Paradox In Sonnet 1

In the ironic tale of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses language effectively such as using figurative language. The results of it gives the reading of the text a poetic and complex flow with a myriad of use of contradictory and paradox. The use of paradox is a statement that contradicts itself and still seems true somehow. In Romeo and Juliet there are many uses of this with the use of other contradictory language.

Shakespeare uses indirect and direct comparison throughout Sonnet 56. One example is the comparison between love and hunger, which is highlighted in the first two quatrains. He uses four key words: “appetite”,

What Shakespeare and Donne have in common is that numerous of their sonnets have a universal theme of love as well as their desire for a loved one. The most distinct theme in Shakespeare and Donne’s sonnets and plays is true and eternal love. In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 and Donne’s “The Flea,” marriage is illustrated similarity even though both of the poets have different views on marriage. In this analysis, both Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 and Donne’s “The Flea” will be observed for the reoccurring theme of love as well as how both writers define marriage.

Shakespeare utilizes several literary devices to display a reversal in his plot. In the prologue of Act two, Shakespeare employs word choice, personification, connotation, and symbolism in the first five lines of the Chorus as literary mechanisms of conveying meaning to his audience deeper than the surface of the text. Through these literary devices, we are able to see the progression of a reversal within Shakespeare’s plot, as Romeo’s romantic situations have begun to shift in his favor.

In the first three lines of his sonnet Shakespeare maintains the repletion of such words as “love” and “love”, “alters” and “alteration”, “remover” and “remove”. This way he underlies the consistency of feelings that prevail over other conditions in his poem. With each line Shakespeare’s thought is like bouncing between unusual changes to embrace the whole meaning of love that stays strong no matter what it has to sustain. In the next few lines Shakespeare is using metaphorical associations of love to give the reader the impression of majesty of love. “O no! It is an ever-fixed mark” (5), in this essence the meaning of mark pertains to sea-mark, which is a lighthouse, “That looks on tempests and is never shaken;” (6). The author is giving love metaphorical meaning of strength which is like a lighthouse never shaken with tempests. The next metaphorical close: “It is the star to every wandering bark,” (7), in

Is true love an unattainable ideal? Do we all have a soul mate? Is love just an exchange of lies for the purpose of flattery? These questions, and countless others, regarding love have been pondered by philosophers and pop music stars alike for hundreds of years. William Shakespeare examines these questions from two vantage points in “Sonnet 116” and “Sonnet 138.” Firstly, in “Sonnet 116”, Shakespeare analyzes love in a rhetorical manner, meaning that he is not discussing a specific relationship of his, but theorizing on the concept of love as a whole, in abstract terms. Conversely, in “Sonnet 138”, Shakespeare analyzes love in a specific manner. He looks inward to inspect a relationship between him and a woman, also known as The Dark Lady, and paints a much different picture of love than in “Sonnet 116”, in specific terms. In William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” and “Sonnet 138”, Shakespeare analyzes love in abstract and specific terms; concluding that abstract love relies on affection, does not change or age, and is built upon a solid foundation of truth, while specific love, on the other hand, relies on lust, actively ignores change and aging, and revolves around deception. These two sonnets paint entirely adverse portraits of love in order to emphasize the dichotomy between the poet’s expectations of love, and the reality which does not live up to the poet’s expectations.

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 has been known for the use of old English and deeper meanings between the lines of all of his work. He is most known for Romeo and Juliet, the Tragedy of Othello, and especially his one hundred and fifty four sonnets. Sonnets are a 14-line poem that rhymes in a particular pattern. The sonnet, like any other work of Shakespeare, is very difficult to interpret and even more difficult for the poet to write himself due to the restrictions of length. Sonnets 1-126 start off with the affection the poet feels for another young man and how it becomes corrupt and unhealthy. Sonnets 127-154 then have to do with the poet and a new love interest, that just like the first one, doesn’t end up well. The sonnets weren’t published until 1609

William Shakespeare's sonnet cycle is famous with its rich metaphorical style.  The depth of each sonnet comes from its multilayered meanings and images, which are reinforced by its structure, sound, and rhythm.  Sonnet #73 provides an excellent example.  This sonnet shows the speaker's agony over human mortality and, moreover, his/her way of coping with it in an effective way.  The speaker, especially in terms of his cognizance of time, experiences dramatic changes in two ways: (1) from time measured by quantity to time as quality,  (2) from cyclical time to a linear one.  These changes, manifested by a set of images (autumn, twilight, glowing), enable him/her to embrace

Sonnet XX, stands out to being a pivotal moment in Shakespeare’s sonnet writing, his first play was starting to take off, and with that so was his carrier. Though the sonnet touches on many things from his love of another man, to what love was to him and how it was all controlled by nature. He did this through diction, imagery, and symbolisms. His Tone and Mood, changing through the sonnet makes, the poetry flow like his emotions seems to do, when talking about the rival poet, who he seems to love.

It is important to note that each four-line stanza comprises a single sentence each and that way, the different ideas and themes that Shakespeare used are a lot clearer. The usage of strong words, such as “invoked”, “faire”, “poesy” and “alien”, in the first stanza of the sonnet really helps to suck the reader into the poet’s beautiful world and keep them there until the very end. The author acknowledges the fact that the person in the poem is his direct inspiration and indirectly thanks them for bringing him into the light amongst other poets who now take after him in being inspired by the person. The second quartet of lines discusses the true power of inspiration and beauty. Again, the author is writing in strong words, even exaggerating in some cases, using metaphors, such as the metaphor of an ignorant person becoming virtuous and an educated person being raised even higher in their knowledge (…heavy ignorance aloft to flie, / Have added feathers to the learned's wing…). According to the author, the eyes of the person alone have made the mute ones sing the highest notes and made the most elegant even more

The title of the poem “My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun” suggests that the speaker is not in love with his ‘mistress’. However, this is not the case. Shakespeare uses figurative language by using criticizing hyperboles to mock the traditional love sonnet. Thus, showing not only that the ideal woman is not always a ‘goddess’, but mocking the way others write about love. Shakespeare proves that love can be written about and accomplished without the artificial and exuberant. The speaker’s tone is ironic, sarcastic, and comical turning the traditional conceit around using satire. The traditional iambic pentameter rhyming scheme of the sonnet makes the diction fall into place as relaxed, truthful, and with elegance in the easy flowing verse. In turn, making this sonnet one of parody and real love.

Shakespeare examines love in two different ways in Sonnets 116 and 130. In the first, love is treated in its most ideal form as an uncompromising force (indeed, as the greatest force in the universe); in the latter sonnet, Shakespeare treats love from a more practical aspect: it is viewed simply and realistically without ornament. Yet both sonnets are justifiable in and of themselves, for neither misrepresents love or speaks of it slightingly. Indeed, Shakespeare illustrates two qualities of love in the two sonnets: its potential and its objectivity. This paper will compare and contrast the two sonnets by Shakespeare and show how they represent two different attitudes to love.

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.

A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines that rhyme in a particular pattern. William Shakespeare’s sonnets were the only non-dramatic poetry that he wrote. Shakespeare used sonnets within some of his plays, but his sonnets are best known as a series of one hundred and fifty-four poems. The series of one hundred and fifty-four poems tell a story about a young aristocrat and a mysterious mistress. Many people have analyzed and contemplated about the significance of these “lovers”. After analysis of the content of both the “young man” sonnets and the “dark lady sonnets”, it is clear that the poet, Shakespeare, has a great love for the young man and only lusts after his mistress.