He spends a great deal of time explaining this to us with imagery and symbolism. Love looks upon "tempests" (6) - the possible hurdles that lovers may encounter - and is "never shaken" (6) by them. It is important to note that the poet does not believe that love is always happy and easy. He is not foolish enough tot think that tough times will come. He knows that love will encounter difficulties but he is confident that it will survive. He also says, love is not "Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks/Within his bending sickle compass come" (9-10). Here we have more metaphors that help us understand the poet's point-of-view. Many might be under the impression that time will make a mockery of love or it might be construed as a metaphor for death. The second connection makes more sense - especially when we consider how the poet uses the word sickle in the same couplet. With either interpretation, we move toward the same notion being that love is tough enough to conquer mockery or death. For our poet, there is no doubt that love is strong. It will endure any obstacles, including the "edge of doom" (12). This is the strongest symbol the poet gives us because...
Love is nothing if it is not strong. In addition, love can instill a sense of confidence that is beyond measure. It makes us feel as though we can conquest anything as long as we have our beloved with us. The poet feels so strongly about his notion regarding love that if his can be proven wrong, then he must have never written a word and no one has ever been in love.
Of all Shakepeare's works, sonnets seem best to portray this word marriage from past and present. Not only do the words and style of the sonnet show this transition of time, but the era in which it was created was a great transitory time as well. Gutenberg had invented the printing press over a hundred years previous, but the full benefits of that marvelous invention had just begun to be felt
" Here, though Wordsworth has once again assumed his place apart from the natural world, he denotes that it is of value to return to this beautiful space in his memory when he is in need of emotional or psychological respite. And ultimately, this reinforces the romantic imperative of distilling the human experience within its context. For Wordsworth, the context of modernity invokes a greater appreciation for man's inextricable bond to
Shakespeare Journal 9/14 Sonnets (1. I usually have to force myself to read poetry, especially sonnets about romance that seem contrived or sentimentalized. Also, I am not very good at understanding and explaining the various metaphors, hidden meanings and so on. Sonnet 18 is so famous that it has long since turned into a cliche ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?") and would simply not go over very well is
William Shakespeare has written a number of love sonnets. In general, these tend to be less conventional than the typical romantic poem, where love is praised above all things as the purpose of life and relationships. Instead, Shakespeare tends towards a more realistic sense of loving despite imperfection and despite life's challenges. To some degree, the same is true of Sonnet 116, which begins with the line "Let me
Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Love is Not All" Scansion and Analysis Edna St. Vincent Millay utilizes a traditional sonnet form in "Love is Not All" that is reminiscent of a Shakespearean sonnet, with an ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG rhyme scheme. It also contains a "turn," in that the argument that the poet appears to be making throughout the first half of the poem is suddenly turned in a different and unexpected manner
Greeenblatt also points out that to truly grasp the meaning of the poem and the transience alluded to therein, readers must consider the social code for homosexual love. The Church did not tolerate sodomy and it would make sense that men would be attracted to other men considering how women were often treated as lower-class citizens. Through this "seesaw game of acknowledgment and denial" (253), Shakespeare "stages his sexual
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