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Imagery and diction in poems
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In the sonnet, “For That He Looked Not upon Her,” written by English poet, George Gascoigne, he expresses his heartache and sorrow that he is experiencing from the woman he loves. Throughout the poem, Gascoigne uses literary devices such as diction and imagery to convey the feeling of grief and melancholy to his readers.
For his poem, Gascoigne uses specific word choices to set the tone of the poem. He uses exaggerated diction to convey his misery and heartache. In the poem, he uses phrases such as, “louring head so low” and “your blazing eyes my bale have bred.” Gascoigne cannot face his love because he is still deeply in love with her and is mesmerized by her beauty. In the phrases, “lies aloof for fear of more mishap” and “still in doubt
Nearly four centuries after the invention of the sonnet, Oscar Fay Adams was born. He stepped into his career at the brink of the American civil war, a time when typically cold Victorian era romances were set in stark contrast to the passions of Warhawks. It was in this era when Adams wrote his sonnet: “Indifference”, which explores the emotional turmoil and bitterness a man endures as he struggles to move on from a failed relationship . Adams utilizes the speaker's story in order to dramatize the plight of an individual trying and failing to reconcile holding on to the joy that passionate love brings with the intense pain it bestows in conjunction with this joy . Adams employs various poetic devices in order to present a new view of indifference,
Critics of the period were hesitant to praise ‘Choise’. However, contemporary critic, J.B Steane, claimed the poem ‘seems worth reprinting both as a curiosity, and for what one can see as a certain charm and freshness. In its (not unimportant) way, it even does Nashe’s century some credit.’ The idea of ‘freshness’ in regards to the text is evident in the use emotive language to depict Tomalin’s amazement towards Francis, in the description ‘sweeping she coms, as she would brush the ground, / Hir ratling silke 's my sences doe confound.’ (Nashe, 65) The language here is more akin with love poetry than other sections of the text, and it is in part the fluctuation in language which situates ‘Choise’ as something oppositional to the expected. As Brown explains, Nashes ‘was the epitome of verbal facility and quick wit, who came to be identified with a particular kind of literary value.’ (Brown, 59) The originality of Nashe’s poetry, coupled with his lustful subject matter is reflected throughout the poem, such as: ‘first bare hir leggs, then creepe up to hir kneese. / From thence ascend unto hir mannely thigh.’ (Nashe, 65) ‘Choise’ therefore belongs to a segment of literature which presents lust ‘in a salacious,
While perusing through the aggregate of the ballad, the storyteller gives the onlooker clear indications of misery by means of perplexity, unobtrusive triggers, affection, memories, and the perspective of a mother. The speaker affirms for us the affection she has for her dead youngsters and the frightful memories, which uncover themselves throughout the methodology of anguish. Perusing the sonnet likewise uncovers the truth this by all account not the only abortion the speaker is composing of, ended up being a real supporter to the lamenting in the ballad. The ballad is an extraordinary read for any novice or anybody encountered with verse. With a mixture of subjects all around the sonnet, one may find that there is more than simply despondency, which shows itself in the work.
...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.
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...
Known as one of the most influential and important English Renaissance authors, William Shakespeare paved the path for sonnet writers and modern poets. Shakespeare is the author of 37 plays and 154 sonnets. Each sonnet deals with personal themes and can work collectively as a story or individually. The first 126 of the sonnets are addressed to a young nobleman, while the rest are addressed to a woman known as the ‘dark lady’. In Sonnet 27, the narrator has returned from a long journey, tired, but unable to sleep, because he is plagued with thoughts about his relationship and visions of the subject. Although there is much mystery surrounding Shakespeare’s sonnets, through figurative language, historical context, and collective comparison, it becomes clear that Shakespeare is having an internal conflict between his physical wants and his emotional needs.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning 's "Sonnet XLIII" speaks of her love for her husband, Richard Browning, with rich and deeply insightful comparisons to many different intangible forms. These forms—from the soul to the afterlife—intensify the extent of her love, and because of this, upon first reading the sonnet, it is easy to be impressed and utterly overwhelmed by the descriptors of her love. However, when looking past this first reading, the sonnet is in fact quite ungraspable for readers, such as myself, who have not experienced what Browning has for her husband. As a result, the visual imagery, although descriptive, is difficult to visualize, because
George Gascoigne himself seemed an interesting man by the fact that he experienced a lot of different lifestyles of being a soldier, farmer, a member of british parliament, and finally a writer. Also, I find the poem particular interesting because it’s very relatable. I’ve found that beauty is a very easy thing to fall for, and once you make an attempt to follow with it a lot bullshit occurs that you don’t think about. But what I find quite more interesting is the style of the poem. The poem is a traditional sonnet with 14 lines and an ending couplet. It also has an iambic pentameter. This interest me because it looks just like a Shakespearean sonnet that we discussed about in class. Finally, the rhyming couplet at the end of the poem is interesting. “ So that I wink or else hold down my head, Because your blazing eyes my bale have bred.” lines 13-14. This line especially stands out to me because it shows a lot of emotion that the speaker feels. It shows how the girl has made him suffer through the temptations of her beauty. I like the use of the word bale. I was unfamiliar with this use of bale because it was used differently in the 1500s. This bale means evil suffered; physical torment or mental suffering. I find all these things very interesting about the subject of the
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.
