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Page 1: Sonnet Analysis Project

The Sonnets

Sir Philip Sidney

In about 1582, Sidney composed a sonnet sequence called Astrophel and Stella which

contained 108 sonnets. This series is an autobiographical story of the relationship between

Astrophel and Stella, representing Sidney and his former lover Penelope Devereaux respectively.

Their engagement didn‟t work out and the sonnets correspond to the unrequited love and how

much he suffers from it.

Sonnet 31

Adventures in English Literature, page 159

In the first quatrain, Astrophel observes “how silently” and “with how a wan a face” the

moon is climbing the sky. He recognizes in its pale face the same lovesickness he himself is

experiencing. In lines 3 and 4, he questions whether Cupid‟s arrows have struck it even in a

“heavenly place.” In the next quatrain, he concludes that that may be the source of the moon‟s

“long-with-love-acquainted eyes,” that it is lovesick (“thou feel‟st a lover‟s case”). He

recognizes its “languished grace” the same as he recognizes it in himself. In the last quatrain, he

asks the moon if women there were “as proud as here they be,” do they desire love yet scorn

those that give them love, and do they call ungratefulness there a virtue.

The connection between the moon and himself represents personification in which

Sidney gives the moon human emotions. The moon can also be seen as an allusion to Diana, the

goddess of the moon in Greek mythology. He speaks to it as if it were a human being with

human qualities. Although Diana is a perpetual virgin unaffected by love, Astrophel comes to the

conclusion that Cupid‟s arrows were strong enough to make her love and she is therefore

suffering from it.

Sonnet 39

Adventures in English Literature, page 159

Astrophel appears to be suffering from his infatuation with Stella and therefore cannot

sleep. The poem begins with him crying for sleep to come; he calls it the “poor man‟s wealth, the

prisoner‟s release,” begging it to release him from his suffering. In the second quatrain, he asks

Sleep to alleviate his suffering and cease the “civil war” that is raging between his heart and his

head. In the third quatrain, he says all he asks for are “smooth pillows, sweetest bed,” “a

chamber deaf to noise and blind to light.” Finally, in the last couplet, he devises a way to make

sleep come to him. He tells it that once he is asleep, Stella will appear in his dreams, therefore

continuing his suffering.

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Once again, Sidney is using a figure of speech to reference something to another. Here,

he uses an apostrophe where his heart and his head are referenced to love and reason. Reason and

love are personified as being in constant battle because of Stella‟s scorn. His head knows that his

infatuation is foolish and futile while his heart is persistent and insistent. There is also irony

because although he is begging sleep to relieve him of his suffering from Stella, an image of

Stella will always be in his mind, whether he is awake or asleep.

Edmund Spenser

Sonnet 75

Adventures of English Literature, page 156

In this sonnet, Spencer claims to impart immortality upon his beloved. The first two lines

tell of how he wrote his love‟s name on the beach, but the waves washed it away. Lines 3 and 4

tell of how he attempted to rewrite it but again the waves erased it. This indicates the metaphor

between his efforts (pains) being eaten (“made…his prey”). Likewise, the waves are seen as a

symbol of time, a never ending cycle.

In the second quatrain, his beloved speaks of his efforts as futile and indicates that like

her name, she, too, will eventually be wiped away (“For I myself shall like to this decay”). From

here, Spenser makes the allusion between this sonnet and Christianity, that mortality is an

inevitable inheritance among all living things. Although he speaks of the unavoidability of death

in the octet, he claims that he will be able to impart immortality among his beloved in the sestet.

This is especially indicated in lines 11 and 12. Although he reassures her in lines 9 and 10

that she will not die the way her name was washed away, without a trace or implant in the world,

her “glorious name” will be written in the heavens, signifying that heaven serves as the ultimate

immortality. In the last couplet, Spencer tells her that their love will overshadow death, that they

will live on in the afterlife (“Our love shall live, and later life renew”).

Sonnet 79

Adventures of English Literature, page 157

In this sonnet, Spenser is speaking to a woman about what he believes is true beauty. He

starts off the first two lines saying that the women men call beautiful know that they are beautiful

too. In lines 3 and 4, he states that the truly beautiful women are the ones with a “gentle wit”

and “virtuous mind.” In the second quatrain, he says that the women with only external beauty

will eventually fade because of the effects of “frail corruption,” in which age will cause the

outward beauty to “turn to naught and lose that glorious hue.” Spenser therefore informs the

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woman that true beauty is one that does not fade, unlike external beauty, because it is the person

that‟s inside that matter.

In the final quatrain, according to Spenser, the reason why women possess true beauty is

because God created her, making her “divine and born of heavenly seed”. This is where “perfect

beauty did at first proceed” because she is “derived from that fair Spirit.”

Furthermore there is a consonance of “t” and “d” sounds that give a harsh tone especially

in the three quatrains. In line 6, “Shall turn to naught” has a harsh “t” sound which indicates

Spencer‟s disapproval of women with only external beauty. The “d” sounds in the final quatrain

emphasize Spencer‟s reason for why internal beauty is more important, especially in line 12,

“And perfect beauty did at first proceed.”

In the last couplet, there is a change in tone. The “t” and “d” sounds disappear with “r”

sounds replacing them. The “r” sounds contribute to a softer tone in contrast to the lines before

which had a harsher tone. The “r” sounds in “fair,” “flowers,” and “fade” create a more soothing

attitude in Spencer‟s voice. This can be referenced to Spencer‟s strong belief in God and it is

illustrated through a more consolatory approach.

William Shakespeare

In 1609, Shakespeare published 154 sonnets in the same story structure as Sidney‟s

Astrophel and Stella. In contrast, Shakespeare‟s sonnets are much more mysterious, addressing

three different people, one a young man with great beauty and promise, another a rival poet, and

the other a lady with dark hair, eyes, and complexion. To add drama, both the speaker and young

man seem to be romantically linked to the lady. In relation to meaning, Shakespeare explores the

themes and questions of time and death, beauty and moral integrity, love, and poetry.

Sonnet 18

Adventures in English Literature, page 166

In the first quatrain, the speaker attempts to compare the young man‟s beauty to a

summer‟s day but decides that there is no comparison, for the young man‟s beauty is “more

lovely and more temperate.” This is also because the summer is fleeting and inconsistent,

especially in lines 3 and 4. He then goes on to describe the imperfections of summer saying that

it is “too hot” and that “his gold complexion” is often “dimmed” by passing clouds. The speaker

suggests that the summer brings great disappointment through these lines in contrast with the

youth, whose “eternal summer shall not fade.”

