Category: Sonnet

W. Shakespeare was born in England (1564-1616). He is considered the most famous dramatist of all time. He was a poet, playwright and actor of the Renaissance era. Throughout his life, he wrote 2 long narrative poems, 39 plays, and 154 sonnets. He reformed and developed the 14 lines in iambic pentameter in the worldwide successfully. I will analyze the meaning and the literary techniques of his sonnet 30 in the following essay.

Sonnet 30 was published in 1609. In quatrain1 of the sonnet, “I”(the poet) reminisced about the past of his precious friends, felt sorrowful about his time wasting in the past. Soon “I” couldn’t stop crying, moaning and thinking of the vanished people and things in quatrain2. In quatrain3, “I” had let the frustration go, releasing from the sadness past to release now. Somehow it is a forgiveness of the past of myself. In the couplet, “I” repaid all the sorrow while “I” am thinking of you. It was a spiritual redemption of the poet. From the narration at the beginning to the feeling exposition in the ending of the sonnet, the tone is from melancholy and lonely to a self-relieve nature.

Sonnet 30 follows the other Shakespeare’s sonnets form. The rhyming scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. ‘Foregone’, ‘Fore-bemoaned’, ‘Before’, ‘Restored’ are internal rhyme. The poet uses the first-person narration “I” to narrate his feeling. In line 1, the words ‘sweet’ and ‘silent’ had used the personification to describe the poet’s thought. There is alliteration in line 1 which both the ‘s’ and ‘t’ sounds are repetitive consonant. Besides, the short ‘e’ sound in the phrases ‘When sessions ‘(line 1) and ‘remembrance’(line 2) are assonance, it also covers both begins ‘When’ and concludes ‘end’ of the sonnet. There is equal stress placed on ‘weep afresh love’s long’ with slightly less stress on the word ‘since’ afterward in line 7; The words ‘friends hid’ and ‘death’s dateless night ’are stressed equal in line 6. It established an iambic pentameter.

‘Sweet silent thought’(line1) is contrasted to the ‘sigh the lack of many a thing……’(line3). The harmony and sweet sessions recalled the gloomy emotion of the narrator. It is also an irony. Otherwise, the release of the narrator in the end is echo to the ‘sweet sessions’ in the beginning. Somehow it is an ‘answer’ to respond the ‘question’ in quatrain1 of the sonnet. Perhaps, ‘sweet’ (line1) is represented the physical sense and taste of the poet feeling, symbols his memories are happy. There are 4 verses begin with ‘And’, two verses begin with ‘I’ or ‘Then’ separately. The repetition strengthens the emotional exposure of the poet and makes the sonnet more tension. The metaphor is used extensively in the sonnet. ‘Sessions’(line1) implicated the poet’s reflection of the past; ‘Summon’(line2) related to a court, the witnesses and the accused appeared in the past ; ‘Death’s……’(line6) means the nights are dark, it is an endless pain. ‘Sad account’(line11) is personification and also metaphor. It symbolized the summary of the poet’s lifelong losses.

Sonnet 30 is one of the most famous poems of W. Shakespeare. Apart from the flourishing of literary devices, its financial terms such as ‘account’, ‘pay’, ‘losses’, ‘restored’ etc. are borrowed from the world of accounts.

William Shakespeare Sonnet 30

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought,→ A

I summon up remembrance of things past,→ B

I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought, → A

And with old woes new wail my dear times’ waste: → B

Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow, → C

For precious friends hid in death’s dateless night, → D

And weep afresh love’s long since cancell’d woe, → C

And moan the expense of many a vanish’d sight: → D

Then can I grieve at grievances foregone, → E

And heavily from woe to woe tell o’er→ F

The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan, → E

Which I new pay as if not paid before. → F

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, → G

All losses are restor’d and sorrows end. → G

References

1. Stephen Holliday Certified Educator. eNotes Editorial , 2019, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-theme-sonnet-30-what-some-poetry-literary-311434. Accessed 20 Oct. 2019.
2. ‘Analysis of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30.’. Paper Ap.com, 1 Jan 2018, https://paperap.com/paper-on-analysis-of-shakespeares-sonnet-30/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2019.
3. Interesting Literature, 20 Mar 2017, https://interestingliterature.com/2017/03/20/a-short-analysis-of-shakespeares-sonnet-30-when-to-the-sessions-of-sweet-silent-thought/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2019.
4. http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_9dead0ec0102v0qv.html. Accessed 20 Oct. 2019.
5. A Short Analysis of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30: ‘When to the sessions of sweet silent thought’.

A former captive’s narrative of his or her captivity often captivates a large audience. Readers and listeners are always engrossed when perusing a text or listening to an ex-captive’s narration of his or her time in captivity. Such narratives always involve stories of misery, suffering, and despair that attract the attention and sympathy of the audience. I Fall Asleep, Just Standing Like That by Xu Lizhi and The Caged Skylark by Gerard Manley Hopkins are poems that differ in genre and structure, but both engage with the theme of captivity through the use of literary devices in both shared and distinct ways.

I Fall Asleep, Just Standing Like That and The Caged Skylark differ in how they are structured. In conveying the message of his poem, I Fall Asleep, Just Standing Like That, Xu Lizhi utilizes a free-verse style. The absence of rhythm and rhyme schemes demonstrates the fact that the poem does not adhere to a fixed structure or form, hence the style free verse. As well, the entire poem is written in only one stanza. In contrast, Gerard Manley Hopkins’ The Caged Skylark is a poem that follows the form of a Petrarchan sonnet. This is evident in how the fourteen-line poem is divided into two stanzas, an octave—the first eight lines—and a sestet—the last six lines, and how it follows a rhyme scheme of ABBA-ABBA-CCD-CCD, with lines 1, 4, 5, and 8 ending with the words “cage,” “age,” “stage,” and “rage,” and lines 2, 3, 6, and 7 with “dwells,” “fells,” “spells,” and “cells,” respectively. As for the sestet, lines 9, 10, 12, and 13 end with the words “rest,” “nest,” “best,” and “distressed,” and lines 11 and 14 with “prison” and “risen,” respectively. Furthermore, The Caged Skylark contains a volta, which is characteristic of sonnets. This turn or shift of thought in the poem occurs between the octave and the sestet. The volta is employed to demonstrate a shift from the idea of captivity and misery that dominates in the first eight lines to a mood of optimism that is sensed by the readers in the last six lines of the poem.

The two poems, I Fall Asleep, Just Standing Like That and The Caged Skylark, both revolve around the theme of captivity. In Xu’s poem, the speaker, who works under inhumane conditions in a factory, reflects on how “they’ve trained [him] to become docile” (line 5). His resentment at being treated like a captive is denoted by the word “docile.” By using this particular word, the speaker indicates that there is a captor whom he needs to submit himself to and that his inherent rights and freedoms as a human being is denied. In addition, he speaks of his experience “by the assembly line,” where he “stood straight like iron, hands like flight” (Xu 15). This line also strongly demonstrates the idea of captivity in the poem, with the “assembly line” symbolizing the place where he is being held captive. Through his description of himself as an “iron” standing “straight,” the speaker illustrates his confinement or his loss of freedom to move freely. Similarly, Hopkins’ The Caged Skylark engages with the theme of captivity. This idea of confinement arises in the beginning of the poem, as the narrator speaks of a “dare-gale skylark scant[ing] in a dull cage” (Hopkins 1). As well, it dominates the octave, as the speaker describes the skylark “drooping deadly sometimes in [its] cells / or wring[ing] [its] barriers in bursts of fear or rage” (Hopkins 7-8). As a bird, the “skylark” is meant to take flight; however, the poem opens with the “skylark” being trapped in a “cage,” denoting that the “skylark” is being held captive. The bird’s confinement is affirmed later in the poem when the speaker describes its actions in the cell—“drooping deadly” and “wring[ing] [its] barriers;” these actions indicate the bird’s despair for its loss of freedom to soar. However, unlike Xu’s I Fall Asleep, Just Standing Like That, Hopkins’ The Caged Skylark contains a volta that marks a shift from the theme of captivity in the octave to the theme of freedom in the sestet. This is evident when the narrator speaks of the skylark’s “own nest, wild nest,” which is “no prison” (Hopkins 11). The words “own” and “wild” are in stark contrast to the description of the bird’s condition in the octave; in the last six lines of the poem, these words foster optimism that the skylark will eventually attain freedom. On the other hand, the poem I Fall Asleep, Just Standing Like That starts and ends with the theme of captivity. Until the end, the speaker is in a state of misery as evidenced by his closing remarks, “How many days, how many nights / Did I – just like that – standing fall asleep?” (Xu 16-17).

