Shakespeare Sonnet 152 Analysis

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.

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.

"Oh! What A Tangled Web We Weave When First We Practice To Deceive" -Sir Walter Scott. Shakespeare is one of the most celebrated authors in history, weaving deception throughout his writings. As he wrote about love, deception was seen over and over within his pieces. An example of Shakespeare’s work is from Sonnet 138, “O, love's best habit is in seeming trust.” This sonnet was based around a man and his mistress. The man knows that she lies about being faithful, but he also is aware that they do it in order to protect each other and their relationship. Later in Sonnet 157, the audience sees the outcome of the deception in Sonnet 138, as they are told that the man and his mistress are no longer. In the story of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo quotes, “O, how may I call this lightning? O my love! My wife! Death, that hath suck’d the honey

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.

Throughout the majority of his sonnets and in ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Shakespeare goes against the Petrarchan views on love which were courtly love and also were the norm at the time. Petrarch was an Italian scholar and a poet who wrote sonnets which formed ideas on how love should be and by the 16th century, these ideas of love were the conventions. In sonnet 116, Shakespeare writes ‘love is not love’. The first ‘love’ being courtly love and the Petrarchan views on love, the second ‘love’ being true love and Shakespeare’s ideologies of love. Shakespeare is telling the audience at the time that the love they think they feel isn’t ‘true love’, it’s just the idea of love and courtly love rather than true love. This ‘mocking’ of the conventions at the time links to many other sonnets but mainly sonnet 130. The whole sonnet is a satirical piece that presents Petrarch’s ideologies of love in a way that makes them seem idiotic and untrue. The theme of courtly love being very different to true love is also seen in Romeo and Juliet. When Romeo is in courtly love with Rosaline, he talks about the feeling of love and how he deserves to have her, then when he

Love comes in many colors. The blood-crimson of lust and the jade-green of jealously are but two of the vast palate required to paint this inescapable human passion. William Shakespeare’s store of colors is unrivaled. No human failing, foible or foolishness escapes his gentle, comedic reproof. He equally enjoins his audience to venture as bravely as he does into the palpable horror of love gone amiss. In “OTHELLO,”“MACBETH,” and many more dramas, love’s fatal potential to provoke vengeance or the quest for earthly power is powerfully felt. These are epic investigations of love’s progression. A sonnet, however, is the equivalent of the modern short story. It is a snapshot of a single, significant experience. In two of Shakespeare’s sonnets – diverse in time and temperament, but complimentary in their conclusions – Shakespeare states his deepest feelings about the potential for a human love that is an un-judgmental commitment to the selfless nourishment of a partner. Sonnet 116, with a certainty and wisdom obtained from experience and suffering, marches out a rigorous and profound definition of true love. Sonnet 29 finds a soul in turmoil salvaged by an epiphany of understanding the power of true love to heal. By examining the perspective of the respective speakers, their individual progresses, the themes evoked and the poetic devices employed to compliment content this essay argues that for Shakespeare, true and enduring

One of the major themes in Romeo and Juliet is Love and its difficulties. Shakespeare tends to use this often in his plays and verses to create many emotions an effects. The relations and comparisons between the Acts/scenes and sonnets (18,129,36,29) in the play are studied in detail to understand Love and its difficulties. Shakespeare shows us how Love and relationships can change depending on situations by using the sonnets/ scenes and different language /imagery. This play was written during the Elizabethan era and this gives us an insight of what things were like in such a patriarchal society.

In Sonnet 20, Shakespeare feels highly of himself so much that he believes he can basically admit to everyone that he has intentions for a men which is the Prince, the Prince doesn't have any intentions for William but he is so kind, flirty, and so smooth that Shakespeare begins to think they have a thing. Shakespeare feelings about the Prince are very prominent and deep in this sonnet that to me, he seems obsessed with something that is a fairy tale in his head. Shakespeare was married with kids but travels for his plays to make money so he rarely ever sees them but Shakespeare has a mistress that is also being shared between the Prince which is supposedly his true love but William feels betrayed by the Prince and his mistress and his attitude towards both of them changes very severely in sonnet 144.

