Doug's Poem Analysis

As you can see, this is a bittersweet poem. The poem is based on the night before and the funeral for my Uncle Doug who passed away November 16, 2015. I decided to write my sonnet on this topic because the events and images on those days were still fresh in my head. For example, my Uncle owns a black puppy that would constantly attempt to sleep on his lap, but people would quickly take the pup off (described in lines 4-7). I decided to use the Petrarchan sonnet structure because it has two distinct sections, which worked perfectly for what I wanted to express. I wanted to describe the night before and the day of his funeral, so the Petrarchan format allowed to have a section for each day. The content of course is considered an elegy due

The sestet ends the poem with a tone that honors the man’s life. Discussing the memories and characteristics of Doug allows the mood to become bittersweet. He is gone, but his suffering has ended. The use of Iambic Pentameter forced me to write the poem in a rhythm that, at first, I did not enjoy, but I slowly began to enjoy the beauty that is incorporated with the meter. The rhythm of unstressed and stressed added to the overall feel of the sonnet. The sonnet has that rhythm that makes the poem easier to read and provides a natural flow that accompanies the subject. I embraced the emphasis of emotions and thoughts that are associated with sonnets. For example, Petrarch focused on love, and he used the sonnets to show others the feelings he had inside. Petrarch used sonnets to share his true feelings, and I also used my sonnet to express my feelings. Love and Death are different topics, but both need to be expressed at some point in time. Holding in emotions such as these can be harmful for different individuals. The beauty in sonnets are the ability to share powerful emotions that can presented in a rhythm and structure that others can embrace and enjoy. I released my feelings and thoughts about my Uncle’s death, but now I feel better than