The use of literary devices is essential in the development of the theme. A number of literary devices are shared by the two poems, with caesura being one. In both poems, a pause within certain lines is created. In I Fall Asleep, Just Standing Like That, the caesura, which is indicated by a dash, is utilized in the last line when the speaker says, “Did I – just like that – standing fall asleep?” (Xu 17). The pause within the line reinforces the miserable tone of the poem. As the closing statement and final reflection of the speaker, the last line should express the overall mood and tone of the poem, and the use of caesura allows for the achievement of this purpose. Similarly, in The Caged Skylark, a caesura is used in line 13, “But uncumbered: meadow-down is not distressed” (Hopkins). The caesura is used to emphasize the word “uncumbered” and to create a pause, thereby allowing the reader to have a full sense of the phrase that follows the caesura, which is indicated by a colon. Furthermore, the use of certain literary devices also distinguishes one poem from the other. In Xu’s poem, one of its distinctive literary devices is simile. Xu utilizes simile in line 15 when he describes the speaker standing “straight like iron, hands like flight” while working in the “assembly line.” The use of simile further develops the miserable tone and reinforces the theme of captivity. The comparison of the speaker to an “iron” illustrates his confinement to a single area and his loss of ability to act freely and move without constraints. Hopkins’ The Caged Skylark employs contrast as one of its distinctive literary devices. It is used in the first two lines of the poem, “As a dare-gale skylark scanted in a dull cage, / Man’s mounting-spirit in his bone-house, mean house, dwells –” (Hopkins 1-2). The speaker’s description of the skylark as “dare-gale” signifies that it is a bird that dares to soar despite very strong winds; however, the latter description of the skylark as a bird that is confined in a “dull cage” contrasts with this idea. Similarly, in the second line, the narrator speaks of a “Man’s mounting-spirit,” but indicates that this spirit is confined in “his bone-house, mean house,” and thus he is unable to mount, ascend, or rise. The use of contrast contributes to the development of the theme of captivity. Should the speaker had not used the words “dull cage” and “bone-house” to contrast with the descriptive words “dare-gale” and “mounting,” the idea of confinement would not have been established. It is through the use of contrast that the reader is able to infer that the “dare-gale skylark” is held captive “in a dull cage.”

Xu and Hopkins’ poems both explore the idea of captivity, although their exploration of the theme is done in different styles. Xu, in his free-verse poem, utilizes a structure that is free from any fixed forms, such as rhyming patterns and stanzas, whereas Hopkins makes use of a Petrarchan sonnet structure, which employs a rhyme scheme and a division of the poem into an octave and a sestet. Both poems engage with the theme of captivity; however, Hopkins’ The Caged Skylark differs from Xu’s I Fall Asleep, Just Standing Like That in that it contains a volta, which is characteristic of sonnets, that creates a shift in the mood of the poem and a slight turn of thought in terms of the theme. In comparison, Xu’s poem does not contain this shift or turn, but, instead, centres on the idea of captivity from the start through the end. Ultimately, the development of the poems’ theme is achieved through the use of various literary devices. Certain literary devices are shared by both poems, such as caesura. Other literary devices are specific to one poem, such as simile in Xu’s poem and contrast in Hopkins’. Both Xu and Hopkins skillfully incorporate such literary devices in articulating the message of their respective poems.

The development of English sonnets is one of the most remarkable features of Elizabethan literature. The sonnet, a short lyric poem of fourteen lines, owes its origin to Italian writers, such as Petrarch and Dante. The theme of Petrarchan sonnet was usually courtly love- worshipful adoration of an idealised mistress and a sense of elevating and even spiritualising the function of love.

Two practitioners of the form of sonnet, namely, William Shakespeare and Sir Philip Sidney, deviated a little from the original Petrarchan theme and put in their own inventions to the sonnet form. A discussion regarding the differences in the works of Shakespeare and Sidney will be explored here. I will look at Shakespeare’s Sonnets and Astrophil and Stella, respectively. There is a stark difference in the projection of the women in the above mentioned sonnet sequences. Hence, this paper will attempt to study how Shakespeare’s Dark Lady and Sidney’s Stella though polar opposites in terms of beauty have been given the same elevated status.

Sir Philip Sidney wrote a total of 108 sonnets and 11 songs in his sonnet sequence, Astrophil and Stella, which was published in 1591. His work started the vogue for sonnet sequence- like Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Unlike Shakespeare, it is clear that Sidney composed these sonnets remembering his ladylove, Penelope Rich, daughter of the Earl of Essex.

In sonnet 7, Stella’s beauty is being vividly portrayed. Since Stella is a star, this sonnet describes her beauty through her eyes, whose beams shine as stars from the black sky. The conventional conceit becomes literal when it is noticed that Lady Rich’s eyes were in fact black. Astrophil says in this poem that “black seems beauty’s contrary”, while Shakespeare praises that very same “black” as his mistress.

In sonnet 12, it is supposed that Astrophil who represents passion, will and carnal desires, will never be able to conquer Stella who represents virtue, reason and wit.

The praise of the “clear voyce” in sonnet 12, prepares a role for her quite different from that of the distant and disdainful mistress (“music hath a far more pleasing sound”). There are many contrasting verses as such in both the sonnet sequences. Stella’s “sweet breath”, “sun-like”, and “lips swell, so full of thee they be” is in stark contrast to Dark Lady’s “breath that from my mistress reeks”, “nothing like the sun”’ and “coral is far more red than her lip’s red” respectively.

“Cupid, because thou shin’st in Stella’s eyes/That from her locks, thy day-nets, none ‘scapes free.”

Sonnet 12 begins with Cupid being used as a symbol of desire. Cupid shines in Stella’s eyes, and her hair functions as Cupid’s trap.

Even the names given by the writers to the lady of their respective works is also no coincidence. Shakespeare uses Dark Lady because his sonnets aptly describe the love of an ordinary woman who is dirty and dark, yet is deserving of the speaker’s love. Sidney preferred the names- Stella (star: the symbol of the Light of Reason) and Astrophil (star-lover: the Lover of Reason).

Like many other Renaissance poets, Sidney also, experiences and incarnates the sum of life’s power and perfections in the beauty of their chaste and elegant ladies. Yet, Shakespeare’s Sonnets to the Dark Lady dwell on her imperfections and falsehood.

William Shakespeare wrote a total of 154 sonnets in his sonnet sequence, Shakespeare’s Sonnets, which was published in 1609. The final set- 126 to 154- is addressed to a promiscuous and scheming woman known to the readers as the Dark Lady. Shakespeare used, but also subverted, the sonnet conventions employed by Sidney and others.

Sonnet number 130 is a parody of the kind of insincere, sickly sweet love poems that authors have been writing for centuries. This particular verse is all about breaking stereotypes and expectations of female beauty. The speaker insists that his idea of feminism does not depend on fitting an abstract, unrealistic fantasy and to criticize the quixotic expectations that men have for female beauty. Shakespeare tactfully uses this sonnet to mock the early conventions of exaggerated comparisons. One can see how well he uses this sonnet to skewer lame poetic clichés. Yet, the question remains whether the poet is expressing Shakespeare’s personal feelings. In sonnet 130, there is no use of grandiose, metaphor or allusion- he does not compare his love to Venus, there is no evocation to Morpheus and so on- unlike Sidney who uses “Cupid” in sonnet 12 to describe the beauty of Stella. The ordinary beauty and humanity of his lover are of importance to Shakespeare in this sonnet. The references of metaphorical objects are present, but they are to illustrate that his lover is not as beautiful- a total rejection of Petrarch’s form.

“And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/As any she belied with false compare.”

The couplet of this sonnet serves as a payoff for the entire poem. It serves as the punch-line for the joke. It drives home the speaker’s main point: unlike other poets he does not need flowery terms or fancy comparisons. He can just tell his mistress, plainly and simply, that he loves her for who she is.

In sonnet 141, the speaker says that he cannot love the Dark Lady with his eyes because they “a thousand errors note”. The speaker’s “foolish heart” super-cedes his “five wits” and “five senses”, unlike that of Astrophil who is smitten by Stella’s looks and virtues.

