Wyatt’s poetry has often been praised for its elegant style and intricate rhythm, his genius being described as a moral and didactic species. His love and lyrical poetry are described in the twentieth century as anticipating the metaphysical poets that would follow him in literary tradition. A significant amount of Wyatt’s poetry, particularly his sonnets, was adapted through translations of the Italian poet Petrarch’s work. However, despite taking the majority of his subject matter from Petrarch, he made substantial departures from his ‘source’ in his rhyme scheme and discussion of emotions and the female form. Many of his poems deal in the trials of courtly, romantic love; often featuring a tormented suitor pursuing an unavailable or cruel …show more content…
One striking difference between the two poems is that Petrarch directs the final line of his sonnet towards his mistress, claiming ‘she’ is the causer of his ‘sate’. By contrast, Wyatt directs the entirety of the sonnet to the ‘third-party’ reader, despite having kept reasonably close to Petrarch’s original before this moment. This departure suggests how, in Wyatt’s work as a whole, despair and bitterness tend to predominate, whilst in Petrarch the emphasis remains on a hope for transcendence. ‘Farewell, Love’ can also be used to depict Wyatt’s despair and bitterness, as it follows the speaker’s lamenting attack upon love itself. Throughout the sonnet, the speaker makes it appear as though he has escaped love’s clutches, particularly when describing its “baited hooks [that] shall tangle [him] no more” (XXXI, l. 2) and that in him it claims “no more authority.” (XXXI, l. 11) In these two instances, it appears as though love is a dominating form, which had hooked the speaker at the earliest opportunity. The speaker is now addressing Love after being ‘freed’ from its ensuring embrace, and tells it to “go trouble younger hearts” (XXXI, l. 10) as he as aged too cynical for it to delude him. The concluding couplet summarises the speaker’s experience in love “For hitherto though I’ve lost my time, / Me list no …show more content…
Guss, by contrast, argues that “His imitations depart from Petrarch chiefly in denouncing the lady, in clamouring for sexual reward, and in introducing derogatory descriptions of feminine beauty and rural charm.” To some extent, Guss can be alleged to be correct, particularly when discussing poems such as ‘They flee from me’. Ostriker, also, only appears to agree with Guss to some extent, claiming “he never once, in all his lyrics, praises a lady. He describes a lady on only three occasions.” This suggests that Wyatt’s interest is not so much in the beauty of the lady, but in her manner and person. This is often shown by Wyatt as a revealing final couplet, as in ‘They flee from me’, as the speaker proclaims “But since that I so kindly am served / I would fain to know what she hath deserved.” (LXXX, ll. 20-21) These final lines demonstrate the actual anger and bitterness that the speaker feels towards his departed lady, indicated by his use of the word ‘deserved’, as though she deserves to be punished for her treatment of him. Furthermore, the fact that he suggests he was ‘kindly’ served his end not only suggests once more the gentleness of the lady, whilst also implying she only acts this way in accordance to her ‘kind’, the female. Therefore, despite ‘clamouring’ for sexual reward Wyatt also seems to be demoing women for their sexual nature, leaving his speakers in a frustrated position. A similar frustration is depicted in ‘I find no peace’, as the speaker
Everett, Nicholas From The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamiltong. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press.
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,
lust. To his Coy Mistress is a pure lust one even though in parts may
Love as a hunt makes aides in understanding his assertion that he knows where love hides. In this passage of the poem Wyatt writes “HOSO list to hunt, I know where is and hind!”(Wyatt 75). Shakespeare thinks of love as something that two people share and that it is unbreakable and it can be seen in these lines, “Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom” (Sonnet 481). Even though both poets do not speak of love and relationships the same terms, one speaks of love in terms of a committed relationship and the other speaks of love as the pursuit of something you cannot have because it belongs to someone
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.