In “Sonnet 43,” Browning wrote a deeply committed poem describing her love for her husband, fellow poet Robert Browning. Here, she writes in a Petrarchan sonnet, traditionally about an unattainable love following the styles of Francesco Petrarca. This may be partly true in Browning’s case; at the time she wrote Sonnets from the Portuguese, Browning was in courtship with Robert and the love had not yet been consummated into marriage. But nevertheless, the sonnet serves as an excellent ...
Through the form of sonnet, Shakespeare and Petrarch both address the subject of love, yet there are key contrasts in their style, structure, and in the manner, each approaches their subjects. Moreover, in "Sonnet 130," Shakespeare, in fact, parodies Petrarch's style and thoughts as his storyteller describes his mistress, whose "eyes are in no way as the sun" (Shakespeare 1918). Through his English poem, Shakespeare seems to mock the exaggerated descriptions expanded throughout Petrarch’s work by portraying the speaker’s love in terms that are characteristic of a flawed woman not a goddess. On the other hand, upon a review of "Sonnet 292" from the Canzoniere, through “Introduction to Literature and Arts,” one quickly perceives that Petrarch's work is full of symbolism. However, Petrarch’s utilization of resemblance and the romanticizing of Petrarch's female subject are normal for the Petrarchan style.
Sir Thomas Wyatt is credited as one of the first poets to bring the sonnet form into English literature, a form in which the speaker’s sincerity for, most commonly, a distant mysterious woman whom he loves, is believed to be the focal point of the poetry. From the selection of works which Wyatt wrote we can see many point in which the focal point is seemingly the earnestness of his love for his muse as authenticated by what he states in the poem itself. However, there is a sense of underlying meaning throughout his works which the reader must tease out themselves to see that that in fact is the focal point of his poetry.
The language compliments the mood of this poem, as it varies from a sad and melancholy cry, to a voice of hope, all in a constant confident feel, and by this, the poet's reflections and contemplation?s are communicated successfully to us, making us feel in the same way she has felt.
Browning’s “Sonnet 14” exemplifies the theme of the dependency of love, through point of view. Browning uses first-person singular point of view to create an emotional connection between the speaker and the reader. However, “Sonnet 14” opens with “thou” which helps the reader connect to the speaker of the poem by directly addressing the reader (Biespiel 3521). The requirement that love must come from within made by the speaker, who is assumed to be a woman, are directed strictly towards the reader, an implied male. Browning harvests pity by addressing the reader directly as “thou.” The reader acknowledges that the speaker may not be receiving the love she needs to live. A critic affirms the necessity of love by his statement: “[Browning] wants the love to be lifted out of the realm of human passion into the realm of eternal heavenly passion” (Biespiel 3522). People live hoping to reach going to heaven by doing good deeds and living prosperously. Browning would like people to realize that by...
In Shakespeare’s sonnet 130, the speaker ponders the beauty, or the lack thereof, of his lover. Throughout the sonnet, the speaker presents his lover as an unattractive mistress with displeasing features, but in fact, the speaker is ridiculing, through the use of vivid imagery, the conventions of love poems and the way woman are portrayed through the use of false comparisons. In the end, the speaker argues that his mistress may not be perfect, but in his eyes, her beauty is equal to any woman who is abundantly admired and put through the untrue comparison.