It can be said that both Shakespeare and Sidney are infatuated with their lady loves who are unattainable. Whilst, Sidney follows the trend of ‘Love’ being like a fair and virtuous Goddess, Shakespeare breaks norms by equally disgracing and admiring a dark woman who is not really attractive to look at. The speaker in Shakespeare’s Sonnets knows that his “mistress” is not aesthetic nor is anything about her so pleasing, yet he cannot help himself in falling in love with her, keeping all her imperfections aside. Stella, on the other hand, is the epitome of feminine, grace, wit, and beauty so much so that even though Astrophil knows, that it is next to impossible that such an ethereal beauty like Stella could be his, yet he admires her so much that he even goes on to say, “she even in black doth make all beauties flow?” The similarity being that both these women are given the same high elevated status, yet so opposite and different to each other. Such is the greatness of both the writers, that they portray the qualities of their lady loves in their own special way, which has no parallel till date.

Judith Viorst, in her poem “A Wedding Sonnet for the Next Generation,” represents the new definition of love with the help of allusions and symbolism that she uses to redefine the old concepts of love that were represented in the past. Judith Viorst uses a variety of symbolic and allusions to show that her poem may not be a perfect work and cannot be understood as seriously as in past literary works, but when she was creating an oath to uphold the personal well-being of women, there will be some sort of ‘sublime’ meaning that can be considered as outstanding or special. Rather than focusing on beauty or not being true even in old age, the author states that it is more important to define the concept of love through respect, trust, comfort, and family.

Viorst uses allusions as to the main tool in her definition of the modern understanding of love. It can be stated that she goes from the opposite, as the author starts with three definitions of romantic love that were used in the past by poets who are considered to be classic. This way of representation can be defined as one of the most effective for the understanding of modern love by the new generation because a lot of representatives of the new generation cannot relate to descriptions of feelings that were represented in previous ages by people who had different values and lived in different conditions. The love in the past was based on pure feelings and the traditional approach to how relationships were developed. People in the past used to understand love as the gift that they had to protect, and they romanticize everything that was related to the object of their love. However, the modern understanding of love is based on simple concepts that have basic and practical meanings, so passion or romance plays a less important role in modern relationships. The way in which poets in the past described love was based on the representation of relationships through the perspective of perfect feelings that they considered to be their gift, but Viorst understands love and relationships as the thing that should be improved by the efforts of people.

The symbolism that was used by the author can be analyzed with the help of such literary devices as “summer’s day” or “Pilgrim soul” (Viorst, 2014), as these words are related more to the past understanding of romance. Viorst provides the reader with the allusion to Shakespeare’s sonnet in words “He might compare you to a summer’s day” (Viorst, 2014). In this line, the author demonstrates that in the past, the lover could compare the object of his love to summer’s day, as it is warm and pleasant, so with these words, she underlines romantic relationships and feelings that are related to that time. The next allusion is based on Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 43, and Viorst represents it with words “She might, with depth and breadth and many sighs, Count all the ways she loves you, way by the way” (Viorst, 2014). In her sonnet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning counted ways in which she loved thee, and it was a representation of her romantic soul and how she represented her feelings. The last allusion in Viorst’s poem is related to William Butler Yeats’ poem ‘When You Are Old.’ This allusion can be found in words in Viorst’s poem, “When you are old and grey and full of sleep, But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you” (Viorst, 2014). The author proceeds with the representation of modern love that is depicted with the help of a symbolic poem. In this context, the poem that is written by the person to whom Viorst is speaking means love, as the author states that “It doesn’t always scan or always rhyme” (Viorst, 2014). With these words, Viorst demonstrates that the modern understanding and interpretation of love is based on other concepts that are different from those that were developed in the past.

It is important to analyze four basic concepts that were used by the author of the poem to represent how modern love should be understood. The first concept is respect, so it can be perceived as the core factor that should be present in the relationships. It must be noted that this aspect also can be related to love in the past, but in the modern interpretation, it means that people in relationships should build their communication on respect. This concept includes different aspects of relationships such as an ability to respect the privacy of the partner, to respect interests, and how the person sees the world. The next concept is trust, and it is one of the most important factors that allows building relationships in a successful way. In the past, jealousy and passion were considered to be the proof of feelings, but in the modern world these factors can limit the freedom of the partner, so it is important to understand trust as the core concept that can bring happiness and stability in the life of the object of love. Comfort is the next thing that is mentioned by Viorst, so it can be interpreted as the representation of relationships that make people feel comfortable and happy. In the past, relationships did not always bring comfort to people, as their feelings were represented in the manner that could make the person feel anxious, so in the modern interpretation of love, the stability and importance of caring are represented as the core principles that should be taken into consideration by people who want to build successful and happy relationships. The final aspect that is mentioned by the author in this poem is based on home, and this concept can be understood as the representation of the family. Viorst wants to tell people that love should make the person feel like he or she is at home with the partner, and this is not about the place, but it is about the feeling of safety. Love should be safe for both partners, and in this case, it can be stated that feelings are true.

In conclusion, it must be said that through four concepts that are named in the poem, the author represents her understanding of modern love. Viorst believes that these concepts are not as complicated as past representations of love, but they are more important and convenient for modern people. As long as these four elements are included in the relationships, people can obtain true love even if they can no longer be as gorgeous and complicated as depicted in poetry.

Gwendoline Nessie Harwood’s poem ‘Suburban Sonnet’ aims to commentate on the harsh reality and expectations of motherhood in the 1960’s. This powerful yet convoluted allegorical poem reveals the extreme burdens and strains that women tackled every day. Life for women in the 1960’s was simply just ‘a pot boiling over’ and Gwen Harwood utilizes her vivid recollection of her childhood and parenting to encapsulate and expose what was Australia’s leading problem in the 1960’s.

Gwen Harwood, born as Gwendoline Nessie Harwood was a significant, influential figure in the Australian Society. She was an Australian born poet and librettist who was born on the 8th of June 1920 in a small town called Taringa of Brisbane, Queensland. Gwen Harwood had the poem ‘Suburban Sonnet’ published in the mid 1960’s under the pseudonym Miriam Stone. She unfortunately passed away on the 5th of December 1995 due to cancer.

In the early 1960’s Harwood published many poems under her several pseudonyms. Many debated her use of pseudonyms claiming her use of mostly male names was only to get around editorial prejudice against women poems. nonetheless, Harwood continued to challenge this common belief by letting the public know her use of pseudonyms was only to see her powerful poetry reach millions of people.

In ‘Suburban Sonnet’ Gwen Harwood has aimed to create a subtle yet powerful protest against the stereotypical roles that the Australian Society establishes on woman. Her writing was deeply influenced by her upbringing and her tenacious political, societal and cultural beliefs. Harwood depicts the harsh realities and disregard of Australian motherhood while emphasizing the despair and disappointment brought in being a Suburban ‘desperate’ housewife. It holds immense amounts of social commentary and Harwood intended for the audience to understand the burdens carried when bearing children.

All throughout ‘Suburban Sonnet’ Gwen Harwood has utilized numerous literary devices with the intention to captivate the audience and confront them with the truth of the 1960’s. Harwood constructs an image for the readers, that the mother in the sonnet has relinquished all her dreams and aspirations in order to become the mother figure for her children.

This image is depicted all throughout the poem. Harwood’s comparison of a fugue and the mother’s life is both accurate and powerful, as she implies that the behavior of the mother in and out of the kitchen represent the complex composition of a fugue. ‘She practices a fugue, though it can matter to no one, now if she plays well of not’. The use of emotion and mood in this phrase captivates the readers into associating her life as dull and disappointing, one that none should experience! The quote “though it can matter to no one now if she plays well or not” has a strong depressing vibe to it. Pointing out that no one would care about her talent on the piano, instantly causes the reader to want to care and to do something for the mother. This was Harwood’s aim, to effectively utilize the emotions and common sense of humans so they could gain a sympathetic tone towards what the mother was battling. The utilization of rhyming couplets and sporadic short sentences like “her veins ache” form a chaotic and disorganized structure and rhythm to the sonnet, which is an example of a metaphor to the mother’s struggling life. This short, but powerful quote brings the mother and the audience back to the harsh reality of the painful world, when there is no time for her to even investigate her activities of interest.

