William Shakespeare and Shakespeare Essay

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Sonnets

What comparisons does Shakespeare make in Sonnet 15? In what ways does the language of the poem reinforce these comparisons? How do these comparisons relate to the central theme of the poem?

Shakespeare compares the growth of men to the growth of plants in Sonnet 15: "When I perceive that men as plants increase . . . " (line 5). Time is also used a motif in the poem, in the sense that the young man is in the "day" of his life but as he grows older he is in the "night" of his life. The idea of the poem is that the life of a person is just like that of a plant -- it begins with a seed, it sprouts and grows upward toward the sky, and at a certain point, the growth stops and the decline sets in (for both the plant and the individual).

Shakespeare, through his use of language in the poem, reinforces these comparisons by extending the metaphors in the imagery: for instance, he discusses "youthful sap" (the blood of young men or the sugary substance in a tree), and the sky that stands over all life (plant as well as animal). Even more than that, Shakespeare himself states that he is directly involved -- like a horticulturist -- in the young man's life: his words are offered to him like the vines of a new plant given to one that is in need of support. Shakespeare states that he will literally go to "war with Time," (line 13) which brings decay to all things, by making the young man new again through the poem: "I engraft you new" (line 14). Thus, the central theme of the poem emerges: all life is mortal -- but poetry can, if not make men immortal, at least extend their lives . . . so long as men have eyes to see.

2 What is the speaker in Sonnet 27 by William Shakespeare doing over the course of the poem? How does this work use language and images that suggest various pairs of opposites to convey its central theme? Cite specific examples from the work in your response.

Over the course of the poem the speaker in Shakespeare's Sonnet 27 is lying down to bed. He is unable to sleep, even though his body is tired, because his mind is wide awake.

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His mind keeps bringing the image of his friend before his eyes -- and because his friend is so beautiful -- "like a jewel hung in ghastly night" (line 12) -- he is unable to get any rest: his mind will not turn off nor will his eyes look away from the imaginary sight.

This work pairs opposites to convey the central theme of a man enamored of his friend by using language that suggests a journey is being made: the man going to bed should be resting but instead makes "a zealous pilgrimage to thee" (line 7). "Old" is juxtaposed with "new" (line 13), day with night (lines 12-13), a bright "jewel" with "black night" (lines 12-13), and the work of the mind with the work of the body (line 4). The idea is that the narrator should be sleeping/resting but cannot because his friend's beauty is so powerful and great that as soon as he has a minute to stop from his manual labor, his mental labor begins -- the contemplation of how magnificent his friend is.

3 Compare the speaker and her beloved in Sonnet 16 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. How do the poem's language and images affect your understanding of its two main figures? What is the central theme expressed in this work?

Browning's language and images in Sonnet 16 make me think of her love as a warrior-king who wants to make her his own. She is lonely and crushed by loneliness, but the idea of wearing the royal purple also makes her feel crushed because there is a heavy weight that royalty must carry -- a great responsibility. She will do it, if he asks, and she only asks in return that he make his love for her as great as possible so that she can carry the weight that comes with being by his side and part of his life.

Browning uses words such as "king" (line 2), "conquering" (line 6), "crushing" (line 8), and "sword" (line 9) to convey a sense of battle in the poem. The idea that love should be something so full of physical emotion, anguish, greatness, and power is one that is expressed throughout the poem and is central to the theme: Browning evokes images of love being royal, of love being something like surrender (the.....

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