Thursday, September 23, 2010

Shakespeare's "Procreation" Sonnets 1-17

Please go to the website below and choose two sonnets you wish to analyze and compare:
Be mindful of tone, organization [structure], attitude, irony, comparisons [simile/metaphors], imagery, argument [thesis/antithesis], syntax [word order], and things attention has been drawn to either in class or on your class blog in looking at poetry. If you wish to, discuss the sonnets you have chosen on our blog. Perhaps you will link up with a classmate and have a mutually rewarding and insightful discussion. Have fun! I am recharging today. I will see you tomorrow.
    These are portraits of the  two 
monarchs who were Shakespeare's patrons: Elizabeth I (1533-1603), Queen of England from 1558-1603 and James I (1566-1625), King of The United Kingdom 1603-1625. Why do you think there are eyes and ears on the orange fabric that adorns Queen Elizabeth? How about the snake on her arm? What do you make of how they look? (There are no authentic portraits of Shakespeare. Those that exist, including engravings, were made after his death.)
       
In this section of an engraving of London, from Shakespeare's time you can see the Globe Theatre in the foreground on one side of the Thames River and old St. Paul's Cathedral on the other.  (Click on the images to make them larger.)
                                                       

6 comments:

  1. I would like to analyze and compare poems XVII and V. I really liked the last two lines of sonnet 3: "But if thou live, remember'd not to be,Die single and thine image dies with thee." The way that Shakespeare used masculine rhyme here is really innovative and interesting.

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  2. It is also very powerful. The use of the infinitive verb for existence, "to be" being linked to the final word in the sonnet the personal pronoun "thee". The couplet resounds in its finality. Brandon, I too find that
    couplet extraordinary!

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  3. In my opinion, Sonnet Xll has the most interesting lines, my Favorite lines are; "When I do count the clock that tells the time,
    And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;" The rhyme of this sonnet I am still a bit confused but it's well written, with a powerful meaning and just catches readers attention. I really enjoyed reading this Sonnet..

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  4. Im really into sonnet VIII. It has a key concept of music and peace which reminds me souly of the band "The Beatles"!

    Sonnet VI's last line "To be death's conquest and make worms thine heir." is very powerful. I would enjoy if we discuss the Imagery of this!

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  5. Sonnets IV and VI both discuss beauty and how nature I believe contributes to beauty. What I get from these two poems is mostly the concept of killing beauty or destroying it.It could also mean that beauty has destroyed people in certain ways. For example sonnet IV, line 5, "Then, beauteous niggard, why dost thou abuse?" In the VI, line 4, "With beauty's treasure ere it be self killed." What I believe these quotes mean is that some people abuse their beauty, and sometimes beauty can abuse people, or degrade them. Or even lead them to degrading themselves. My favorite sonnet out all these is sonnet X. My favorite quote from it was "Shall hate be fairer lodged than gentle love?"

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  6. I compared sonnet I and sonnet II; in these sonnets we can see shakespeare speaking to someone in particular. Also,he says that the man is beautiful and should have had children to pass it off to and that the man is self-obsessed. Shakespeare uses the beginning of the sonnet to admire the man and the latter part to insult, or explain to him what he should have done which I think is ironic. ( I will hand in my essay on monday)



    I also liked sonnet XII where he speaks about time passing and the seasons changing and then he questions their beauty. He says that the beauty was wasted and it will go just like time passes.

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