The difficulty of discussing the representation of women in the work of sixteenth century English poets like Sir Thomas Wyatt, Sir Philip Sidney, and Edmund Spenser is the need to address authorial intent in its historical context. As a critic, one cannot attribute to words what the author did not intend; however, one can attribute intentions that the author did not word. For example, it is easy to justify the objectification and subordination of women in the English-Petrarchan sonnet tradition but is it entirely factual? Does object of desire necessarily mean desired object? Does such a designation deny the agency or even apply to the beloved? The question to ask is whether contemporary criticism can be applied retroactively; that is, whether theories concerning objectification or ‘othering’ are relevant merely because they fit. The real challenge is to decide if evidence of objectification can be discovered or simply applied to a text that has no concept of it. It is particularly disconcerting that much of the modern renaissance criticism researched for this essay sees no possible contradiction in linking rhetorical evidence to intent; that is to say, they show little evidence of investigating the possible discrepancies between treating objectification as ahistorical and socially contextual, even when they argue for the historically situated nature of identity. One must also consider the fact that theories of objectification interpret and interrogate the text, not the author; that is unless one presumes they are the same thing. To do so, however, commits one to a series of requisite and problematic assumptions. The first of these is the exchange of mimesis for art as an imitation of the author, a shadow of a shadow. Speaking his...
...uty which is impossible for any woman or man to match. Campion's poem reflects this impossible ideal that society inflicts on us. This woman in There is a Garden in Her Face could never really live up to the image that the speaker has created of her. The image is false, and so is his love because he is only focusing on her outward appearance. The speaker in Shakespeare's sonnet clearly is not in love with his mistress' looks. Everything about her is contrary to society's standards, but he understands the absurdity of these standards and rejects them. There is more to his mistress than meets the eye, and that is why he truly loves her.
Poetry by William King, Martyn Lowery, Andrew Marvell, Liz Lochhead, John Cooper Clarke and Elizabeth Jennings
"Idea: Sonnet 61" by Michael Drayton is a fourteen line Petrarchan sonnet that dramatizes the conflicting emotions that arise from an intimate relationship coming to an abrupt end. After analyzing and doing several closer readings, I learned that "Idea: Sonnet 61" is actually about the poet’s own conflicting emotions and feelings from a harsh break up. However, it was no ordinary and flippant relationship. It was a serious relationship that involved great amounts of passion that came to a sudden abrupt end. It was a relationship that had a great amount of importance to the poet, whether he is talking about his first wife or even his first love. I believe I confidently can determine and come to the conclusion that this poem is about the poet’s love of his life and his contradicting feelings he is having during and after their separation.
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.
This poem speaks of a love that is truer than denoting a woman's physical perfection or her "angelic voice." As those traits are all ones that will fade with time, Shakespeare exclaims his true love by revealing her personality traits that caused his love. Shakespeare suggests that the eyes of the woman he loves are not twinkling like the sun: "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" (1). Her hair is compared to a wire: "If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head" (3). These negative comparisons may sound almost unloving, however, Shakespeare proves that the mistress outdistances any goddess. This shows that the poet appreciates her human beauties unlike a Petrarchan sonnet that stresses a woman's cheek as red a rose or her face white as snow. Straying away from the dazzling rhetoric, this Shakespearean poem projects a humane and friendly impression and elicits laughter while expressing a truer love. A Petrarchan sonnet states that love must never change; this poem offers a more genuine expression of love by describing a natural woman.
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.
There are a wide range of poets and authors who are able to move readers with their writings and life stories. For many centuries, poets have been able to express countless emotions and convey unbelievable stories in the readers’ head. People throughout the world in the early 1700’s until now, are moved by his variety of writing techniques and depth in romance. George Gordon Byron also known as Lord Byron became known as a poetic leader of his era. Incorporating his secret love affairs with not only his cousin, but also another man, and changed the world of poetry from that point on. Lord Byron changed poetry with his unforgettable past, and influence on early European poetry, art, and music.
Shakespeare’s sonnets include love, the danger of lust and love, difference between real beauty and clichéd beauty, the significance of time, life and death and other natural symbols such as, star, weather and so on. Among the sonnets, I found two sonnets are more interesting that show Shakespeare’s love for his addressee. The first sonnet is about the handsome young man, where William Shakespeare elucidated about his boundless love for him and that is sonnet 116. The poem explains about the lovers who have come to each other freely and entered into a relationship based on trust and understanding. The first four lines reveal the poet’s love towards his lover that is constant and strong and will not change if there any alternation comes. Next four lines explain about his love which is not breakable or shaken by the storm and that love can guide others as an example of true love but that extent of love cannot be measured or calculated. The remaining lines of the third quatrain refer the natural love which can’t be affected by anything throughout the time (it can also mean to death). In the last couplet, if