The speaker also seems to want to immortalize the youth. He doesn‟t want his beauty to

fade even though death is inevitable as explicitly stated in line 7. The third quatrain illustrates the

speaker‟s claim that the young man will not “lose possession of that fair thou owest” and “nor

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shall death brag thou wander‟st in his shade,” meaning that death will not affect his beauty. His

reason is found in line 12, where he plans to capture the youth‟s beauty in his verse (“eternal

lines”), which he believes will outlast the ravages of time. The couplet further exemplifies his

reasoning when he says “so long lives this” (this sonnet) will the young man‟s beauty live

forever (“and this gives life to thee”).

Sonnet 29

Adventures in English Literature, page 167

In this sonnet, the speaker laments on his misfortunes and his outcast state (lines 1 and 2).

He says he is abandoned by everyone and weeps to the “deaf heaven.” The source for his

depression results from his separation from the young man, who is “with friends possessed.” The

second half of the second quatrain indicates that the speaker wishes he had those qualities and

wealth that the youth and his friends posses so that he, too, can be with them.

In lines 9 through 12, however, his attitude begins to change to a more optimistic state

when he recalls his friendship with the youth (“Haply I think on thee”). He establishes a

metaphor comparing his happiness of these memories to a “lark at break of day arising/From

sullen earth, sings hymns at Heaven‟s gate.” The last couplet concludes his attitude to the

separation: his memories of the youth‟s love and friendship keep him moving forward.

Sonnet 30

Adventures in English Literature, page 167

The speaker feels a growing attachment to the young man and the reader now realizes

that the speaker cannot function without him. The sonnet begins with the speaker drifting off into

“remembrance of things past”. The reader learns that these are painful memories with the death

of his friends and former love affairs that have ended. He has already lamented on these

memories yet he is lamenting again as though he has never had before. The concluding couplet

brings the appearance of the young man who serves as a cure for his grievances (“But if the

while I think on thee, dear friend/All losses are restored and sorrows end”).

Shakespeare conveys the beauty of the speaker‟s lamentation through great use of

alliteration such as “sessions of sweet silent thought,” “with old woes new my dear time‟s

waste,” and “then I can grieve at grievances forgone.” In addition, he also uses assonance with

the ending “-nce,” especially in “remembrances” and “grievances.”

Sonnet 73

Adventures in English Literature, page 168

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The speaker in this sonnet fears the coming of the end of his life. Shakespeare illustrates

the passage of time in three different stages: the first quatrain focusing on months, the second

quatrain shortening to hours, and in the third is the finale.

In the first quatrain, he compares his approaching death to the late autumn season

approaching the winter, where everything is dead (“Upon those boughs which shake against the

cold/Bare ruined choirs where late the sweet birds sang”). In the second quatrain, his life is

shortened further. His sun has “fadeth in the west” and “death‟s second self” (night) will put him

to sleep, or is bringing closer his death.

The first two quatrains establish life as an infinite cycle, whereas quatrain three imparts

to the speaker that death is permanent; it does not come and go. This is when he compares

himself to a fire, but a fire will be extinguished and it is not reborn from ashes (“That on the

ashes of his youth doth lie/As the deathbed whereon it must expire”). The final couplet addresses

the recipient, perhaps the young man, that one‟s love should grow stronger as one's time left to

love is running out.

Shakespeare uses metaphors in this sonnet, such as when he‟s comparing the speaker‟s

death to the late autumn season and to a fire extinguished into ash. In addition, yellow is used as

a symbol of age or passing of time whereas black is used to symbolize the dreaded or death.

Sonnet 116

Adventures in English Literature, page 168

This is one of Shakespeare‟s most famous sonnets because of his defense for true love.

The first quatrain asserts that true love is immortal and unchanging; it holds no restrictions (“Let

me not to the marriage of true minds/Admit impediments”) and it never changes (“Love is not

love which alters when it alteration finds”). The second quatrain establishes two metaphors: it is

“an ever-fixed mark,” a sea mark that navigators use to guide their course, and “the star to every

wandering bark,” meaning it is the North Star. In the final quatrain, the speaker establishes love‟s

undying essence prevailing against the “bending sickle” of time. He states that love far outlasts

time‟s “brief hours and weeks” and that love will withstand even until Judgment Day. In the final

couplet, the speaker puts his own merits on the line; if what he‟s said is proven false, then he‟s

never written and no one has ever loved.

Sonnet 130

Adventures in English Literature, page 169

In this sonnet, Shakespeare makes comparisons of the things beautiful in nature to that of

the dark lady. In the first three quatrains, the speaker provides contrasting similes and metaphors.

For instance, in the first quatrain, he says her eyes are “nothing like the sun” and her “breasts are

dun,” meaning that her breasts aren‟t as pale and fair. He also says, in the second quatrain, that

he‟s seen “roses damasked,” roses of a variety of color (i.e. red, pink, white, etc.), yet he‟s seen

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“no such roses” in “her cheeks,” implying that her face possesses no natural beauty. In quatrain

three, he compares her to a goddess, but unlike other exaggerated comparisons, he states her

walk is like that of a mortal, that she is not a goddess. In the final couplet, he describes her just as

extraordinary (“rare”) as any other woman who is exaggeratedly compared to a goddess. The

reader learns that despite the comparisons he made in the first three quatrains, he loves her

nonetheless.

John Donne

In the early 17th

century, Donne wrote a series of nineteen sonnets, which he called Holy

Sonnets. These sonnets represent Donne‟s strong belief in God and deals with the themes of

repentance and revelation.

Holy Sonnet 4

Adventures in English Literature, page 269

In the first quatrain, Donne makes the allusion to the Book of Revelations in the Bible. In

the first quatrain, he tells the angels at the four corners of the earth to blow their trumpets and

calls for the sinful souls to “arise from death” and return to their “scattered bodies.” In line 5, the

“flood” and the “fire” allude to the great flood of Noah and the destructive fire prophesized in

Revelations. Also, “war, dearth, age, agues, tyrannies, /Despair, law, chance hath slain” allude to

the signs described in Revelations that the world was facing a crisis. In the sestet, Donne

expresses his fear for God by begging Him to allow the sinful souls to rest while he can repent

(“But let them sleep, Lord, and me mourn a space”) on “this lowly ground,” a metonymy for

earth. He says this because once judgment comes, he won‟t be able to ask for forgiveness, for

“‟tis late to ask abundance of Thy grace /When we are there” (“there,” meaning Heaven).

