Poetry Notes
Poem One
SHAKSPERAN SONNET 104 page 25
- RHYMING COUPLETS
- 3 SETS OF 14 LINES
● He uses seasons as an extended metaphor to describe the passing of time
● Tone is loving, a ectionate, bias, enduring
● e way he sees this subject is in a very caring loving way
● Purpose is to celebrate the subject
● Even though times passes the subjects beauty (physical or mental) seems to be unchangeable
● Unborn people missed out on seeing beauty of friend (possibly passed on)
● Inevitable that time passes, we will all die and age
“To me fair friend you can never be old”
First quatrain
To me, fair friend, you never can be old,
“Fair friend” means beautiful person or gentlemanly person,
Woman or man, some believe he's writing about another poem
of his. That person can never get old
For as you were when first your eye I eyed,
When we first saw each other , eyes are singled out when talking
about beauty in elizabethan poems,
, Such seems your beauty still. Three winters cold
Just as beautiful since the first time I saw you, 3 years ago. Time
has passed, nothing has changed, you keep your beauty.
Have from the forests shook three summers’ pride,
It's been 3 years since we met , “summer's pride” meaning flowers,
blossoming plants. In contrast to “winters cold” , this line is
example of personification, “shook” alliteration continues with
the ‘f’ sound linking back to “fair friend”
Second quatrain
Three beauteous springs to yellow autumn turned
Emphasis on 3, three years passed. “Beauteous springs” means
wonderful spring. autumn leaves turn yellow.
In process of the seasons have I seen,
Natural cycle of seasons
Three April perfumes in three hot Junes burned,
Shakespeare lived in the northern hemisphere, spring is during
april, blossoming of flowers. June is summer, flowers burn,
wilted.
Since first I saw you fresh, which yet are green.
It's been 3 years since I first met you, comparing subjects to grass
and flowers. “which yet are green” metaphor. Talking about his
friend being young.
, Third quatrain
Change in poem happens
Ah, yet doth beauty, like a dial-hand,
Beauty moves forward, “dial hand” talking about a sundial
It is a simile “yet doth beauty, like a dial-hand”
This line is a volta1 your young but time will always move on
Steal from his figure, and no pace perceived;
“Steal” is personified , your beauty is being stolen by time, Ageing.
“Figure” means ‘your hours’. “No pace perceived” no movement
is seen. Meaning ageing happens slowly.
So your sweet hue, which methinks still doth stand,
Hue is colour but in this context, the look of someone. ‘Doth stand’
means unchanged. Your beauty has not diminished
Hath motion, and mine eye may be deceived:
‘Hath motion’ means movement. Time and beauty isn't stationary
.It will change over time. Self doubt on his perceptions. Maybe
you have changed and maybe I haven't noticed it. Bias towards
subject
For fear of which, hear this, thou age unbred:
Rhyming couplet, talking about the fear of change over time,
growing old. ‘Thou’ meaning you, ‘age unbread’ to not yet be
born
Ere you were born was beauty’s summer dead.
Rhyming couplet, ‘Ere’ meaning before, you can't escape time, even
before you were born you were going to die. If you're subjected
to life you have to die, it is the outcome of life. The subjects have
no equal, can't compare.
1
Volta - Change in a poem
,Poem Two
By John Donner
Page 39
● Not a sonnet
● During james he first era, after elizabeth
● Study of nature Metaphysical, reaction of your emotions and body to di erent stimulants.
“The Sun Rising”
First Stanza
Busy old fool, unruly sun,
‘fool’ its calling the sun stupid, he has distain and dislike for the
sun. ‘unruly’ meaning you don't follow the rule. It's a
personification.
Why dost thou thus,
Hes questioning the sun, seems irritated
Through windows, and through curtains call on us?
Almost rhetorically asking ‘why are you bothering us’. Rhetorical
question
, Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?
Why are you bothing lovers through their windows and curtains?
It's a Rhetorical question. Do lovers have to follow the sun's rules
of waking up and going to sleep? New Lovers are very attached.
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
‘Saucy’ means cheeky. ‘Pedantic’ is when something is in flexibel. A
‘wretch’ is a brat, or an annoyance. He's getting irritated.
‘Go chide’ means go wake.
Late school boys and sour prentices,
He's telling the sun what to do. Leave us alone, go wake someone
else up’. ‘Sour prentices' is someone who learns from someone
else to do a job.
Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,
Telling the sun who it should wake up. Kings would hunt, they
were only people allowed to hunt. A fox hunt. First one to kill the
fox wins. Rich people.
Call country ants to harvest o ces,
‘Ants’ meaning farm workers. Because they're hard working, and
working in the field and harvesting and collecting. ‘O ces’ mean
crops.
, Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
Harvesting needs the sun to grow the crops. The sun is important
to some people, but not the lovers. The lovers are selfish and feel
superior.
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
When people are in love, time flies as there is nothing to worry
about except for each other. ‘Rags’ aren't important. He sees the
sun as unimportant. We measure time by days eg. the sun. The
lovers don't care because they are so embraced by each other.
Second Stanza
Thy beams, so reverend and strong
sunbeams , he does respect the sun
Why shouldst thou think?
Why do you think you can do what you want sun?
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
If I could close my eyes, it would eclipse the sun.
But that I would not lose her sight so long;
“But” Opposite of an idea, he dosnt wanna lose sight of his lover,
hyperbole