Harwood also applies emotive language and olfactory imagery to provide the reader an opportunity to reflect and experience what the mother was feeling. ‘A pot boils over. As she rushes to the stove too late, a wave of nausea overpowers’ Harwood paints an illustration for the readers that depicts a pot of milk bubbling over and the horrendous stench circulating around the kitchen. Harwood’s application of olfactory imagery provides the audience time to relate the smell in the poem to the commonly recognized stench of sour milk, which therefore puts the reader into an uncomfortable position of feeling sorry for the miserable mother. Another example is featured in line 3 “[the] children chatter, then scream and fight” this imagery emphasizes the consequence and realities of bearing children in the 1960’s. This phrase is then further uplifted as a result of the use of juxtaposing where the life of being a mother is severely contrasted to the unlikely life of a musician. This quote again forces the readers into feeling sorry for the mother as it provides a clear image of children “scream[ing] and fight[ing]” which for most, does not bring pleasant memories. Harwood’s juxtaposed phrase was to make the reader realize that her life could’ve looked much different, if her identify was not to be crushed by the life she lives.

Harwood also integrates repetition all through ‘Suburban Sonnet’ Phrases like “she hushes them” (line 4) “she rushes to the stove” (line 5) and “she scours the crusted milk” form an image in the reader of feverish, frantic movement throughout the house which consequently reveals the realities and obligations of a mother’s bleak lifestyle in the 1960’s.

Harwood’s excellent reference to a typical musical composition does an outstanding job in conveying the mother’s identity. We can see in line 1, the mother’s dream is to become a pianist hence the phrase “she practices a fugue” however, read on and it says this “though it can matter to no one if she plays well or not” this suggest that there is a loss of identity and creativity because of the domestic roles and societal expectations that were being put on women in the 1960’s. Furthermore, Harwood’s use of symbolism in line 11 and 12 further expand on the mother’s identity and purpose. The mouse symbolizes the mother, her dreams and her ambitions. The dream of becoming a musician is so far from reality that her identity and worth has now been drowned by the mousetrap who represent society and her children. The mother now ‘lies dead’ in a ‘sprung mousetrap’ who feels lost, weary and confused. Harwood has used this analogy in order to assert a major concern, the mother has practically become the family’s slave. She has lost all sense of identity and she no longer can fathom a career as a professional pianist. This is extremely powerful as a person’s integrity and identity is what makes them human, so for the mother to have it all taken away provides the reader a mentality of guilt and anguish for the mother.

Overall, this poem is both powerful and accurate as it forced us to look at the issue at a broader scale and it confronted us with the problems women faced in the 1960’s. Techniques like mood, rhythm, juxtaposing, symbolism, repetition, emotive language and olfactory imagery were all used by Harwood in an effective manner that saw her powerful message shine all throughout the poem.

Love does not have a standard definition, love is not just a word, but so much more. The definition of love is defined by an audience’s familiarities with it, through experience, love is a changing entity. This essay will discuss what Arthur Marrotti meant by “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets (1982) in through the techniques used in Thomas Wyatt’s “The Love That in my Heart Doth Harbour”(1527), Sir Philip Sidney’s “Sonnet 1”(1580s), Mary Wroth’s “sonnet 1” from “Pamphilia To Amphilanthus”(1621), and William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116”(1609).

Thomas Wyatt’s “The Long Love that in My Heart doth Harbour”(1527) is a poem about the male not being able to be with the one who he loves. Wyatt uses the poetic conceit of warfare throughout this poem, in the opening line “The long love that in my heart doth harbour” (line 1), Wyatt is trying to say that all of his love is harboured inside of his heart, like an army. This use of poetic conceit allows audiences to see the love which he has in his heart for the woman, but he cannot show it, revealing how although the feelings are strong for the author, he cannot be with the woman. In. Wyatt uses the poetic conceit again in “And therein campeth, spreading his banner” (line 4), this is metaphoric for blushing when the male saw his love, the blood rushing to the face making the cheeks red, similar to a banner, for everyone to see. This use of poetic conceit allows the author to show the conflicted nature of the male’s feelings in regard to the woman, exposing how although an audience may have strong feelings towards someone or something, sometimes it is better to keep the feelings hidden. Therefore, Wyatt’s constant use of poetic conceit shows an audience another way which love can be presented even i it is forbidden. Thus, what an audience finds Marrotti means by “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets (1982), can be varied by experiences of love.

Sir Philip Sidney’s “Sonnet 1”, written in the 1580s is featured in Astrophil and Stella, a sonnet sequence, including 108 sonnets and 11 songs. Sidney’s “Sonnet 1” (1580s) is written in iambic pentameter, authors use of this so to create a flow between all of the words in the poem. The use of iambic pentameter encourages audiences to continue reading through the sonnet, allowing them to gain the most insight possible from the poet’s point of view. Sidney uses a lyrical voice to present this poem, by using this lyrical voice, it almost makes the poem like a song, by using a lyrical voice, it allows the poem to flow much more easily, evoking how an audience can read this poem like it is a song. By reading this poem like it is a song, the use of a lyrical voice, makes what is being said, a lot more memorable for the individual who is reading it. In the opening of “Sonnet 1” the author uses “Loving in truth” (line 1), this opening shows that this sonnet straight away is about the love that one individual has for another, allowing audiences to get a rough insight to what this sonnet is about, just by the opening two words. Sidney uses the personification in “Nature’s child. Fled step-dame Study’s blows”(line 10), is the poet reflecting on studying other poets’ writing, this personification of ‘Natures child’ is referring to himself, this reflection of studying other poets writing allows him to remember what he went through t be the poet he was at the time. This encourages audiences to broaden horizons and not be afraid of studying the work of others. Poetry communicates love through wide variety of ways, it does this in a way which gains attention of both the author and the audience (bartleby research), it usually allows the audience to rethink what they already know about love, it can also inspire them to add to what they already know. Therefore, Sir Philip Sidney’s “Sonnet 1” effectively allows audiences to get a broader understanding of love. Thus, allowing audiences to use what they already know and what they now know when determining what Marrotti meant by “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets (1982).

Mary Wroth’s “Sonnet 1” from “Pamphilla To Amphilanthus”(1621) is about the poet feeling the most passionate when she is asleep, and how while she is sleeping, the feelings in her heart communicate louder than those of her mind. Wroth uses symbolism in the opening line of her poem when saying “When night’s black mantle could most darknesse prove” (line 1) the symbolism is that the night is protecting the thoughts which she has in her head, this shows how she has the night protecting her thoughts, evoking how audiences can embrace the darkness of the night rather than be afraid of it. The poet then begins using figurative language when talking about her dream, “In sleepe, a chariot drawne by wing’d Desire, / i saw; where sate bright Venus Queene of Love, / And at her feete her Sonne, still adding Fire” (lines 5-7), in her dream she saw Venus, the Goddess of love, with her son Cupid – god of desire at her feet, “still adding fire”. With use of figurative language in lines five to seven, it allows audiences to gain a mental image of what she can see, her use of cupid “still adding fire” is metaphorical for the passion in her heart still being fuelled by something – cupid in this instance. This use of figurative language and metaphor allows audiences to feel the same passion Wroth feels while she is asleep inspiring them to try and find the ‘fire’ which cupid was adding to Wroth’s heart. In 2019, Dore stated “We all want to be loved and share love, but that doesn’t mean everyone shares the same definition of love.’ This quote is helpful for audiences to understand that when Arthur Marrotti stated that “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets, it could be interpreted in a variety of ways. The way of which an audience can interpret this strong statement varies, like Dore stated, “that doesn’t mean everyone shares the same definition of love”, what Marrotti meant by “love is not love” is left open to the individual. Therefore through Mary Wroth’s “Sonnet 1”(1621) she gives audiences an understanding of Arthur Marrotti could mean when he said the statement about love. Thus, through the techniques which Wroth uses she allows an audience to get a broader understanding of love in Elizabethan sonnets.

William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” written in 1609 has the speaker trying to define love, through saying both what love is and what it is not. In Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” he uses the enjambment in “Let me not to the marriage of true minds / admit impediments” (lines 1-2). The use of enjambment between line one and two, shows how this opening can be seen as vows, “admit impediments” (line 2) shows that the author would like whoever they are presenting the vows, to admit any obstacles which will prevent the marriage. The enjambment which is used in these lines encourages readers to continue reading from one line to the other and continuing through the sonnet. Shakespeare states that “love is not love / which alters when it alteration finds” (lines 2-3). In saying the quote previously mentioned, Shakespeare is trying to say that love cannot be love if it changes when whoever is in love sees the person whom they love, change. This allows the author to show audiences what love meant to Shakespeare in 1609, inspiring audiences to question what they already know to be an action of love. When Arthur Marrotti stated “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets (1982), was he referring to Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” written in 1609? Throughout Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116”, he clearly states what love is and what love is not. When the critic Arthur Marrotti states that “love is not love” he is referring to Shakespeare, this use of Marrotti quoting Shakespeare over 300 years after he stated it, inspires audiences to take their previous understanding of love, and use “Sonnet 116” (1609) to broaden their understanding of what love is and what it is not. In Michaela Guillaume’s ‘Representations of Love in the Early Stages of Love’ (2018) she states that “love has also been considered as a means of self-reflection and identity moulding’ (Mouton & Montijo, 2017). Guillaume’s definition of love inspires audiences to reflect on themselves in order to shape their opinions of what love is, but their identity as a whole. Thus, Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” (1609) allows audiences to get a broader understanding of where Marrotti’s claim that “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets (1982) came from, and it allows them to decide what Marrotti might mean by the statement.

