THE PERSEPTION OF PARENT/CHILD RELATIONSHIPS IN THE SONNETS BY GEORGE

THE PERSEPTION OF PARENT/CHILD RELATIONSHIPS IN THE SONNETS BY GEORGE

ELIOT AND SIR WALTER RALEGH

'Brother and Sister' by George Eliot and 'Sir Walter Ralegh to his

son' by Sir Walter Ralegh are both sonnets on the subject of Children

and Parental Relationships.

Despite one sonnet being written by a woman and the other by a man,

their relationships with their children are very important to them.

They are both Shakespearean sonnets, dealing with the aspects of age

and experience.

George Eliot is writing as a child and what their mother is saying to

them, where as Sir Ralegh is writing as a father and what he is saying

to his son. It is distinguished that George is writing as a child as

her first line says her mother "stroked down my tippet and set my

brother's frill " Therefore, this will have to be taken into account

when comparing the two sonnets. Both sonnets are similar, as life is

being explained - what must and mustn't be done and what to look out

for.

They are different ideas though, as in George Eliot's sonnet she is a

young, innocent child listening to her mother talk to her and her

brother, where as in Sir Ralegh's sonnet he is much older and has the

task of explaining life to his son and what he should avoid.

Both sonnets are similar as both are Shakespearean sonnets as they

follow the pattern of three quatrains and a final cuplet. But the

ideas portrayed are different. In George Eliot's sonnet the first

quatrain explains the background to what is happening. The second and

third quatrain describe the surroundings and what role that plays in

her life. But, in Sir Ralegh's the first quatrain goes straight into

explaining the situation. The second and third quatrains then go on in

det...

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...lets in both the sonnets have different meanings. George

Eliot describes her overall feelings about nature and what her mother

had said to her.

"And made a happy strange solemnity, A deep-toned chant from life

unknown to me"

But, Sir Ralegh's ending cuplet is more formal - a prayer and wish is

being made for the safety of the son against the three things.

"Then bless thee, and beware, and let us pray, We part not with thee

at this meeting day".

Both sonnets show that the best is wanted for the child/children from

the parent,

although both poets describe it in many different ways.

When I first read the sonnets, I didn't feel that there was any real

meaning to either George Elliot or Sir Walter Ralegh's sonnet. But, on

closer examination I have found that is not the case. Both sonnets

refer well to the heading of "Parent/ Child Relationships".