William Shakespeare's Sonnet 138

In his 138^th Sonnet, William Shakespeare describes his relationship with the “dark lady.” He uses multiple metaphors to detail his emotions, as well as reveals a pattern that is present in many of his famous sonnets. By using romantic language and proclaiming the emotions of his lover, Shakespeare has accurately portrayed an image of his relationship.

            Throughout his Sonnet, Shakespeare states that he has lied to his lover, and his lover to him. However, he does not mind these lies that he has been told, for his experience with the “dark lady’ is meant only to fulfill his most basic primordial sexual needs. He acknowledges that they both grow older, and do not like their age being revealed. “And age in love loves not to have years told.” Shakespeare states that even the relationship itself is best without those who wish to proclaim its longevity and duration.

            The narrator in many of Shakespeare’s sonnets often acknowledges one common enemy. This enemy is time, and ultimately, death, who is an agent of time. However, the enemy of time is often conquered by a resolution which immortalizes a person or allows the narrator to simply accept his own mortality. “Thus foolishly thinking that I am still young.” Shakespeare states that his lover is naïve, and will believe the lies he tells her about his age. These lies are in fact the resolution which improperly addresses the inevitability of time’s power over life.

            Shakespeare in this sonnet lies about his age to his lover. This may seem as if it is an answer to the problem of time; however, these lies have more than one level of untruthfulness. The narrator’s lies are simply an attempt to erase time from his life’s equation. These untruthful statements only mask the problem of age. Shakespeare is still aging, and will continue to age despite what his discloses to other human beings.

            “Sonnet 138” is an attempt by Shakespeare to address his aging self, and the terminable nature of life. He has begun to realize his own mortality, and is simply lying to a physical lover to provide himself with fabricated proof of immortality. Through this ingenious poem, William Shakespeare is essentially describing the mid-life crisis of any aging male who yearns for youth and invigoration.

John Donne's Holy Sonnet 14

John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet 14” is an excellent literary work describing one man’s relationship with the Christian God. Donne states that he must be broken before he can be made anew, and uses multiple literary techniques to accurately display his message. God, in the divine mystery of the Holy Trinity, is called, a “three person’d God.”

            “Batter my heart, three person’d God.” Donne begins his poem with these words, stating that he wishes for God to attack his heart. The narrator believes that God has smiled upon him far too much in recent days, and he desires to experience life for what it truly can be. Soon after, Donne states that he will “rise, and stand.” This is referring to his wish to be knocked over, so he may stand again in triumph over his toils.

            Next, Donne uses a metaphor of a town to adequately describe his current feelings regarding his current societal stature. Donne believes that he is only standing because he has been filed with an entity that is not God, and parallels this torture to his town. He states that his town has been captured by something that is not God, and must be vacated, then filled again with God’s spirit.

            Donne concludes his poem with “Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.” These words coincide with the beginning theme of the poem. Ravish is an extravagant and more acceptable word for forced intercourse, or rape. Donne believes that he is currently chaste, and wants to lose his chastity to the spirit of God in a violent and intimate manner. Although the poem does not suggest sexual intercourse itself, is suggests that Donne needs to be filled with the power of God. He must be forced to see that the will of divinity is done.

            John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet 14” is an ingenious work of literary art that describes the entering of God into one’s soul as a violent act of terror that is necessary for a person to survive. Donne wishes to be filled by the spirit of the Holy Trinity, and be violently shaken from his current life. He wishes to be “ravished” by a malevolent act of violence in order to become enlightened.

William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 is perhaps his most well known and well regarded sonnet. It speaks of love, with a straightforward language that cannot be misconstrued to have any other intent. Shakespeare’s genius use of language creates the metaphorical image of the perfect person, who has no flaws.

The person Shakespeare is describing in the poem is often thought to be a lover whom he deeply adores and respects. However, this sonnet does not specifically name a person, gender, or use any descriptive language that might allude to the person’s identity. In fact, it merely speaks of another person in general, and can be universally applied to any person on earth. Shakespeare could have possibly intended for his language to be vague, in order to keep the sonnet from being considered a stereotypical “love poem.”

