A strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen is defined as desire. Desire is an emotion and it is the focus of the poem “Astrophil Laments” which convinces the reader of the power of this emotion. “Astrophil Laments” is a lyrical allegory sonnet consisting of one stanza without a known author or published date. It is written in third person omniscient point of view and focuses on the power of emotions, desire in particular. Through the authors use of sound and diction the poem emits the depth, strength and unpredictability of the power of desire.
Sound devices are resources used by poets to skillfully convey and reinforce the meaning of and feeling and mood of a poem. This sonnet has a rhyme scheme of abba-cddc-efef-gg which is shown to be true in lines 13 and 14, “cries” and “lies”. The rhyme between words in this poem
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In addition to the rhyme scheme in the sonnet there are also examples of slant rhyme. An example is found in lines 5 and 8, “test” and “possessed”. Finally, the speaker uses couplets to create emphasis. For example, a couplet can be seen in lines 13 and 14 and seen above with “cries” and “lies”. To further emphasize the power of desire the speaker uses diction.
Diction is the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing. In the sonnet “Astrophil Laments” the style of language used is complex with many words originating in Latin, as well words linking to Greek mythology. In line 11, “But Stella commentitia, deluxe – “, the complex language is clearly revealed in the word choice of “commentitia”, the Latin
“The Roman Baths at Nimes,” a sonnet, has a unique modified structure which resembeles the main purpose of the poem. Originally, a sonnet was structured as “one strong opening statement of eight lines, followed by a resolution to the emotional or intellectual question of the first part of the poem” (Strand 56). The contemporary sonnet comes in two forms, the Petrarchan and the Shakespearian. Both have fourteen lines but they differ in their rhyme scheme. Cole combines the elements from the original and Shakespearean sonnets to form a unique structure for his poem. He uses a modified rhyme scheme of aabcbcdedefghh, which very closely resembles the contemporary form of the Shakespearean sonnet (because of the final couplet rhyme hh) but not exactly. He incorporates the features of the antique sonnet by presenting his internal struggle in the first ten lines of the poem and in the final sentence, resolving the conflict.
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,
"Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal [but] which the reader recognizes as his own." (Salvatore Quasimodo). There is something about the human spirit that causes us to rejoice in shared experience. We can connect on a deep level with our fellow man when we believe that somehow someone else understands us as they relate their own joys and hardships; and perhaps nowhere better is this relationship expressed than in that of the poet and his reader. For the current assignment I had the privilege (and challenge) of writing an imitation of William Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 87". This poem touched a place in my heart because I have actually given this sonnet to someone before as it then communicated my thoughts and feelings far better than I could. For this reason, Sonnet 87 was an easy choice for this project, although not quite so easy an undertaking as I endeavored to match Shakespeare’s structure and bring out his themes through similar word choice.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet #23 is addressed to the lovely young man, called WH. The speaker is trying to convey his complex feeling towards his lover. He is tongue-tied in the young man’s company and he is trying to explain this awkwardness and express his complex emotions in this sonnet. It is, the speaker says, due to the hugeness of his love, that makes it too heavy to carry. For the author this sonnet is a silent representation of his inner voice. To show the complexity of the situation, he compares poet’s role as a lover to an actor’s timidity onstage. He asks WH to read these silent lines and explains that love will give him the insight to read between lines. The sonnet consists of 14 lines, which are splitted into octave and a sestet, and has typical for Shakespeare’s sonnets rhyme scheme: a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g. He uses first two quatrains to establish a problem and then resolves it in a third quatrain, summarizing solution in the following couplet.
...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.
...a definite and recognizable pattern. This poem is certainly not a sonnet, either in subject matter, meaning, or format. The rhyme scheme for this poem is that of A B B A, C D D C, E F F E, G H H G. There is enough continuity in this rhyme scheme to hold the poem together as a whole through the use of the pattern, however the changing of the actual rhyming words and the fact that, for instance, the A word is only repeated one time (as are all of the others) intensifies the poets feelings of loss over the change in his love's desires. Through the rhyming scheme, the poet is conveying the hopelessness of the two of them getting back together and repeating the beautiful love they once shared.
If we first take a brief look at the formal aspects of Shakespeare's Sonnet, we detect rather easily that it is presented in a very traditional way. Besides the classical end-rhyme scheme, we find a lot of examples ( e.g. line 11) of alliteration, which give the poem a very harmonic and smooth tone. But in analysing the formal aspects, there is a far more interesting and important point. The syntax of the poem already tell us a lot, especially about the word lust (l.2). In twelve of fourteen lines lust is the subject. To put it in another way, we can say that almost the whole poem is subjected - in the sense of being dominated, ruled by something - to lust.