Sonnet 129 is an abnormal poem amongst Shakespeare’s collection; it deals with the complex emotion that is referred to as lust. At first glimpse, this sonnet appears traditional like the others, but an in-depth reading shows tha Unlike the other 153 romanticized sonnets that Shakespeare wrote, sonnet 129 is full of frustration, exasperation, and contrition over the effect of a woman on his character. Lust can cause one misery, and Shakespeare illustrates this fact in his sonnet through the use of tone, language, and metaphor. Sonnet 129 appears to be like many of Shakespeare’s other Sonnets, it follows the traditional rhyme scheme (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG), and its use of alliteration and syntax make for a melodic and mellow tone. However, this sonnet is unlike Shakespeare’s other for many reasons.

If fear of aging is the underlying cause behind the affair and lust is the motive, dishonesty is the means. The speaker’s issues regarding dishonesty appear in all three parts of the sonnet. In the first two quatrains, he makes it clear that honesty in his affair is utterly unimportant: “When my love swears that she is made of truth / I do believe her though I know she lies…” (1-2). The speaker states matter-of-factly that he knows his mistress is unfaithful to him, yet he chooses to believe her, at least outwardly. Conversely, though, the use of the word “swears” in line one could mean, according to Seamus Cooney, that the speaker questioned his mistress about her fidelity (“Shakespeare”). In lines three through six, as mentioned above, the speaker also feels no qualms about trying to deceive his mistress regarding his age. To prove that honesty is not a virtue in the first two quatrains, the speaker even comments on how his mistress tries to fool him by going along with his deception, and he confesses to pretending not to notice when she tries to fool him! According to Moore, the deceit present “is so cynical [and] self-conscious … that

In this case, Shakespeare crafts such moral dilemma in a way that it’s impossible for Viola not to reciprocate the same level of loyalty as Orsino; guilt, of some sorts, forcing her hand. And yet, Viola still chooses love in the end over loyalty. Furthermore, the hyperbole regarding Viola knowing the “secret” book to Orsino’s soul openly brings to attention the amount of trust that Orsino puts in Viola’s possession; to betray such raw moment of pure vulnerability, would be an abomination. Incidentally, Viola did just that; bypassing basic integrity and moral compass, ignoring even the most primal conscience of the human mind. Through Orsino’s lense, Shakespeare lays out a scenario where love can trump guilt, conscience, and even one’s self moral compass.

Two constant themes throughout this collection of sonnets is death and preservation. Shakespeare battles with the idea of how to preserve not only the beauty of his subject, but also his work without losing value and merit. Sonnet 17 and Sonnet 55 share the common idea that preservation is necessary and important, but each take different approaches to this preservation. From Sonnet 17 to Sonnet 55, Shakespeare grows confident in his craft and begins to develop a different ideology when it comes to preservation. In this paper, I will compare and contrast Sonnet 17 and Sonnet 55 and thoroughly examine Shakespeare’s changing preservation ideology.

Shakespeare’s sonnet conveys both the romantic and the controversial nature of 16th century homoeroticism through the speaker’s description of an unnamed man. Fraught with ambiguity, word play and amorous language, the sonnet embodies the disparaged passion and desire of homosexuality whilst simultaneously bringing to light the genderless nature of beauty.

It is here that I imagine Shakespeare was trying to fore-shadow future events. The audience may being to predict that Olivia would make rash decisions based on her blind love.

He accepts her essentially, because of her mediocracy. At times, he is outraged by her additional lovers, but he still is wrapped around her finger. He blames himself for staying with her even though the relationship is toxic and copes with her infidelity. Shakespeare turns the traditional feeling of a love sonnet to that of hatred, resentment, and lust. It seems more in line with the reality and harshness of falling in love, as opposed to the traditional googly-eyed admiration of a lover. Since Shakespeare avoids this fictional theme, he gives readers a good reason to believe his Sonnets may actually be true.