Death is the inevitable and unavoidable conclusion to life. Every human being in the phase of this planet is born with a death sentence. Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 73” tackles the theme of aging and death with an aging speaker who compares his late life to late autumn or early winter. The speaker goes on to explain to his loved one that he/she must express his/her love to him more than ever, as death is upon him. The song “When I Get Where I’m Going”performed by Brad Paisley also tackles the theme of death. The song accomplishes such thing by taking the approach of a man who knows is dying, and who takes a nice approach to it. Before the man dies and gets to experience the beauty of heaven, he explains to his loved ones that he doesn 't want them Images of different different seasons of the year to explain the process of growing older. Images that depict the fading of light in a persons soul transforming into darkness. Images that the reader can perceive as vivid actions. Images that all symbolize one thing, death. In the first quatrain the speaker begins by comparing an old middle age man to a tree with few to none yellow leaves hanging on its branch, and branches moving to the wind of a cold late autumn/early winter day. Image that depicts a lifeless trees and shivering branches, branches that perhaps represent the weak muscles of the speaker. Another image is depicted in the first quatrain containing the same idea. The image of an old church choirs in ruins. In the second quatrain the speaker depicts a moving image of a twilight that can be seen fading on him as the sun sets in the west and soon turns into darkness. Symbolizing the last moments of life the speaker has. In the third quatrain the speaker depicts an image with a similar meaning as the previous, except for one distinctly last thought. The speaker depicts a living image of a bonfire extinguishing and turning into ashes, ashes that may represent his well lived youth. The image gives the idea that ashes represent what once was a beautiful life to the speaker. Overall the images representing the 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
Due to the great amount of Shakespeare's work and its consistent quality, his particular style became known as 'the Shakespearean sonnet form'. A typical Shakespearean sonnet has fourteen lines, broken down into three quatrains and ending with a rhyming couplet. In each quatrain a different subject will be conversed and described, the subject is then changed at the start of each new quatrain. The quatrain allows the theme of the sonnet to be developed. The ending couplet allows what was discussed in the forerunning quatrains to be resolved.
...onsidered to be a huge romantic gesture; it allowed the writers thoughts and feelings to be spoken through words. It was a way to tell their lovers how they truly felt, in what was at the time one of the most romantic ways to do so. It allowed both poets to create dramatic effects when needed, explore their emotions and declare their love as everlasting. This was all done in 14 lines, usually following the structure of an iambic pentameter. The structure of Sonnet 43 can be differentiated from the more traditional Shakespearean sonnet as it follows the structure of an Italian sonnet (also known as the Petrarchan sonnet) rather than the structure of a Shakespearean sonnet. The first 8 lines which are known as the octave imposes a problem of some sort, the first four lines (quatrain) typically introduce the problem; the next quatrain is where the problem is developed.
"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.
In the free verse poem "When death comes" by Mary Oliver, the speaker contemplates what the inevitability of what death means to humans. Structurally, the poem bears no rhyme scheme as it depicts the free thought of the speaker. The voice of the speaker in this poem resonates with curiosity and the idea of life after death. Through the utilization of rhetorical devices such as repetition, alliteration, symbolism, and personification, the reader will come to understand that underlying tone that death is imminent regardless of how one 's life is spent. Within the poem, the source of tension resides in the constant internal struggle to oust the cycle of life and death. In some instances, Oliver’s curiosity and acceptance of death allows her to
First four lines depict the loneliness of aging with the image of season’s change. According to the Shakespeare’s sonnet in Literature written by X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia, the second line of “yellow leaves… do hang upon those boughs” (787) indicates that the setting is late autumn. The speaker also mentions the “bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang” (787) to emphasize the loss of energy since the choir at the church and bird’s song implies that speaker’s life was once grand and filled with glory. In addition, the image of yellow leaves that are barely hanging on the branches in the first quatrain somewhat resembles an old man’s half-bold hair, thus directly pointing to the theme of aging. At the second line, speaker compares seems to reject that he is aging by “[shaking] against the cold” of time (787). The word, “against” underscores that he does not enjoy aging at all. With the vivid image of season’s change, Shakespeare gives an impression th...
