Figurative Language In Sonnet 116

Love can be a tricky thing. Love can be the begging to something new, something beautiful. While, Love can also be a dangerous and deserving thing. Love is a feeling many will feel whether for someone or something. Yet, loving someone can truly show not only who someone is as a person but, can show things about yourself you never knew. Thing you wish you never knew. Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 137” shows the dirt and ugly and immoral side your heart can obtain when love is blinding you.

Shakespeare examines love in two different ways in Sonnets 116 and 130. In the first, love is treated in its most ideal form as an uncompromising force (indeed, as the greatest force in the universe); in the latter sonnet, Shakespeare treats love from a more practical aspect: it is viewed simply and realistically without ornament. Yet both sonnets are justifiable in and of themselves, for neither misrepresents love or speaks of it slightingly. Indeed, Shakespeare illustrates two qualities of love in the two sonnets: its potential and its objectivity. This paper will compare and contrast the two sonnets by Shakespeare and show how they represent two different attitudes to love.

These ideas of everlasting love are similarly supported by the techniques both poets use, however both poets use different techniques. In Line 8 of “Sonnet 116”, the Shakespeare personifies love as a guiding star that “looks on tempests and is never shaken”. The “tempests” is a metaphor for any obstacle the lovers may face in their relationship, such as arguments and time and illuminates the love that guides

William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” and Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Love Is Not All” both attempt to define love, by telling what love is and what it is not. Shakespeare’s sonnet praises love and speaks of love in its most ideal form, while Millay’s poem begins by giving the impression that the speaker feels that love is not all, but during the unfolding of the poem we find the ironic truth that love is all. Shakespeare, on the other hand, depicts love as perfect and necessary from the beginning to the end of his poem. Although these two authors have taken two completely different approaches, both have worked to show the importance of love and to define it. However, Shakespeare is most confident of his definition of love, while Millay seems

“Sonnet 116” written by William Shakespeare is focusing on the strength and true power of love. Love is a feeling that sustainable to alterations, that take place at certain points in life, and love is even stronger than a breakup because separation cannot eliminate feelings. The writer makes use of metaphors expressing love as a feeling of mind not just heart as young readers may see it. To Shakespeare love is an immortal felling that is similar to a mark on a person’s life.

The song “Heartless” by Kanye West and Shakespeare’s poem “Sonnet 130” have a similar message about hatred to one’s lover and use rather similar figurative language techniques to convey this message. The two passages use forms of simile to express their feelings towards their lover. West’s “cold as the winter wind when it breeze, yo” (2) and Shakespeare’s “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,” (1) show the hatred towards their lover. The words “nothing” and “cold” offer a negative connotation to their feelings for the other person they love. With Kanye West’s situation in the song, he is comparing his partner’s personality to the frosty, biting, cold winter winds when they are blowing.

Is true love an unattainable ideal? Do we all have a soul mate? Is love just an exchange of lies for the purpose of flattery? These questions, and countless others, regarding love have been pondered by philosophers and pop music stars alike for hundreds of years. William Shakespeare examines these questions from two vantage points in “Sonnet 116” and “Sonnet 138.” Firstly, in “Sonnet 116”, Shakespeare analyzes love in a rhetorical manner, meaning that he is not discussing a specific relationship of his, but theorizing on the concept of love as a whole, in abstract terms. Conversely, in “Sonnet 138”, Shakespeare analyzes love in a specific manner. He looks inward to inspect a relationship between him and a woman, also known as The Dark Lady, and paints a much different picture of love than in “Sonnet 116”, in specific terms. In William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” and “Sonnet 138”, Shakespeare analyzes love in abstract and specific terms; concluding that abstract love relies on affection, does not change or age, and is built upon a solid foundation of truth, while specific love, on the other hand, relies on lust, actively ignores change and aging, and revolves around deception. These two sonnets paint entirely adverse portraits of love in order to emphasize the dichotomy between the poet’s expectations of love, and the reality which does not live up to the poet’s expectations.

