Methods of Expressing Main Concepts in William Shakespeares Sonnet 30
Shakespeare was superb at putting words together and has written
numerous sonnets over the years. Though 'sonnet 30' clearly stands out as its theme is presented in such a subtle and unique way. Therefore the question is: How does the poet express this leading idea?
To detect the leading idea in Shakespeare's sonnet, one should not solely read between the lines. One should in fact pay very close attention to its vocabulary, particularly to recurrent words such as 'grieve' , 'woe' (ll. 7) and 'moan' (ll. 8). If one is to combine them with other recurrent words such as 'friends' (ll. 6) and 'pay' (ll. 12), you will find that they will simply present part of the substantial theme. The unmistakable image these recurrent words create by placing them together in a meaningful unit is that of a speaker who ends up paying for having friends by grieving over them.
However, the theme is expanded and stretched by Shakespeare's profuse use of metaphors, one of them being 'hid in death's dateless night' (ll. 6). On the whole, this indicates the speaker's grief is inflicted by the death of these friends. Moreover, Shakespeare utilizes the technique of alliteration to effectively reinforce the speaker's loud display of grief: 'grieve at grievances' (ll. 9), 'woe to woe' (ll. 10), 'fore-bemoaned moan' (ll. 11) and 'pay as if not paid' (ll. 12).
The sonnet's division provides the theme with its final component. It is a Shakespearean sonnet, meaning it is composed of 3 quatrains and an ending couplet. The three quatrains give an account of a speaker who is not merely grieving, but, furthermore, cannot deal with the fact the grieving will not come to a stop: 'The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan / Which I new pay as if not paid before' (ll. 11-12). Nevertheless the ending couplet gives an unexpected twist to the sonnet. The speaker introduces yet another friend: 'But if the while I think on thee, dear friend / All losses are restored and sorrows end' (ll. 13-14). These lines make a somewhat indirect reference to the fact that the loss of a friend should not frighten one in not wanting to experience the joy of the possibility of a new friendship, as it is precisely such a companionship which can make one's sorrows come to an end. By means of this final couplet Shakespeare has at length revealed the entire theme.
the sonnet can 't be completely caught on. The "dull" in the first and last line demonstrates that the
...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.
"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.
The imposition of the British aggressor is even made apparent through the structure of the work, the two sonnet form stanzas not only highlight the inadequacy of the loveless union, but with their Shakespearean rhyme scheme also imply the cultural dominance of English tradition. The use of half rhymes, such as ‘pulse’ and ‘burst’ or ‘pain’ and ‘within’ leaves the stanzas feel...
Shakespeare’s Sonnet #23 is addressed to the lovely young man, called WH. The speaker is trying to convey his complex feeling towards his lover. He is tongue-tied in the young man’s company and he is trying to explain this awkwardness and express his complex emotions in this sonnet. It is, the speaker says, due to the hugeness of his love, that makes it too heavy to carry. For the author this sonnet is a silent representation of his inner voice. To show the complexity of the situation, he compares poet’s role as a lover to an actor’s timidity onstage. He asks WH to read these silent lines and explains that love will give him the insight to read between lines. The sonnet consists of 14 lines, which are splitted into octave and a sestet, and has typical for Shakespeare’s sonnets rhyme scheme: a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g. He uses first two quatrains to establish a problem and then resolves it in a third quatrain, summarizing solution in the following couplet.
...ays him. He tricks himself into believing that he and his friend are such kindred spirits that they are truly one in mind, body and spirit, when in fact, they are not. The final line of the sonnet begins with an initial spondee, "Sweet flattery" (14) in which Shakespeare himself is admitting how sweet delusion really is, and ends in a terminal spondee, "me alone" (14) showing that the young man and Shakespeare were really never more than acquaintances that loved the same woman.] Through a figment of his imagination, he developed a mythical relationship with the young man when in fact, the only really loving relationship he had was with his own pretentious subconscious.
