Death is the powerful force that defines the boundaries of life. Awareness of mortality is the influence behind many decisions that living beings make. In Spenser’s “Amoretti: Sonnet 75” and Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 55” and “Sonnet 65” the common theme is mortality. In the three sonnets, mortality is referred to with fear and anxiety. The principle of “Ars longa, vita brevis”, meaning, “art is long, life is short” (Eggleston), is captured by the sonnets in their goal to suppress mortality through poetry. Shakespeare’s sonnets focus on an adored young man and develop from the fear of his mortal demise as well as the “transience and destructive power of time” (Greenblatt 539-540). Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 55” intends to create a monument of writing that will benefit the boy’s memory until he attains eternal life. Insecurity and the fear of mortality are the basis for “Sonnet 65”, representing the unease that mortality creates. Spenser’s “Sonnet 75” uses mortality to emphasize the love between two people and the ability to immortalize said love through verse. “Amoretti: Sonnet 75” by Edmund Spenser, and “Sonnet 55” and “Sonnet 65” by William Shakespeare utilize the theme of mortality and develop the theme in divergent ways, encapsulating the ranging emotional factors surrounding mortality and its defeat.
Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 55” harnesses the inevitability of time in its development of the theme of mortality. The speaker does not object to or ignore the inevitable brutality of time. The poem demonstrates time’s certainty as it describes how supposedly timeless items are destroyed by time. Shakespeare uses images of marble, “gilded monuments”, statues, and masonry (Shakespeare, “Sonnet 55” 1, 5-6) as examples of presumably everlasting obje...
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...s memory until Judgement Day arrives. Regardless of the differences in their definition of mortality, “Sonnet 55” and Spencer’s “Sonnet 75” have parallel optimistic outlooks on immortality through verse. These outlooks contrast the insecurities in Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 75”, suggested by the repeated rhetorical questions. The theme of mortality’s development in “Sonnet 65” greatly differs from both “Sonnet 65” and “Sonnet 75” because of the speaker’s lack of confidence in his poetry’s ability to subvert mortality. “Sonnet 75” is unique from the other sonnets discussed because it develops using the mortality and immortality of a couple’s love, instead of one person’s memory, like in “Sonnet 55” and “Sonnet 65”. All of the sonnets compared show distinct similarities in the use of the theme of mortality, but they develop the theme through different emotional properties.
The concept of “mortality” (l. 1) is immediately foregrounded in the sonnet, with a significant enjambment on the word itself. So, from the outset, the speaker draws attention to his mortal state, which implies both life, an existence, and an eventual absence of that life. By then concretizing the abstract “mortality,” combining it with the word “[w]eighs” (2), the speaker produces a reification of mortality as an object weighing down on him; thus, a concept implying an absence, mortality, becomes an entity which affects him. The existence of an eventual absence of life, death, produces his turmoil.
The perception of love being portrayed as timeless is sustained throughout as in Sonnet LXIII ‘and if god choose, I shall but love thee better after my death,’ illustrating that love transcend into her spiritual realm. However, from the experience of loving, she understands that earthly love is mortal in Sonnet XIV ‘Do not say I love her for her smile - her look...for these things maybe changed,’ and that these human traits based on physical attraction are perishable, as conveyed in Sonnet XXII ‘with darkness and the death hour rounding it’. This negative imagery has provided experience and understanding for EBB, allowing her to shape her identity and accept the reality. Her realisation that love cannot be idealised, but a spiritual understanding that transcends the mortal realm allows the growth of the persona as she learn from her own experiences about the complex nature of
"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.
In fact, the contrasting strategies of Sonnet 29 and extreme claims made in Sonnet 116 combine in a intellectual manner throughout Sonnet 130. The speaker of this sonnet incorporates numerous ironic contrasts with his love’s beauty and a few unattainable measures (SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS). Unlike in previous sonnet the author does not directly state the true beauty of his love, however he expresses what she is
... 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.
