The shakespearean sonnet is made of three quatrains fourline stanzas and one couplet a twoline stanza. Before we proceed to an analysis of the poems features, heres a reminder of sonnet 106. We read some of the sonnets in class, one of them was 8. A stylistic approach of william shakespeares scholars middle. The poet uses several poetic devices to enhance the meaning of the poem. Sonnet 8 presents a candid psychological study of the mistress that reveals many of her hypocrisies. Sonnet 116 closes with a rather hefty wager against the validity of the poets words.
Now lets take a closer look at the structure of the shakespearean sonnet. In the sonnet, the speaker is urging the man being addressed to preserve something of himself and something of the image he sees in the mirror by fathering a child. Myths, as compared with folk tales, are usually in a special category of seriousness. Sonnet 8 is accessible and witty,and is usually a favorite with students as it is about love, trust, malefemale relationships, and obliquely sex. This short lesson can act as a close reading module for one shakespearean text. Opinion is divided as to the relative merits of each version, but many commentators think that the q version is an improved reworking of the original 1599 or earlier version. William shakespeare simultaneously used tone, word choice, and structure to make each sonnet unique.
Here there shakespeare references her truth and lies rather than her sensual body showing that he is differing from christian traditions. In comparison with most other sonnets, sonnet 116 strikes readers as relatively simple. The poem is characterised by a highly complex, ambiguous and. Critique of william shakespeares sonnet 8 essay 710 words 3 pages critique of william shakespeares sonnet 8 in sonnet 8 also known as when my love swears that she is made of truth is a sonnet written by william shakespeare, has many examples of literary elements such as personification and various types of rhyme. When my love swears that she is made of truth i do believe her, though i know she lies, that she might think me some untutord youth. For instance, the poet wants to be young, but in reality, his days are past the best. Sonnet 8 analysis literary devices and poetic devices. Analysis will counting the contraction wilt as instance of the word will, this sonnet uses the word will a total of fourteen times. Could someone explain to me some of the themes in this poem. The young man of this and other sonnets is a subject of debate. Certainly she is still very much the poets mistress, but the poet is under no illusions about hercharacter. Throughout the poem, the poet use juxtaposition to distinguish and emphasize the truths and the lies.
Because of the beauty of his words and many interpretations of his work, he has stood the test of time. The sonnet is devised in abab format to give the poem a better sound when read aloud. Making use of frequent puns, it shows an understanding of the nature of truth and flattery in romantic relationships. Throughout the sonnet, shakespeare focuses the readers attention on the dishonest relationship the speaker shares with his lover. Shakespeare employs the traditional rhyme scheme of the english sonnet, the poem is made up of three quatra.
Critique of william shakespeares sonnet 8 essay bartleby. Shakespeares sonnets by william shakespeare sonnet 8. Critique of william shakespeares sonnet 8 in sonnet 8 also known as when my love swears that she is made of truth is a sonnet written by william shakespeare, has many examples of literary elements such as personification and various types of rhyme. For example, shakespeare uses alliteration, which is when words that begin with the same consonant are placed in close proximity. The poem emphasizes the effects of age and the associated deterioration of beauty, and its effect on a.
Though sonnet 8 does not vastly differ from this tradition as shakespeares sonnets to the young boy this does fall in to this contradictory tradition. The sonnet is a popular classical form that has compelled poets for centuries. This is one of three questions to be answered in three hours. In sonnet 8, he used word plays, paradoxes, and metaphors to give depth to the meaning of the poem. Famous quotes containing the words motifs andor themes. Sonnet 4 is one of 154 sonnets written by the english poet and playwright william shakespeare. Sonnet 8 when my love swears that she is made of truth with analysis and paraphrase. The name is taken from the italian sonetto, which means a little sound or song. This paper aims to analyze the sonnet 8 written by william. Thou blind fool, love, what dost thou to mine eyes, that they behold, and see not what they see. Therefore i lie with her, and she with me, and in our faults by lies we flattered be. It follows the typical rhyme scheme of the form abab cdcd efef gg and is composed in iambic pentameter, a type of poetic metre based on five pairs of metrically weakstrong syllabic positions. Sonnet 8 trevor nunn coaches david suchet for master class.
