Theme Of Sonnet 18

John Donne and William Shakespeare are each notorious for their brilliant poetry. William Shakespeare is said to be the founder of proper sonnets, while John Donne is proclaimed to be the chief metaphysical poet. Each poet has survived the changing centuries and will forever stand the test of time. Although both John Donne and William Shakespeare share a common theme of love in their poems, they each use different tactics to portray this underlying meaning. With a closer examination it can be determined that Donne and Shakespeare have similar qualities in their writing.

Known as the leader in classical poetry and drama, English writer William Shakespeare, captures the passion and emotions that the romance and depths of the human heart experiences in life. This is especially shown in his vast collection of sonnets which exemplified the “carpe diem” ideology of the period, and the love that one can have for another. Two of the most famous of Shakespeare’s works, Sonnet 55 [Not Marble, nor the gilded monuments] and sonnet 116 [Let me not to the marriage of true minds], are no exception to this theme in poetry. Both of these sonnets exemplify the love that the narrator has for a mistress in his life, and how he defines his love for them. Throughout both poems, Shakespeare conveys his purpose through the content, the overall theme of love and its permanence, and the form and structure in which the sonnets are written that can sometimes break the traditional rules.

During the Renaissance period, most poets were writing love poems about their lovers/mistresses. The poets of this time often compared love to high, unrealistic, and unattainable beauty. Shakespeare, in his sonnet 18, continues the tradition of his time by comparing the speakers' love/mistress to the summer time of the year. It is during this time of the year that the flowers and the nature that surround them are at there peak for beauty. The theme of the poem is to show the speakers true interpretation of beauty.

In Sonnet 29, Shakespeare, depressed and envious of others, thinks of his love: "Yet, in these thoughts myself almost despising,/ Haply I think on thee, a... ... middle of paper ... ...that time I do ensconce me here/ Within the knowledge of mine own desert." If he should ever have to live without her, his sonnets will remind him of the love that once was. 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.

Another character is woman who is a mistress. Now the question arises that whether his love towards the young man differ from his love for the dark lady or not. Shakespeare’s sonnets include love, the danger of lust and love, difference between real beauty and clichéd beauty, the significance of time, life and death and other natural symbols such as, star, weather and so on. Among the sonnets, I found two sonnets are more interesting that show Shakespeare’s love for his addressee. The first sonnet is about the handsome young man, where William Shakespeare elucidated about his boundless love for him and that is sonnet 116.

Shakespeare's collection of sonnets is heralded as one of the greatest, most ambitious sonnet collections in English literature. Of these154 sonnets, the first 126 of them are addressed to a 'fair youth', a beatiful young man, with whom Shakespeare has developed an intimate friendship. The overarching theme of devotion in antimony to mortality denotes that “Sonnet 18” is predominantly a love poem. Accordingly the purpose of the poem seems initially to be to compare his beloved friend's handsomness with a common symbol of beauty, a fine summer's day. However, Shakespeare actually provides a pragmatic critique of the conventions of love poetry in his doing so.

The use of figurative language and imagery in the two sonnets “How do I love thee” by Elizabeth Browning, and “Shall I compare Thee to a summer’s day” by William Shakespeare, convey complex emotions pertaining to love. The way that Shakespeare describes his feelings toward his significant other, suggests that he desires for the love he shares with his possible mistress to transcend death and last eternally. Mrs. Browning’s use of figurative language is more apparent, as she describes the various ways that she loves this particular person, expressing the extent of her intense unconditional love. Shakespeare uses personification of the Sun, during a summer’s day, to determine whether a summer’s day actually captures the essence of this individual that he loves so dearly. Shakespeare’s sonnet asks a question that he answers when he writes this person into an existence that will last for an eternity, which a limited summers day cannot.

Exploring Love Attitudes in Poetry Introduction: The poems that I have chosen are: 'To his coy mistress' by Andrew Marvell. 'Sonnets 18 by William Shakespeare, and 'To the virgins, to make much of time' by Robert Herrick. All the above poems are poems about the subject of love. Each poem is very passionate and complex in nature when you initially read it for the first time and consequently they have stood the test of time and lasted hundreds of years. This portrays a conclusion to what some poets say because they express how the poems will last forever.

Rather than describe how the poets' loves have changes, both the poets quantify their love and show this sensation through descriptive writing and similes. As it can be seen from this analysis, much of the poetry written prior to the 19th Century was devoted to many types of love, both the sensations and feelings related to this subject, and also the poet attempting to capture in writing how the feeling of being in love has changed him or her both for better and for worse. In the case of the poets discussed here, it is obvious that for those poets, love was experienced as both a burden and an inspiration, as something to long for, and as something to resist. Regardless it is obvious that for these poets, love did serve to change them forever.

The Poem Annabel Lee, written by Edgar Allan Poe, told a tale of love. In this romantic poem the narrator emanates feelings of passion, and overwhelming joy when he speaks of his beloved, Annabel Lee. Although the poem expresses the sorrow of Annabel’s demise, it accentuates the bond between the two characters, so much so that death could not break their eternal love for one another (Poe, 494; 495). Many literary devices were apparent in Poe’s poem Annabel lee. One of which being Rhythm, Poe creates reading that flows, one that is constantly reusing similar sounds to interpret the beauty of the love between the two characters.