Holy Sonnet 6

Adventures in English Literature, page 269

In this sonnet, Donne challenges Death, telling it to “be not proud.” He says, in the first

quatrain, that although some people have called it “mighty and dreadful,” it is not and he does

not fear it (“not yet canst thou kill me”). In the next quatrain, “rest and sleep” are depicted as the

“pictures” of death. This establishes a positive connotation on death; it makes it seem pleasant,

so therefore the real thing must be even more enjoyable. The line “And sooner our best men with

thee do go” implies the question: If all the good people die young, why should anyone fear it?

In the third quatrain, Donne taunts and insults Death, calling it a “slave to fate, chance,

kings, and desperate men.” He‟s saying that death occurs through time and that it‟s a desperate

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attempt for men to escape reality, meaning that Death is hardly anything to respect. “Poison,

war, and sickness” is where Death inhabits and therefore no one would want to rule it. Donne

continues his patronizing by saying that “poppy or charms can make us sleep as well” and their

method of putting us to sleep is more soothing than that of Death‟s because Death‟s “stroke” is

more avoidable. In the concluding couplet, he says that Death is nothing to fear because in “one

short sleep past, we wake eternally,” alluding to Christian belief that there is eternal life after

death, establishing the paradox, “Death, thou shalt die.”

Holy Sonnet 10

Adventures in English Literature, page 270

In the first quatrain, Donne starts off with violent imagery, such as “batter my heart,”

“o‟erthrow me, and bend/Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.” This establishes

the purpose of the poem; he wants God back into his heart. In Christianity, God lives in the

hearts of everyone. The reader learns, through the first four lines, that God must be outside of his

heart and Donne wants God to break through, for He is merely knocking softly on its door (“For,

you/As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend”).

In the second quatrain, the reader learns of why Donne is desperately seeking God back

into his heart. He uses the simile to compare himself to a “usurped town,” meaning he was

forcibly taken. He wants God‟s reason to bring him back under God‟s love (line 7), yet it‟s futile

because it is “captive” and “proves weak and untrue.” In the third quatrain, Donne tells God that

he loves Him but he cannot break himself from whatever is holding him. Lines 11 and 12 assert

that whatever is holding him captive is something that is opposed to God, i.e. the Devil (“But am

betrothed unto your enemy”). Lines 12, 13, and 14 call for desperation since Donne is literally

begging God to make him His slave, for he cannot break himself free from his sin. He wants to

be locked in with God so that he will never stray from Him again.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Ozymandias

Adventures in English Literature, page 544

Ozymandias is considered to be one of Shelley‟s greatest poems. The sonnet tells the

story of a king who became so involved in his possessions that he forgot his ultimate destiny:

death. In addition, the readers learn that no one lives forever, not even our earthly

accomplishments.

The first line establishes the story: the speaker recalls meeting a traveler “from an antique

land” who tells him of ancient manmade structures. These structures have “two vast and

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trunkless legs,” indicating that had the statue been intact, it would have been monstrous, thus

“vast.” The traveler continues by telling him that nearby lies a “shattered visage,” a face, with a

“sneer of cold command,” indicating that the person this statue was built for was for a king.

This conclusion is justified in the sestet, where on the pedestal reads “My name is

Ozymandias, king of kings.” The reader then learns that Ozymandias was arrogant, mocking

nature and God, “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Shelley then presents irony; the

“works” Ozymandias refers to were no longer there (“Nothing beside remains”). Nature and God

won in the end because “round the decay/ Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare/The lone

level sands stretch away.” The passage of time had destroyed man; time caused the crumbling of

an empire and stressed that nothing can withstand its rampage. The fact that the pedestal had not

been demolished indicates nature and time‟s message that nothing lives on forever; Ozymandias‟

boast was for naught.

Sonnet: England in 1816

Adventures in English Literature, page 545

Like Wordsworth, Shelley expresses his admonishment of England in his time period.

The corruption, the immorality, and the impassiveness of the rulers will lead to England‟s

downfall.

In the first line, he describes the king as “old, mad, blind, despised, and dying.” He then

continues, in the next 5 lines, to describe the princes, or “the dregs of their dull race,” who are

metaphorically compared to leeches that “flow through public scorn” “till they drop, blind in

blood, without a blow.” In the sestet, he says the people are dying from lack of nutrition (“A

people starved and stabbed in the untilled field”). He goes on further to depict the corruption of

the army, “a two-edged sword,” dangerous and destructive to its own people as well their enemy.

Religion has become “Christless, Godless,” morally disintegrated, and the “Senate” (Parliament)

is unjust as well as its laws. In the couplet, Shelley seems to be more optimistic, in “which a

glorious Phantom may/Burst, to illuminate our tempestuous day,” which may mean that he hopes

for a revolution where England can be saved from the corruption it endures right now.

There is a consonance of “d” sounds that evokes Shelley‟s anger. For instance, in the first

line, “old, “mad”, “blind”, “despised”, and “dying” reiterates his reproach and his frustration at

the king. Another example is in line 6, where he presents his disgust at the princes with the

words “drop,” “blind,” and “blood.” There is also a harsh “st” sound specifically in line 7, which

emphasizes the inward disintegration of the English people.

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John Keats

On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer

Adventures in English Literature, page 558

Keats wrote this sonnet after reading George Chapman‟s translation of Homer. The

sonnet expresses the intensity of Keats experience, in which he uses imagery of exploration and

discovery. The poem also expresses his passion for poetry and how much the Homeric

experience has affected him. Although the sonnet is written in the Italian or Petrarchan form,

Keats does not conclude his experience or situation in a couplet. Instead, the conclusion is found

in the sestet which follows the octet.

The first quatrain establishes the tone of the sonnet. The use of the word “traveled” in the

first line is a metonymy for what he‟s experienced when reading Chapman‟s translation. The

reader understands that what he‟s read is like a discovery or imagination (“realms of gold”). The

next three lines allude to Odysseus‟s voyage (“round many western islands have I been”) and

references poets being servants to Apollo, the god of poetry and music. “Fealty” refers to their

loyalty and dedication and to their passion of poetry.

In the next quatrain, Keats describes the genius of Homer and his literary

accomplishments, using the adjectives “wide expanse” and “deep-browed,” possibly referring to

his intellect. Homer‟s “demesne”, or domain, refers to The Illiad and The Odyssey, his greatest

works. Keats describes his admiration by breathing “its pure serene,” indicating that he‟s making

it a part of himself. The sestet offers the reader what Keats really felt. He says he felt “like some

watcher of the skies/When a new planet swims into his ken,” establishing the theme of

discovery, in which the world is extended to include the heavens. In addition, he compares

himself to “stout Cortez when with eagle eyes/He stared at the Pacific.” The imagery of the

ocean comes into view, as the Pacific is discovered by Cortez (even though it‟s Balboa), further

enlarging the world, or knowledge.