Therefore, through the sonnets of Thomas Wyatt, Mary Wroth, Sir Philip Sidney and William Shakespeare, it can be concluded that what Arthur Marrotti meant by “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets can be taken many different ways. Audiences use what they already know about love and what they learn after reading the sonnets of the poets, to decide for themselves what Marrotti meant by “love is not love” in Elizabethan sonnets. The meaning which one individual gathers from Marrotti’s statement may be completely different to that of someone else’s, while very different they both have meaning relevant to that individual.

Works cited

1. Dore, Madeline. Romantic Love Isn’t The Only Type Of Love To Pursue In Our Lives, abc.net.au/life/why-romantic-love-isnt-the-only-type-of-love-you-should-pursue/. Accessed 17 April 2020.
2. Guillaume, Michaela. “Representations of Love in The Early Stages Of Life.” Article in human affairs, 2018, www.researchgate.net/publication/326916633_Representations_of_love_in_the_early_stages_of_love . Accessed 16 April 2020
3. Poetry Theme of love, bartleby.com/essay/Poetry-Theme-Of-Love-FKESBV36ZKQ . Accessed 16 April 2020
4. Shakespeare, William, “Sonnet 116”, 1609.
5. Sidney, Sir Philip, “Sonnet 1”, 1580s.
6. Wroth, Mary, “Sonnet 1” from “Pamphilia To Amphilanthus”, 1621.
7. Wyatt, Thomas, “That in my Heart Doth Harbour”, 1527.

I’m not a big fan of poetry. I can enjoy reading poetry of Latvian writers from time to time and, but I’ve never been in to poetry. Of course, I have not read much poetry. But I got interested in Billy Collins poetry and in his style of writing. That’s why I chose to analyze exactly this poem. Moreover, I got interested in reading more. Collins poetry seems contemporary, accessible, easy to read and surprisingly pleasant. You feel kind an included. The diction is simple, you can find in a poem a lot of irony and a catch yourself with a smile on your face reading it.

To analyze this poem, I immediately realized that it is full of irony and there will be need to study the structure of traditional sonnets. As declared in the title this poem is a sonnet. “Traditionally, the sonnet is a fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter, which ’employ one of several rhyme schemes and adhere to a tightly structured thematic organization.”[footnoteRef:1] “Sonnets usually feature two contrasting characters, events, beliefs or emotions. Poets use the sonnet form to examine the tension that exists between the two elements.”[footnoteRef:2] Broadly, sonnets are divided into groups based on the rhyme scheme they follow. One of the is Petrarchan sonnet: written in iambic pentameter; “a sonnet is divided into two stanzas, the octave (the first eight lines) followed by the answering sestet (the final six lines). Since the Petrarchan presents an argument, observation, question in the octave, a “turn” occurs between the eighth and ninth lines. This turn marks a shift in the direction of the foregoing argument or narrative, turning the sestet into the vehicle for the clarification.”[footnoteRef:3] Then there is Shakespearian sonnet (also called Elizabethan sonnet): a sonnet is divided into four parts. “The first three parts are each four lines long, and are known as quatrains. The fourth part is called the couplet. The Shakespearean sonnet is often used to develop a sequence of metaphors or ideas, one in each quatrain, while the couplet offers either a summary or a new take on the preceding images or ideas.”[footnoteRef:4] Shakespeare often places the ‘turn’ at ninth line. [1: The Sonnet: Poetic Form poets, Academy of American Poets, poets.org/poetsorg/text/sonnet-poetic-form] [2: What Is a Sonnet?, Wonderopolis, wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-is-a-sonnet] [3: The Sonnet: Poetic Form poets, Academy of American Poets, poets.org/poetsorg/text/sonnet-poetic-form] [4: Shakespeare’s sonnets summary, sparknotes.com/shakespeare/shakesonnets/summary/]

Talking about whole poem it consists of fourteen lines, which is typical for a sonnet. A poem is written all in one text without division in stanzas. But reading through it seems that it contains of an octave and a sestet like a traditional Petrarchan sonnet. But it also feels that a poem is divided like Shakespearian sonnet – in quatrains, at least at the beginning where I can subdivide two quatrains. But maybe this feeling arises because there are two sentences, each four lines long and each end of the sentence match with quatrain length. Also, reading this poem in voice you kind an automatically make a pause and intensify this feeling about a division in quatrains. Talking about similarities with a traditional sonnet form this poem also “turns” at line 9, but this is where the similarity ends. There are no any rhymes or metre throughout the poem, what is unusual and different from a traditional sonnet. Also, there are no ten syllables in line, the number of syllables in each line differs. After reading this poem I would say that the speaker in this sonnet is addressed to the reader or an auditory full of people like students. Because a voice is ironical, but also instructive and perceptive. Moreover, there is frequently used the pronoun “we” (“All we need is fourteen lines, well, thirteen now,”; “But hang on here while we make the turn”). Although in the poem is no exact clue about the speakers gender, but I would say that the speaker is a male, because it seems believable that the speaker is the author himself who tells others, possibly poetry students or simply modern people how to write a sonnet. A poem is written as a manual or an instruction about a sonnet construction.

So, there is a little room for doubt whether it is really a sonnet or not. Structure is that what makes me think it is a sonnet but maybe it’s really not. Simple the structure of sonnet is used, but all idea of text and dissimilarities with sonnet is just like a game, that makes the reader think that it is sonnet. In even more ironical way playing around an idea about preposterous of traditional sonnet form. Nevertheless, it is an irony about old fashioned sonnet form, structure and subject. The whole sonnet is a humorous poem about traditional sonnets. In the “Sonnet” the author both adheres and strays away from the traditional sonnet rules in terms what were discussed before. The speaker wants whether persuade the reader that old sonnets are pointless and absurd, whether say how hard it was to that time writers to obey and follow that time foolish rules. Possible also the author himself wants to protest against the traditional way of writing sonnet and avoid of these rules. But it makes it all more satirical, because he is actually writing this poem in apparently traditional sonnet form.

Looking at all poem in general the author uses only fourteen lines to lead the reader thought these lines telling about a traditional sonnets history and structure using some metaphors and obvious statements. When come a line nine and make a “turn”. Not only a turn as in Shakespearian sonnets, but also a turn in a topic, when start to speak about Petrarch. There is no solution or answer in last six lines of a poem, it is more like ironical conclusion.

Looking in details first two lines is pure irony or self-evident statement. In these lines, there is clearly defined and said the length of a sonnet. They are kind an obvious, like in a math lessons made calculations, but with added satirical tone (‘All we need is fourteen lines, well, thirteen now, and after this one just a dozen’). The line three is a metaphor “to launch a little ship on love’s storm-tossed seas,”. The author ironizes about all sonnets, about the fact that all of them is mostly written about love. A one sonnet (little ship) in a sea of many similar sonnets which are written about love (love’s storm-tossed seas). In the line four the author returns back to numbers and math, notifying them, who didn’t know yet, that only ten lines left in this sonnet (‘then only ten more left like rows of beans.’). The author uses comparison, comparing these ten lines with beans – small, all almost similar and hard to differ one from the other. This become like a game, where is combined technical knowledge about sonnet structure and a satirical spirit. There is the end of sentence and comes the line five. Following four lines is more or less about the Shakespearian sonnet form. But word “Elizabethan” is connected with it, as I mentioned before (“How easily it goes unless you get Elizabethan and insist the iambic bongos must be played and rhymes positioned at the ends of lines,”). In these lines are expressed how hard to follow these sonnet writing rules, how easy it would be to write a poem if not to fit in these norms. All these metres, in this case iambic, which is integral component of a Shakespearian sonnet. The next point the author makes seems a reference to the rhyme scheme of a typical Shakespearian sonnet, where the main idea is that authors needed to think hard to find appropriate words that will fit in context and also rhyme.

