Shakespeare's Sonnet 30 and Tennyson's In Memoriam

1315 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary analysis of shakespeare

Loss has been experienced over centuries and many poets have written on the subject. William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30 and Alfred Lord Tennyson’s In Memoriam are two poems from different eras that express the idea of loss. Both were written after the loss of a close male friend, and both are only one poem from a series of poems. Shakespeare lived in England where he was born in 1564 and died in 1616 and Tennyson also lived in England where he was born in 1809 and died in 1892, the poems being written in 1609 and between 1833 and 1850 respectively. Whilst the poet’s historical and cultural contexts are different, and there are differences in structure and poetic devices used in the two poems, there are also similarities in the expression and feelings engendered by the loss of a loved one.

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30 continues the theme of the previous sonnet, Sonnet 29, with its memories of youth. It is believed to be one of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets. It is believed that the sonnets were written about the convincing of a young man, with whom the poet seemed to have a romantic interest in (sonnets 1-126). The finale sonnets (127-154) are addressed to a women known as the dark lady. Sonnet 30 is written in relation to Sonnet 29’s theme, that memories of the youth are precious. (Mabillard, A., 2000) During the 16th and 17th century, the time of the Renaissance where there was a rebirth of art and literature, and Shakespeare was one of its most celebrated poet and playwright. However, the 17th century was also a time when the Plague and the Civil War in England took many lives. People during Shakespearean times were used to death and loss.

Tennyson’s full poem of In Memoriam was written between the years of 1833 and 1850. ...

... middle of paper ...

...alysis-of-in-memoriam-vii-by-alfred.html http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/30detail.html http://www.gradesaver.com/tennysons-poems/study-guide/section16/ http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-can-tennysons-memoriam-part-7-paraphrased-427484 (2006, 04). Sonnet 30. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 04, 2006, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Sonnet-30-84810.html
Analysis of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30, unknown date, unknown author. Accessed 9/04/14
Robson, W., 2013, Major Literary Work, Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Accessed on 8/04/14
Mabillard, Amanda. Introduction to Shakespeare's Sonnets. Shakespeare Online. 30 Aug. 2000. Accessed 9/04/14 < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/sonnetintroduction.html >

Show More
Related

  • Literary Elements in Emily Bronte´s Poem Remembrance

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emily Bronte’s Remembrance is about one who is reminiscing a lost love who had died. It is an elegy poem which is “a poem that laments the death of a person, or one that is simply sad and thoughtful.” Remembrance is also a lyric poem in which “expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet.” The poem reflects the historical context of the 18th century and expresses the romanticism of the Victorian era. Bronte has influenced her 18th century audience and 21st century audience to connect to the tone and mood of the poem through the literary devices she has used, such as imagery and repetition. Through her use of these literary elements, Bronte has created a sense of heartache and remembrance for those who have experienced similar loss to the loss present in the poem. For me personally, these elements, along with the romanticism she has included, make me appreciate my life in that I have not yet experienced this heartache, and encourages me to realise how fortunate I am to have people in my life in which have a similar love for me as the speaker has for their lover.

    Read More

  • A Parent’s Elegy

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    Just as Katherine Philips, poet Ben Jonson also wrote two elegies, for his son Benjamin and daughter Mary, entitled “On My First Son” and “On My First Daughter”. Jonson’s son died the early age of seven, and he expressed the strong, personal bond between them through the years Benjamin was “lent” to him. Jonson really comes from a place of sorrow and self-condemnation while writing this elegy. His approach to “...

    Read More

  • The Theme of Loss in Poetry

    2008 Words  | 5 Pages

    the development of poetry and his voice can still be clearly heard. today in the twenty-first century. His poems from ‘Lyrical Ballads’. in his own words, featuring ‘incidents and situations from common life’. This indisputably incorporates the theme of loss in many of his poems.