Bright Star! Would I Were Steadfast As Thou Art

Adventures in English Literature, page 559

This sonnet was composed in 1819 and is theorized to have been addressed to his fiancée,

Fanny Brawne. In 1820, he showed serious signs of tuberculosis in which friends and doctors

urged him to leave the cold weather of London and move to Italy, in which he revised the poem

during his trip.

In the first line, Keats expresses his desire to be like the star, “steadfast,” or unchanging.

He describes the star as immortal, “bright,” indicating the importance of life, and “not in lone

splendor,” meaning that it‟s never alone among the many other stars that “hung aloft the night.”

He then personifies it by saying that it is “watching, with eternal lids apart.” The metonymy of

“eternal lids” projects its immortality, in which he makes the allusion to his tuberculosis. Unlike

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the star, Keats will die, and thus he will see no more; in this case, he will no longer see his love,

Fanny Brawne.

In the second quatrain, he speaks of the beauty of nature and how he desires to be like it.

Lines 5 and 6 refer to the ocean, using the simile “its priestlike task” to compare it to a priest

purifying the sinned (“pure ablution”), indicating that the earth is able to revitalize itself. Keats

expresses his desire to do such that; he wants to be unchanging, or “steadfast,” referencing to

death caused by time or natural causes. In lines 7 and 8, he describes the “snow” as a “mask” to

cover the “mountains and the moors,” indicating their apparent ugliness. The reader questions

whether this implies that Keats is insecure about a certain unattractiveness that he possesses.

In the last quatrain Keats apparently changes his mind about being like the star, using the

word “No.” He still clings to the idea of being steadfast (“yet still steadfast”), defining it in terms

of human life on earth, where there is love and movement. He expresses a desire to be with his

fiancée forever, in which she too will live on for eternity. Line 11 represents the precious breaths

she takes in her eternal life, where she “awakes forever in a sweet unrest.” In the final couplet,

Keats displays a powerful statement in which he says that until he can still “hear her tender-taken

breath,” he will welcome his own death (“And so live ever—or else swoon to death”). Life

without his lover means nothing so long as they are together.

When I Have fears that I May Cease To Be

Adventures in English Literature, page 559

Written in 1818, this sonnet expresses Keats concerns over fame, love, and time. The

sonnet focuses on his fears of dying young (his tuberculosis), of not being able to fulfill himself

as a writer, and losing his beloved.

In the first quatrain, Keats uses the imagery of the harvest, such as “gleaned,” “garners,”

and “full ripened grain” to emphasize the fertility of his imagination and how much he wishes to

express. This is especially in lines 1 and 2, where he says he has “fears that I may cease to be”

(that he will die) and to help him cope with this fear, he begins to write in which his “teeming

brain” “hold like rich garners the full ripened grain.” Here, Keats describes harvest as a

fulfillment in time in which the “full ripened grain” refers to end product. He metaphorically

compares himself to the harvest where he is the field of grain.

In the next quatrain, he expresses the desire to transform things in nature into poetry.

Once again, he wants to fulfill his destiny as a writer but the thought of death induces in him the

unfortunate chance that it won‟t happen. He fears the fact that “when I behold, upon the night‟s

starred face” and the “huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,” he “may never live to trace their

shadows, with the magic hand of chance.” His magic hand, being described as a metonymy for

his poetry.

In the final quatrain, he switches to love. He says love is short lived, especially in lines 9

and 10 when he calls his beloved “fair creature of an hour” and “that I shall never look upon thee

more.” In lines 11 and 12, he states that love has the ability to invoke the imagination of lovers,

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yet it is merely emotion rather than thought (“Never have relish in the faery power/Of

unreflecting love!). The final couplet concludes this sentiment, when he asserts the

unimportance of love and fame and ceases his fears.

William Wordsworth

A member of the English Romantic Movement, Wordsworth‟s personality and poetry

were deeply influenced by his love of nature, especially by the sights and scenes of the Lake

Country, in which he spent most of his mature life.

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

Adventures in English Literature, page 486

Wordsworth‟s sonnets focus on the theme of communication with nature. His finest

achievements were written in the summer of 1802 during his time in France. This sonnet was

written on the roof of a coach during his journey to France as he observes the rising of the sun.

The first quatrain establishes the emotional feeling that strikes the poet (“Earth has not

yet anything to show more fair” and “A sight so touching in its majesty”). In the second quatrain,

he personifies London through the use of simile in “like a garment” and “wear.” He goes on to

listing manmade structures to emphasize their bare beauty in the morning light (“Ships, towers,

domes, theaters, and temples lie/Open unto the fields, and to the sky; /All bright and glittering in

the smokeless air”).

In the third quatrain, he personifies the sun (“Never did sun more beautifully steep”). The

“steep” of the sun can be used to mean cleanse and soften and it performs these actions on

“valley, rock, or hill” to highlight their beauty. Another personification is found in line 12, in

which the “river glideth at his own sweet will.” The relative calmness of the morning sun

induces in the reader a feeling of tranquility, as if every house was asleep. The “mighty heart” in

the last line can refer to the heart of the city, and it too is personified as “lying still.”

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It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free

Adventures in English Literature, page 487

In the first quatrain, Wordsworth uses imagery to set the scene (“It is a beauteous

evening, calm and free” and “the broad sun/Is sinking down in its tranquility”). He also uses

metaphorical comparisons and simile, stating that the evening is a “holy time” and it “is quiet as

a Nun.” In the second quatrain, Wordsworth personifies “the gentleness of heaven” that “broads

o‟er the Sea.” The next three lines describe the awakening of “the mighty Being” as he moves

over the water creating “a sound like thunder—everlastingly.”

In the sestet, we learn who Wordsworth is speaking to: a young girl who is walking with

him. Observing her, he realizes that she is “untouched by solemn thought,” that she does not

delve deep into the scenery as he does, but tells her that it doesn‟t make her any less “divine.”

The reason is because she is still young; she‟s still in the protection of purity (“Temple‟s inner

shrine”), under the protection of God (“God being with thee when we know it not”).

London, 1802

Adventures in English Literature, page 487

This sonnet was written when Wordsworth returned to England in which he describes his

disgust of the lack of morals found in English men and women. He starts off crying out to John

Milton, who was an English poet. He wishes that Milton was still alive because “England hath

need of thee.” He then lists the vices that have brought the morality of England down. The alter,

the sword, the pen, and the fireside serve as symbolism for the major institutions. The alter is a

symbol for the church, the sword for the military, the pen for the library or literature, and the

fireside for the home. He states that each of them “have forfeited their ancient English dower/Of

inward happiness,” meaning that they have lost the essence of true English men (“We are selfish

men”).