What a beginning to a great sonnet. This sonnet, understood quite will in the first quatrain, presents a few difficulties throughout the second and third quatrains. This is obviously addressed to a loved one, more specifically a woman who Shakespeare loved. 5: 'This period of separation from you was due to summer', where "summer's time" signifies his youth, moreover, his sexual prime. 6: 'Overflowing autumn [his middle age] is rich with children produced from luxuriant [or frolicsome] experiences of my youth'. Line 8 closes this quatrain with a more happy than mournful meaning, for the widowed reveres the child even more after the father's death. In line 9, I read "abundant issue" as 'topic of general debate or concern', referring to the "lords' decease" in line 8, but it could also mean a person capable of bearing many children, either the addressee or the woman of his prime, or even Shakespeare himself. If the first, then it is addressed to more than one person and is a result of his absence--he is not able to produce children, only obtain orphans. But if the second, it modifies his hope for orphans. If Shakespeare is the "abundant issue" then this is a fine reading; however, if the "abundant issue" is the child of the widow, this poses a problem because it faults logic to say that the mother is widowed "Yet" her child is an orphan.
This Shakespearean sonnet consisting of 14 lines can be subdivided into 3 parts. In each part, the poet uses a different voice. He uses 1st person in the first part, 3rd person in the 2nd part and 2nd person in the last part. Each section of the poem has a different theme that contributes to the whole theme of the poem.
The sonnet opens with a seemingly joyous and innocent tribute to the young friend who is vital to the poet's emotional well being. However, the poet quickly establishes the negative aspect of his dependence on his beloved, and the complimentary metaphor that the friend is food for his soul decays into ugly imagery of the poet alternating between starving and gorging himself on that food. The poet is disgusted and frightened by his dependence on the young friend. He is consumed by guilt over his passion. Words with implicit sexual meanings permeate the sonnet -- "enjoyer", "treasure", "pursuing", "possessing", "had" -- as do allusions to five of the seven "deadly" sins -- avarice (4), gluttony (9, 14), pride (5), lust (12), and envy (6).
---. "Sonnet 130." The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 1. M. H. Abrams, ed. W. W. Norton (New York): 1993.
The majority of Elizabethan sonnets reflect two major themes: time and love. William Shakespeare, too, followed this convention, producing 154 sonnets, many of which deal with the usual theme of love. Because the concept of love is in itself so immense, Shakespeare found several ways to capture the essence of his passion. Therefore, in his poetry he explored various methods and used them to describe the emotions associated with his love for a mysterious "dark lady." These various ideas and views resulted in a series of sonnets that vibrantly depicts his feelings of true, undying love for his lady. Instead of making the topic less interesting, as some might expect, Shakespeare's myriad approaches serve to further the reader's knowledge about the sheer power of true love. Three of Shakespeare's methods that show his ability in this respect are the motif of dreams and thoughts, the examples of the extent of love, and Shakespeare's desire for his sonnets to aid or glorify their love.
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.
Sonnet 71 is one of 154 sonnets written by William Shakespeare, and although it may rank fairly low on the popularity scale, it clearly demonstrates a pessimistic and morbid tone. With the use of metaphors, personification, and imagery this sonnet focuses on the poet’s feelings about his death and how the young should mourn him after he has died. Throughout the sonnet, there appears to be a continual movement of mourning, and with a profound beauty that can only come from Shakespeare. Shakespeare appeals to our emotional sense of “feeling” with imagery words like vile, dead, be forgot, and decay, and we gain a better understanding of the message and feelings dictated by the speaker.
The fourteen line sonnet is constructed by three quatrains and one couplet. With the organization of the poem, Shakespeare accomplishes to work out a different idea in each of the three quatrains as he writes the sonnet to lend itself naturally. Each of the quatrain contains a pair of images that create one universal idea in the quatrain. The poem is written in a iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Giving the poem a smooth rhyming transition from stanza to