Close Reading Of Sonnet 78

“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.

Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets in his lifetime; the 56 sonnets being one of many. This sonnet in particular addresses a “fair youth”. Love is one of the major themes throughout the sonnets, as seen in Sonnets 1, 18, and 29, as well as many other works. Shakespeare is very well known in the literary community for his precise word choice, which often has deeper meaning than simply surface level. Throughout Sonnet 56, Shakespeare uses literary techniques such as comparison, personification, and symbolism to portray the meaning and emotion of love.

These groupings of four lines are called quatrains, and the first two of the sonnet are similar in meaning, and the third quatrain is linked with the fourth, which is actually just a couplet. This example follows a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, so it follows the usual form of a Shakespearean sonnet. The first two quatrains are linked in meaning because this is where Shakespeare ruminates on how beauty is enhanced by true inward value. He discusses how roses are considered to be more beautiful than they are solely based on looks, because they have such a beautiful scent, but it is not so with the canker blooms, which have as nice a color as roses, but nothing more. Then in the third quatrain he shifts focus slightly, to consider the death of the beautiful flowers.

“Sonnet 116” written by William Shakespeare is focusing on the strength and true power of love. Love is a feeling that sustainable to alterations, that take place at certain points in life, and love is even stronger than a breakup because separation cannot eliminate feelings. The writer makes use of metaphors expressing love as a feeling of mind not just heart as young readers may see it. To Shakespeare love is an immortal felling that is similar to a mark on a person’s life.

Another interesting use of diction is, "the eye of heaven," in line 5. The use of the word eye implies that someone is watching down from heaven. Instead of using the word sun, Shakespeare chose a more dramatic term. By using the biblical term, he is saying that the worlds view of heaven through the sun is still nothing compared to the subject of the poem; expressing to the reader just how magnificent this young man, truly is. A different use of diction in this sonnet is in line 7, "fair from fair." It is interesting that he chose to use the same word twice, especially since there are multiple connotations of the word. It could mean that he is good looking, he has been treated justly, he could be delighted to see someone or even simply that

The lover is described as "more temperate" in line 2 and therefore less prone to vary between extremes.

The ending couplet sums up the main idea of the sonnet. It continues with the image of eternity and the memory of the addressee. When Shakespeare writes “So, till the judgment that yourself arise / you live in this and dwell in lovers eyes” there is still an emphasis on the word of the poem itself.

Shakespeare’s 71st sonnet is short, but it contains an emotional tone..In the first couple of lines, the mood of the sonnet is one of gloom and impending doom. It is gloomy because it uses words such as fled, sullen, and warning. In line four the speaker's tone changes from gloomy to angry. He calls the world vile and says

The second sonnet continues the argument and plea from sonnet one. This time through the imagery of military, winter, and commerce. Once again, time is the great enemy, besieging the youth’s brow, digging trenches in his face and ravaging his good looks. Beauty is conceived of as a treasure that decays unless, through love, its natural increase. By marrying and having children is made possible. The poet tries to scare the young man to marry and have children by showing him his future. When he is forty years old he will be nothing but a “tatter’d weed, of small worth held” because he will be alone and childless. The only thing that the young will have to look back for is his self-absorbed “Lusty days,” empty because

Shakespeare wanting these sonnets to go to the young man, in order to persuade him into a pro life and a procreation lifestyle, repeated the message in order to get his point across. The stories that are told or the examples that are placed within the sonnets do not repeat. Yet with the message, as well as the light and dark compare and contrast happening, helps to Shakespeare to get his point across to the young man. The young man, being the audience of the sonnets, was the audience for all of them. Since he was the one and only person that these were meant for, Shakespeare was able to personalize the work of sonnets in order to make certain that the message hit home with the young man.

William Shakespeare is one of the most well-known writers of all time. His sonnets are timeless and his plays are performed again and again. Much of his history is known, but can also be considered a little cloudy. He seemed to be a sarcastic man not necessarily loved by all. I enjoy his plays, but personally love his sonnets best of all. Knowing the controversy surrounding his life, “Sonnet 71” offers a slight insight into all of that.

The textual differences between the 1599 and 1609 renditions of Shakespeare's Sonnet 138 subtly change the meaning and shift the focus of the poem. Most notably, in the 1609 rendition, more emphasis is placed on their shared complicity and Shakespeare more vividly paints his mistress as an individual opposed to a third-party construct.

Sonnet 73 is a meditation on mortality, and yet it can be interpreted in a number of ways. The first such interpretation is that the author of the poem is speaking to someone else about his own death that will inevitably come in the future. This interpretation has the poem focused on the author, and his focus and concern over himself. This makes him seem very selfish, because we are all going to die sooner or later, and it does not do any good to dwell on or complain about it. The only use that this interpretation really has is to evoke pity in the author, or the speaker of the Sonnet.

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.

Poets and authors alike evoke emotion and pictures from one single word. The imagery and thoughts put into the readers’ heads by these different writers are the base of one’s creativity and imagination while reading the author’s work of art. William Shakespeare is one of the most well-known poets of all time that is able to elicit these emotions from the reader to allow the reader to fully understand what Shakespeare is trying to accomplish with his poems. Shakespeare keeps his audience entertained with a whopping 154 sonnets, each having a different meaning and imagery associated with it. Sonnet 18, “[Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day]”, and Sonnet 55, “[Not Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments]”, are both one of Shakespeare’s most famous works. Shakespeare uses these sonnets to explore the powerful relationship between humanity, art, and time.