The second half of the second quatrain shows Wordsworth begging Milton to “return to

us again,” for Milton will restore “manners, virtue, freedom, power” to England. In the sestet,

Wordsworth describes Milton‟s character, saying his “soul was like a Star” (the North Star,

similar to Shakespeare‟s Sonnet 116, in which Milton is described as being the guide to all men)

and “dwelt apart,” meaning that Milton did not follow the crowd; he lived his life as he pleased.

He then goes on to say that Milton was very influential, using the simile “like the sea.” In lines

11 and 12, he continues to describe him as being morally perfect (“Pure as the naked heavens,

majestic, free”) yet he maintains his humble and modest nature (“So didst thou travel on life‟s

common way”). In the final couplet, he states that the only way for England to be rid of “the

lowliest duties on herself did lay,” she must restore the morals and virtues that were lost.

Page 13: Sonnet Analysis Project

The World Is Too Much with Us

Adventures in English Literature, page 488

In this sonnet, Wordsworth continues ranting about his disappointment in English men

and women because of the materialism that have sufficed in his era. In the first quatrain, he states

that all they care about is “getting and spending” and that they “lay waste our powers.” He

criticizes them for the loss of contact and communication with the spiritual and with nature

(“Little we see in Nature that is ours”) and that “we have given our hearts away.” In the second

quatrain, he continues his claim, saying that “we are out of tune” of the things in nature,

personifying the sea as baring “her bosom to the moon” and “the wind that will be howling at all

hours.” Furthermore, he uses the simile and personification of “like sleeping flowers.”

Wordsworth suddenly becomes more dramatic, saying that he‟d “rather be/A Pagan

suckled in a creed outward” instead of living with materialistic people that claim to be Christian

but do not exemplify the ethical morality of Christian men. He wishes he was somewhere else,

specifically in a “pleasant lea” where he won‟t be the outcast (“So might I, standing on this

pleasant lea, /Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn”). In the final quatrain, he makes

an allusion to the gods of Greek mythology, Proteus and Triton, to emphasize his desire to be

Pagan, for the ancient Greeks put much greater value in nature.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sonnet 14

Adventures in English Literature, page 669

In this sonnet, Browning emphasizes the importance of loving someone for “love‟s sake

only,” meaning the true essence and personality of a person. She then goes on to say in the next

five lines the pathetic excuses of love, such as loving someone for their “smile,” “look,” “way of

speaking gently,” and their “trick of thought.” She asserts that these attributes are characteristics

of superficial love, for “these things in themselves…may be changed,” and thus love itself will

change as well. In the third quatrain, she says to “neither love me for thine own pity‟s wiping my

cheeks dry,” metaphorically comparing herself to a “creature” that “bore thy comfort long,” and

then cast aside (“lose thy love thereby”). Like all other poets, she describes the essence of true

love, personifying love by giving it human emotions.

Page 14: Sonnet Analysis Project

Sonnet 43

Adventures in English Literature, page 669

The theme of love is clearly reinforced throughout this poem in which Browning

expresses her undying love to her husband, Robert Browning. In the first quatrain, she

emphasizes the importance of her husband in her life, where she asserts that her soul will find its

goal of feeling completely alive (lines 2 to 4). In addition, the use of internal rhyme of “depth”

and “breadth” reiterates the intensity of her love. She continues in the second quatrain saying that

her love is as common as “every day‟s most common need.”

In lines 7 and 8, she uses simile to put greater emphasis on her love. She says she loves

him “freely”, or willingly, as men who fight for “Right,” as in freedom and liberty. She then says

she loves him “purely” without desire or “praise.” In lines 9 and 10, she asserts that she loves

him with an intensity that equals her “old griefs” and that she loves him with her “childhood‟s

faith,” saying that she puts blind faith into him. In lines 11 and 12, she says that she loves him

“with a love” that she has lost in her faith as she grew older. In the final couplet, she says that her

love is what keeps her alive (“breath”) through all the joys (“smiles”) and sadness (“tears”) and

that she will love even “better after death.”

Edna St. Vincent Millay

I Will Put Chaos into Fourteen Lines

The Bedford Introduction to Literature, page 919

The dark tone of the poem indicates the furious intensity of Millay, in which she must

have been in a deeply conflicted relationship. The theme also seems to be out of revenge since

she wants to punish whoever has caused her fury.

In the first line, “Chaos” is capitalized, making it significant because she personifies it as

being human, a male, as indicated in the second line. This creates an interesting parallel because

whoever has caused her grief must have been a man. The reader then learns that she has confined

him in a cage, or “fourteen lines,” referencing to this sonnet. The use of the word “ape” indicates

an imitation of an ape, which is characterized as being clumsy and unintelligent. “Flood, fire, and

demon” are negative connotations of Chaos, in which they all bring hurt and despair, further

emphasizing how much the man must have hurt her.

In the second quatrain, Chaos‟ efforts to escape are useless (“Will strain to nothing in the

sweet confines”). Chaos has been subdued and he is now referred to as “sweet Order.” The

phrase “pious rape” represents an oxymoron because “pious” is a religious overtone and “rape”

is implied as a sadistic and spiteful act. She is therefore, metaphorically raping Chaos because

Chaos has apparently done something immoral to “rape” away their relationship. In line 7, she

Page 15: Sonnet Analysis Project

takes away “his essence and amorphous shape” until he has obtained some “Order,” meaning

that until he has learned to respect and treat her right, he will have no freedom.

Lines 9 and 10 go into depth of their relationship. The “hours, the years, of our duress”

refer to the time they‟ve been together and how much pain and pressure she suffers from his

dishonesty. “His arrogance” led her to take action to discipline him (“I have him”). She then goes

on to characterize him as being nonhuman (“He is nothing more nor less/Than something simple

not yet understood). The fact that she “shall not even force him to confess” indicates that there is

no need to hear his confession because she knows what he‟s done, hence why she‟s punishing

him. His imprisonment will “make him good” because he will no longer continue to commit the

infidelities he‟s committed.

