William Shakespeare Sonnets Sample Essay
“Shakespeare’s poetry explores the nature of love and friendship in poems that are technically accomplished.”
Give your response to this assessment of Shakespeare. Support your point of view by referring to the poems of Shakespeare on your course.
Poems covered
· Sonnet 12
· Sonnet 18
· Sonnet 60
· Sonnet 29
· Sonnet 30
· Sonnet 73
· Sonnet 116
The Shakespearean sonnets I have studied as part of my Leaving Certificate are typical of many Elizabethan sonnet sequences. They explore the nature of love and friendship from a variety of angles. Each one is a carefully constructed sonnet, consisting of three rhyming quatrains and a concluding rhyming couplet. Shakespeare makes great use of figurative language and personification to add depth of meaning. The poems I studied fall into two broad categories: Sonnets 12, 18 and 60 deal with the effects of time on beauty and friendship, while 29, 30, 73 and 116 discuss the characteristics of love.
In Sonnet 12, the speaker reflects on how the passage of time will affect the beauty of his friend. He fears “That thou among the wastes of time must go.” To illustrate what is meant by ‘the wastes of time’, he uses a series of images drawn from the natural world: “the violet past its prime”, “sable curls all silvered o’er” and “lofty trees” that are now “barren of leaves”. The notion that old age is a damaging and diminishing force is strongly conveyed. In common with the Petrarchan sonnet form, Shakespeare includes a volta, or turn, at line nine. The first two quatrains demonstrate the effects of time on nature; at line nine the focus moves to how time will affect the unnamed friend. The speaker fears that his friend’s beauty will be as helpless in the face of time as nature was. However, Shakespeare uses the concluding rhyming couplet to offer a possible solution. He says the only defence against time is to “breed to brave him, when he takes thee hence.” By this, he means that old age can be defied if a person has children to carry on their name. There is a strong sense of friendship running through this poem. The speaker does not discuss how he will be affected by time – all his concern is for his friend. He is keen that some means of defying time be found in order to lessen the losses inflicted by old age.
Sonnet 18 was one of the few poems on my course that I was already familiar with. The opening line, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” is one that I have heard many times before. I was pleased to have the chance to read the rest of the poem and deepen my understanding of the ideas put forward. In the poem, the speaker attempts to find a suitable comparison in order to describe his friend’s beauty. The proposed analogy – that of a summer’s day – is rejected because the friend is “more lovely and more temperate”. In the second quatrain, the speaker continues to denigrate summer, pointing out its flaws and limitations. The third quatrain returns to praising the friend. The speaker is adamant that “thy eternal summer shall not fade, nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st.” This will be achieved, we are told, by immortalising his beauty in poetry: “Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade / When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st.” The rhyming couplet repeats and affirms this idea. As long as this poem lives, “this gives life to thee.”
This idea is revisited in Sonnet 60. The poem opens with a simile, suggesting that the minutes of our life wash away “Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore.” The unstoppable nature of time is reiterated in the line “in sequent toil all forwards do contend.” Again, we see the quatrains used to explore different aspects in an organised manner. The second quatrain traces the trajectory of a life, from “nativity” (birth) through “being crowned” (the pinnacle of life) and down again towards old age and death. The culprit, as always, is the personification of time. The third quatrain makes this clear. In a line rich with both internal rhyme and alliteration, we are told that time “delves the parallels in beauty’s brow.” The image created perfectly captures how a forehead furrows and becomes wrinkled as the person ages. The final line of this quatrain reminds us of the power of time: “nothing stands but for his scythe to mow. “ However, as in 18, the rhyming couplet offers some comfort. By immortalising his friend in verse, the speaker hopes to conquer death: “And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand, / Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.”
