Unrequited Love In Sir Philip Sidney's Sonnet 31

A distinguished sense of hollowness, and darkness is discernable in George Elliot Clarke’s poem “Blank Sonnet”. This poem expresses, the author’s difficult and awkward communication with a lover through a broken relationship. word choice and imagery is imperative to the overall effect and tone of the poem. The usage of an atypical sonnet stylization, broken sentences, forms of metaphors, symbolism, sensory language, and alliteration form strong imagery, and a sense of disconnect. The overall effect leaves the reader with a resonating feeling of emptiness.

Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sonnet, “What lips my lips have kissed and where and why,” is about being, physically or mentally jaded, and thinking back to the torrid love of one’s youth. The “ghosts” that haunt her are the many lovers of her past; she’s specifically trying to remember them all. She recalls the passion she experienced and how there was a certain feeling within herself. Millay shows this through her vivid imagery, use of the rain as a literary device and by paralleling herself with a lonely tree.

Written in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet, one could hardly mistake it for anything so pleasant. Sonnets being traditionally used for beautiful, appealing topics, already there is contradiction between

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

The imagery in the poem, specifically natural imagery, helps use the reader’s senses to develop a vivid depiction of the speaker’s connection to nature and dissatisfaction with the surrounding reality. The speaker’s continued use of the “moon” reflects her attribution of feminine identity and idolistic character to the moon. As opposed to referencing herself and her personal insomnia, she uses the imagery of the moon “beyond sleep” to convey her internal struggles with insomnia and her reality. Throughout the poem, the speaker also refers to shining, reflective surfaces, such as “a body of water or a mirror”, to describe the inverted reality in which the speaker experiences reciprocated love. Reflective surfaces often invert the image that is projected into them, seemingly distorting the true nature and reality of the projected image. The speaker’s reference to this reflective imagery highlights her desire to escape the burden of a patriarchal society and assume an independent and free feminine identity. Specifically, the use of natural imagery from the references to the “moon” and “a body of water” convey the speaker’s desire to take refuge within the Earth or in the feminine identity of the Earth, Mother Earth. Feminine identities are often related and associated with aspects of nature due to the natural cycle of the menstrual period and the natural process of procreation. The speaker takes advantage of these connotations to suggest Earth and natural imagery as an escape from the man-made terrors of male dominated society. In the second stanza, the speaker uses extensive imagery to develop metaphors conveying the speaker’s experience of jealousy of the moon

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 poem’s structure as a sonnet allows the speaker’s feelings of distrust and heartache to gradually manifest themselves as the poem’s plot progresses. Each quatrain develops and intensifies the speaker’s misery, giving the reader a deeper insight into his convoluted emotions. In the first quatrain, the speaker advises his former partner to not be surprised when she “see[s] him holding [his] louring head so low” (2). His refusal to look at her not only highlights his unhappiness but also establishes the gloomy tone of the poem. The speaker then uses the second and third quatrains to justify his remoteness; he explains how he feels betrayed by her and reveals how his distrust has led him

In George Gascoigne’s sixteenth century poem, “For That He Looked Not upon Her” his speaker is overwhelmed with sorrow when he comes across the face of the woman he used to love. Gascoigne develops his speaker’s complex attitude through literary devices such as the English sonnet, diction, and visual imagery. As each quatrain passes the reader can sympathize with this speaker as he tries to shelter himself from his continuous pain. George Gascoigne’s poem “

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.

Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Sonnet IV” follows many of the conventions of the traditional Petrarchan sonnet. It follows the traditional rhyming scheme and octet, sestet structure. However it challenges the conventions of the typical subject of the Italian sonnet, unrequited love. In the octet at the beginning of the poem Millay uses images that give a sense of transience and in the ending sestet of the sonnet she contrasts the sense of impermanence given earlier with the idea that the speaker cannot forget the smiles and words of their ex-lover. This contrast between permanence and transience illustrates Millay’s interest in a fugacious relationship with everlasting memories. After further analysis of Millay’s highly structured rhyming scheme which puts emphasis on the last words of each line. She uses these words to further express her interest in exploring impermanent relationships by using words that are associated with an end or death.

A Comparison between To His Coy Mistress and Sonnet 116 The poem "To His Coy Mistress" was written in the mid 17th century by Andrew Marvell, being written in this time Marvell's poem was unable to be published as its taboo content was unfavoured by the puritans in power at the time. Whereas "Sonnet 116" by William Shakespeare was written in the late 16th century, a time of liberation and freedom for the stage and literature. Both poems are similar in theme and yet different in approach, they both pursue the theme of love although Marvell in a satirical Carpe Diem love style whereas Shakespeare in a traditional sonnet style. "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell is about a young mans attempts to lure a woman into bed

The poem, “For That He Looked Not upon Her” by George Gascoigne exemplifies how the speaker suffered from love, something that many people believe one should feel positive about. The title delivers a despairing tone by allowing the audience to believe that the speaker can no longer look the woman he loved in the eye. Conflicting with the despairing tone, the speaker develops a complex attitude with the use of structure, metaphors, diction, and desire.

has the gentle heart of a woman but is not inconsistent as is the way

‘Astrophil and Stella’ was first published in 1591 by the renowned Elizabethan poet Sir Philip Sidney. The Petrarchan styled sonnet sequence is comprised of 108 verses, and 11 songs in which the speaker, Astrophil shares his innermost thoughts and passions with regards to his love for a woman named Stella, the addressee of his lyric poetry. Each sonnet reconnoitres a slightly different phase of Astrophil’s love for Stella as their circumstances revolt; yet it details little of her fondness for him, as she neither rejects nor reciprocates his love, alluding to a fairly misleading romance. As the sonnets unfold, Stella weds another man, however when Astrophil learns she is miserable in her matrimony, he again becomes profusely engrossed in her. This sequence is significant as Stella eventually returns Astrophil’s adoration, but is ultimately plagued by her morality and cannot participate in carnal affairs with him as she is still wed, and this differentiates prominently with Sidney’s character Astrophil who is consumed with sexual longing for the woman he loves. As a result of Astrophil’s fixated nature, Stella refuses to continue to see him, and the closing sonnets reveal Astrophil’s thoughts and conflicting views on the matter. In the final verse, Astrophil grasps his immoral actions, and is anguished by the absenteeism of Stella from his life; however he feels some respite in knowing she once returned his love. From the three sonnets I have selected, I will now focus upon

William Shakespeare’s comprehensive imagery and details contribute to a perfect representation of Elizabethan court life. Strangely, little is known about the true identity of the prolific writer. Through countless conspiracy theories and historians digging through records and examining every word used, Shakespeare is simply invisible. Historians believe identifying Shakespeare’s characters in his masterpieces will bring them a step closer to his true identity. Trouble is, Shakespeare’s characters also are conflicting and this creates a never-ending cycle of theories. Since most sonnets, which were read in sequence, have been thought to be autobiographical, Shakespeare’s Sonnets create a bit of hope. In Shakespeare’s Sonnets, the Dark Lady