Metaphors In Sonnet 116

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.

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

Poetry can help authors bring forward many different emotions through just the themes that they choose to deliver. Some poets show their sadness, disgust, unashamedly talk about their romantic relationships, and most of the time love. Poets can change the entire poem just by the mood that they set, the tone that they are using, or the imagery that they use to describe. Shakespeare is a big example of using different themes, tones and imagery. In three of his sonnets they deal with romantic love and they have been very widely popular throughout many years even though some of his writing can be hard to decipher.

A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines that rhyme in a particular pattern. William Shakespeare’s sonnets were the only non-dramatic poetry that he wrote. Shakespeare used sonnets within some of his plays, but his sonnets are best known as a series of one hundred and fifty-four poems. The series of one hundred and fifty-four poems tell a story about a young aristocrat and a mysterious mistress. Many people have analyzed and contemplated about the significance of these “lovers”. After analysis of the content of both the “young man” sonnets and the “dark lady sonnets”, it is clear that the poet, Shakespeare, has a great love for the young man and only lusts after his mistress.

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.

Everyone in the world, in one way or another, experiences love; However, the source of it is unknown. In Sonnet 130 the author, William Shakespeare introduces a speaker who is in love with a woman he refers to as his mistress. The speaker expresses his love for her through a sonnet, but unlike other authors of his time, Shakespeare writes his sonnet in a more unique and humorous way. Shakespeare’s excess use of negative similes and a mysterious tone change help convey the meaning of love on a deeper, more intimate level by showing that looks are not as important as one’s inner beauty. Shakespeare compares his mistress to several beautiful things, but the comparison is never in favor of the speaker’s lover, which shows how the sonnet

In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29 “When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,” the speaker explores emotions expressed by the people around him, focusing on the contrasting feelings of envy, and love. Despite the intense jealousy and yearning for another man’s riches, the speaker awakens himself to his own figurative riches as the sonnet reaches its volta. Love, he realizes, is worth much more than what another man possesses. However, love itself may be the speaker’s fatal flaw, as the speaker seems to be mourning the loss of his love at the beginning of the sonnet. Within the sonnet, love is depicted as powerful enough to break and rebuild a man. The speaker’s love may not be present, which is the cause of his disgrace, but the memory of her love is enough to lift his spirits.

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.

One of William Shakespeare's tools from his choices of words was figurative diction since most words used to describe the narrator’s mistress were based in comparing her to other objects. For example, the poem starts with the narrator using the words “eyes”, “like”, “nothing”, and “sun”. The narrator introduces an example of a simile from the figurative choice of words since the word “like” is been used to compare her to something else. In this case he's comparing the sun’s brightness to the dull light of his mistress's eyes and the eyes are important because they are the door to the soul. Then in line 2 from Sonnet 130, the narrator says that the color of the coral outcast more “her lip’s red”. This is an example of a metaphor since the narrator

“Sonnet CXVI,” written by William Shakespeare, is an epic attempt to describe what true love is and what true love is not. Shakespeare utilizes numerous rhetorical devices, vivid imagery, and in depth expression to show that if love is true, it is constant and does not waver in the face of challenges or obstacles (Line 3). “Sonnet CXVI” is still read today due to the fact that it gives a beautiful representation of what real love should be like. Therefore, due to its meaning and expression, Shakespeare’s “Sonnet CXVI” should still be read today.

Love comes in many colors. The blood-crimson of lust and the jade-green of jealously are but two of the vast palate required to paint this inescapable human passion. William Shakespeare’s store of colors is unrivaled. No human failing, foible or foolishness escapes his gentle, comedic reproof. He equally enjoins his audience to venture as bravely as he does into the palpable horror of love gone amiss. In “OTHELLO,”“MACBETH,” and many more dramas, love’s fatal potential to provoke vengeance or the quest for earthly power is powerfully felt. These are epic investigations of love’s progression. A sonnet, however, is the equivalent of the modern short story. It is a snapshot of a single, significant experience. In two of Shakespeare’s sonnets – diverse in time and temperament, but complimentary in their conclusions – Shakespeare states his deepest feelings about the potential for a human love that is an un-judgmental commitment to the selfless nourishment of a partner. Sonnet 116, with a certainty and wisdom obtained from experience and suffering, marches out a rigorous and profound definition of true love. Sonnet 29 finds a soul in turmoil salvaged by an epiphany of understanding the power of true love to heal. By examining the perspective of the respective speakers, their individual progresses, the themes evoked and the poetic devices employed to compliment content this essay argues that for Shakespeare, true and enduring

What Shakespeare and Donne have in common is that numerous of their sonnets have a universal theme of love as well as their desire for a loved one. The most distinct theme in Shakespeare and Donne’s sonnets and plays is true and eternal love. In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 and Donne’s “The Flea,” marriage is illustrated similarity even though both of the poets have different views on marriage. In this analysis, both Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 and Donne’s “The Flea” will be observed for the reoccurring theme of love as well as how both writers define marriage.

Shakespeare’s sonnet 60 expresses the inevitable end that comes with time and uses this dark truth to express his hopefulness that his poetry will carry his beloved’s beauty and worth into the future in some way so that it may never die. This love poem is, as all sonnets are, fourteen lines. Three quatrains form these fourteen lines, and each quatrain consists of two lines. Furthermore, the last two lines that follow these quatrains are known as the couplet. This sonnet has the rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, as most Shakespearean sonnets follow. In each of the three quatrains, Shakespeare discusses a different idea. In this particular sonnet, the idea is how time continues to pass on, causing everything to die. The couplet connects these ideas to one central theme, this theme being Shakespeare’s hope for the beauty of his beloved’s immortality through his poetry’s continuation into future times.

The speaker is a man who is declaring his love to a woman. In stanza 6, line 21, “Thou art my life, my love, my heart” shows that he is declaring his love for this person. He expresses throughout the poem his love for her, and what he would do for her love in return. In stanza 1, line 2, “Thy protestant to be” shows that she isn’t going to let herself be won over easily, and in stanza 1, line 3 & 4, “Or bid me love, and I will give A loving heart to thee” shows that

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.