Then comes the line nine. Eight lines ends the octave and the ninth line starts the concluding six lines, in which some kind of answer should be given. There is also a “turn”; a sonnet ninth line is the turning point of the sonnet, which can change the meaning of the whole poem according to theory. It is said there directly (“But hang on here while we make the turn”). In the line ten follows a reference to theoretical material about a traditional sonnet structure (“into the final six where all will be resolved,”). A satirical deviation comes next where the author makes fun about previously mentioned fact that all that time sonnets are written about love; and finishing writing a sonnet the writer will be free of heartache and a sonnet will be completed (“where longing and heartache will find an end,”). Further can find four lines that are full of irony (‘where Laura will tell Petrarch to put down his pen, take off those crazy medieval tights, blow out the lights, and come at last to bed.’). After research turns out that Laura was a woman, who Petrarch (famous poet in 1300s) felt in love with. It is funny conclusion what makes a reader to smile. All in all, real life and love of a life is more important than long and exhausting sonnet writing process.

I really enjoyed an ironical tone, simplicity and clear message is like a fresh air to me. This poem is easy to understand. There is no need for massive prior knowledge and headaches. After reading this poem I feel like I’m really gained some knowledge.

Many of Shakespeare’s sonnets revolve around two people’s relationship with each other. Shakespeare’s sonnets show the Victorian standards of true love. Although Sonnet 130 and Sonnet 138 both discuss love, they have different views of how true love is expressed. Sonnet 130 regards loving your partner despite their faults and being honest about the fact that they’re human. Sonnet 138 is about omitting your faults from a relationship in attempts to preserve the love.

In Sonnet 130, Shakespeare is brutally honest about his lover. He compares her to all of the cliché examples of love at the time, however, instead of being beautiful beyond compare—she’s average. By using repetition, Shakespeare reinforces the fact that she is far from perfect. The repetition enforces the constant comparison of his love to something lesser or unconventional. His lover’s breath reeks (line 8) and teeth don’t shine (line -), her skin is dull and unimpressive (line. On the first read, the reader might assume that the narrator is unattracted to his love. However, the Volta proves this to be untrue. The author does not hate his love for being imperfect—he loves her for her imperfections.

“And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare as any she belied with false compare”, — line 13 shows that he feels his lover is just as special, if not more, as any other women written about in poetry at the time. Shakespeare’s brutal honesty about his lover is what makes this sonnet an example of remarkable love. The author is choosing to love his lady despite her flaws, instead of for her perfections. He refuses to draw false conclusions like other poets (line 14) and his love is stronger because of it. Yet the author still choses to love her and accept her for how she is. Sonnet 130 shows that love is honest, even about unflattering things.

Contrarily, Sonnet 138 focuses on withholding the truth about your faults from your lover. The primary focus of this poem are the things that both the narrator and the narrator’s lover are withholding from the other. The narrator is older, the love interest is lying—and they both are well aware of this fact but lie so the other will remain interested in them.

In the opening line the author admits that he knows that his interest is lying. He continues to admit that he goes along with it so that she will think he is young. His lover admits that she knows he is older than he lets on. They both are aware that the other is lying, however, they do not ever confront the other about their lives. The author later admits, “And in our faults by lies we flattered be,” that they are both equally flattered by the lies they have created, so they continue their relationship. This allows the author and his lover to live a comfortable relationship. By choosing to ignore each other’s faults, they have a relationship that they can perpetuate safely.

Compared to Sonnet 130, Sonnet 138’s stance on love is vastly opposing. Sonnet 130 primarily focuses on the belief that honesty about your partner’s flaws is the best way to love your partner. Sonnet 138 focuses on the choice to focus on flattery to preserve a relationship. Shakespeare provides two vastly different stances. One sonnet focuses primarily on truth, while the other focuses on dishonesty—the two could not be more opposite. However, one similarity prevails in both. The narrators love their partners in their own unique ways. Shakespeare shows the honesty of love in both sonnets. No relationship is perfect, and through both sonnets, Shakespeare presents the

This poses an important question for the reader—What is real love? Shakespeare’s sonnets seem to have two vastly different takes on this. Sonnet 130 enforces the idea that honesty, which may lead to some discomfort, provides strength in relationships. Sonnet 138 enforces the belief that dishonesty in the form of flattery provides the most comfortable relationships. Shakespeare’s idea of love may seem conflicting when viewing these specific sonnets. However, Shakespeare’s sonnets were not written to prove what true love is—they were written to capture the humanity of love. Sonnet 18 compares love to the seasons, changing, yet everlasting. Sonnet 73 discusses love in old age. Shakespeare’s sonnets focus on all aspects of love—the different forms it can come in, and the ways it is presented.

“O learn to read what silent love hath writ!

To hear with eyes belongs to love’s fine wit.” – Sonnet 23

The Narrator is pleading the audience to read between the lines about how he expresses his love when words fail him, and through his sonnets, Shakespeare is asking the same.

Furthermore, Sonnet 130 and 138 both portray different kinds of love, however, they both accomplish Shakespeare’s goal of showcasing love in its many different forms. Looking at the sonnets from this perspective, Shakespeare’s work becomes timeless. The humanity of love that Shakespeare captures in his work is unparalleled by no other. His sonnets do not show what is true love, or what is a perfect relationship—they capture the love we have in our everyday lives. Because of this, Shakespeare’s work is timeless. Other writers at the time used cliché examples of what they thought love was. While their poetry may be studied and well known, it did not have the lasting effects on the English language that Shakespeare’s poetry did (The Survival of Shakespeare’s Language in English Dialects). Shakespeare’s work challenged the concepts of love and romance at the time and became timeless.

These two sonnets are well renowned and viewed as iconic love poems for their content.

1. Reich, Peter A. “Googling Shakespeare: Shakespeare’s Effect on Current English.” LACUS Forum, vol. 32, 2006, pp. 355–67. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=mzh&AN=2007751295&site=eds-live&custid=magn1307.

Introduction

This paper deals with the “Sonnet XXIX”, one of the 154 Sonnets the well-known English poet, playwright and actor William Shakespeare has written. The aim of my paper is to examine in how far this particular Shakespearean Sonnet fits into the pattern of a ‘typical’ Shakespearean Sonnet.

“Shakespeare’s sonnets are synonymous with courtly romance, but in fact many are about something quite different.” [cf. Paterson 2010: online] Shakespeare’s Sonnets polarized and this paper also examines how love is approached in the Sonnet 29.

This project is divided into three main parts: The first part is an examination of how a ‘typical Shakespearean Sonnet’ would look like. Then, a detailed analysis of the Sonnet XXIX itself follows in which the relations between external features of the poem and their significance for the underlying content are paid special attention. To conclude, I will point out the particularity of the Sonnet 29 and will illustrate in how far the features of this poem fit into the view of a ‘typical Shakespearean Sonnet’ and where deviation can be found in its structure.

1. Shakespearean Sonnets

According to researchers interested in Shakespeare’s biography, Shakespeare’s total of 154 sonnets can be subdivided into two main categories concerning the addressee: Sonnets 1-126 seem to be dedicated to the mysterious ‘Mr. W.H.’, a young man whose name is not divulged, and Sonnets 127-152 to an unknown ‘dark lady’, also called ‘black mistress’. In addition to that, two Cupido-sonnets (153 and 154) were written. Because this paper mainly deals with the Sonnet 29, I will focus on the characteristics of the former of these categories. All the sonnets were published by the renowned publisher Thorpe but there is evidence that Shakespeare may not have seen the volume before being published because some printing mistakes were found in the first edition and that the dedication addressing Mr. W.H. was added by Thorpe. Therefore, we do not know whether the order of the sonnets with which we are familiar now was the original one (cf. Borgmeier 2006: 177ff).

Shakespeare picked up the rhyme scheme of the English sonnet, a fourteen-line poem, applied by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey which is commonly known as a ‘Shakespearean Sonnet’ now. Apart from the concluding couplet, the sonnet consists of alternate rhymes (abab cdcd efef gg). This structure – three quatrains followed by a couplet – is quite effective for argumentation: In Shakespearean Sonnets, an argumentative transition can be observed and the couplet with which an English sonnet ends usually poses a punch line, sometimes used as summation or turning point, or also to challenge what has been said in the preceding quatrains (cf. Borgmeier 2006: 182f.; Schoenfeldt 2010: 7).

