Literature is a great platform to express and display strong, compelling, and direct messages. Both The Great Gatsby and My Ántonia demonstrate a theme
Charles Caleb Colton once said “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, and in Harryette Mullen’s homage to Shakespeare's sonnet 130, Mullens breathes new life into an antiquated poem by rescripting this classic work . Harryette Mullen, an american poet, writer and scholar, published the poem Dim Lady as a modern tribute to Shakespeare's sonnet and creates a contemporary translation of one of his most classic poems. Both poems explores the narrator's feelings towards their object of affection and casts an unappealing image of their beloved, all the while setting us up for a “turn” or a dramatic shift in perception of how the narrator views their partner. In the poem Harryette employs contemporary stylistic choices to create a new poem directly based off of Shakespeare's original work. Her work being a direct modern
William Shakespeare challenged the status quo in the Northern Renaissance with his influencing works that left a permanent impression on theaters and literature. The English writer’s 37 plays, one of which is the 1600-1601 tragedy “Hamlet”, brought to theater stage themes about the nature of beauty and depth of love: “Doubt thou the stars are fire;/Doubt that the sun doth move;/Doubt truth to be a liar;/But never doubt I love” (Act II, Scene II). Along with his drama contributions Shakespeare introduced in England the sonnet as a type of poetry during the Elizabethan Age where the rich expression of his poetic lines brought themes about human glory and everyday struggle of ordinary people with life such as Romeo and Juliet. The wide variety
This section of the novel was powerful because it connected all of literature’s history. Instead of viewing literature as a mass collection of novels, it can now be viewed as one story. By viewing literature as one story “you begin to pick up on some of these other elements, these parallels and analogies, however, you’ll find your understanding of the novel deepens and becomes more meaningful, more complex” (Foster 31). Consequentially, literary works are based on other literary works which solidify their eternal connection.
A writer’s work is somewhat a reflection of his life, his surrounding or his true emotion. Chaucer’s life is a clear example of perseverance, adaptation, and wit. “Chaucer’s own family history is an example of the increasing social fluidity of late
In Sonnet 16, written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the speaker is controlled by emotions and sees herself lowly, while her beloved is noble and is viewed as a worthier person. Through this sonnet, Browning shows that love has immense power. Throughout the poem, Elizabeth uses vivid images and detailed wording to show herself as a lowly, sad human and to show her lover like a higher being. From the first line to the seventh line of Sonnet 16, Elizabeth describes the lover like royalty, calling him “more noble and like a king” that “has” purple cloth (purple was commonly worn by the higher-ups); if he were to conquer her heart, it would make the lover “as lordly …/In lifting upward”. The speaker, on the other hand, creates a lowly image of
William Shakespeare’s sonnets are closely related in the idea that the theme as well as the subject of the poem remain consistent. A distinctive factor among Shakespeare’s sonnets however, is that they each contain somewhat varying tones. Two specific sonnets that prove this are “Sonnet 71” and “Sonnet 73” respectively. Both sonnets refer to the same subject, what is seemingly the speaker of the poem’s lover or mistress. The theme of death and dying are ones which remain present throughout each text. As a result, this theme further contributes to the theme of undying love and everlasting beauty. “Sonnet 71” possesses a tone of a morbid nature while “Sonnet 73” replays one which is more bittersweet. Indeed, the dissimilarity in tones between these two sonnets and their contribution to undying love and everlasting beauty is largely connected to Shakespeare’s diction, use of figurative language, and imagery.
Did Shakespeare really write what we give him credit for? As many people know, many predict that Shakespeare wrote all the work that has been credited to him. In his short 52 years of life, he is reputed to have authored 154 sonnets, 2 epic poems, and 37 five-act plays. However, the question that everyone asks himself or herself if Shakespeare really wrote all that has been a controversy for many years.
