Sonnet Analysis: Ozymandias and The Second Coming Name: Date: Sonnet Analysis: Ozymandias and The Second Coming Ozymandias and The Second Coming are interesting pieces that easily capture the attention of the reader. From the titles to themes and other literary elements, it is indisputable that indeed these pieces qualify for analysis. There are major themes that come out in each of the sonnets. To start with The Second Coming, some of the themes that emerge include good versus evil, society and class, reality, warfare, as well as memory and the past. On the other hand, Ozymandias focus on the themes of transience, pride, art and culture, as well as man and his natural world. The question of whether good can be separated from evil is integral to the text of The Second Coming. In as much as it is not one’s interest to uncover the events of Yeats’ generation, it is necessary to note that the poem was written at a time during wars. Arguably, there seemed not to be any ‘good guys’ that time as every country was sending its men to war where they had to live in trenches for months. Worse still, the wars that time were motivated by minor issues such as disagreements over small patches of territorial land. Throughout the poem, the implication is that the society has gone to a wrong way, so much that people do not care to act responsibly. A situation is depicted at the beginning where the falcon, understood to be a symbol of tradition and nobility is deaf and
In "Sonnet 73", the speaker uses a series of metaphors to characterize what he perceives to be the nature of his old age. This poem is not simply a procession of interchangeable metaphors; it is the story of the speaker slowly coming to grips with the finality of his age and his impermanence in time.
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” (“Sonnet 18”) is one of Shakespeare’s most famous poems. It is the model English, or Shakespearean sonnet: it contains three quatrains and a finishing couplet.. The poem follows the traditional English sonnet form by having the octet introduce an idea or set up the poem, and the sestet beginning with a volta, or turn in perspective. In the octet of Sonnet 18, Shakespeare poses the question “Shall I compare the to a summer’s day” and basically begins to describe all the bad qualities of summer. He says it’s too windy, too short, too hot, and too cloudy. Eventually fall is going to come and take away all the beauty because of the changes nature brings. In the sestet, however, his tone changes as he begins to talk about his beloved’s “eternal summer” (Shakespeare line 9). This is where the turn takes place in the poem. Unlike the summer, their beauty will never fade. Not even death can stop their beauty for, according to Shakespeare, as long as people can read this poem, his lover’s beauty will continue to live. Shakespeare believes that his art is more powerful than any season and that in it beauty can be permanent.
In modern times, youth and beauty is an image seen everywhere. For example, a Versace billboard, magazine ad, TV commercial, all of which displays images of beautiful people. But what happens when this beauty fades? Shakespeare in his 12th sonnet talks about his experience and fading beauty. The purpose of this poem is to encourage a young man to not lose his beauty to the ravages of time. In order to do this, one must reproduce so beauty will live.
In the poem “The Second Coming”, by William Butler Yeats. He writes this poem after World War I, around 1919. Yeats is a Irish poet, who came from Protestant parentage. The over all theme of the poem is that God will come back again. There are many versions to how God will appear, but in this poem bad things happen first in order for God to come. In “The Second Coming,” Yeats uses symbolism to unfold the meaning of the poem.
In the first week of scholarship we began with an introduction to the module. I understood that the module focuses on helping us to develop various skills, such as study skills, research skills, and how to work at a degree level in general. This will be helpful because I can learn new skills and develop my current skills, which will be beneficial for my improvement as I progress through my degree.
the first of the two lines he uses the word ‘mark’ which means buoy to
Humanity is expected to be ethical, but experiences exposes humans to the immoral aspects of society, which can affect their perspective. World War One began due to the imperialist powers in Europe creating a disconnect between countries because of the power they desired, as explored within the Second Coming. By using metaphoric imagery “The falcon cannot hear the falconer”, Yeats conveys the disconnect and loss of control major powers in Europe were experiencing. The allegorical references to imperialism mirrors the ignorance of the
In order to describe the nature of the world, the lyrical subject of the sonnet uses dark and negative metaphors, which present the world as a "painted veil" (l. 1) and as a "gloomy scene" (l. 13). This symbol of
The detached tone of the poem resembles the divided relationship between the heroes and the rest of humanity in Watchmen. The manner in which the poet distances himself from his sonnet is related to how the heroes in the film separated themselves from society. The story of what remains of Ozymandias is not from the perspective of the author but rather from some unnamed traveler. The unrelated narrator augments a deeper level of obscurity of Ozymandias to the reader. Shelley’s framework of the sonnet, depersonalizing the story and adds ambiguity to the
In sonnet 95, the speaker depicts a paternal feeling while speaking to the addressee, where indeed the poet reminds his audience about way appearance can be so deceiving. The young man is relying on his good appearance to veil his sexual immorality. Being that he is handsome and attractive, people are reluctant to disapprove his behavior. In the first quadrant, the poet employs different stylistic devices, which include simile, as the young man is likened to a fragrant rose, and on the other hand, he is compared to a destructive worm, but all his dark side of life is hidden under his good looking and charming nature. What is important about this poem is the manner in which the speaker reminds the young man about his bad behavior and draws examples that makes him feel sorry about what he does behind his good-looking nature. By the use of diction, imagery, diction, images, metaphors and other figures of speech, such as tone of voice, allusions, syntax and structure of the speech, the speaker warns the young man against his sexual immorality, and reminds him that there are detrimental risks associated with his behavior if he does not change.
Donne even goes so far as to command God to destroy the person he has
The sonnet, being one of the most traditional and recognized forms of poetry, has been used and altered in many time periods by writers to convey different messages to the audience. The strict constraints of the form have often been used to parallel the subject in the poem. Many times, the first three quatrains introduce the subject and build on one another, showing progression in the poem. The final couplet brings closure to the poem by bringing the main ideas together. On other occasions, the couplet makes a statement of irony or refutes the main idea with a counter statement. It leaves the reader with a last impression of what the author is trying to say.
In The Second Coming, by William Butler Yeats, Yeats explains the destruction of war caused by man and his inability to hear god because his own ideas are clouding his judgement. The poem describes Yeats’s prediction of a second world war caused by the wrongdoings of man through the biblical allusion of the second coming. Yeat’s also uses diction and symbolism to emphasize a gloomy and depressing setting. However, the destruction of man is not only caused by the actions of humans, it is often caused by their lack of
Sonnet 6 is notable for the ingenious multiplying of conceits and especially for the concluding pun on a legal will in the final couplet: "Be not self-willed, for thou art much too fair / To be death's conquest and make worms thine heir." Here, as earlier in the sonnet, the poet juxtaposes the themes of narcissism and death, as well as procreation. "Self-willed" echoes line 4's "self-killed," and the worms that destroy the young man's dead body will be his only heirs should he die without begetting a child which shows the theme of death. The whole sonnet is about trying to persuade the man to have a baby hence the theme if procreation. And lastly, the man is being selfish in wanting to die without passing on his beauty.
In Sonnet 7 (“Lo, in the orient, when the gracious light..”), one out of the 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet, William Shakespeare, focuses on the burden of beauty and how human life can be compared to the passage of the sun rising and setting. Throughout the whole poem, the advice is given to the young man, to follow the sun and its direction. This sonnet is written in iambic pentameter, consists of three quatrains and ends with a couplet while following the rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The poet 's way of using poetic and literary devices such as rhythm, alliteration, and caesuras strengthens the poem’s argument that the sun and man must coexist to live on and that the only way for the youth to ensure their