Soulchild And Sonnet 116

Genre Description: Romance is defined by Dictionary.com as “a baseless, made-up story, usually full of exaggeration or fanciful invention.” While the aforementioned definition is correct to an extent, we believe that Romance was once better defined by the following definition: “A narrative genre in literature that involves a mysterious, adventurous, or spiritual story line where the focus is on a quest that involves bravery and strong values, and a love interest.” However, modern definitions of romance include works that are centred around a relationship issue. The romance genre is generally associated with verse or prose dedicated to idealism and is furthermore paired with the idea of love and daring deeds. In comparison to other genres,

However, in actuality, both women defy the traditional Elizabethan standard of femininity—Gertrude in her sexuality, and Ophelia in her madness—serving to create tension in the story and elicit unease in the audience. In Shakespeare’s day, the ideal woman was revered for her youth, beauty, compliance, and purity. Gertrude stands in stark contrast to the ideal, the antithesis of the traditional standard of femininity. When accused by Hamlet of “[living] … in corruption” (3.4.103-5), Gertrude denies nothing, never pretending to be anything but a sexual being. Neither is Gertrude young, nor is she compliant in any way—she routinely defies the wishes of those who, socially, would have been considered her “superiors.” Following the announcement of her marriage to Claudius, Hamlet

In this essay, I will argue that Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116,” is the best, truest, representation of mature, long-lasting, human love compared with Ben Jonson’s “Song to Celia,” and John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning.” All three poets have challenged or varied the use of the Courtly Love Tradition in their love poems. However, I will argue that through Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, he modified the theme of the Courtly Love Tradition to make it more honest, true, and everlasting. The poem, “Song to Celia,” written by one the of metaphysical poets Ben Jonson, is a poem more about unrequited love rather than true love. The speaker in the poem uses different ploys in order to win over his beloved’s heart. Based on the first couple of lines in the poem, the speaker is deeply

Kent believes that “to plainness honor’s bound when majesty falls to folly” (I.i.165) or “when power to flattery bows” (I.i.165). The flattery Kent refers to is the disingenuous and exaggerated professions of love from his daughters Goneril and Reagan, which he has to point out for the lies they are as he is honest and loyal. The juxtaposition of majesty falling to flattery foreshadows the effects of Lear’s lack of judgment and the literal fall of his majesty. Shakespeare usage of the litotes when Kent explains Lear that his daughter Cordelia “does not love (him) least” (I.i.171), underscores his usage of plain language, as opposed to decorative speech, which again pertains to his truthful nature. To emphasize this honesty to the audience during my performance, Kent barely uses gestures and in the cases where he does they are minimalistic gestures as a slight shaking of the head for “does not love (him) least” (I.i.171), which is a juxtaposition to the deceptive eldest sisters who’s gestures are purposely exaggerated for the opposite

Petrarch, as well as later, William Shakespeare and Sir Philip Sidney, wrote their sonnets in sequences. These sequences linked the single poem into a string of many poems, discussing the love to one person. Sidney chose his sonnet sequence, “Astrophel and Stella,” to proclaim the speaker’s love for Stella. While each poem is constructed using a specific form, the complementary sonnet does not have to use the same form, resulting in several sonnet structures

Shakespearean sonnets break the boundaries which are placed on a typical Elizabethan sonnet, in terms of style and content. Shakespeare modernised the form of the sonnet by applying different rhyming schemes and complex techniques. It can be argued that his work, unlike traditional sonnets, illustrates an intersection between poetry and theatre during the English renaissance. He also chose to discuss “love” in quite an abstract way in his sonnets. Shakespeare appeared to be mocking the worshipful attitude of the Petrarchan sonnet, as he used a different type of idealism and chose to write homoerotic poetry.

Jane is presented as a morally strong, determined character who, when she falls in love, embraces the notion instead of the label and profits which are associated with it; she states that she “cares for [her]self” and that “more unsustained [she is], the more [she] will respect [her]self” as she is not tempted away from her self-respect. The reaction to the novel showcases how women were treated in the 17th century with a reviewer in The London Quarterly Review stating that the character, Jane Eyre was “destitute of all attractive, feminine qualities” and

Mr. Darcy excuses himself and states that "vanity is surely a weakness to be avoided, but that pride should be properly regulated for a proud man to have a superior mind (Austen,147). Elizabeth half ironically states that Mr. Darcy suffers from no defect. This interaction is a prime example of how both characters each still wear their pride and prejudices assumptions on their sleeves. Elizabeth's convection in herself causes Darcy to continue to view her in a different light. Elizabeth strives to maintain the independence of her mind, while other girls might have been at pains to humor Mr. Darcy and endorse whatever opinion he might have expressed.

P. 149). While the handiwork of one promotes violence and destruction, the other toils only to secure peace and domestic harmony. Lucie assumes the existence of a fellow-feeling between herself and Madame Defarge, based on their common gender. She automatically expects Madame Defarge to identify with her joy as a woman. The realisation of her mistake strikes her with 'terror ' and leads to the admission "We are more afraid of you than of these others" which Madame calmly receives as a compliment.

The poem can be considered a blazon traditional sonnet although it presents the tradition in an unconventional way. The typical way a blazon sonnet presents itself is through the broken-down description of a woman’s qualities. Women are usually highly praised and they are made to appear so out of reach; they become unobtainable even by the poet themselves. Women are portrayed as a collection of objects rather than human which accentuates the idea that they are so unattainable because no woman like them actually exist. The idea that beauty is what defines, and what controls a man’s love for a woman, is not depicted in Shakespeare’s sonnet, My Mistress’ Eyes.