In this essay, I will argue that Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116,” is the best, truest, representation of mature, long-lasting, human love compared with Ben Jonson’s “Song to Celia,” and John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning.” All three poets have challenged or varied the use of the Courtly Love Tradition in their love poems. However, I will argue that through Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, he modified the theme of the Courtly Love Tradition to make it more honest, true, and everlasting. The poem, “Song to Celia,” written by one the of metaphysical poets Ben Jonson, is a poem more about unrequited love rather than true love. The speaker in the poem uses different ploys in order to win over his beloved’s heart. Based on the first couple of lines in the poem, the speaker is deeply …show more content…
13-16). In these lines, his beloved sent the flowers back to him as a sign of rejecting his love and she also breathed onto the flowers. The speaker concludes that the roses that were sent back continued to grow and smell, not because of nature’s doing, but because his beloved breathed life into them and gave them immortal powers. Mentioning her sweet breath is also connected to the Courtly Love Tradition. From the first lines of the poem, the speaker suggests that all he needs is a physical look from her eyes from him to pledge and commit his love for her. This poem is a love poem; however, it is more about an unrequited love and infatuation with the idea of Celia rather than being a true representation of true love. The poem, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” written by John Donne begins to show a better representation of true love. Donne uses many metaphors throughout the poem in order to demonstrate that time and distance do not change or alter true love. The poem begins with the speaker indicating to his beloved that he must leave and they will be forced to spend some
In the poem, “For That He Looked Not upon Her,” the poet, George Gascoigne, communicates his fickle attitude towards his lover. With the use of standard Shakespearean sonnet form, exaggerated diction and vivid imagery he explains why the speaker is bound to avoid his ex-lovers eyes, since they can spell him to live a life with further deception and heartache. Gascoigne’s practice of sonnet form consists of the “ABAB” rhyme scheme, couplet, and four stanzas adding emphasis on the protagonists reluctance to see his lover’s face. As the poem progresses it becomes clear on why the speaker is warry. The poem includes paradoxing examples that elaborate his complex situation.
We then see the farmer’s unrequited ‘love’ throughout the poem where his bride is neglecting the idea of a husband “Not near, not near!’ her eyes beseech” the only words we hear from the bride show begging and trepidation, he notices her androphobia and it seems to impact his emotions when we reach the fourth stanza which stands out as a sensual, admiring description of the wife by the farmer. The poet uses sibilance (‘Shy…swift…/Straight…slight/Sweet…She/…Self.’) to convey the farmer’s whispered appreciation and leads on to compare her to nature ‘ Sweet as the first wild violets,’ strengthening the farmer’s positive opinion of his wife, however, she does not show him the affection he desires, contrasting the predator-prey relationship I discussed in the first paragraph where only the farmer benefited. She is ‘Sweet.../To
Throughout the following essay, Cynthia Zarin’s poem “sSong” will be critically analysed and assessed. Cynthia Zarin is an American poet born in 1959. She published a poem named “Song” in 1993 to show her compassion to her lover. The poem consists of 3 stanzas whereby each stanza is contains 3 lines. The poem is written about a woman’s love relationship towards with a man.
This Elizabethan sonnet by George Gascoigne is a tortured self-confession of one “He” who “looked not upon her.” Gascoigne effectively illustrates the speaker’s paradoxical feelings for a woman through a series of literary devices such as extended metaphors, imagery, and alliteration, developing an easily identifiable conflict between the speaker’s desire for his lover and fear of being hurt again. The first stanza introduces us to the central paradox of the poem: why does the speaker “take no delight” in ranging his eyes “about the gleams” on his lover’s beautiful face? To answer this question, the speaker employs two extended metaphors that vividly illustrate this conundrum.
