The Sonnet Genre Combining with Figurative Language
Compare how the conventions of the sonnet genre combine with figurative language to create meaning in at least two texts.
Originating in Italy, the sonnet was established by Petrarch in the 14th century as a major form of love poetry, and came to be adopted in
England in the 16th century (Oxford Literary terms). Overtime there have been different types of sonnets written, for example the Italian
(Petrarchan) sonnet, the English (Shakespearean) sonnet and the
Spenserian sonnet. Each of these sonnets have there own conventions and use different types of poetic language to help create meaning for the reader. For the purpose of this essay we will look at how the conventions of
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A typical rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet would be that of
ABABCDCDEFEFGG. Spenserian sonnets combine both the Shakespearean and
Italian forms. Just like the Shakespearean form it uses 3 quatrains followed by a couplet. However the rhyme scheme is like the Italian, linking all stanzas together ABABBCBCCDCDEE. An essential element of all three types of sonnets is that of the volta which is used to signify a change in subject matter, for example in the Italian form the volta normally occurs at the ninth line. The two sonnets I will be examining within this essay predominantly use the conventions of a
Shakespearean sonnet.
When exploring the conventions of ‘Sonnet 18’ we can see it has the typical conventions of a Shakespearean sonnet using three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. The first quatrain establishes the theme of comparing the speaker’s beloved with a summer’s day, and why it is difficult to do so. The whole of ‘sonnet 18’ is used as an extended metaphor, and this is seen from the very beginning:
Shall I compare thee to a summers day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate (1-2)
The sonnet begins with a metaphoric question, asking if the speaker should compare this person with summer. The speaker then answers by saying she is ‘more lovely and more temperate’ this combines with the meaning created by the first quatrain immediately giving the reader an idea that the speaker feels his beloved
This expression shows how Shakespeare believes love should see flaws but be able to overlook them. Shakespeare uses the form of an English sonnet, more commonly known as the Shakespearean sonnet, to communicate his thoughts. A Shakespearean sonnet "is organized into three quatrains and a couplet, which typically rhyme abab cdcd efef gg" (Meyer, p.917). Additionally, within these sonnet styles "the most pronounced break or turn comes with the concluding couplet" (Meyer, p.917).
“Blank Sonnet” by George Elliott Clarke is a sonnet expressing struggled communication with a lover through a broken relationship. This poem expresses communication struggles through the stylization that is atypical to a Shakespearean or Petrachin Sonnet. Clarke
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.
Shakespeare follows the English style of sonnets, while Collins partially follows the Petrarchan style. Both sonnets include fourteen lines, a defining feature of the sonnet form. “My mistress’ eyes are…” consists of three quatrains that describes his argument on love cliches, and ends with a couplet, the turning point of English sonnets. The sonnet consists of ten syllables each line, following the rhythm of the iambic pentameter rule. Shakespeare’s sonnet follows the usual rhyme scheme of an English sonnet: abab cdcd efef gg. Collins attempts to stray from the general sonnet principles in contrast with Shakespeare. “Sonnet” loosely follows the Petrarchan style, as the lines are grouped into one octave and one sestet in structure. Collins’s “Sonnet” does not have a rhyme scheme, nor does the poem follow iambic pentameter. His sonnet does, however, present his turn in line 9, the beginning of the sestet. Collins begins poking fun at English sonnets in the octave, but then turns to joke at Petrarchan forms. Both sonnets have a lighthearted, humorous tone and parody classic styles of sonnets in different ways.
“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.
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.
In Sonnet 18, Shakespeare employs a Petrarchan conceit to immortalize his beloved. He initiates the extended metaphor in the first line of the sonnet by posing the rhetorical
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.
the first of the two lines he uses the word ‘mark’ which means buoy to
In the hands of a master such as Shakespeare, the conventions of the sonnet form are manipulated and transformed into something unique and originally emphasized. Both sonnets in one way or another subvert the conventions of the base Petrarchan sonnet; though they are about love, the traditional topic of sonnets, whilst in Sonnet 20 the object of desire is unattainable and there is no evidence of the level of affection being requited, the target is male, and the target of the poet's affections in Sonnet 130 is the poetic voice's current mistress. It also seems important to note that love in neither of these cases is of the generic youthful female Aryan stereotype, and
William Shakespeare’s Sonnet #55 is a Shakespearian sonnet. It contains three quatrains, or four line stanzas, and ends with a couplet. The poem is written in iambic pentameter William Shakespeare’s Sonnet #55 is a Shakespearian sonnet. It contains three quatrains, or four line stanzas, and ends with a couplet. The poem is written in iambic pentameter.
has the gentle heart of a woman but is not inconsistent as is the way
The Sonnet 18 “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day “ is around the most admired and prominent of the 154 poems of William Shakespeare . Most researchers concur that the true recipient of the lyric, the mate of pleasant toward oneself, whom the artist is composing, is a man, however the sonnet is generally used to portray a lady. In the piece, the pleasant toward oneself contrasts his adoration with a June through August, and contends that his affection is superior to summer (Kennedy & Gioia). He additionally states that your beau will live everlastingly through the expressions of the lyric. Researchers have discovered parallels between this poem and sonnets Tristia and Amores of Ovid . A few interpretations have uncovered
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 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.