Usually, an iambic pentameter is applied in the sonnets of William Shakespeare. That is, the sequence of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one occurs five times within a verse so that there are five beats in each line (cf. Nünning 2016: 58ff.). Shakespeare sometimes uses phonetic irregularities which were believed to always contribute to the sonnets’ content and carry meaning and therefore, even the smallest metrical irregularity was investigated in detail. But in contrast to that, nowadays people seem to be sure about the fact that small deviations in rhythm are not always of particular importance but rather serve to some sort of alternation (cf. Borgmeier 2006: 184f.).

The prevalent topic in Shakespeare’s sonnets is ‘love’. In his sonnets, Shakespeare shows a new development of poetry and seems to have remodelled the way in which his precursors of Petrarchan poetry approached the writing of a sonnet. The ideal of a socially and intellectually superior mistress which is applied in Petrarchan poetry and towards which the lyric I talks in humbleness (platonic love) is not necessarily applied in Shakespearean sonnets. In his sonnets, there are no references to earlier poems (intertextuality) and Shakespeare seems to have remodelled existing motifs and conventions with satisfaction. While in former poetry, feelings are not expressed extensively, Shakespeare enjoys the display of such (even though they do not have to be those of the poet himself) (cf. Borgmeier 2006: 185ff.). The speaker’s demonstration of wholehearted adoration of the addressee is unique. Not only love and complete devotion towards the lyric thou are key issues of the sonnets but also the suffering and sorrow of the speaker which are by-products of those (cf. Schuenke 2011: 164).

What is seen as the independence from contemporarily existing standards and an original reinvention of existing models (cf. Borgmeier 2006: 186f.), meets with criticism from the other side: Especially the couplets are frequently criticised nowadays because of their ‘predictability’ and alleged banality. Guiseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa considers the concluding couplets as a superfluous finish when comparing it to Petrarchan poetry. According to him, the last two verses appear to have been glued on in the end as if they were the morale of the story. Even though this and some other judgements appear harsh, it cannot be dismissed that most of the subsequent English sonnet poets follow the Petrarchan pattern (cf. Borgmeier 2006: 183).

The question of whether Shakespeare’s sonnets are autobiographical in some way has been highly discussed, especially because of the absence of proper names (cf. Schalkwyk 2002: 240). Some speculate on William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke (1580-1630), being the real-life reference and addressee of the Sonnets 1-126 but no tangible evidence has been found so far (cf. Borgmeier 2006: 178).

Typically, the sonnets of William Shakespeare “ignore the possibility of eternal life via religious salvation” and do not show any belief in an afterlife where anything that has been lost or done wrong in this world turns out good in the afterworld (cf. Schoenfeldt 2010: 83). Schuenke (cf. 2011: 163) refers to Shakespeare as someone living in excess, conscious of humanity’s mortality but also of the word’s immortality.

2. Analysis of the Sonnet 29

Consisting of 14 lines and subdivided into three quatrains and one concluding heroic couplet, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29 fits perfectly into the model of a ‘typical Shakespearean sonnet’. Rhythmically it is compounded by an iambic pentameter meaning that an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed one five times in each line (cf. Mabillard 2000, online).

In the poem, a clearly identifiable narrator frequently refers to himself in the first person singular and is talking about his innermost feelings (explicit subjectivity). In this sonnet, the lyric persona firstly describes and commiserates with itself on its “outcast state”, not being accepted by other people and also not accepting himself. This changes as the lyric I remembers the love of the lyric thou, to which it is speaking (cf. Borgmeier 2006: 188).

In the first stanza, the lyric persona describes its personal feelings: It is sad about being expulsed by the society and comments on its low self esteem. In the second quatrain a comparison to other men follows in which the lyric I points out which qualities it admires on them: it wishes on hope, friendship, success and talent which are qualities it actually estimates but does not dispose of itself. For the first time in the sonnet, the lyric thou is addressed in the third quatrain: By the time the lyric I thinks of the lyric thou, a sudden mood swing is observable (this will be further explained in the following) (cf. Frank 2006: 137; Shakespeare. “Sonnet XXIX”). In the couplet, which is often a pithy statement, the mood swing is expressed directly and the lyric I reveals that not even for all the things it had previously admired, it would change the love of the lyric thou (Shakespeare. “Sonnet XXIX”).

Even though the dominating meter in the sonnet is an iambic pentameter, there are some deviations observable. If it were a rigid pentameter which was applied in the sonnet, ‘’when” in the first verse would be unstressed, while ‘’in” would be stressed syllables. Therefore, an inversion of stress was carried out. (cf. Nearing 1962: 17)

/ x x / x / x / x /

When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,

In the third line, another deviation can be found. In order to give “trouble” the stress which its meaning seems to require, the second foot does not fall on “deaf” but rather on the first syllable of “heaven” because there is no reason why the adjective should be emphasised rather than its substantive. The rhythm of the second quatrain reflects an increasing restlessness. The first two lines of this quatrain start out with trochaic substitutions which usually tend to accelerate the speed because the speaker has to catch up with the normal metrical pattern of the iamb. In this case, the caesuras in the second to the fourth line strengthen the restlessness created by the deviations in rhythm and contrast from the “general smoothness of the first quatrain” (cf. Nearing 1962: 18).

/ x x / x / x / x /

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,

/ x x / II x / x / x /

Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,

x / x / x / II x / x /

Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,

x x / x / II x / x /

With what I most enjoy contented least

The emotional stimulation of the second quatrain turns into cheer bursting the metrical frame through an enjambement between line 11 and 12 and through the feminine rhyme in line 9 which extends the metrical pattern for an additional syllable. According to Nearing (1962: 18ff.), “sound and sense of the poem reach a climax together” in the third quatrain, while the couplet “expresses a return to equanimity”.

Even though many commemorators refer to Shakespearean Sonnets having uniform rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efef gg), there actually are some slight divergences observable in a few sonnets, for example in Sonnet XXIX. Apart from the heroic couplet, Shakespeare’s sonnets work with continuing alternate rhymes throughout the whole poem but refuse to use the same rhyme twice. Interestingly, in this poem the words in line 2 and 4 not only rhyme with each other but also with the end rhymes of line 10 and 12 so that the rhyme scheme looks as follows: abab cdcd ebeb ff. The function of this pattern seems to serve the linking of the first and the third quatrain through the b rhyme. This structure somehow makes the Sonnet 29 non-Shakespearean as it seems to separate the poem into 2 parts whose formal classification shows similarities to the Petrarchan sonnet: The first eight lines deal with the “state” of the lyric I before it has thought of the lyric thou, being followed by six verse lines describing the state after having thought of his beloved (cf. McGuire 1987: 304ff.).

Because the choosing of words and expressions is done very carefully and thought-out in poetry, a further analysis of the meaning of occurring words and expressions is to be done. Because the expression “my state” is repeated three times in the entire poem, further attention is to be drawn to it. When looking at it more in detail, a metamorphosis can be observed: In the first occurrence (line 2), “the outcast state” of the speaker is described with which the lyric I refers to its position in society and also that it is not gifted with much luck. When the utterance is repeated in line 10, the negatively afflicted expression “my state” relates to the mindset of the lyric I. At the end of the sonnet “the state” somehow gets a political meaning because the state of the speaker is compared to that of a monarch (cf. Frank 2006: 137). In the couplet the lyric I expresses that it would not even want to change the position of someone in power because “thy sweet love” suffuses the lyric I with such joy and happiness that it prefers this to the state and qualities of someone it admired in preceding lines (Shakespeare. “Sonnet XXIX”: line 13).

The Sonnet XXIX contains plenty of rhetoric figures: On the phonological level, a number of alliterations can be found throughout the whole sonnet (e.g. “all alone” (line 2), “these thoughts” (line 9), etc.). In addition to that, the first quatrain contains an anaphora (line 3/4) which adds to the coherence of the sonnet (Shakespeare. “Sonnet XXIX”).

In the second quatrain, repetition occurs at the end and the beginning of a clause, respectively (“Featured like him, like him with friends possessed” (Shakespeare. “Sonnet XXIX”: line 6). This phenomenon is called Anadiplosis and is extremely effective in terms of emphasis on a morphological level. In this case, it stresses that the lyric I compares itself to others which it seems to admire. In the same line, the syntax does not follow the normal word order (“like him with friends possessed”) which is an example for inversion (Shakespeare. “Sonnet XXIX”: line 6).

