William Shakespeare 's 'Sonnet 73 ' highlights the continuous anxiety; of speaker the due to the inevitability of old age. Through various poetic techniques Shakespeare underlines that the deterioration of time is arbitrary; and it therefore naturally decays beauty and life. However there is a sense that he expresses love as a stronger force which overcomes the constant decline of youth and time. This is strongly represented by the use of seasonal imagery. Similarly, John Donne utilizes formal aspects in 'A Valediction Forbidding Mourning ' to convey the same view of the strong force of love. Unlike, Shakespeare 's constant reflection on deterioration; Donne presents arguments to reassure his lover that their love can overcome all aspects. …show more content…
Verbs like 'melt ' imply a gentle parting. He does this to add to the sympathy that the poem reflects, thus reassuring his lover that he will come back to her when he leaves. The regular iambic tetrameter and the ABAB rhyme scheme echo 's the emotional strength that Donne feels his love has. Differently, 'Sonnet 73 ' creates a morbid tone due to the constant reference to degeneration. The ABAB rhyme scheme creates the sense of certainty that after time fades so does beauty, and thus this therefore leads to …show more content…
In 'Twickernham Garden ' Donne cleverly uses a spider as the conceit of the poem to comment on the nature of love, to emphasise that just like a spider love traps you insidiously and leaves you helpless. As well as that there is religious connotations to transubstantiation and manna and serpents. By doing this Donne finds another way to create an effective poem in emphasising his meaning and thoughts. The Major conceit in 'A Valediction Forbidding Mourning ' is that of a compass. Samuel Johnson a fellow poet, who coined the term metaphysical poetry criticised Donne by stating that 'the poem 's compass analogy highlights the violence used by metaphysical poets to force the most heterogeneous ideas together. Disagreeing with this statement, Donne 's use of the compass to reinforce the idea that their souls are like the legs of the compass, even though they will physically separate he will always come back as they create something perfect 'Thy firmness makes my circle just and make me end where I begun '. The conceit reassures his lover that it is inevitable that he will return because they are joined spiritually, mentally and physically, and their love is strong because he will always come back to
John uses many examples of figurative language in his sonnet. To begin with, when Mr. Donne first commences his poem, he uses the personification “Death, be not proud” (1). The author is giving death the human characteristics of being “not proud.” The rest of the line continues as “though some have called you thee. ” Death should not be prideful even if people think it is. John displays through this first line how he feels about death: he is too prideful for his own good. Furthermore, Donne uses another personification when he states “Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so” (2). Again, he is giving death, a concept not a human, real characteristics. He believes death is not “mighty” or “dreadful” but something else. It gives his opinion that death is not “dreadful” to people in their lives but possibly beneficial. Later, the poet says “Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men” (9). Death is merely being controlled by things like fate which is the only way he can act. He has no way to move on his own without these other forces. Like with war, death is the result not the cause: death cannot physically make people fight. This comparison devalues death in its importance and therefore its necessity. John Donne’s use of metaphors and personifications in his poem to emphasize his belief that death is not as bad as people or death thinks it really is but can actually be advantageous.
William Shakespeare’s sonnets are renowned as some of the greatest poetry ever written. He wrote a total of 154 sonnets that were published in 1609. Shakespearean sonnets consider similar themes including love, beauty, and the passing of time. In particular, William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 75 and Sonnet 116 portray the theme of love through aspects of their form and their display of metaphors and similes. While both of these sonnets depict the theme of love, they have significantly contrasting ideas about the same theme.
Shakespeare uses many different methods of discourse to examine this theme of love. In both sonnets the lover is exerting his control over the narrator, but the narrator does not really mind being controlled in either sonnet. Both sonnets include many elements and references to time and waiting and all of these references relate to love by showing love’s long lifespan and varying strengths over time. The only major difference between the two sonnets lies in their addressing love. Sonnet 57 talks directly to it in a personifying manner, whereas sonnet 58 merely refers to it through other means. Through this variety of explorations of the theme of love, Shakespeare shows that love has many faces and ways of expressing itself.