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” Shakespeare begins his ingenious work with this simply rhetorical question. The spoken of person is being compared to a day which is warm, “lovely,” and “temperate.” The word temperate is a word that describes perfection. The word temperate indicates a middle ground, which does not lean too far in any specific direction. Shakespeare wishes to convey this sentiment to the person whom this sonnet is directed too. That person is perfect, because he or she does not act irrationally, nor does that person act too rationally in certain cases. This person handles life with perfection and moderation.

Shakespeare concludes his poem with a statement of immortality. “So long lives this and gives life to thee.” These final words indicate that as long as this sonnet exists, that person shall also live. These words are literary genius because they explicitly state Shakespeare’s desire to perform actions for the person without any compensation. That person will live forever in Sonnet 18, because the sentiments and character traits describing that person are each present and explained in fine yet conversational detail.

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 may in fact be the greatest poem ever written. The famous beginning line referring to a summer’s day immediately creates an aura of vibrancy, life, and perfection. The sonnet’s final words indicate immortality and the notion that the “summer’s day” will never end. William Shakespeare, in these famous words to his adored friend, enshrines that person forever in an eternal tabernacle of literary genius.

           

John Donne's "A Burnt Ship"

John Donne, one of history’s finest poets and literary minds, was the father of many unique and emotional compositions. One of these many compositions was “A Burnt Ship,” an epigram detailing the deaths of those who had the misfortune of sailing upon a ship that caught fire. Donne uses irony and descriptive imagery to create a tragic scene of a mass-death upon the high seas of a ship in war.

The epigram begins with the words, “Out of a fired ship, by which no way but drowning could be rescued from the flame.” These beginning two lines first lay a premise for the rest f the poem’s discussion. Donne states that a ship has been set to flame, and the only way to escape death by fire would be to drown. This imagery creates a scenario of inescapable death, where one can only choose his cause of death, and cannot survive the incident. Donne’s use of imagery and the setting of a sinking ship asserts inevitability, for a sinking sip will always completely sink and a fire will always spread. This statement alludes to the proclamation of death’s inevitability as a whole, in all facets of life.

Water and fire are exact opposites. In many other writings, water and fire spirits have often either been the manifestations of good and evil, or have battled each other to great extents. Now, John Donne uses these opposites to assert that death is inevitable on both sides of life’s spectrum. Water is generally referred to as calming, invigorating, and ultimately the source of life; however, it is now used to convey the end of life. This statement alludes to the possibility of Donne believing that even if one chooses life, he will still die. Fire is used as a metaphor to express death in evil. Often, fire is man made, or is used to convey Satan in Christian texts. In “A Burnt Ship,” John Donne uses fire to state that evil will most definitely result in the discontinuation of life.

The poem concludes with, “They in the sea being burnt, they in the sea being drowned.” This finale invokes irony, for those aboard the burnt sip were found free of burn wounds. Those who jumped ship were found burned. Donne is referring to the irony of death itself. In many ways, death is unexpected, and is even sometimes referred to as a “surprise.” This surprise is that death can still find a man even a way that was not originally predicted to happen. One will meet the face of death. However, it is always not in the time or place that he wishes it to be.

John Donne’s epigram, “A Burnt Ship” is a work of literary genius that invokes immense emotions of sorrow and loss through metaphor, imagery, and irony. The scene of death by fire and drowning aboard a failing ship creates an aura of agony and demonstrates the inevitability of death’s ways. Donne’s use of irony beautifully describes death’s powerful abilities and surprising tactics. In many ways, Donne creates an invisible spirit out of the event of death, and personifies the action without explicitly stating a manifested form.

William Shakespeare's Sonnet 116

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 is a literary masterpiece, written by perhaps the greatest writer in all of British History. In this sonnet, Shakespeare discusses love in its rawest and most powerful form. He describes its beauty, and its steadfast resilience in the face of even the most trying of circumstances.

            Shakespeare begins his sonnet by describing the marriage of “true minds” and proclaiming its credibility. Throughout the first stanza, love is described as a perfect union that shall never change its face in changing situations. “Love is not love
which alters when it alteration finds.” Shakespeare states that does not alter itself when life is altered. Next, he states that it is an “ever fixed mark.” This “ever fixed mark,” could possibly be a reference to Polaris, or the North Star, which does not change its point in the sky throughout the year. It is the only constant among all other observable stars. Also, in order to observe the sky, one must first look upward. In common society, the motion of “up” is often used to reflect a positive notion that ultimately leads to success, salvation, or satisfaction.