Sonnet 29 was the first sonnet from the second group that I studied. In this poem, the speaker finds comfort in the knowledge that his love makes him richer and luckier than anyone else in the world. The opening sections of the poem, quatrains one and two, find the speaker discussing a desolate mood when he feels he is unlucky and inadequate. He beweeps his outcast state as he wishes to be “like to one more rich in hope” or “featured like him, like him with friends possessed.” His dissatisfaction with his own situation grows and he acknowledges that “with what I most enjoy” he is “contented least.” At this moment however, positioned perfectly at the volta of the sonnet, he has a change of mood. He thinks “on thee” – the object of his affection – and his spirits lift dramatically. In a skilful simile we are told he is “Like to the lark at break of day arising”. In the concluding couplet, the overall thrust of the poem is condensed: “For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings / That I scorn to change my state with kings.”
A similar idea is presented in Sonnet 30. The speaker explains that in quiet moments his thoughts become sorrowful and troubled. The deeply alliterative line, “and with old woes new wail my dear time’s waste,” helps us to understand how dwelling on past sadness occupies his present time. In the second quatrain, we get details on the specific ‘woes’ he is reliving. Chief amongst them is the loss of “precious friends.” They are “hid in death’s dateless night.” This powerful figurative language helps us to engage with the poem on a deeper level. This downward spiral of depression can be halted only by focusing on his “dear friend.” Once he does this, “All losses are restored, and sorrows end.” The power of a loving friendship to bring comfort in darkest times is strongly evoked throughout this sonnet.
A different angle on love is examined in Sonnet 73. The speaker describes how the passage of time has affected him, and what the effects of ageing have been. He is addressing his love and each quatrain lists what his love will see in him. The repetition of the phrase, “In me thou seest” and its variants – “thou mayst in me behold” and “thou perceiv’st” – at the beginning of each quatrain and at the start of the rhyming couplet add greatly to the sense of structure and form. In the first quatrain, he uses an extended metaphor to demonstrate how old age is affecting him. He is in the late autumn, or even winter, of his life and his boughs “shake against the cold”. This metaphor is altered in the second quatrain, where life is compared to the passage of a day. The speaker is entering twilight and will soon encounter “Death’s second self that seals up all in in rest.” The power of alliteration to make a line memorable is clearly seen here. A complex metaphor is developed in the third quatrain. Here the speaker is likened to the glowing embers of a fire. We are told that he is now “Consumed with that which it was nourished by” – the vigour of his youth, which gave fire and spark to his life, is now consuming him and contributing to his demise. The closing couplet addresses his young love. He is told that knowing how little time they have left together “makes thy love more strong.” The shortness of their remaining time makes it all the more precious.
The final poem I studied was Sonnet 116. This was my favourite of all the sonnets. In it, Shakespeare attempts to define what true love really is. He does so with a series of negative statements in the opening quatrain– a discussion of what is not love. We are told that “love is not love” if it weakens or diminishes when faced with change, or seeks to disentangle itself. The second quatrain explores what love should be. An effective metaphor is employed to demonstrate the constancy of true love. Love is “an ever-fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken.” The nautical theme is developed in the next two lines when love is compared to the North Star – “It is the star to every wand’ring bark”. Love does not fade when time – so often a concern in these sonnets – lessens “rosy lips and cheeks” but rather “bears it out even to the edge of doom.” True love lasts right to the final moment. The speaker’s confidence in his assertion is demonstrated in the closing lines. He argues that if what he as described as true love is not really love, then “no man ever loved.” If his definition of love isn’t correct, then there can be no such thing as love. I really felt that there was a greater degree of sincerity in this sonnet than in many of the others that I read. It dealt with a more complex theme and treated it with a remarkable depth of thought.
Overall, love and platonic friendship are almost forensically analysed in Shakespeare’s sonnets. His command of the form is masterful. In each one, the rhyme scheme (abab, cdcd, efef, gg) is strictly adhered to, as is the structure of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. Yet at no point does the form overpower the themes. I was most impressed that in many of the sonnets Shakespeare also managed to include a Petrarchan volta, to offer the reader a new angle or a change in pace. Even though the sequence is generally regarded as a literary exercise rather than a series of personal or heartfelt poems, I did not feel that they were clichéd or hackneyed. The themes were universal, the language beautiful and the technical skill remarkable.
