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The Beauty of Sonnet 53
Whether we realize it or not, we often give overlook the faults in the people who are dear to us. We focus on their good qualities and ignore the bad. This practice is not unique to our culture nor is it unique to our era. Shakespeare in his sonnet numbered 53, compares all beauty to his friend, and criticizes for trying to be as good as his friend. He does this by seemingly comparing his friend to things of beauty when in reality he is suggesting that his friend is the ideal and the beautiful things are merely copies or reflections of the friend.
In choosing the words to describe the person in this sonnet, Shakespeare grabs hold of "what is loveliest in the world at large,"1 In the first two lines,
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"Describe Adonis, and the counterfeit/Is poorly imitated after you."7 The beauty of Adonis can only mirror qualities that are truly seen in the friend of the poet. The use of the word counterfeit in Elizabethan poetry was often used not only to imply imitation but deceitful intentions as well.8 So not only is Adonis a poor copy of the poet's friend but his beuaty is nothing more than a counterfeit of the original.
Adonis is not the only reflection of the friend's beauty; other legendary figures of beauty find their "counterpart[s] in the young man."9 Shakespeare continues in comparing all beauty to his friend in lines seven and eight where he writes, "On Helen's cheek all art beauty set, /And you in Grecian tires painted new."10 The beauty of Grecian clothing, such as may have been worn
by Helen of Troy, is also said to be a copy of the subject of the sonnet.
Besides comparing the ideal human form and beautiful clothing to the friend, Shakespeare compares springtime and harvest and everything beautiful to him. Lines nine, ten, eleven and twelve read,
"Speak of the spring, and foison of the year:
The one doth shadow of your beauty
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Although these things are related to the friend, they differ from him because of his constant heart.
To recap and conclude, the friend whom "we have known as the pattern of all things lovely,"13 is said to be the pattern of beauty within Adonis and Helen, in Grecian attire, within springtime and harvest as well as in everything of beauty.
Although all of these things contain his likeness, his constant heart remains his own. By comparing all things beautiful to the
friend, Shakespeare is not only paying him a compliment but is also criticizing all other beauty for being a counterfeit. The person described in this sonnet may have been beautiful, but being human, he must have had faults. Sonnet 53 shows how we often overlook the faults in the people we love.
Notes
1 James Winny, The Master-Mistress: A Study of Shakespeare's Sonnets (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1968) 130.
2 William Shakespeare, Sonnet 53 The Sonnets (Waltham, Massachusetts: Blaisdell, 1968)
Schalkwyk, David. “Love and Service in Twelfth Night and the Sonnets.” Shakespeare Quarterly 56.1 (2005): 76-100. Print.
Bradstreet, A., & Kallich, M. (1973). A Book of the Sonnet: Poems and Criticism. New York: Twayne Publishers.
In conclusion, “Song of Myself” is the perfect combination between poetry and revelation, Short but prodigious. In general terms, in this poem Whitman conveys the idea and reality of which all belong to a whole, that humans are part of an essence, which unites us and makes us all the same. Therefore; there is no difference between finding the essence and conceive the truth.
... spins are at high or low energy states. The coil can now send the messages to the computer. The signals will fade when individual spins contributing to the net magnetization loses their coherence. Figure 1: How MRI's Work
When he writes "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare as any she, belied with false compare." (lines 13-14) in the final couplet, one responds with an enlightened appreciation, making them understand Shakespeare's message that true love consists of something deeper than physical beauty. Shakespeare expresses his ideas in a wonderful fashion. Not only does he express himself through direct interpretation of his sonnet, but also through the levels at which he styled and produced it. One cannot help but appreciate his message of true love over lust, along with his creative criticism of Petrarchan sonnets.
...netic Resonance Imaging is one of the most accurate imaging modalities available today. It is an application of computer technology that has generated knowledge for the future and for practical application today. The field of imaging continues to expand as avidly pursued new dimensions in the acquisition of physiological and biochemical information occurs.