Authors William Shakespeare and Anne Bradstreet claim a unique love through their works of literature. It is ironic that the two authors are juxtaposed for their boasting of knowing true love because one is a man of the theatre and the other is a Puritan housewife. They both have remarkable and one-of-a-kind styles of writing. To My Dear and Loving Husband and Sonnet 18 both share a theme of time. These works of literature have become well-known and classic for their strong professions of love.
“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” ("Voice Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.) Malala Yousafzai once said this, and she was right. A person’s voice is very powerful when listened to. People, at least in the U.S., have the right and power to say what they want. And when they say the things they think, their words become powerful; powerful enough to alter society. Have you ever heard the phrase “actions speak louder than words”? Well, this essay is here to show you that sometimes just words are enough to make a difference. A person’s voice is enough to alter society and make a difference. People such as Nelson Mandela, Susan B. Anthony, and William Shakespeare have altered society with their
by William Shakespeare is nothing like the average romantic poem. Instead of boasting about his mistress’s beauty and making unrealistic comparisons he Comically appreciates her natural beauty and appearance, without the use of flattering clichés. Some Argue that Shakespeare might have been misogynistic and insulting to women by body shaming is mistress. Is it thus apparent that people may have different interpretations and understanding of sonnets or poems regardless of the environment or period of the reading? Though I believe that this is truly a love poem, in this analysis both interpretations will be represented.
The two poems I will be comparing and contrasting in this essay are two of William Shakespeare 's most popular sonnets. Sonnets in chapter 19, 'Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? ', and in chapter 23, 'Let me not to the marriage of true minds, ' of our Literature book. Both of these poems deal with the subject of love but each poem deals with its subject matter in a slightly different way. Each also has a different purpose and audience. In the case of 'Shall I compare thee ' the audience is meant to be the person Shakespeare is writing the sonnet about. Its purpose is to tell the audience about how the speaker feels about them. In the case of 'Let me not ' the audience is anyone who wishes to read it. Its purpose is to introduce what love should be like. This makes 'Shall I compare thee ' much more personal and realistic as a poem about love. 'Shall I compare thee ' seems to deal more with the idea of a lover rather than the idea of a relationship, as 'Let me not ' does. 'Shall I compare thee ' deals with the idea of a perfect lover and the fading beauty of both women and the seasons. 'Let me not ' is about ideal love in its most perfect and purest form.
The works of William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson are known around the world. They knew each other personally and they were friends as well as rivals. William Shakespeare is regarded as the greatest English writer. Ben Jonson wrote of Shakespeare, “He was not of an age, but for all time.” He was baptized on April 26, 1564 and died on April 23, 1616. Since he lived in Elizabethan England life was very hard for him because he wasn’t born into a family of wealth or nobility and he didn’t have a great education. Shakespeare wrote thirty-eight plays, one hundred and fifty-four sonnets and two narrative poems. He produced his best-known works between 1589 and 1613, and from then onward they are considered classics. Ben Jonson is regarded as the second most important English playwright after William Shakespeare. He was born in Westminster in late 1572 and died on August 6, 1637. He produced several plays and poems as well as masques. He
Throughout William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130,” the reader is constantly tricked into thinking he will compare his mistress to something beautiful and romantic, but instead the speaker lists beautiful things and declares that she is not like them. His language is unpredictable and humor is used for a majority of the poem. This captivating sonnet uses elements such as tone, parody, images, senses, form, and rhyme scheme to illustrate the contradicting comparisons of his mistress and the overarching theme of true love.
In this scenario, Saraswathy R. Murthy rightly said, “The theme of love is certainly the predominant theme of the sonnets of Shakespeare. This theme is basic spirit of all sonnets of him. His treatment of love has something divine quality. “His love is ideal love and surpasses the love of Dante for his Beatrice and the love of Petrarch for his Laura. Nor could Mrs. Browning, in her sonnets, written much later and addressed to her husband, equal Shakespeare’s ardor and fervor.” 5