Strength of Feeling in Spring and Holy Sonnet 10
"Spring", written by Gerard Manley-Hopkins, employs the ideas of the
beauty of the season. Manley-Hopkins introduces references to his
faith, portraying a religious approach. The feelings experienced
within the sonnet are very intense, and the reader becomes
progressively more engrossed amid the lines of the sonnet, as the poet
delves into the peril that spring might be spoiled, and the innocence
of youth might be lost. Manley-Hopkins addresses the Lord, in the hope
that all sinning might cease forever, and hence the beauty of the
season of spring might be maintained eternally.
"Holy Sonnet 10", written by John Donne, similarly refers to the
poet's faith. The strength of the feeling shown here is colossal, as
Donne challenges to address Death as a coward. The sonnet is powerful,
as Donne dares to think Death to be weak and feeble. The poet is so
confident within his faith of God, and his apparent belief in the
afterlife, that he is self assured that no harm will come to him from
this one vain beast. Death will eventually be overcome; it is nothing
to fear. The poet's feelings are vivid, and dangerous, and the reader
is thrown into a reverie of shadows as such immoral thoughts are taken
in.
"Spring", a Petrarchan sonnet, contains an octave, which sets the
scene of the ultimate beauty of spring, followed by a concluding
sestet, revealing its real imperfections. Just as Adam and Eve
committed original sin, resulting in the Garden of Eden being ruined,
Manley-Hopkins declares that spring itself will, in time, be ruined if
we continue to sin. With great feeling, the poet begs God to ...
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... end, but more of a bridge that we all have to cross
before we live eternally in peace.
Death cannot kill me, and I see that now. Death is not a sad time, and
we will all end up together anyway, in the end. John Donne, with his
passionate feeling, has forced me to open my eyes, like some will
never do, and see the bigger picture. We are all pawns in a game, and
God is our master. Death has no real significance at all; it just
thinks that it does. It is no real power, and deserves no real fear or
respect. We will all, in time, overcome Death, and walk over that
bridge into eternal bliss.
Although "Spring" was itself, very meaningful, and touching, it does
not portray just as much feeling as "Holy Sonnet 10", nor is it as
easy to relate to wholly. The strength of feeling in both sonnets,
overall, was exceptional.
John Donne's A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, Holy Sonnet 10, and Meditation 17 all share a common topic: The human soul transcending. Through this shared thread, the three pieces manage to each convey a distinct message about the human condition that ultimately converges into a collectivist identity of humanity. Everyone is linked to everyone else not merely through this phyisical life's friendships, enmities, and love, but is also connected through his or her very soul. This emphasis on the collectivist nature of the soul itself is particularly important because it then allows these connections to persist through and eventually reunite following death itself. Only this time, they will have transcended into their spiritual world.
The speaker started the poem by desiring the privilege of death through the use of similes, metaphors, and several other forms of language. As the events progress, the speaker gradually changes their mind because of the many complications that death evokes. The speaker is discontent because of human nature; the searching for something better, although there is none. The use of language throughout this poem emphasized these emotions, and allowed the reader the opportunity to understand what the speaker felt.
in both poems death is present, the way the two authors express it however is a
In conclusion we have seen how death can take a big effect on a person who is close to death and love one's family and friends. Death is a major part of life that all of us will go through one day. Even though we can't avoid death there are ways that we can deal with death in healthy manners. There is no time limit on how long it takes to heal from the mark death has made, but with the right attitude and the proper steps taken, anyone can move on in life.
Many people find it hard to imagine their death as there are so many questions to be answered-how will it happen, when, where and what comes next. The fact that our last days on Earth is unknown makes the topic of death a popular one for most poets who looks to seek out their own emotions. By them doing that it helps the reader make sense of their own emotions as well. In the two poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickenson and “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas, the poets are both capturing their emotion about death and the way that they accepted it. In Dickenson’s poem her feelings towards death are more passionate whereas in Dylan’s poem the feelings
... bruised by the poor reception of his poetry. The realizations that we all "must die", and that attempts to attain immortality through art are in vain, leave this sonnet with a lasting and overriding sense of despair.