In A Ritual to Read to Each Other, William Stafford speaks about a different kind of love than in Shakespeare’s sonnet. The love Stafford describes isn’t romantic, rather it is built on the fragile communication we have with the people around us. Stafford emphasizes the love of humanity, and begins his poem by pointing out how desperately bereft we are of this kind of empathy today. In the second stanza Stafford talks about the emptiness that exists between us. According to the poem we’ve become
Throughout the ages, sonnets represent thematic messages of love and immortality while also following a strict, rigid structure of fourteen lines with a varying rhyme scheme depending on the type of sonnet. One of these sonnets, Shakespearean, was created by none other than William Shakespeare. For example, his sonnet “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” focuses heavily on loving a woman despite her ugly features; however, many modern poets break this strict structure, such as Harryette Mullen’s take on Shakespeare’s sonnet where she places a modern twist on the speaker’s view of a woman. Although both sonnets focus on the traditional theme of love, Mullen’s “Dim Lady” breaks away from the typical conventions and structure of a sonnet
Collins opens up with this to show how important his lover is to him, by doing this he sets the tone of the poem. People tend to do this as well, often people tell each other how important or valuable they are to them to create a sense of love. Collins refers to Shakespeare when he compares a woman to his favorite season (1). As humans, love is a natural thing, and Collins makes that very prominent in the way he flatters his lover so easily. This is relatable because when people love each other they often say sweet complements.
Because of the Relationships In the world most people view their relationships as real, loving and loyal. One author that appreciates this is Shakespeare, and throughout his stories he incorporates this technique. His style consists of true love but also a hint of traumatic problems. When using this technique in Romeo and Juliet he creates a strong bond between two characters through figurative language in order to make that relationship genuine. Through the use of imagery, diction and hyperbole Shakespeare reveals the nature of Romeo and Friar Lawrence’s relationship as caring, trustworthy, and father – son like.
TDA Shakespeare and Bradstreet Authors William Shakespeare and Anne Bradstreet claim a unique love through their works of literature. It is ironic that the two authors are juxtaposed for their boasting of knowing true love because one is a man of the theatre and the other is a Puritan housewife. They both have remarkable and one-of-a-kind styles of writing. To My Dear and Loving Husband and Sonnet 18 both share a theme of time. These works of literature have become well-known and classic for their strong professions of love.
Sonnet 130: My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like The Sun (1609) by William Shakespeare is nothing like the average romantic poem. Instead of boasting about his mistress’s beauty and making unrealistic comparisons he Comically appreciates her natural beauty and appearance, without the use of flattering clichés. Some Argue that Shakespeare might have been misogynistic and insulting to women by body shaming is mistress. Is it thus apparent that people may have different interpretations and understanding of sonnets or poems regardless of the environment or period of the reading? Though I believe that this is truly a love poem, in this analysis both interpretations will be represented.
The two poems I will be comparing and contrasting in this essay are two of William Shakespeare 's most popular sonnets. Sonnets in chapter 19, 'Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? ', and in chapter 23, 'Let me not to the marriage of true minds, ' of our Literature book. Both of these poems deal with the subject of love but each poem deals with its subject matter in a slightly different way. Each also has a different purpose and audience. In the case of 'Shall I compare thee ' the audience is meant to be the person Shakespeare is writing the sonnet about.
Romeo and Juliet, the story where two forbidden lovers take their own lives for the sake of love. Within this story Shakespeare shows multiple kinds of love that everyone experiences in life, and within this essay i will be talking about two. The two main types of love i noticed in Shakespeare’s story “Romeo and Juliet”, were Unrequited love and obviously, the main focus, romantic love. These two types of loves have their share of differences but surprisingly they have their similarities as well. The first type of love shown in Romeo and Juliet is unrequited love.
The individuals possessed by ideal love are not the only ones who are affected by it. In Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence’s first reaction to Romeo’s drastic change of “love” was shocking : “Holy Saint Francis, what a
In these short poems, the authors utilize particular rhetorical techniques and methods to reflect the speakers’ personality and motivation. Therefore, presenting the speaker becomes the main focus of the authors. In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess,” both poems reflect the speakers’ traits through monologue, figurative language, and symbolism. However, these two speakers’ personalities are different due to their attitude toward their beloved. The speaker in Sonnet 18 is gentle and delighted but frustrated because the ideal metaphor comparison of summer is not perfect for describing his beloved; the poem thus suggests that the way you love others reflects how you feel about yourself.
by John Keats, “Remember” by Christina Rossetti and “Piano” by D. H. Lawrence, this essay will explore how and why different poets present the theme of love in a variety of ways. ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’ is a romantic ballad written by English poet John Keats in 1819, when the artistic, literary and intellectual movement of romanticism was at its peak. Set in the medieval period, Keats aims to use this setting to juxtapose the different perspective people, originating from different times, had towards the theme of love. Through the relationship of the knight and the woman as well as the setting of ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’; Keats is able to reflect upon the faithful and truthful expression of love in the medieval times as well as the freedom of individual expression and imagination in the romantic period.