That means, the approaches of poet’s love remain the same. In one place, he portrays beauty as conveying a great responsibility in the sonnets addressed to the young man. The poet has experienced what he thinks of as "the marriage of true minds," also known as true love, that his love remains strong, and that he believes that it’s eternal. Nothing will stop their love, as in the symbols like all the ships, stars and stormy seas that fill the landscape of the poem and so on what can affect to their love. The poet is too much attracted with the young man’s beauty, though this indicates to something really bad behavior. But in another place, Shakespeare makes fun of the dark lady in sonnet 130. He explains that his lover, the dark lady, has wires for hair, bad breath, dull cleavage, a heavy step, pale lips and so on, but to him, real love is, the sonnet implies, begins when we accept our lovers for what they are as well as what they are not. But other critics may not agree with this and to them, beauty may define to something
...r creator, and researchers have attempted to identify the persons who were the original or historical models for the persons the speaker refers to and addresses. The fact remains, however, that we do not know to what degree Shakespeare's personal experiences are reflected in his sonnets; nor do we know with any measure of certainty whether the persons depicted in these poems are based on specific individuals or are solely the product of Shakespeare's observation, imagination, and understanding of the human heart.
Sonnet 130 is Shakespeare’s harsh yet realistic tribute to his quite ordinary mistress. Conventional love poetry of his time would employ Petrarchan imagery and entertain notions of courtly love. Francis Petrarch, often noted for his perfection of the sonnet form, developed a number of techniques for describing love’s pleasures and torments as well as the beauty of the beloved. While Shakespeare adheres to this form, he undermines it as well. Through the use of deliberately subversive wordplay and exaggerated similes, ambiguous concepts, and adherence to the sonnet form, Shakespeare creates a parody of the traditional love sonnet. Although, in the end, Shakespeare embraces the overall Petrarchan theme of total and consuming love.
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The speaker uses metaphors to describe his mistress’ eyes to being like the sun; her lips being red as coral; cheeks like roses; breast white as snow; and her voices sounding like music. In the first few lines of the sonnet, the speaker view and tells of his mistress as being ugly, as if he was not attracted to her. He give...
The love that a person has for someone is not the same for other people. They can look at their love through nature or just by their beauty. Shakespeare has the ability to explain his love for someone by using nature as a reference. Looking at two of Shakespeare’s sonnets 18 and 130 explore the differences and similarities between one another. In Sonnet 18 and 130, both show Shakespeare’s knowledge in developing his love and respect.
In this sonnet, Shakespeare is creating a mental picture of spring and summer to compare against his loved one. He uses the fact that fine and beautiful days are the creation of nature, and nature is constantly changing all the time. Fine days never stay the same: 'rough winds' or the sun obscured by clouds, 'and often is his gold complexion dim'd', can easily mar a fine day. He talks about these negative factors of change in the first eight lines, and Shakespeare then uses these ideas to claim that his loved one will always remain untarnished, speaking of how 'thy eternal summer shall not fade' and how his loved one has lasting qualities that will outshine death: 'Nor shall death brag thou wandr'st in his shade' These thoughts come to a confident, final... ... middle of paper ... ...
At the time of its writing, Shakespeare's one hundred thirtieth sonnet, a highly candid, simple work, introduced a new era of poems. Shakespeare's expression of love was far different from traditional sonnets in the early 1600s, in which poets highly praised their loved ones with sweet words. Instead, Shakespeare satirizes the tradition of comparing one's beloved to the beauties of the sun. From its opening phrase "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun", shocks the audience because it does not portray a soft, beautiful woman. Despite the negative connotations of his mistress, Shakespeare speaks a true woman and true love. The sonnet is a "how-to" guide to love.
Shakespeare, William. "Sonnet 130." The Longman Anthology of British Literature: compact edition. Ed. David Damrosch. Addison-Wesley, 2000. 556.