Give your response to this assessment of Shakespeare. Support your point of view by referring to the poems of Shakespeare on your course.
Poems covered
· Sonnet 12
· Sonnet 18
· Sonnet 60
· Sonnet 29
· Sonnet 30
· Sonnet 73
· Sonnet 116
The Shakespearean sonnets I have studied as part of my Leaving Certificate are typical of many Elizabethan sonnet sequences. They explore the nature of love and friendship from a variety of angles. Each one is a carefully constructed sonnet, consisting of three rhyming quatrains and a concluding rhyming couplet. Shakespeare makes great use of figurative language and personification to add depth of meaning. The poems I studied fall into two broad categories: Sonnets 12, 18 and 60 deal with the effects of time on beauty and friendship, while 29, 30, 73 and 116 discuss the characteristics of love.
In Sonnet 12, the speaker reflects on how the passage of time will affect the beauty of his friend. He fears “That thou among the wastes of time must go.” To illustrate what is meant by ‘the wastes of time’, he uses a series of images drawn from the natural world: “the violet past its prime”, “sable curls all silvered o’er” and “lofty trees” that are now “barren of leaves”. The notion that old age is a damaging and diminishing force is strongly conveyed. In common with the Petrarchan sonnet form, Shakespeare includes a volta, or turn, at line nine. The first two quatrains demonstrate the effects of time on nature; at line nine the focus moves to how time will affect the unnamed friend. The speaker fears that his friend’s beauty will be as helpless in the face of time as nature was. However, Shakespeare uses the concluding rhyming couplet to offer a possible solution. He says the only defence against time is to “breed to brave him, when he takes thee hence.” By this, he means that old age can be defied if a person has children to carry on their name. There is a strong sense of friendship running through this poem. The speaker does not discuss how he will be affected by time – all his concern is for his friend. He is keen that some means of defying time be found in order to lessen the losses inflicted by old age.
Sonnet 18 was one of the few poems on my course that I was already familiar with. The opening line, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” is one that I have heard many times before. I was pleased to have the chance to read the rest of the poem and deepen my understanding of the ideas put forward. In the poem, the speaker attempts to find a suitable comparison in order to describe his friend’s beauty. The proposed analogy – that of a summer’s day – is rejected because the friend is “more lovely and more temperate”. In the second quatrain, the speaker continues to denigrate summer, pointing out its flaws and limitations. The third quatrain returns to praising the friend. The speaker is adamant that “thy eternal summer shall not fade, nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st.” This will be achieved, we are told, by immortalising his beauty in poetry: “Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade / When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st.” The rhyming couplet repeats and affirms this idea. As long as this poem lives, “this gives life to thee.”
This idea is revisited in Sonnet 60. The poem opens with a simile, suggesting that the minutes of our life wash away “Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore.” The unstoppable nature of time is reiterated in the line “in sequent toil all forwards do contend.” Again, we see the quatrains used to explore different aspects in an organised manner. The second quatrain traces the trajectory of a life, from “nativity” (birth) through “being crowned” (the pinnacle of life) and down again towards old age and death. The culprit, as always, is the personification of time. The third quatrain makes this clear. In a line rich with both internal rhyme and alliteration, we are told that time “delves the parallels in beauty’s brow.” The image created perfectly captures how a forehead furrows and becomes wrinkled as the person ages. The final line of this quatrain reminds us of the power of time: “nothing stands but for his scythe to mow. “ However, as in 18, the rhyming couplet offers some comfort. By immortalising his friend in verse, the speaker hopes to conquer death: “And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand, / Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.”