Continue reading for complete analysis and meaning in the modern text. Sonnet 8, for instance, was published in 1599 as part of a pirated book of. The first four lines of sonnet 8 establish the poems theme and its form. Oct 31, 2009 this analysis of a shakespeare sonnet is an example of literary analysis at third year undergraduate level. Shakespeare sonnet 8 when my love swears that she is made. Sonnet 8 when my love swears that she is made of truth i do believe her though i know she lies that she might think me some untutored youth unlearned in the worlds false subtleties thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, although she knows my days are past the best, simply i credit her falsespeaking tongue, on both sides thus is simple truth suppress. Buy cliffsnotes books and e books assessment solutions. Shakespeares sonnet analysis and explanation duration. A variation of sonnet 8 was originally included in the passionate pilgrim 1599, along with sonnet 144. Does shakespeare use any figurative language in sonnet 8. There are minor differences between the two poems and for those who wish to do a comparison of the two i reprint it here.
Counting the contraction wilt as instance of the word will, this sonnet uses the word will a total of fourteen times. But the rest of the poem uses a range of comparisons and images. The sonnets as a whole show us that time is the poets great nemesis and, although the dominant theme in sonnet 8 is the comfort that lies bring to an insecure mind, a discourse on the ravages of time is once again present. In this sonnet, the poet is giving almost fatherly advice to the fair youth. So, to satisfy my vanity, i believe that she regards. The third quatrain is where the tone begins to change. William shakespeares sonnet 8 depicts the relationship of a couple, who many believe to be the author and his mistress, a woman referred to as the dark lady. Mar 07, 20 sonnet 8 trevor nunn coaches david suchet for master class. What are the main themes of the shakespeares sonnet 8. Sonnet 8 is accessible and witty,and is usually a favorite with students as it is about love. When my mistress swears that shes completely truthful, i believe her even though i know she lies, so that shell think that im some naive young man whos ignorant about the world and the tricks people play. Elsewhere in shakespeares sonnet cycle, the guy is all about embracing every single pleasure that this world has to offer. Stephen booth notes sonnets 5 and 6 are festivals of verbal ingenuity in which much of the fun derives from the grotesque lengths the speaker goes to for a maximum number and concentration of puns on will.
Shakespeares sonnets summary and analysis of sonnet 116. A reading of a shakespeare sonnet as an unperfect actor on the stage, the opening line of shakespeares sonnet 23, introduces one of shakespeares favourite analogies the theatrical metaphor into the sonnets. In it, the speaker confronts the dark lady after learning that she has seduced the fair youth. When my love swears that she is made of truthi do believe her though i know she liesthat she might think me some untutored youth. When my love swears that she is made of truth, i do believe her, though i know she lies, that she might think me some untutored youth, unlearned in the worlds false subtleties. An analysis of sonnet 8 essay 1762 words 8 pages william shakespeares sonnet 8 depicts the relationship of a couple, who many believe to be the author and his mistress, a woman referred to as the dark lady. Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, although she knows my days are past the best, simply i credit her false speaking tongue.
William shakespeare simultaneously used structure, word choice, and tone to make each sonnet unique. The first two quatrains consist of an on going comparison between the summer and shakespeares lover. The speaker in sonnet 8 makes a mockery of truth in a. The english sonnet has three quatrains, followed by a final rhyming couplet. When my love swears that she is made of truth i do believe her, though i know she lies, that she might think me some untutord youth, unlearned in the worlds false subtleties. Jan 14, 2008 we read some of the sonnets in class, one of them was 8. The 6th line exemplifies a regular iambic pentameter. Shakespearean sonnet 8 rhyme scheme of sonnet a b a 1. Some think it may be based on william herbert, others consider henry wriothesley. Summary sonnet 8 presents a candid psychological study of the mistress that reveals many of her hypocrisies. For the complete list of 154 sonnets, check the collection of shakespeare sonnets with analysis.
English and literature submitted by blueberryjerry1 words 827. The metaphors are reasonably transparent, and the theme is quickly and. And it closely follows the sonnets abab rhyme scheme, using strong, straightforward. When my love swears that she is made of truth i do believe her, though i know she lies, that she might think me some untutord youth, unlearned. Again, whereas folk tales simply interchange motifs and develop variants, myths show an odd tendency to. My interpretation of sonnet 8 william shakespeare is known for his ability to use words and put them in a way many meanings can be derived. Shakespeare uses rhyme in the sonnet so that it can be read in a more comprehensive and fluid way. Shakespeares work has been famous for many reasons and will continue to be great, but the way he uses words may be what he most famous for.
