accomplish: the renewal of her anguished spirit and complete happiness in life once more. Through three of her sonnets in this collection, Smith connects with the different parts of nature and displays her sensible temperament with her envy over nature’s ability to easily renew its beauty and vitality.
...ues. The body of symbolism indicates Thomas’s changing view between the writer and his environment and outward look of the relationship with his own children. The use of surrealism provides a vivid image of his life’s despair. Though the poem can be analyze and evaluated from all of the different methods of criticism. The text within the verses indicates that the evaluation of the author is indicative to the psychological critical approach.
In conclusion, Shakespeare’s theme of each sonnet is divided in different ways. His expression of love is somewhat similar to both the young man’s relationship and the dark lady’s. The relationship alternates between the force of love, beauty, jealousy, time, and obligation. The youth shows his affection, but it seems to be false. Shakespeare uses figure of speech to compare ‘nature’ for the love he has for the “dark lady”. His initial feelings; lust and attraction is processed throughout.