Sonnet 29 was the first sonnet from the second group that I studied. In this poem, the speaker finds comfort in the knowledge that his love makes him richer and luckier than anyone else in the world. The opening sections of the poem, quatrains one and two, find the speaker discussing a desolate mood when he feels he is unlucky and inadequate. He beweeps his outcast state as he wishes to be “like to one more rich in hope” or “featured like him, like him with friends possessed.” His dissatisfaction with his own situation grows and he acknowledges that “with what I most enjoy” he is “contented least.” At this moment however, positioned perfectly at the volta of the sonnet, he has a change of mood. He thinks “on thee” – the object of his affection – and his spirits lift dramatically. In a skilful simile we are told he is “Like to the lark at break of day arising”. In the concluding couplet, the overall thrust of the poem is condensed: “For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings / That I scorn to change my state with kings.”
A similar idea is presented in Sonnet 30. The speaker explains that in quiet moments his thoughts become sorrowful and troubled. The deeply alliterative line, “and with old woes new wail my dear time’s waste,” helps us to understand how dwelling on past sadness occupies his present time. In the second quatrain, we get details on the specific ‘woes’ he is reliving. Chief amongst them is the loss of “precious friends.” They are “hid in death’s dateless night.” This powerful figurative language helps us to engage with the poem on a deeper level. This downward spiral of depression can be halted only by focusing on his “dear friend.” Once he does this, “All losses are restored, and sorrows end.” The power of a loving friendship to bring comfort in darkest times is strongly evoked throughout this sonnet.
A different angle on love is examined in Sonnet 73. The speaker describes how the passage of time has affected him, and what the effects of ageing have been. He is addressing his love and each quatrain lists what his love will see in him. The repetition of the phrase, “In me thou seest” and its variants – “thou mayst in me behold” and “thou perceiv’st” – at the beginning of each quatrain and at the start of the rhyming couplet add greatly to the sense of structure and form. In the first quatrain, he uses an extended metaphor to demonstrate how old age is affecting him. He is in the late autumn, or even winter, of his life and his boughs “shake against the cold”. This metaphor is altered in the second quatrain, where life is compared to the passage of a day. The speaker is entering twilight and will soon encounter “Death’s second self that seals up all in in rest.” The power of alliteration to make a line memorable is clearly seen here. A complex metaphor is developed in the third quatrain. Here the speaker is likened to the glowing embers of a fire. We are told that he is now “Consumed with that which it was nourished by” – the vigour of his youth, which gave fire and spark to his life, is now consuming him and contributing to his demise. The closing couplet addresses his young love. He is told that knowing how little time they have left together “makes thy love more strong.” The shortness of their remaining time makes it all the more precious.
The final poem I studied was Sonnet 116. This was my favourite of all the sonnets. In it, Shakespeare attempts to define what true love really is. He does so with a series of negative statements in the opening quatrain– a discussion of what is not love. We are told that “love is not love” if it weakens or diminishes when faced with change, or seeks to disentangle itself. The second quatrain explores what love should be. An effective metaphor is employed to demonstrate the constancy of true love. Love is “an ever-fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken.” The nautical theme is developed in the next two lines when love is compared to the North Star – “It is the star to every wand’ring bark”. Love does not fade when time – so often a concern in these sonnets – lessens “rosy lips and cheeks” but rather “bears it out even to the edge of doom.” True love lasts right to the final moment. The speaker’s confidence in his assertion is demonstrated in the closing lines. He argues that if what he as described as true love is not really love, then “no man ever loved.” If his definition of love isn’t correct, then there can be no such thing as love. I really felt that there was a greater degree of sincerity in this sonnet than in many of the others that I read. It dealt with a more complex theme and treated it with a remarkable depth of thought.
Overall, love and platonic friendship are almost forensically analysed in Shakespeare’s sonnets. His command of the form is masterful. In each one, the rhyme scheme (abab, cdcd, efef, gg) is strictly adhered to, as is the structure of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. Yet at no point does the form overpower the themes. I was most impressed that in many of the sonnets Shakespeare also managed to include a Petrarchan volta, to offer the reader a new angle or a change in pace. Even though the sequence is generally regarded as a literary exercise rather than a series of personal or heartfelt poems, I did not feel that they were clichéd or hackneyed. The themes were universal, the language beautiful and the technical skill remarkable.