By using an association with something tangible like the warmth and beauty of summer, Shakespeare is able to validate the couples enthusiasm and intensity of feelings for each other. As shown in sonnet “116” metaphors are also used to show love, Lines 4-5 provide an even deeper and more significant meaning for this sonnet. The metaphor makes love seem like an unbreakable structure, one that is built on trust, admiration, and no doubt of wavering feelings. Lines 4-5 contain examples of diction such as, “never,” “shaken,” and “tempest”. Diction is used in this quote to create a deeper meaning and emphasize on how firm the structure should be. The word “never” gives a sense of confidence that nothing will ever be destroyed and the love will always be the same. Love creates enthusiasm within a person, causing them feel a deep compassion for another, but love also makes a person stronger by guiding them through problematic moments

Love is one of the central ideologies present in this text. Shakespeare endues love with numerous traits and flaws, elaborating on the nature of love with statements made by the young lovers. Through Helena‘s soliloquy, Shakespeare describes many of the frustrating characteristics attributed

In “Sonnet 93” by William Shakespeare, the speaker has an honest love for his significant other. He seems a little confused and has uncertainty coming from his partner and starts to question their relationship. The speaker is focused on how things look on the outside isn’t always the same as on the inside.  Some people may seem sweet and innocent on the outside, but are evil and cruel on the inside.  Shakespeare uses diction, allusion, imagery, and form and structure in his sonnet to illustrate how people aren’t the same on the outside as on the inside.

1.) A sonnet is a lyrical poem that has fourteen lines. Sonnets were introduced in the 16th century, William Shakespeare’s time and era. William Shakespeare’s notorious “Sonnet 18” is by far my favorite sonnet that I have had the chance and pleasure to indulge in. Sonnet 18 is about the love and compassion the speaker has for his significant other.

Parody of A Petrarchan Sonnet Throughout this sonnet Shakespeare sends missed signals to the reader about his mistress. Initially, the reader gets the sense that this whole poem is about the speaker belittling his mistress then it completes shifts to the idea that he actually complimenting and loves his mistress. This makes the reader really curious as to what Shakespeare’s purpose was of writing this sonnet. Typically, in his sonnets, Shakespeare writes about the notion of unrequited love or falling out of love with someone. However, in sonnet 130 Shakespeare delves into foreign territory by mocking other poets of his time by criticizing their false beliefs of their mistress’ and establishing a theme of Perception vs. Reality.

Sonnet 19 is a sonnet that deals with time and the things or people that fall victim to it. Several examples of figurative language such as personification help give the poem life and keep the reader interested. Sonnet 19, has a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The first 12 lines present a problem, and the last two lines, also known as a couplet, present a solution to the problem. This is known as a Shakespearean sonnet or sometimes referred to as an English style sonnet.

Once upon a time there was an English writer from the 1600s who wrote a collection of 154 poems called Shakespeare’s Sonnets. The poems reflect on love, time, beauty, and death. Throughout the sonnets, many different types of love can be deciphered. The Various ways to love can be seen in William Shakespeare’s poems, as proven by lust in “Sonnet 129,” the love of appearances in “Sonnet 130,” true love in “Sonnet 116,” and the elements of nature in contrast to love in “Sonnet 18,” proving that there can be many different aspects of love and how it is perceived.

Shakespeare, who wrote the sonnets in 1609, expresses his own feelings through his greatest work of literature. The theme of love in the poems reflect thoughts from the Renaissance period. Love is one of many components of Shakespeare’s life shown in the sonnets. Love can be defined in many ways other than a strong affection for a lover. In Shakespeare’s sonnets, the concept of love can be seen through many uncommon means such as the love of life before death in “Sonnet 73,” love in marriage in “Sonnet 116,” love through sexual desire in “Sonnet 129,” and love through nature in “Sonnet 130,” proving that love can be expressed through many different feelings and emotions.