Mark Doty

Golden Retrievals

The Bedford Introduction to Literature, page 920

The voice of this poem is that of a golden retrieval‟s. This is indicated in the first line in

which he says “balls and sticks capture my attention.” Doty then uses imagery, especially in line

4 with the word “sniff.” In addition, he also uses onomatopoeia to emphasize the dog‟s diction

using the words “woof” and “bow-wow.” In line 5, the dog describes the things that appeal to

him, like “muck, pond, ditch,” and “residue of any thrillingly dead thing.” The reader is then

introduced to its master, whom he indicates with “And you?” The retrieval speculates whether

his master is “sunk in the past” pondering on what he “never can bring back” or if he‟s “in some

fog concerning” the future (“—tomorrow”).

He then tells us that his “work” is to “unsnare time‟s warp,” a synecdoche indicating that

time is of the essence and that one must live the most of his life. This can be seen as a message to

his master, who strays off into the past and is always wondering about the future. The dog

continues on by saying that his job is “retrieving” his master. The “haze-headed friends” he‟s

talking to refers to other golden retrievals. The job of the retrieval exemplifies the nature of dogs

being man‟s best friend, in which he will be there to bring his master back into the present. In the

final couplet, he describes his “shiny bark” as “a Zen master‟s bronzy gong” and that he‟s calling

his master to bring him back into the present.

Page 16: Sonnet Analysis Project

Robert Brooke

The Soldier

Adventures in English Literature, page 944

Brooke expresses the theme of patriotism and the idealism of war. The fact that he died

before experiencing the horrors of trench warfare in World War I is completely understandable

in reference to his belief of fighting and dying for England. In the first quatrain, he says that

when he dies, his “richer dust” (his remains) is concealed in the “rich earth” that is “forever

England.” From here, he establishes a very patriotic tone using “England” and “English”

throughout the poem.

Then in the second quatrain, he personifies England as being a mother in which his

“richer dust” is “bore,” “shaped,” and “made aware,” that it “gave, once her flowers to love.”

He‟s asserts the English spirit, making the allusion to the profound patriotism found in the early

years of WWI (“A body of England‟s breathing English air”). These dead English bodies are

then “washed by rivers” and “blest by suns of home,” meaning that they are reinvigorated by the

families of those who gave their life for England.

In the sestet, he gives a positive connotation of death as a means of freeing his heart from

evil (“And think, this heart, all evil shed away”). He believes he is spiritually cleansed and his

heart will be “a pulse in the eternal mind,” emphasizing the value of self-sacrifice for England. In

the last four lines, Brooke asserts that the self-sacrifice is an honor in which it “gives somewhere

back the thoughts by England given,” that it will forever be rewarded in the hearts of English

men and women. The “dreams” refer to the ideal end of the war, in which it gives the soldiers a

sense of fulfillment where they live with “hearts of peace.”

Page 17: Sonnet Analysis Project

Peace

http://www.sonnets.org/wwi.htm#001

Now, God be thanked Who has watched us with His hour,

And caught our youth, and wakened us from sleeping,

With hand made sure, clear eye, and sharpened power,

To turn, as swimmers into cleanness leaping,

Glad from a world grown old and cold and weary,

Leave the sick hearts that honour could not move,

And half-men, and their dirty songs and dreary,

And all the little emptiness of love!

Oh! we, who have known shame, we have found release there,

Where there's no ill, no grief, but sleep has mending,

Naught broken save this body, lost but breath;

Nothing to shake the laughing heart's long peace there

But only agony, and that has ending;

And the worst friend and enemy is but Death.

Again, Brooke expresses the value of honor in serving one‟s country to fight in war. The

first quatrain presents images of baptism in Christianity, using the phrases “caught our youth,”

“wakened us from sleeping,” and “swimmers into cleanness leaping.” This indicates that Brooke

believes that war serves as a means to purify one‟s soul and to start anew. The second quatrain

establishes this idea, saying that during his short time in WWI, he was “glad” to be away “from a

world frown old and cold and weary,” meaning that his past life was something that he wanted to

forget.

The sixth line indicates that honor could not be bestowed upon the “sick hearts,” those

that could no longer replenish their purpose in life, specifying that servitude in war will be able

to restore this sense of moral purpose. In the first line of the octet, “release” is used as a

synecdoche for the self realization that is discovered when fighting in war. From here, Brooke

establishes the theme, which is peace. In war, one will be able to find peace “where there‟s no ill,

no grief.” He‟s also saying that nothing can end the feeling of self fulfillment except for the loss

of air (“lose but breath”) and suffering (“agony”), leading to “Death” being “the worst friend and

enemy.”

Page 18: Sonnet Analysis Project

May Herschel-Clarke

The Mother

http://www.sonnets.org/wwi.htm#001

If you should die, think only this of me

In that still quietness where there is space for thought,

Where parting, loss and bloodshed shall not be,

And men may rest themselves and dream of nought:

That in some place a mystic mile away

One whom you loved has drained the bitter cup

Till there is nought to drink; has faced the day

Once more, and now, has raised the standard up.

And think, my son, with eyes grown clear and dry

She lives as though for ever in your sight,

Loving the things you loved, with heart aglow

For country, honour, truth, traditions high,

—Proud that you paid their price. (And if some night

Her heart should break—well, lad, you will not know.)

Clarke composed this sonnet in response to Brooke‟s The Soldier. Whereas The Soldier

presents the positive aspects of his death, The Mother imparts the negative side. Clarke

represents one of the many women poets during the years of WWI, writing about the fears and

worries they had for the soldiers. The poems speak about the effects the war had on their

homeland and the deaths of the soldiers.

In the first line, she starts off the poem with the same word choices as The Soldier,

however it is in the viewpoint of the mother. She tells him that when he dies, he will be “in that

still quietness where there is space for thought,” basically he will be someplace that is quiet and

serene, where he will be able to think clearly without interference. The interference that he will

be away from refers to the “parting, loss and bloodshed” which establishes the negative

connotations of war. In line 4, she says this “still quietness” is a place in which “men may rest

themselves and dream of nought,” where they will no longer worry.

In the second quatrain, she tells the soldier what she wants him to think of her: “That in

some place a mystic mile away” (possibly England), she will have drained “the bitter cup,” a

metonymy for poison. Clarke, here, is inferring that Brooke‟s idealism and patriotism of war is

naïve in which he doesn‟t think of the pain and suffering endured by their loved ones.

The mother has now killed herself, drinking the poison “till there is nought to drink”.

“Faced the day once more” indicates that as her spirit leaves her body, she is looking at the world

one last time and “raised the standard up,” which refers to Heaven, meaning that its standards are

better than that of the living world‟s. As soon as she goes to Heaven, she will live “as though

forever in your sight,” meaning they will be together forever. The last four lines indicate that

once they are reunited, she will love what he‟s loved fighting for, “country, honour, truth,

Page 19: Sonnet Analysis Project

traditions high” and that she will be “proud you paid their price.” The last line, however,

indicates her true feelings, saying that if “her heart should break,” he won‟t even know.

