George Gascoigne's 'For That He Looked Not Upon Her'

The main theme within Clarke’s Sonnet is his distance and inability to communicate with a lover. This poem is written for his lover as an attempt to connect with her, although within the poem, he is continuing to communicate poorly. The way in which he copes with this broken relationship drives the tone of the poem.

The tone of despair and loneliness is carried on to the proceeding stanzas, and is more evident in the last two. By saying that “Water limpid as the solitudes that flee

In For That He Looked Not upon Her, George Gascoigne uses several literary devices to bring his poem together in a way that makes the point of it clear. He also uses these devices to show the deeper meaning behind his words. Of many, three of the devices used prominently throughout his work is form, diction, and imagery. All pulled together the author is able to clearly portray a betrayed tone towards the subject of the poem.

Poetry written in the sixteenth century is not very different from modern-day poetry. Poets seem to continue to craft work based upon love and heartbreak more than any other topic. In Georgia Giscoigne’s 1573 poem “For That He Looked Not upon Her”, the speaker comes off as distraught over a girl, but actually has a more conflicting attitude towards her. The speaker feels desire towards this girl, but his desirer comes off as ambivalent at times. He shows indecisiveness about his feelings towards her, and at times comes off as regretful towards his past with her. Gascoigne presents a desiring, ambivalent, yet regretful attitude through his choice of title, diction, and use of metaphors.

The author of “For That He Looked Not Upon Her” uses several literary techniques such as form, imagery, and diction that develop the complex attitude of the poem. The situation of this poem is a couple having problems that causes them to question their relationship. The further we read into the poem the more we learn of the fear and doubt between the two individuals. The authors use of melancholy diction contributes to the tone and the complex attitude of the poem. The complex attitude of the poem is lack of trust that the couple has in their relationship. The man loves his partner even though she has hurt him. He is confused and unsure of whether or not he should continue

“For That He Looked Not Upon Her” is a poem written by 16th-century poet George Gascoigne. In the poem, Gascoigne uses sonnet form to organize his work. Next, he uses strong diction to help convey the attitude of the speaker. Finally, Gascoigne uses imagery to bring the words to life through vivid analogies. Gascoigne effectively uses form, strong diction, and active imagery to develop the complex tone of the speaker.

In George Gascoigne sonnet, For That He Looked Not upon Her the speaker uses a complex attitude toward a female whom he was in a previous relationship with. The speaker expresses his complex attitude through the use of a confused or conflicted tone and imagery. The speaker is attracted to the female but doubtful about her. Also, the speaker does not want to be drawn in again because he remembers her hurting him,even though she tempts him and is very desirable.

What is a relationship worth if it will only end in misery? In the poem For That He Looked Not upon Her, English poet George Gascoigne explores the universal feeling of fear and disappointment with a multitude of vivid imagery, metaphors, and literary devices by painting a picture of fear, self loathing, destruction, and dread. In fifteen lines, Gascoigne uses multiple literary devices to communicate his ideas efficiently, but also with plenty of emotion. Gascoigne conveys his emotions through two deceivingly simple images: a mouse and a fly, which play into the entire poem as a whole.

In the poem "For That He Looked Not upon Her" by George Gascoigne, the speaker portrays a cautious and distrustful, yet longing attitude towards the woman which he speaks of. Through his usage of literary devices, Gascoigne is able to develop this attitude throughout the poem.

    The poem is structured as a sonnet which commonly expresses a theme of love throughout the lines. Also it is paired with the “ABAB” rhyme scheme to give an emotional view to the readers about the conflict he has. Also the sonnet and the rhyme scheme is a common usage of poem making and many people know what it is, so the poet uses this structure to let readers understand more easily and clearly. He also uses the “ABAB” scheme to separate parts that are important within themselves. In the first four lines, it talks about the poet himself and how much he tries to avoid the one she loves by “ hold my louring head so low”(Line 2). In the next four lines, it talks about the mouse and how its problems relates with the poet’s emotional pain. After that, the next four lines talks about the fly and how it relates with the author with his physical pain. Using these methods help the poet communicate with the readers easily.

In the opening lines of Millay’s poem, it seems as if she is speaking to a lover. The tone of the poem is set in the first line, “in some quite casual way” (1). Throughout the sonnet, one senses a frighteningly casual tone, something very matter of fact, as if these fourteen lines are a passing thought in Millay’s head. The alliteration of “quite casual” supports the plain-spoken tone, giving a feel of simple, everyday speech. Millay imagines that as she is on the subway, she casually glances over and notices on “the back-page of a paper, say / Held by a neighbor” (3-4) her lover is gone and not to return.

The poem is poignant as it causes readers to think of those things that revive melancholy experiences. Lacroix interweaves “the irreplaceable moments of life and the sweet sting of memories” (canlit) into a poem describing the difficulty in acknowledging the departure of a better time. The line breaks that that occur place emphasis on the words at the beginnings and the ends of lines; an important element is that every three lines (besides one exception of four), either “you”, “we”, or “I” begin the line. The first half of the poem speaks of “you”, “I”, and “we”, but the last half is all “I”. The change from two people to one is a striking representation of how even though the husband is still alive, he is already gone in the mind of the wife. She is resigned to being alone now, and finds it unbearable to look at the “books/ the photo albums and flowered shirts” (Lacroix 52) because they remind her that the one thing she wants (her husband) is no longer beside

While the speaker compares his mistress to several beautiful things which are never in favor of the mistress, the speaker shows how the sonnet makes a complete mockery of Petrarchan conventions. The speaker constantly compares his mistress to beautiful and valuable objects. The speaker notes that “[He has] seen roses damasked, red and white”, to show how he has seen a variety of different color changes in roses; However, he acts surprised by the fact that he has never been able to see that marvelous color change in his mistress’s cheeks which show how . In the first few lines of the poem, the speaker points out what his mistress’s physical appearance is lacking. The speaker thinks his “mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun.” Instead of making

In this particular passage, the speaker offers both day and night flattery, in hopes of finding rest. The flattery aligns day and night, and creates images by contrasting both of them. The simple contrast of the day as light and the night as dark calls into attention other contrasts such as the day is freckled with clouds, while the night is beautiful even when stars fade. These small details create vivid images that help the speaker continue the idea of connecting day and night. Therefore, these vivid details enhance the overall poem by revealing the speaker’s desperation to achieve rest. Being haunted by the thoughts and memories of a lover can be described in many different ways, but this particular sonnet gives the reader the idea

The second quatrain serves as a justification not only for the narrator, but also for readers of the sonnet. The narrator insists that the young man’s worth is “as wide as the ocean is” and, that, his (the young man’s) humility is “the proudest sail [he] doth bear”. Although there is a juxtaposition between pride and humility, the narrator’s idea of the young man is justification enough for his continued musings on the other man. The narrator affirms that he is content with continuing to write and praise the young man despite his boat being “far inferior to his (the other suitor)”. Because the narrator’s “saucy bark” does “willfully appear” on the young man’s “broad main”, it further implicates that while the narrator knows there is a “better spirit” he also will continue writing about the young man.