In the third quatrain (line 10), the lyric I relates its own state, which has been associated with rather negative thoughts earlier in the sonnet, with the happiness and positive thoughts dedicated to the lyric thou by using the expression ‘then’ in the same line directly after having mentioned thinking “on thee”. This precedes a simile which further points out the joy with which the lyric I is fulfilled when thinking of the lyric thou. In this case, it becomes clear that the speaker does not necessarily talk about the singing of a lark to refer to himself but rather to express the mood swing he experiences (cf. Frank 2006: 137). Here, the vehicle of the simile (donor field) is the lark’s singing in the morning whose characteristics are projected onto the state of the lyric I (tenor, recipient field).

McRae (cf. 1987: 7f.) writes about to the text’s punctuation and syntax and points out one of the text’s ambiguities with regards to that. In the third quatrain, the punctuation may mislead the reader into thinking that the “lark” was the only riser and the “state” the only singer (from sullen earth). But “both the 0 punctuation and the line-end pause between arising and From carry a syntactically blurred image of the speaker(‘s state) sending hymns aloft from earth, sending hymns up to heaven”. (cf. McRae 1987: 7) He points out that the relationship between the speaker and the state can be understood metonymic and focusing on the syntax enables an understanding of why the simile serves as a parenthesis. Even though the simile is an interesting supplement to the text, it is not essential to the statement. But if the simile was removed, the b-rhyme lines would turn out as a couplet and doing the same with their “rhyming echoes” in the first stanza, a deepened understanding of the sonnet is enabled and they form “a poem within a poem” (cf. McRae 1987: 7f.).

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And look upon myself and curse my fate,

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,

From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven’s gate;

2.1 Particularity of the Sonnet 29

In Shakespeare’s Sonnet XXIX, there are two main abnormalities observable which are not usually found in English Sonnets. First, a uniquely occurring deviation in the “when/then structure” and secondly – as I have already mentioned in the former chapter, the rhyme scheme differs from a typical English sonnet. (cf. McRae 1987: 6) Both of the two structures contribute to a great extent to the poem’s content and cohesion.

Regarding the when/then structure, one can note that in any of the other sonnets (2, 12, 15, 30, 43, 64, 88, 106, 138) the temporal logic of this pattern is adhered on and the “when” statement is closed with a subsequent “then”. However, Shakespeare’s 29th sonnet does obey this pattern: The speaker starts out with the “when” statement in the first line of the poem and continues the statement up to the end of the second quatrain. Even though the sentence is not ended by then, the “when” statement is broken down by the interjection starting in the subsequent line. By that, the lyric I stops its self-assessment and turns towards considering “the almost religious nature of his beloved” (cf. Mc.Rae 1987:6f.). The “then” statement is completely omitted even though the normal structure would make the reader expect the following sestet to turn out as such and give further information about the consequences of the speaker’s self-contempt. Instead, the lyric persona continues with describing a change in mood when thinking of the lyric thou by which it rigorously draws attention to the mood swing it experiences. A strong contrast between the mindset of the lyric persona is pointed out by applying this structure and omitting the “then” statement (cf. McRae 1987: 6f.).

When the lyric I reveals that the thought about the lyric thou enhances its mood dramatically to the better, the applied structure of omitting the “then” statement seems to divide the sonnet into an octave and a sestet. In contrast to this, the deviation in rhyme scheme seems to pull the poem together again. (cf. McRae 1987: 7)

Furthermore, the punctuation of the Sonnet 29 is interesting to consider. The fact that the sentence started in the first line is not clearly ended and marked by a full stop until the end of the poem, creates some sort of restlessness. This seems to be a good example in which the relation between external structure of the poem and its significance for the content can be identified. The restlessness created by punctuation could relate to the mental restlessness the lyric I seems to have until it finally realizes that it has not lost its most valuable possession: the love of the lyric thou (Shakespeare. “Sonnet XXIX”). In addition to that, while the sonnet’s division of the content into an octave and a sestet seems to contrast them from each other and disjoin them in some way, the relation between the first and the third quatrain brings about exactly the opposite (cf. McRae 1987: 7f.). This could also reflect the lyric personas restlessness which ends by the end of the third quatrain.

Even though in most of Shakespeare’s sonnets, religious salvation is not incorporated or shown belief in, a few spiritual aspects can be observed in the Sonnet 29. Shakespeare applies the subject of redemption not through religious salvation in the afterworld but rather through the thoughts of the beloved. In the first line, the lyric I is ‘In disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes’ but the sudden mood swing described in the former paragraph can be seen as some sort of redemption (cf. Schoenfeld 2010: 83). “Deaf heaven” in line 3 may refer to God not hearing the lyric persona’s “bootless cries” (Shakespeare. “Sonnet XXIX”: line 3). The earth is described as dismal but the lyric I seems to escape from this state of despair in the third quatrain. “Heaven’s gate” operates as a metaphor for the mood swing evoking positivity and joy in the lyric persona’s mind (Schoenfeld 2010: 83). In this sonnet, Shakespeare seems to have incorporated three biblical virtutes which are faith, hope and love and apparently backs its argumentation with the famous 1 Corinthians 13.13 passage (“And now abideth faith, hope & love, even these thre; but the chiefest of these is love”) (cf. Watson 1986: 12f.). Just like in the bible, love is portrayed as the most important of the three biblical virtutes because for the love of the lyric thou, material wealth (and by that anything that is earthly) is discounted by the lyric persona. While the speaker seems to have lost hope and faith of others (or they may at least be present only relatively weak), he still possesses the lyric thou’s love which restores faith (cf. Watson 1986: 13).

3. Conclusion

It is observable that also in this sonnet, the couplet is a punch line: The lyric persona embraces that it discards everything it expressed its regrets about earlier in the sonnet and the speaker shows a change in mindset. However, this change in mindset already starts out in the third quatrain when the lyric thou is mentioned for the first time. Apart from a few deviations in metre, the sonnet 29 of William Shakespeare follows that of most English sonnets which is a iambic pentameter. The rhythmic composition of the sonnet supports its expressiveness and highlights what is transmitted with language.

Unique among Shakespearean sonnets is the uncommonly unfinished when/then structure which adds to the poem’s meaning because it contrasts the feelings of the lyric I before and after it has thought about the lyric thou.

In addition to that, deviations in rhyme scheme (abab cdcd ebeb ff) are usually not found in English sonnets and therefore special about this poem. While some consider this “a serious technical blemish” (cf. McGuire 1987: 305), this aims at linking the first quatrain to the third quatrain in terms of content because the rhyming word “state” plays a major role throughout the whole sonnet. By linking the first and the third quatrain, the happy feelings with which the lyric persona is fulfilled when thinking of the lyric thou are projected on the formerly negatively afflicted “state” of the lyric I. Such deviations from the normal rhyme scheme are very rare in Shakespearean sonnets but they show how external structure and content are in interplay (cf. McGuire 1987: 305ff.).

4. Bibliography

1. Borgmeier, Raimund, and Michael Hanke (2006). William Shakespeare: The Sonnets. Stuttgart: Philipp Reclam jun. GmbH &Co.
2. McRae, Murdo William (1987). Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29. The Explicator, 46.1: 6-8
3. Nearing, Homer (1962). Shakespeare as a Nondramatic Poet: Sonnet XXIX. Shakespeare Quarterly, 13.1: 15-20
4. Nünning, Vera und Ansgar (2016). An introduction to the Study of English and American Literature. Stuttgart: Klett Lerntraining, c/o PONS GmbH.
5. Schalkwyk, David (2002). Speech and Performance in Shakespeare’s Sonnets and Plays. Cambridge: CUP
6. Schoenfeldt, Michael (2010). The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare’s Poetry. Cambridge: CUP
7. Schuenke, Christa (2011). Shakespeares Sonette. München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag
8. [bookmark: _Toc164938]Online sources:
9. Frank, Bernhard (2006). Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29. The Explicator. 64.3: 137 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/EXPL.64.3.137-138 [21.01.19]
10. Mabillard, Amanda (2000). Shakespearean Sonnet Basics: Iambic Pentameter and the English Sonnet Style. Shakespeare Online. http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/sonnetstyle.html [29.12.18]
11. McGuire, Philip C (1987). Shakespeare’s Non-Shakespearean Sonnets. Shakespeare Quarterly, 38.3: 304–319 www.jstor.org/stable/2870505 [20.01.19]
12. Paterson, Don (2010). Shakespeare’s sonnets by Don Paterson. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/16/shakespeare-sonnets-don-paterson [04.02.19]
13. Watson, Thomas Ramey (1986). Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29, The Explicator, 45.1: 12-13, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00144940.1986.11483952 [27.01.19]