Wilfred Owen

Anthem for Doomed Youth

http://www.sonnets.org/wwi.htm#001

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle

Can patter out their hasty orisons.

No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells,

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;

And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?

Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes

Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.

The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,

And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Unlike Brooke‟s war sonnets which focus on patriotism and the ideals of war, Owen

provides an anti-war attitude to the time he‟s served in WWI. In the first quatrain, he makes great

use of imagery as well as alliteration and consonance, especially in line 3, “stuttering rifles‟ rapid

rattle,” emphasizing on the bullets that have struck down the young men who “die as cattle.”

Personification is also utilized in which the guns display a “monstrous anger.” In the second

quatrain, Owen metaphorically compares the deaths of the boys to a funeral, in which the

“mourning…choir” is the “demented choirs of wailing shells” and their “eyes shall shine the

holy glimmers of good-byes,” indicating the irony of the poem: the war induced in many young

men the feeling of patriotism and nationalism, yet it served to only bring pain, not only to them

but their families as well. In addition, he uses onomatopoeia, such as, “The shrill, demented

choirs of wailing shells,” making as if the reader can actually hear it. Finally, the “drawing-down

of blinds” alludes to the traditional sign to show that the family is in mourning; it also used as a

metaphor to compare it to the drawing of a sheet to cover the dead, hence what the men in the

army do to their dead soldiers.

Page 20: Sonnet Analysis Project

The End

http://www.sonnets.org/wwi.htm#001

After the blast of lightning from the east,

The flourish of loud clouds, the Chariot Throne;

After the drums of time have rolled and ceased,

And by the bronze west long retreat is blown,

Shall Life renew these bodies? Of a truth

All death will he annul, all tears assuage?-

Or fill these void veins full again with youth,

And wash, with an immortal water, Age?

When I do ask white Age he saith not so:

“My head hangs weighed with snow.”

And when I hearken to the Earth, she saith:

“My fiery heart shrinks, aching. It is death.

Mine ancient scars shall not be glorified,

Nor my titanic tears, the seas, be dried.”

Wilfred makes many allusions to the Book of Revelations to describe the horrors of

WWI, using phrases such as “blast of lightning” and “Chariot Throne.” The first line establishes

the tone of the poem, which is eerie and frightening. The “blast of lightning from the east” can

also be an allusion to the Eastern front whereas the “bronze west long” is an allusion to the

Western front.

The second quatrain indicates the end of a battle, where there are dead bodies as Owen

begs the question “Shall Life renew” them? He personifies Life as an entity and wonders

whether these dead men deserve to be revived or rather, renewed. The rhetorical questions

continue as he asks if death “will annul, all tears assuage,” meaning “will all the pain and

suffering cease; will the mourning end?” In line 7, he continues his inquiries, if “these void

veins” will be “full again with youth” and indicating them to Age, another example of

personification.

In line 10, Age responds with no, that his “head hangs white with snow,” inferring that

Age is nothing but a slave to Time. As Time passes, so will Age, and these young men who have

died have served their time, wasting their youth. And then he asks Earth, in which she responds

that her “fiery heart shrinks,” in which “fiery heart” is a symbol for youth. The “ancient scars”

refer to the battle wounds of the dead soldiers and they will not be “glorified” because death is

anything but glory. Her “titanic tears, the seas” will not be dried, referencing to the loved ones of

the soldiers that will always be in mourning.

Page 21: Sonnet Analysis Project

Siegfried Sassoon

Dreamers

http://www.sonnets.org/wwi.htm#001

Soldiers are citizens of death's gray land,

Drawing no dividend from time's tomorrows.

In the great hour of destiny they stand,

Each with his feuds, and jealousies, and sorrows

Soldiers are sworn to action; they must win

Some flaming, fatal climax with their lives.

Soldiers are dreamers; when the guns begin

They think of firelit homes, clean beds, and wives.

I see them in foul dugouts, gnawed by rats,

And in the ruined trenches, lashed with rain,

Dreaming of things they did with balls and bats,

And mocked by hopeless longing to regain

Bank holidays, and picture shows, and spats,

And going to the office in the train.

In this sonnet, Sassoon calls the young men enlisted “dreamers,” referring to Brooke‟s

idea of self realization and newfound purpose found in serving the war. However, he says that

they are “citizens of death‟s gray land,” a synecdoche alluding to their doom. They stand in the

“great hour of destiny,” meaning that they are destined to die, along with their “feuds, jealousies,

and sorrows.” In lines 5 and 6, Sassoon makes the allusion to Brooke‟s Peace, in which the

“flaming, fatal climax” is the self realization the young men strove for. In lines 7 to 8, he

establishes that “soldiers are dreamers.” The “firelit homes, clean beds, and wives” are all

metonymies for the reality of death when they hear “the guns begin.” In the sestet, he presents

the opposite of war, in which he sees them “in foul dugouts, gnawed by rats” and in “ruined

trenches, lashed with rain.” These images present the negative connotations of war; it isn‟t what

the young men imagined it would be like. However, they are still “dreaming” of the things that

are far long in the past, back at home.

Page 22: Sonnet Analysis Project

Glory of Women

http://www.sonnets.org/wwi.htm#001

You love us when we're heroes, home on leave,

Or wounded in a mentionable place.

You worship decorations; you believe

That chivalry redeems the war's disgrace.

You make us shells. You listen with delight,

By tales of dirt and danger fondly thrilled.

You crown our distant ardours while we fight,

And mourn our laurelled memories when we're killed.

You can't believe that British troops “retire”

When hell's last horror breaks them, and they run,

Trampling the terrible corpses—blind with blood.

O German mother dreaming by the fire,

While you are knitting socks to send your son

His face is trodden deeper in the mud.

Sassoon expresses his anger and resentment towards the British women of WWI. This is

ironic because although the title seems to glorify women, the sonnet provides quite the opposite.

For instance, the first line already establishes the tone of the poem: there is harshness in his voice

that represents his irritation. The alliteration between “heroes” and “home” presents the

connection between the two: he says that heroes establish their heroic reputation once they return

home to their wives or girlfriends. He then says that they “worship decorations.” “Decorations”

being a metonymy for the medals the soldiers earn from servitude.