The conceit, characterization and tone of the one hundred and forty third sonnet make this particular sonnet interesting to analyze. The collection of sonnets was written by William Shakespeare around the mid-1590s and published by Thomas Thorpe in 1609. “Sonnet 143” describes a woman who "sets down her babe and makes all swift dispatch." Her attention has been restrained by the idea of taking possession of a feathered creature that has run away (line 3). In this sonnet, Shakespeare creates a rivalry of role-play between a man in pursuit of a woman, who is compared to a housewife and a mother, and the love interest the woman in pursuing. The speaker is in desperate pursuit of the housewife, like a child who wishes to be pacified and kissed
William Shakespeare’s sonnets are considered to be some of the most beautiful poems in English literature. Although little is known about the poet, many seem to put their focus on Shakespeare’s inner life; wondering why he wrote the things he did. William Shakespeare is mostly known for his plays; however, he did accomplish a lot in poetry. William Shakespeare was powerful with his words, and knew how to express things in great depth. Why or who he wrote about is still a mystery. Scholars only know so much about his life, and are still trying to put the unknown pieces together.
William Shakespeare 's 'Sonnet 73 ' highlights the continuous anxiety; of speaker the due to the inevitability of old age. Through various poetic techniques Shakespeare underlines that the deterioration of time is arbitrary; and it therefore naturally decays beauty and life. However there is a sense that he expresses love as a stronger force which overcomes the constant decline of youth and time. This is strongly represented by the use of seasonal imagery. Similarly, John Donne utilizes formal aspects in 'A Valediction Forbidding Mourning ' to convey the same view of the strong force of love. Unlike, Shakespeare 's constant reflection on deterioration; Donne presents arguments to reassure his lover that their love can overcome all aspects.
As Khalil Gibran once stated, “life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one” (Khalil Gibran). Both interconnect with one another, never having one without the other. Numerous people fear death as we watch those around us fall victims to it, but in reality, death is benign and people should not be afraid. Death can have varying consequences on a person’s view in life. In the poems “Sonnet-Silence”, “The Raven”, and “Aubade”, Edgar Allen Poe and Philip Larken use personification, symbolism and imagery to reveal how death affects people differently.
Spencer, Edmund. “Amoretti: Sonnet 54”. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Gen. ed. David Simpson. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 2006. 904. Print.
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.
“Sonnet 73,” published by William Shakespeare in 1609, reveals through symbolic imagery and metaphors mans promised fate, death. The theme of “Sonnet 73” is that, as life draws to an end, it becomes more valued. In a melancholy mood, the narrator concedes that many years have passed by and that the end of his life draws ever near. He reflects through imagery, and with a sense of self-pity, the loss of his youth and passion to the ravages of time. In this essay I will detail the use of symbolic imagery and metaphors in “Sonnet 73” and how it portrays the author’s experience of aging.
While Shakespeare and Spenser have their own sonnet forms and different rhyme schemes, the topics in which they write about in “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 75” possess many similarities. A major theme in both of the sonnets is the idea of immortal love. Both sonnets straightforwardly mention the idea of love eternalizing, defying all of time, and conquering all obstacles. Spenser unmistakably mentions that “whenas death shall al the world subdue, our love shall live, and later life renew”. Correspondingly, Shakespeare declares that his and the subject’s love “shall not fade,” but continue to grow. When it comes to a matter of love defying time, both sonnets remain in synchronization, expressing that even with death, love will go on and remain forever, through poetry and memory. Spenser conveys his lover as one who “shall live by fame”, because through “[his] verse [her] virtues rare shall eternalize”. Evidently, Shakespeare believes that as history writes itself, he and his subject’s love will become one with time because “when in et...
In John Donne’s sonnet “Death, Be Not Proud” death is closely examined and Donne writes about his views on death and his belief that people should not live in fear of death, but embrace it. “Death, Be Not Proud” is a Shakespearean sonnet that consists of three quatrains and one concluding couplet, of which I individually analyzed each quatrain and the couplet to elucidate Donne’s arguments with death. Donne converses with death, and argues that death is not the universal destroyer of life. He elaborates on the conflict with death in each quatrain through the use of imagery, figurative language, and structure. These elements not only increase the power of Donne’s message, but also symbolize the meaning of hope of eternal life as the ultimate escape to death.
Shakespeare's sonnets are a romantic and charming series of poems. His use of rhyme and passionate, eloquent language serve to illuminate his strong feelings. These techniques were probably the most fluent way for such a writer as him to express the immeasurable love that he obviously felt for his mysterious lady. Examining the numerous ways Shakespeare found to describe it, the reader believes that this love was undoubtedly lasting and authentic. He often made heart-felt comments about his emotions that could also suit lovers in the present day. Because of this, and the fact that people read them yet, Shakespeare's sonnets are timeless and universal, just like the concept of love itself.