In Sonnet number one-hundred sixteen Shakespeare deals with the characteristics of a love that is “not time’s fool”, that true love that will last through all (Ln: 9). This sonnet uses the traditional Shakespearian structure of three quatrains and a couplet, along with a standard rhyme scheme. The first and third quatrains deal with the idea that love is “an ever-fixed mark”, something that does not end or change over time (Ln: 5). Shakespeare illustrates this characteristic of constancy through images of love resisting movemen...
...ne exclusively on himself and his lover. By doing so he says the sun will be shining on the entire world. It is apparent in both poems the tone and language is dramatic, as this is typical of Donne’s writing style. His use of imagery and symbolism effectively present his experience of love. However it is the structure that builds up the emotion throughout the poems as Donne starts in each poem to refer to a seductive love, then in conclusion realises the importance of true love. ‘The Good Morrow’ clearly shows evidence of this when at the beginning Donne states he ‘suck’d on country pleasures childishly’ and in the end understands that a ‘Love so alike that none can slacken, none can die’.
Sonnet 71 is one of 154 sonnets written by William Shakespeare, and although it may rank fairly low on the popularity scale, it clearly demonstrates a pessimistic and morbid tone. With the use of metaphors, personification, and imagery this sonnet focuses on the poet’s feelings about his death and how the young should mourn him after he has died. Throughout the sonnet, there appears to be a continual movement of mourning, and with a profound beauty that can only come from Shakespeare. Shakespeare appeals to our emotional sense of “feeling” with imagery words like vile, dead, be forgot, and decay, and we gain a better understanding of the message and feelings dictated by the speaker.
In John Donne’s sonnet “Death, Be Not Proud” death is closely examined and Donne writes about his views on death and his belief that people should not live in fear of death, but embrace it. “Death, Be Not Proud” is a Shakespearean sonnet that consists of three quatrains and one concluding couplet, of which I individually analyzed each quatrain and the couplet to elucidate Donne’s arguments with death. Donne converses with death, and argues that death is not the universal destroyer of life. He elaborates on the conflict with death in each quatrain through the use of imagery, figurative language, and structure. These elements not only increase the power of Donne’s message, but also symbolize the meaning of hope of eternal life as the ultimate escape to death.
This was one of the most complex Christian doctrines for people to comprehend, the Church of England often referred to it as “original sin”. As the sonnet continues to develop, he asks God if he will forgive him for causing “others to sin” (ln. 8). At this point in the poem, the reader can sense that Donne is starting to become desperate for forgiveness. He is starting to realize the evil he has been a part of in the past and understands that he is in great need of God’s amazing grace. In the third stanza John Donne begins to express the true fear he has of God, venting that he is on “[his last thread], [and] shall perish on the shore” (ln. 14) if not forgiven. He is using a metaphor to compare running out of life to running out of thread while spinning yarn; which was common in the 16th century English culture. In the closing lines of the sonnet Donne writes that “at [his] death thy Son / Shall shine as he shines now and heretofore; / And, having done that, thou hast done, / I fear no more [ln. 15-18]. This is the turning point in the poem when he goes from having tremendous fear, to having none at all. John Donne
John Donne is known as being one of the most famous and influential metaphysical poets. The term “metaphysical," as applied to English and continental European poets of the seventeenth century, was used by Augustan poets John Dryden and Samuel Johnson to reprove those poets for their “unnaturalness.” As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, however, “The unnatural, that too is natural," and the metaphysical poets continue to be studied and revered for their intricacy and originality. Due to Donne’s personal experiences with spirituality and love, he is able to grasp the true meaning of metaphysical poetry (Brief Guide to Metaphysical Poets). Using all the aspects of metaphysical poetry, Donne creates a mysterious metaphoric poem titled, “The Flea.” Throughout this poem, the use of metaphors and breaks into the separate stanzas allow for the audiences to understand what The Flea is really about. At first glance, many read The Flea as a poem that compares sexual intimacy with an animal, but when broken down, it can be seen that the meaning is much deeper than intimacy, but it
While Shakespeare and Spenser have their own sonnet forms and different rhyme schemes, the topics in which they write about in “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 75” possess many similarities. A major theme in both of the sonnets is the idea of immortal love. Both sonnets straightforwardly mention the idea of love eternalizing, defying all of time, and conquering all obstacles. Spenser unmistakably mentions that “whenas death shall al the world subdue, our love shall live, and later life renew”. Correspondingly, Shakespeare declares that his and the subject’s love “shall not fade,” but continue to grow. When it comes to a matter of love defying time, both sonnets remain in synchronization, expressing that even with death, love will go on and remain forever, through poetry and memory. Spenser conveys his lover as one who “shall live by fame”, because through “[his] verse [her] virtues rare shall eternalize”. Evidently, Shakespeare believes that as history writes itself, he and his subject’s love will become one with time because “when in et...