John uses many examples of figurative language in his sonnet. To begin with, when Mr. Donne first commences his poem, he uses the personification “Death, be not proud” (1). The author is giving death the human characteristics of being “not proud.” The rest of the line continues as “though some have called you thee. ” Death should not be prideful even if people think it is. John displays through this first line how he feels about death: he is too prideful for his own good. Furthermore, Donne uses another personification when he states “Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so” (2). Again, he is giving death, a concept not a human, real characteristics. He believes death is not “mighty” or “dreadful” but something else. It gives his opinion that death is not “dreadful” to people in their lives but possibly beneficial. Later, the poet says “Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men” (9). Death is merely being controlled by things like fate which is the only way he can act. He has no way to move on his own without these other forces. Like with war, death is the result not the cause: death cannot physically make people fight. This comparison devalues death in its importance and therefore its necessity. John Donne’s use of metaphors and personifications in his poem to emphasize his belief that death is not as bad as people or death thinks it really is but can actually be advantageous.
...at significance but more importantly, they see death as a way of escaping the sin and pain that manifests itself on earth. The body is considered a shipping crate when it comes to the soul. It is something for the soul to reside in until it has fulfilled its purpose on earth. Then it leaves, to start a new life in another shipping crate. With a clean conscious each of the characters in these poems are able to die guilt-free and both believe they will ascend to heaven. They acknowledge the fact that their souls will carry on after their bodies have died and seem to rest assure in the fact that there is more to life than the experiences they had on earth. Similar to the way souls are regarded by today's standards, it is something that departs from person upon death and carries the memory of an individual forever. I think John Donne would have agreed with this idea.
the poet is trying to portray the fragility of a life, as it is created with the intent to be lost (death
Based on her reaction, the speaker states, "Tis true...Just so much honor, when they yield'st to me, Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee." In other words, he twists his argument to make the point that the woman will lose as much giving herself to him as she lost killing the flea - NOTHING! Secondly, Donne's use of rhythm aids in shaping the poem's meaning. The poem has alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and pentameter. However, Donne varies this rhythm to create emphasis on particular words or phrases. For instance, in the first stanza he states, "Mark but this flea, and mark in this." Instead of beginning with an unstressed word or syllable as in iambic, Donne stresses the word "Mark." This is important in accentuating his argument.
...nsight to address the lack of courage and faith that plagues every human being. “The poem succeeds admirably in registering a mood not merely of disillusionment, but of personal weakness” (Morace 950). Without the faith and courage to face the final judgment, and move on to the afterlife, one will be left to linger in purgatory.
I found Donne’s “Holy Sonnet 10” and “Holy Sonnet 14” to be similar in style, but different in context. Obviously, it is logical that they are similar in style because they are written by the same author.
It is here that we suddenly recognize the irony between the tone and the subject matter. The last word of the second stanza is 'die' which lands with a very harsh tone to bring the irony of the poem to
There are several death related motifs present in the poem. For instance, the poem opens with a passage from Dante’s Inferno, foreshadowing the theme of death in the poem. The speaker says “I know the voices dying with a dying fall.” He also references Lazarus from the Bible, who was raised from the dead, further developing the death motif. The speaker also seems to be looking back on life, referring to past experiences and his aging, as if he believes his death is imminent. He seems to have an obsession with hiding his age. According to the Psychoanalytic Criticism Chapter, the greater our fear of something is, the greater our obsession becomes (24). The speaker's fear of death has lead him to wear clothes that are fashionable for young people, such as rolling his trousers, and goes to great lengths to cover his age in other ways, such as parting his hair behind to cover a bald spot. The last stanza of the poem has a rather depressing and sad ending, a result of fear of
John Donne will not accept death as the finale, his religious conviction supports in the belief of eternal life proceeding death. Throughout the poem Donne’s main purpose was the personification of death, his use of figurative language gave death humanistic characteristics and made death vulnerable and unintimidating. The structure of three quatrains and a couplet for the poem allowed for easier understanding of the context because the layout and rhyme scheme helped the poem flow and also revealed the tones. The imagery of death described by Donne breaks down death’s pride and bravado, as well as shine an encouraging light past the process of dying, on to the hope of delivery to eternal life. Each element played a significant role in the interpretation of the paradox of the poem, that ultimately death is not the universal destroyer of life.