            As the sonnet progresses, Shakespeare does not present a conflict in typically lyrical style. Instead, he immediately jumps to an optimistic conclusion that allows the reader to infer what the conflict may have possibly been. “Love’s not Time’s fool,” proclaims Shakespeare. “Time” is personified to be an agent of finality, or ultimately, death. As Shakespeare writes of love’s freedom from “Time,” he infers that love is timeless, and has no end. Time also includes a beginning; however, love does not. If love is free from time, it must also be free from a beginning, just as it is free from an end. Shakespeare allows the reader to infer the possible conflict. In this case, the conflict itself is death. However, a solution is presented, as Shakespeare writes that love is a solution to death, for it overcomes the personification of “Time.”

            Shakespeare concludes his sonnet with the typical couplet that imposes a paradox. He writes, “If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.” The “error” is referring to all above statements in the sonnet regarding love’s power and timelessness. Next, Shakespeare, states that if he is wrong in his proclamations, then he never wrote this sonnet. However, he has written the sonnet, and has just written about never writing the sonnet. This simple statement at the conclusion of his work adds emphasis to his passion of the subject. From this sonnet, one can logically infer that Shakespeare was a man who championed the act of marriage and devotion to a single other person in the action of love.

            William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 is perhaps one of is greatest and most well known sonnets. His competent use of metaphor and personification strengthens his arguments regarding the power of love. His use of Time as a personification of death, and a physical restraint creates an image that appears to place love above the confines of the physical realm.

John Donne's "The Flea"

John Donne is considered by many literary scholars to be the face of all metaphysical poets. His ingenious use of metaphor, imagery, and adjectives create a vibrant language that was not rivaled by his contemporaries and competition. In his own poem, “The Flea,” Donne accurately expresses the power and beauty behind even the smallest of animals that is commonly regarded as a household nuisance.

            “Mark this flea, and mark in this, how little that which thou denied me is;” John Donne immediately begins his poem by laying forth the problem, or conflict, as a statement to the narrator’s wife. Although he does not yet name the conflict, he acknowledges its presence in the second line of the first stanza. Later, Donne proclaims the flea has sucked the blood of both himself and his wife; therefore, the flea has joined them in the most intimate of ways. He reveals this is what is wife has denied him. The mixing of blood is symbolic of the intimate bond that is experienced during sexual intercourse. The narrator states that the flea has bonded the two people, in ways that the wife has not allowed.

            Soon, the wife motions to kill the flea. The narrator prevents her from doing so, proclaiming the flea in fact consists of three lives. The life of himself, his wife, and the flea itself are all contained within the flea’s body. Donne then writes, “three sins in killing three.” Through this statement, Donne is claiming that to kill the flea would be to commit three murders and not merely one, because the flea contains its own blood, the blood of his wife, and the blood of himself. Te narrator, in his attempt to prevent the wife from ending the flea’s wife, may also be attempting to save the consummation of his “marriage bed.” The flea has mingled the blood of the narrator and the wife, and has essentially has interlocked the souls of the two people. To kill the flea would also be to kill its creation. Although Donne only specifically writes of three sins, a fourth sin would exist in destroying the beautiful union the flea has created.

            Donne’s concludes his poem with a conversation between the wife and the narrator, discussing the sinfulness of killing the flea. The wife claims that killing the flea would make neither of them evil people, and would not invade their moral character. The narrator agrees, and argues that partaking in sexual with him will not result in the degradation of her reputation, sanity, or moral being. Donne compares the act of killing the flea to an act of loss, if viewed from certain perspectives. Although intercourse is ultimately a bonding experience, and creates an intimacy that is rivaled by no other physical expression, it also signals the loss of a certain amount of purity. One loses their own virginity when they experience intercourse for the first time; and just as killing the flea would result in a loss of the flea’s life, intercourse would result in the loss of virginity. However, this loss of “innocence” is inconsequential, in the eyes of the narrator.

            John Donne’s poem “The Flea” accurately portrays a small mental skirmish between a man and his wife. Donne cleverly uses the context of an argument to convey a metaphor of sexual tension. His use of an argument itself replaces his own views, and creates an indirect and powerful message that is revealed as the poem progresses. John Donne successfully uses metaphor to convey his belief that one should not fear the consummation of marriage.