John Donne lived in an era when the lyric was at its pinnacle. Poets were writing well-rounded, almost musical poetry on subjects that ranged from all kinds of love to enchantment with nature. Donne could not help but revolt against this excess of fluency and melody. John Donne's style stands in such sharp contrast to the accepted Elizabethan lyrical style that it becomes difficult to accept the fact that his works date from the same era. To highlight this statement, one has to compare a typical Elizabethan lyric to one of Donne's works.
John Donne's use of deep religious themes, unique poetic devices, and vivid imagery create a stunning and convicting poem. Donne's talents are on full display as he moves through each line with such beauty and simplicity. One can easily imagine his sorrow and pain as he penned the words of this poem and poured his heart into it. Donne's work reminds readers of the sorrow of sin, the necessity of forgiveness, and the hope of restoration. Although he focuses on anguish and sorrow, his message is truly one of joy and hope. All who take his words to heart find internal peace and rejoice in the mercy of their
In the poem, Donne structures each stanza individually as a different personification of love. In the first stanza, Donne compares love to a plague when he says, “Yet not that love so soon decays…that I have had the plague…” (3/6) It is the latter line that Donne implements his use of imagery and conceit. Love is not often compared with “the plague” and this is a very strong interpretation. However while these two images seem different, they do interconnect through the pain and anguish that love can foster. This first comparison of Donne’s is very ef...
In the beginning of the poem Donne is calling the sun an “old fool” and “unruly”, which shows that he is not grateful for the sun shining through their window and waking them up. The second line and third line, “why dost thou thus? Through windows, and through curtains call on us”, asking the sun why he is awaking him and his lover by coming through the curtains and interrupting their blissful night. He asks another question, “must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run?” asking if lovers have to get up just because the sun has risen. Donne uses the words “saucy, pedantic wretch” to now describe the sun, saying that the sun has power some people but not him and his lover. He then goes on to tell the sun to go “chide” the people it still has power over like, children going to school who are late and apprentices who have overslept and are “sour” about it. The sun should be an indication to the huntsmen that the king will want go out and ride and the sun will also indicate to the “ants” that it is a good day to harvest their crops. The sun should not be waking up the lovers, because love does not change
By using metaphysical conceits in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," Donne attempts to convince his love (presumably his wife) that parting is a positive experience which should not be looked upon with sadness. In the first stanza, Donne compares the speaker's departure to the mild death of virtuous men who pass on so peacefully that their loved ones find it difficult to detect the exact moment of their death. Their separation must be a calm transition like this form of death which Donne describes. The poet writes, "let us melt, and make no noise"(line 5). Cavanaugh explains that the word "melt" refers to a change in physical state and says that "the bond of the lovers will dissolve quietly like the soul of a dying man separating from his body"(par. 5). I do not entirely agree with Cavanaugh's idea that the lovers' bond will dissolve, but I do agree that there is a change in physical state. The bond will still be present, only altered because of the absence of a physical presence.