A sonnet is a lyric poem of fourteen lines, following one of several set of rhyme-schemes. Critics of the sonnet have recognized varying classifications, but the two characteristic sonnet types are the Italian type (Petrarchan) and the English type (Shakespearean). Shakespeare is still nowadays seen as in idol in English literature. No one can read one of his works and be left indifferent. His way of writing is truly fascinating. His sonnets, which are his most popular work, reflect several strong themes. Several arguments attempt to find the full content of those themes.
"Sonnet 73" by William Shakespeare contains many metaphors to form a descriptive image. Shakespeare used conceits, which are "fanciful extended metaphors" (567), used in love poems of earlier centuries. Shakespeare used these beautifully in "Sonnet 73." A metaphor is a "brief, compressed comparison that talks about one thing as if it were another" (554). Shakespeare expresses three major metaphors in this sonnet. The first is about age, the second about death, and of course, love follows. These three metaphors create an enjoyable poem.
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 its construction the sonnet form presents a great variety of detailed interweaving thoughts for not only the author to expand on and alter at their digression, but also where the reader can engage in its recreation and formulate their own opinions. This allows individual sonnets and their collections equally to offer prospects for a reevaluation of literature and prose, adapting to the meticulous socio-cultural rituals and defined preference of its intended audien
In William Shakespeare’s poem “That time of year,” Shakespeare creates various pictures to describe the passing of time. Each metaphor provides a different way expressing death, and each way expressed shortens as the poem continues. The quickening of events provides a contrast to the deceleration of life. The sequence of time-associated metaphors contributes to the theme of realizing deaths inevitability and taking advantage of final moments by providing very distinct and vivid comparisons between the elapsing of time in life and the illustrations of consumption.In the first quatrain autumn is used as a metaphor. The few leaves that remain to hang are yellowed with age, as illustrated in the following quotation: “When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang, / Upon the boughs which shake against the cold,” (1-3). Showing that age takes its toll, these exposed and bare limbs are left to shake. They have declined in their physical beauty and are more susceptible to the cold and harsh elements of life. Not only are the branches shaking in the cold, they are shaking in fear of what is approaching. Death. The next line speaking of “Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.” (4), seems to refer to the remains of what is left, the exposed and raw elements. The branches of the tree are barren. The place where the “choir” would sing it’s sweet melody is now vacant space. The word “late” can possibly mean dead or approaching death. This leads into the next quatrain that takes place late in the day and on the edge of darkness.The next quatrain contains a more expected metaphor between sleep and death. The sunset symbolizes warmth and life that is fading into darkness. When Shakespeare says, “Which by and by black night doth take a...
Shakespeare sonnets, also called English sonnets, are the second most common sonnets. It takes the structure of three quatrains, that is, three stanzas with four lines and a couplet that is a two line stanza. The couplet stanza is pivotal in the sonnet, because it provides amplification, a refutation or a conclusion of the other three stanzas, which creates an epiphany for the sonnet. The other kind of sonnet is the Spenserian, which has the first 12 lines rhyming into a, b, c and d, while the last stanza, which is a couplet has the rhyme, ee. The three quatrains provide detail about three but related ideas while the couplet gives rise to a totally different idea (Petrarca & ...
All these images talk to the author of the "dying year" (WW, 677/24), of transience of time and of aging. Little by little his mind becomes full of "dead thoughts"(WW, 678/63) which overwhelm him after he penetrates the autumnal mood of nature ^ thus his mind generates the mood of the season and he becomes a part of it. However, observing the autumnal devastation Shelley knows that this season is not to rule over the earth forever: for him it is just a period of "darkness which waits for a redeemer" (Webb, p.178). He expects the time when "Spring shall blow"
Shakespeare's sonnets are a romantic and charming series of poems. His use of rhyme and passionate, eloquent language serve to illuminate his strong feelings. These techniques were probably the most fluent way for such a writer as him to express the immeasurable love that he obviously felt for his mysterious lady. Examining the numerous ways Shakespeare found to describe it, the reader believes that this love was undoubtedly lasting and authentic. He often made heart-felt comments about his emotions that could also suit lovers in the present day. Because of this, and the fact that people read them yet, Shakespeare's sonnets are timeless and universal, just like the concept of love itself.
In the poem, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” by Walt Whitman, He interrupts the rest of the poem for his bird to belt out a song, a song about death. The speaker of the poem was charmed by the song. Whitman uses this poem to push across a new, unmentioned image of death as the “dark mother always gliding near with soft feet.”