    Read More

  • Copmaring Shakespeare's Sonnets 116 and 147

    1485 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wilson, John Dover. An Introduction to the Sonnets of Shakespeare: For the Use of Historians

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Sonnets: The Powerful Words Of Shakespeare

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparing the Sonnets of Petrarchan and Shakespearean in Style, Structure and Subject Approach

    1192 Words  | 3 Pages

    Steele, Felicia Jean. "Shakespeare's SONNET 130." Explicator 62.3 (2004): 132-137. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Youth: Life at Its Peak in "Sonnet 15" by William Shakespeare

    1268 Words  | 3 Pages

    As each day goes by the beauty of our vibrant youth decays and diminishes. In "Sonnet 15" Shakespeare refers to youth as life at its peak, however this precious point in our life is short-lived. Shakespeare speaks of youth as a single moment of perfection. He glorifies youth and alleges to immortalize it through his poetic words. He uses metaphors, imagery, and rhyme in a way to enhance the beauty and perfection of mans youth while in its prime. Through this he demonstrate the love and richness of youth despite the tole time takes on it.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis of Sonnet 29 by William Shakespeare

    2546 Words  | 6 Pages

    William Shakespeare (1564-1616) lived in a time of religious turbulence. During the Renaissance people began to move away from the Church. Authors began to focus on the morals of the individual and on less lofty ideals than those of the Middle Ages. Shakespeare wrote one-hundred fifty-four sonnets during his lifetime. Within these sonnets he largely explored romantic love, not the love of God. In Sonnet 29 Shakespeare uses specific word choice and rhyme to show the reader that it is easy to be hopeful when life is going well, but love is always there, for rich and poor alike, even when religion fails.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Sonnet 71

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparison: Petrarchan and Shakespearean Sonnets

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    Steele, Felicia Jean. "Shakespeare's SONNET 130." Explicator 62.3 (2004): 132-137. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Egotism and Love in Shakespeare's Sonnet 42

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shakespeare, William, "Sonnet 42." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Eds. M.H. Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt. 7th ed. 2 vols. New York: Norton, 2000. 1:1033.

    Read More

  • Love in Shakespeare's Sonnets 18 and 130

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The. The "Sonnet 18" The Longman Anthology of British Literature, compact edition. Ed. David Damrosch.

    Read More

  • Poetry as a Reflection of The Inner Being

    1960 Words  | 4 Pages

    During Tennyson’s childhood and maturing adulthood he endured tempestuous events which altered the course of his life and the essence of literary career. The death of his best friend, Hallem, threw him into a phase of darkness, solitude and despair. It was “a period referred to as his ‘”ten years silence”‘(Napierkowski and Rose 270); he was extremely affected by the death “for it shattered all his life and made him desire to die rather than live” (Napierkowski and Rose 270). The potent emotion surrounding death was modeled in his poem Tears Idle, Tears. The poet identified “the source of his poems emotion as rising from his feelings about the death of his college friend…H...

    Read More

  • Gray's “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”

    2194 Words  | 5 Pages

    “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is a poem composed by Thomas Gray over a period of ten years. Beginning shortly after the death of his close friend Richard West in 1742, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” was first published in 1751. This poem’s use of dubbal entendre may lead the intended audience away from the overall theme of death, mourning, loss, despair and sadness; however, this poem clearly uses several literary devices to convey the author’s feelings toward the death of his friend Richard West, his beloved mother, aunt and those fallen soldiers of the Civil War. This essay will discuss how Gray uses that symbolism and dubbal entendre throughout the poem to convey the inevitability of death, mourning, conflict within self, finding virtue in one’s life, dealing with one’s misfortunes and giving recognition to those who would otherwise seem insignificant.

    Read More

  • In Memoriam Alfred Lord Tennyson Analysis

    1477 Words  | 3 Pages

    Anger can be an anchor, allowing momentary structure to the nothingness of loss. The anger becomes a bridge, a connection to the deceased loved one. This connection made from anger feels better than nothing. According to Kübler-Ross, "When the first stage of denial cannot be maintained any longer, it is replaced by feelings of anger, rage, envy, and resentment'" (43). Anger can be seen subtly throughout Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “In Memoriam A. H. H.” For example, Canto 83 portrays the culminating anger that the speaker is battling over the loss of his friend. The speaker writes, “For this alone on Death I wreak / The wrath that garners in my heart; / He put our lives so far apart / We cannot hear each other speak” (1525- 1528). Within these lines the speaker is conveying his opinion that he has somehow been wronged by the death of his friend. He wants vengeance against death because he can no longer communicate with his dead friend. This anger is anchoring the speaker by allowing him to focus on something other than his grief over the loss of his

    Read More

More about Shakespeare's Sonnet 30 and Tennyson's In Memoriam

Open Document