The sonnet occurs within a group of five which do their best to account for the poets wilfulness and backsliding. The fair lord sonnets explore the narrators consuming infatuation with a young and beautiful man, while the dark lady sonnets engage his lustful desire for a woman who is not his wife. Shakespeare sonnet 8 when my love swears that she is. Printed and bound in malaysia 2015 2014 20 2012 2011 10. Sonnet 8 rene barrientos shane lewis kimberly endsley soaps conclusion syntax the use of paradox and puns emphasizes that the complication of the affair and that the lovers are not what they seem. But compare my moral state with your own, and youll see i dont deserve to be reprimanded, or if i do, not from those lips of yours, which youve dishonored by using too much. What is the rhyme scheme of an shakespearean sonnet. Loving you is my sin, and your precious virtue consists in hating my sin, a hate grounded in your own sinful loving. Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, although she knows my days are past the best, simply i credit her falsespeaking tongue.
This sets the tone for the rest of the sonnet because he knows that his lover is lying. A literary analysis of sonnet 8 by william shakespeare. Then in the third quatrain 9th line there is a significant change in tone where shakespeare begins to talk about the morality of his beloved. Analysis being forty years old in shakespeares time would likely have been considered to be a good old age, so when forty winters had passed, you would have been considered old. When my love swears that she is made of truth, i do believe her, though i know she lies. I think that all of shakespeares sonnets have the same rhyme scheme as this one. Shakespeares sonnet 8 is a poem about a relationship full of deception and lies, which is distinctively mirrored in its language. A commentary on shakespeares 106th sonnet when in the chronicle of wasted time is one of the more famous poems in shakespeares cycle of 154 sonnets. In the first quatrain shakespeare asks love which is blind how it has blinded him since although he can distinguish beauty perfectly, but he sees what is the worst as if it were the best. The first quatrain and second quatrains tell the reader of each lovers dishonestly to the other.
Sonnet 8 is one of the most famous of william shakespeares sonnets. When my love swears that she is made of truth, i do believe her though i know she lies, that she might think me some untutored youth, unlearned in the worlds false subtleties. However sonnet 8 is slightly different because its first two quatrains are the same in tone. Proseminar paper william shakespeare sonnet 8 table of contents introduction page 3 lyric speech situation page 4 theme page 4 general structure page 4 metre and rhythm page 5 rhymes and other sound patterns page 5 rhetorical figures on the morphological and on the syntactic level page 6 semantic structure page 7 argumentative structure page 7 conclusion page 8 works cited page 8. The sonnets immense use of imagery causes the reader to imagine the sonnet as a play where the characters are covered by masks. Its also an example of an answer to an essay question set for a finalyear exam paper. An essay or paper on a critical analysis of sonnet 8. There are minor differences between the two poems and for those. I am having a bit of a hard time understanding the themes of it as i had some difficulty understanding content. A literary analysis of sonnet 8 by william shakespeare pages 2. Having declared that love is eternal and unchanging in sonnet 116, he is now placed in the awkward situation of showing why he has not been true to the ideal.
When my love swears that she is made of truth poem by william shakespeare. Traditionally, the sonnet is a fourteenline poem written in iambic pentameter, employing one of several rhyme schemes, and adhering to a tightly structured thematic organization. When my love swears that she is made of truth poem. Below is the version of 8 that appears in jaggards book. It is highly recommended to buy the monument by hank whittemore, which is the best book on shakespeare sonnets. It poses the fairly standard test of analysing one of the sonnets. Honest names for all the books on your english syllabus. Shakespeare does use figurative language in sonnet 8. The speaker of sonnet 146 sounds more like a 16thcentury preacher than the lusty poet were used to hanging out with in the other 153 sonnets. Analysis of a shakespeare sonnet sample exam answer. This analysis of a shakespeare sonnet is an example of literary analysis at third year undergraduate level. The sonnet s immense use of imagery causes the reader to imagine the sonnet as a play where the characters are covered by masks.
1170 1250 608 1476 1259 420 758 1336 222 737 1381 884 550 686 1398 1232 328 1133 964 258 446 575 787 794 684 937 275 1392 1472 700