In “Sonnet,” Billy Collins satirizes the classical sonnet’s volume to illustrate love in only “…fourteen lines…” (1). Collins’s poem subsists as a “Sonnet,” though there exists many differences in it countering the customarily conventional structure of a sonnet. Like Collins’s “Sonnet,” Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” also faces incongruities from the classic sonnet form as he satirizes the concept of ideal beauty that was largely a convention of writings and art during the Elizabethan era. Although these poem venture through different techniques to appear individually different from the classic sonnet, the theme of love makes the poems analogous. Billy Collins’s “Sonnet” commences with mapping out the structure of a classic sonnet to give foundation to the poem: “All we need is fourteen He continues: “…to launch a little ship on love 's storm-tossed seas,…” (3). The speaker uses the alliteration “…launch…little…love’s…” (3) in this line to give the reader an example of what sonnets usually discuss. This early line brings about the theme of love. Alliteration highlights the frequency of how sonnets usually discuss love and/or the complications of love. By underpinning the poem from the beginning, Collins allows the speaker to speak directly to the reader so one has a mental picture of his poem’s structure: “…then only ten more left like rows of beans…” (4). In this line, the speaker tells the reader that there remains ten more lines left in this poem since he had already used
Collins uses metaphors to teach the audience that with patience, poetry can be understanded easily. For instance, he tells the audience to “walk inside the poem’s
Poetry can portray very visual imagery, so sometimes simple attention to the format of the poem can convey a lot, since imaginations are often stirred by a poem’s visual presentation. In, “Looking for a Friend in a Crowd of Arriving Passengers: A Sonnet,” by Billy Collins, the same line, “Not John Whalen.” is repeated continuously on thirteen separate lines throughout the poem, providing a visual display of a single individual waiting for a friend, as disembarking passengers file past him one by one. Through the use of word omission, a three-word, simple sentence structure and repetition, in the poem “Looking for a Friend in a Crowd of Arriving Passengers: A Sonnet,” Billy Collins conveys the understanding that he is searching a crowd.
"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.
...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 “Introduction to Poetry”, Billy Collins wants to share his passion and love of poetry. It takes work on the part of the reader to comprehend the meaning behind the words, and often times we feel the initial hesitation and apprehension by the lyrics we at first glance don’t understand. Billy Collins shows us that by confronting our fears, and giving poetry a chance, we will not only survive the battle, but possibly enjoy the beauty and adventure along the way. With an open mind, and dedicated time and effort, poetry is nothing to
Anyone who has been in love, especially if the love object is scornful or infidelitous, has been able to turn to any station and say “every pop song on the radio is suddenly speaking to me,” as Ani DiFranco sings in her song “Superhero”. 1 Petrarchan love sonnets, the antiquated predecessors of the modern “pop love song”, depict love with some sense of perfection, sweetness, and chastity, with the beautiful, infallible blonde as the love object, however both with a sense of unattainability. Shakespeare’s later sonnets, 127-152, dealing with the “dark lady”, the antithesis of the Petrarchan model of love, however, may be a more accurate predecessor, nearly all dealing with the torments and imperfections of love and its source, after its having been attained. Sonnets 141-142 are a pinnacle of the later part of the sequence, summarizing the emotions and the object depicted in the other sonnets.
Billy Collins has used a specific metaphor, simile, rhyme and personification in his poem ‘Introduction to poetry’ in order to show how one should better understand a poem. This poem focused on what the poem actually mean and how a poem should be clearly understood. Throughout the poem, Billy Collins has presented a clear way of understanding the poem by using a very interesting imagery, symbolism, metaphor and a very sensitive sound. The words used in this poem are so powerful that the readers are convinced to think about the issue presented in the poem.
In Bright Star, Keats utilises a mixture of the Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnet forms to vividly portray his thoughts on the conflict between his longing to be immortal like the steadfast star, and his longing to be together with his love. The contrast between the loneliness of forever and the intenseness of the temporary is presented in the rich natural imagery and sensuous descriptions of his true wishes with Fanny Brawne. The structure of Bright Star is unique in that it breaks free of the limitations of the sonnet form, a form that is notorious for its strict and constrained nature. The rhyme scheme falls very close to the Shakespearean rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG, in which the last two lines represent the final heroic couplet. However, the rhyme of the ninth line (‘unchangeable’) is never continued, as the eleventh line (‘swell’), which the Shakespearean form dictates should rhyme with the ninth line, doesn’t rhyme fully.
Rollison, Rob. "Introduction to Poetry, by Billy Collins." The Poetry Room. N.p., 05 June 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Two hundred years had passed between the sonnets of Petrarch and the reign of Queen Elizabeth. As a form and structure for poetic life, the sonnet had grown hard. Fourteen lines of rhymed iambic pentameter remained pregnant with possibilities and vitality, but must the sense turn after the octave and resolve in the sestet? Love remained in some ways inexpressible without this basic verse form, but something wasn’t right. Too many rose red lips and too much snow white skin belonging to unattainable lovers did not communicate the prevailing amorous imagination. The conventions were a little too conventional. The metaphors were gone somewhat stale.
William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130”, was published in the mid-1590, and published with the rest of Shakespeare’s sonnets in 1609. The sonnet has fourteen lines, and divided into three quatrains and one couplet at the end. The rhyme scheme is cross rhyme, with the last two lines being couplets that rhyme. The sonnet compares between nature and the poets’ lover or mistress. He shows a more realistic view of his lover. Needless to say his significant other wasn’t physically attractive, yet he loved her inside beauty. Today we may use the term, “It’s not all about looks, but what’s inside”.
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.
Therefore, because William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” and Edmund Spenser’s “Sonnet 75” share the idea that love is sincere and eternal, they can be looked upon as similar in theme. However, although similar in theme, Shakespeare’s intent is portraying the true everlasting beauty of his love, which is already achieved, whereas Spenser concentrates more on trying to entice his desired love, remaining optimistic throughout the entire poem.
Much has been made (by those who have chosen to notice) of the fact that in Shakespeare's sonnets, the beloved is a young man. It is remarkable, from a historical point of view, and raises intriguing, though unanswerable, questions about the nature of Shakespeare's relationship to the young man who inspired these sonnets. Given 16th-Century England's censorious attitudes towards homosexuality, it might seem surprising that Will's beloved is male. However, in terms of the conventions of the poetry of idealized, courtly love, it makes surprisingly little difference whether Will's beloved is male or female; to put the matter more strongly, in some ways it makes more sense for the beloved to be male.
Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” is simply a statement of praise about the beauty of the beloved girl; summer tends to unpleasant extremes of windiness and heat but the beloved woman is more lovely and temperate. Shakespeare deliberately chose nature to compare with love because nature is a lovely creation by God. Shakespeare uses a wide range of literary devices, such as personification, metaphysical conceits, anaphora, tone, imagery, and has recurring themes as well as motifs, to illustrate his darling’s comparison to a summer’s day.