In line 4, he says that the women “believe that chivalry redeems the war‟s disgrace,”

implying that they believe that the soldier‟s heroic achievements justify the horrors they‟ve

experienced in battle. The “shells” in line 5 is an allusion to the extra weapons and ammunition

that women built in the factories when the men went off to fight. This establishes the tone of

sarcasm, indicating that the making of shells is nothing compared to what the soldiers

experienced in battle. In addition, he says they “listen with delight” the “tales of dirt and

danger,” further increasing his annoyance. The alliteration of “dirt” and “danger” emphasizes the

bloody nature of battle.

In lines 9 and 10, he further stresses the ignorance of women, saying they had the

audacity to be angry when the “British troops „retire‟” in the middle of battle, “blind with blood.”

In lines 12, 13, and 14, he addresses a German mother and portrays her differently from the

British women he describes throughout the poem. Instead of anger, he pities the mother who sits,

“knitting socks” to send to her son, unaware of the possibility that he is dead (“His face is

trodden deeper in the mud”). Here, Sassoon refers back to the “shells” the British women were

making. Even though they were not involved in the war, they did impose negative impacts. The

weapons they made were meant to kill the enemy, in which Sassoon implies that it was the

British woman that caused the German mother grief.

Page 23: Sonnet Analysis Project

Remorse

http://www.sonnets.org/wwi.htm#001

Lost in the swamp and welter of the pit,

He flounders off the duck-boards; only he knows

Each flash and spouting crash,—each instant lit

When gloom reveals the streaming rain. He goes

Heavily, blindly on. And, while he blunders,

"Could anything be worse than this?" —he wonders,

Remembering how he saw those Germans run,

Screaming for mercy among the stumps of trees:

Green-faced, they dodged and darted: there was one

Livid with terror, clutching at his knees. . .

Our chaps were sticking 'em like pigs . . . "O hell!"

He thought—“there's things in war one dare not tell

Poor father sitting safe at home, who reads

Of dying heroes and their deathless deeds."

Another one of Sassoon‟s anti-war poems, this one focuses on the experience of a newly

enlisted soldier. In the first line he is “lost in the swamp and welter of the pit,” in which the “pit”

refers to the trenches. The fact that he “flounders” indicates his inexperience and the only thing

that he is remotely aware of is the “flash and spouting crash,” referring to the flashes of

ammunition and the crashes of the grenades.

Sassoon then provides imagery and personification in line 4, in which “gloom reveals the

streaming rain” and the reader is provided with a clear image of a storm. The next line

emphasizes the soldier‟s inexperience as Sassoon presents diction with the words “heavily,

blindly,” and “blunders.” The soldier continues his course wondering if anything “be worse than

this.” The reader is then presented with a clear visual image of him recalling how “those

Germans run” as they are bombarded by the English army “screaming for mercy” and “green-

faced” while they “dodged and darted” the bullets aimed towards them. He then indicates one

German that was “livid with terror” and the reader understands that this image laid a profound

effect on him, specifically remorse.

In the end their “chaps were sticking them like pigs;” they suffered a horrible, painful

death. The last couplet indicates the young soldier‟s mindset after that experience, that “there‟s

things in war one dare not tell” to “poor father sitting safe at home.” This father is described as

being a believer in the idea of patriotism of war as he “reads of dying heroes and their deathless

deeds,” further emphasizing Sassoon‟s frustration of the blindness of those at home.

Page 24: Sonnet Analysis Project

Sick Leave

http://www.bartleby.com/136/25.html

When I‟m asleep, dreaming and lulled and warm,—

They come, the homeless ones, the noiseless dead.

While the dim charging breakers of the storm

Bellow and drone and rumble overhead,

Out of the gloom they gather about my bed.

They whisper to my heart; their thoughts are mine.

“Why are you here with all your watches ended?

From Ypres to Frise we sought you in the Line.”

In bitter safety I awake, unfriended;

And while the dawn begins with slashing rain

I think of the Battalion in the mud.

“When are you going out to them again?

Are they not still your brothers through our blood?”

In this sonnet, Sassoon describes, through the viewpoint of a soldier, who is on “sick

leave,” in which he is put out of action due to an injury or illness. The soldier is lying in a bed,

“asleep, dreaming and lulled and warm” until spirits of dead soldiers, “the homeless ones”

manifest in his dreams. In the next three lines, he presents an imagery of the storm using the

words, “bellow,” “drone,” and “rumble” and the manifestation of the dead (“Out of the gloom

they gather about my bed”). He then says that “they whisper to [his] heart,” thus making

themselves a part of him (“their thoughts are mine”). The sestet offers the turning point: they ask

him why he‟s lying here when he should‟ve been at Ypres and Frise, both allusions to the Battle

of Ypres and the Battle of the Somme in WWI. They said they “sought [him] in the Line,”

indicating that they had died looking for him when he was actually on sick leave. The soldier

then awakes “unfriended” and he begins to think of “the Battalion in the mud.” His guilty

conscience and fear for his other comrades urges him to return to battle. The voices of the

“noiseless dead” represent his conscience and fear in which they ask him “Are they still not your

brothers through our blood?”

Page 25: Sonnet Analysis Project

Of Love, Peace, and War… An Introduction

Analyzing sonnets is no doubt a difficult feat. One must learn the story, the structure, and

the overall meaning the sonnet, and poet, is trying to convey. Must one value the essence of

beauty, to love others for the persona they exemplify? Or, should one really delve into the

corruption of politics and the impartiality it bestows on those they are meant to serve? What is

the consequence of neglecting and depreciating nature? And why should we fear or bow down to

Death and Time?

After analyzing and interpreting these sonnets, I did find the answer I sought. Sir Philip

Sidney‟s sonnets focused on the theme of unrequited love, of the pain and suffering Astrophel

(which is actually him) suffers from Stella (Penelope Devereux). His sonnets, rich in his

utilization of figures of speech, especially, personification, bring out the beauty of his anguish.

Wordsworth‟s passion for nature begs the reader to follow him into the beauty and wonders of

our earthly creations, using many forms of imagery. Shakespeare‟s sonnets, especially,

emphasizes the theme of love and loyalty, and how the evils of time and death can bring the

destruction of beauty and youth. Furthermore, Keats elicits the passion he had for poetry,

presenting strong imagery of his passion for his works and his fears of losing everything he has.

Finally, the war poems of Owen and Sassoon emphasize the brutality of war and literally blast

Brooke‟s strong nationalistic ideals of war out of the water.

Although there are many more I can mention, it all comes down to the same conclusion:

sonnets ask and answer many probing questions that constitute our everyday lives. Love, peace,

war, religion—everything that affects us and how we react to them will result in our future. I

have no doubt developed a strong interest and respect for these sonnets. Nothing can compare to

this experience and I do feel that I have “travelled in the realms of gold.”


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