Sonnet is written in the form of a sonnet which is ironic as this form
Throughout much of the poem, the speaker repeats harsh “t” and “d” sounds, “The partial Muse, has from my earliest hours, / Smil 'd on the rugged path I 'm doom 'd to tread” (1-2). This repetition of the harsh “t” and “d” sounds conveys the speaker’s anger towards the talents that have been brought upon her by the Muse. These sounds are very articulate and thus are full of spite. In addition, the speaker employs much softer “s” sounds, “And still with sportive hand has snatch 'd wild flowers, / To weave fantastic garlands for my head” (3-4). In contrast to the passion and spite that characterize the “t” and “d” sounds, the speaker’s “s” sounds are mellow. These softer sounds reflect the speaker’s sadness in regards to the talents that have been brought upon her by the Muse. This unique mixture of consonance continues throughout the entirety of the poem. Even in the ending couplet, the speaker’s consonance continues to build tension. In general, the ending couplet of a sonnet serves to resolve the tension established by the preceding twelve lines. In Smith’s “Sonnet I,” however, the speaker’s unwavering use of harsh “t” and “d” and soft “s” sounds signifies that at the end of the sonnet, the tension remains unresolved, “Ah! then, how dear the Muse 's favours cost, / If those paint sorrow best who feel it most!” (13-14). Similar to the three quatrains, the harsh repetition of “t” and “d” and the soft repetition of “s” sounds continues through the closing lines of the sonnet. Clearly, the speaker is both angered and saddened by the fact that she has the ability to “paint sorrow” simply because she “feels it most.” Throughout the entirety of the poem, the speaker mixes harsh sounds with soft sounds in order to capture the two primary feelings that she possesses: anger and
The speaker uses metaphors to describe his mistress’ eyes to being like the sun; her lips being red as coral; cheeks like roses; breast white as snow; and her voices sounding like music. In the first few lines of the sonnet, the speaker view and tells of his mistress as being ugly, as if he was not attracted to her. He give...
This Shakespearean sonnet consisting of 14 lines can be subdivided into 3 parts. In each part, the poet uses a different voice. He uses 1st person in the first part, 3rd person in the 2nd part and 2nd person in the last part. Each section of the poem has a different theme that contributes to the whole theme of the poem.
In “Sonnet XVII,” the text begins by expressing the ways in which the narrator does not love, superficially. The narrator is captivated by his object of affection, and her inner beauty is of the upmost significance. The poem shows the narrator’s utter helplessness and vulnerability because it is characterized by raw emotions rather than logic. It then sculpts the image that the love created is so personal that the narrator is alone in his enchantment. Therefore, he is ultimately isolated because no one can fathom the love he is encountering. The narrator unveils his private thoughts, leaving him exposed and susceptible to ridicule and speculation. However, as the sonnet advances toward an end, it displays the true heartfelt description of love and finally shows how two people unite as one in an overwhelming intimacy.
Lackluster love is the subject postulated in both sonnets, Petrarch 90 and Shakespeare 130. This is a love that endures even after beauteous love has worn off, or in Petrarch, a love that never was. The Petrarchan sonnet utilizes fantasy to describe love. It depicts love that is exaggerated and unrealistic. Shakespeare’s sonnet, on the other hand, is very sarcastic but it is more realistic as compared to the Petrarch 90. Petrarchan sonnets, also called Italian sonnets were the first sonnets to be written, and they have remained the most common sonnets (Hollander 28). They were named after the Italian poet Petrarch. Its structure takes the form of two stanzas, the first one an octave, in that, it has eight lines, and the next stanza is a sestet, meaning that it has six lines. The rhyme scheme suits the Italian language, which has the feature of being rhyme rich, and it, can take the forms of abbaabba, cdcdcd, or cdecde. These sonnets present an answerable charge in the first stanza, and a turn in the sestet. The sestet is the counter argument of the octave.
Spencer, Edmund. “Amoretti: Sonnet 37”. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Gen. ed. David Simpson. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 2006. 904. Print.
The fourteen line sonnet is constructed by three quatrains and one couplet. With the organization of the poem, Shakespeare accomplishes to work out a different idea in each of the three quatrains as he writes the sonnet to lend itself naturally. Each of the quatrain contains a pair of images that create one universal idea in the quatrain. The poem is written in a iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Giving the poem a smooth rhyming transition from stanza to