Sonnet

William Wordsworth wrote Daffodils on a stormy day in spring, while walking along with his sister Dorothy near Ullswater Lake, in England. He imagined that the daffodils were dancing and invoking him to join and enjoy the breezy nature of the fields. Dorothy Wordsworth, the younger sister of William Wordsworth, found the poem so interesting that she took ‘Daffodils’ as the subject for her journal. The poem contains six lines in four stanzas, as an appreciation of daffodils. Analysis of Daffodils I wander’d lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vale and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils: Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Rhyming Scheme The ‘Daffodils’ has a rhyming scheme throughout the poem. The rhyming scheme of the above stanza is ABAB ( A – cloud and crowd; B – hills and daffodils) and ending with a rhyming couplet CC (C – trees and breeze). The above stanza makes use of ‘Enjambment’ which converts the poem into a continuous flow of expressions without a pause. Figures of Speech Used in the Poem I wander’d lonely as a cloud – The first line makes nice use of personification and simile.

The poet assumes himself to be a cloud (simile) floating in the sky. When Wordsworth says in the second line ‘I’ (poet as a cloud) look down at the valleys and mountains and appreciate the daffodils; it’s the personification, where an inanimate object (cloud) possesses the quality of a human enabling it to see the daffodils. The line “Ten thousand saw I at a glance” is an exaggeration and a hyperbole, describing the scene of ten thousand daffodils, all together. Alliteration is the repetition of similar sounds, is applied for the word ‘h’, in the words – high and hills. Title and Theme of the Poem

The title, ‘Daffodils’ is a simple word that reminds us about the arrival of the spring season, when the field is full of daffodils. Daffodils are yellow flowers, having an amazing shape and beautiful fragrance. A bunch of daffodils symbolize the joys and happiness of life. The theme of the poem ‘Daffodils’ is a collection of human emotions inspired by nature that we may have neglected due to our busy lives. The daffodils imply beginning or rebirth for human beings, blessed with the grace of nature. The arrival of daffodils in the month of March is welcome and an enjoyable time to appreciate them!

Imagery The poem paints images of lakes, fields, trees, stars in Ullswater. Wordsworth continuously praises the daffodils, comparing them to the Milky Way galaxy (in the second stanza), their dance (in the third stanza) and in the concluding stanza, dreams to join the daffodils in their dance. The poem uses descriptive language throughout the stanzas. The poet cannot resist himself from participating in the dance of the daffodils. The wording is simple and melodious. Isn’t Daffodils, a great gift idea of William Wordsworth that celebrates happiness of nature amongst.

Sonnet, Theme, and Structure of “Shall I Compare thee to a Summer’s Day? ”

A sonnet’s structure has symbolism and it presents the theme in many poems of Literature. In the poem “Shall I Compare thee to a Summer’s Day? ” by William Shakespeare happens to be a sonnet. To begin with, the sonnet mentioned above is called a Shakespearean sonnet. It is composed of three four-line quatrains and a concluding two-line couplet. Certain components of the author’s point are suggested to be based on its structural patterns; components such as thought and feeling.

Meaning this sonnet can introduce the subject in the first quatrain, expand and develop it in the second and third quatrains, and conclude something about it in its final couplet. This whole set up helps the reader to capture the theme; and helps the author to organize the theme. As well as, the sonnet’s structure plays a key role, other than just being a Shakespeare and sonnet. The structure of the sonnet is strictly constrained, and this one in particular is believed to be a fixed form sonnet. Poems in fixed forms are recognized by their rhyme, meter, and repetition.

Furthermore, usually in its opening line the central idea of the poems is expressed. The theme of the poem “Shall I Compare the to a summer’s day” May be stated as: Can someone, or the subject, really be compared to all the components of a summer after understanding the theme it shows the reader that the sonnet is asking is the subject comparable to a summer’s day, making the structure of the poem easier to understand. To illustrate, the theme is hinted in the first half of the first stanza; which starts the order of the sonnet’s theme. It is clearly indicated that the second line: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s Day? (874) is the question that he will be answering. This question also shows that a comparison will be made. The question that remains is what is being compared to what. This is answered in the second line, which states “Thou art more lovely and more temperate” (874). This statement shows that Shakespeare is comparing a summer’s day to a person who is more lovely and temperate compared to the day of a summer. Moreover, the structure of this sonnet has setup the central theme for the reader in the first stanza. What lies in the next two stanzas are details and deeper emotions or thoughts to fill the reader’s mind with illusions of the sonnet.

These middle stanzas are placed in Shakespearean sonnets for this essential reason. The details in this particular selection creates more compare and contrast examples between that person and a Summer’s day. Although Shakespeare wrote the contrast and compare by explaining all of the Cons of summer in these two stanzas, and in the last two line, also known as the couplet, he turns the direction back onto the person he was speaking of to show what the cons were compared to. Not only that, but Shakespeare also showed meaning in this couplet: “So long as men can breathe… This gives life to thee” (874).

The statement stated before is meaning the opposite of what was said in the first two stanzas about the summer. Instead, Shakespeare is indicating that the person will live on through his poem forever unlike a Summer’s day. In Conclusion, many poems have different components that lead the reader to realize the central theme. In sonnets particularly, everything is placed where it should be for a reason. All sonnets have symbolism and presents the theme in many pieces of literature as explained above.

Works Cited:

1. Diyanni, Robert. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Unites States of America: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. Print.

One of the most moving and emotional of Heaney’s works is his collection of sonnets called ‘Clearances’. These sonnets were written in dedication and memoriam to his mother Margaret Kathleen Heaney, who died in 1984. The eight sonnets are filled with lively, detailed and vivid memories, but the strong and loving relationship between Heaney and his mother is constantly referred to also. Heaney has no difficulty in expressing openly the love felt for his mother, both by him and his family, as we see in the invocation at the beginning of the collection; ‘She taught me what her uncle once taught her’.

Here we immediately see how his mother has taught him simple but great life wisdom, how to live and deal with problems in everyday life. This immediately identifies a clear picture of love and devotion towards her son, illuminating right from the beginning their strong mother/son relationship. This life wisdom is reflected again in sonnet 2, whereby she commands him on various rules before entering the house she grew up in; ‘And don’t be dropping crumbs.

Don’t tilt your chair’. This yet again shows the close bond Heaney and his mother share, as she warns him in order to avoid him getting into trouble, showing that she is concerned over his welfare and wants to avoid upsetting him in any way possible. The fact that Heaney remembers this visit to his grandparents so vividly is also an indication of how important his mother and her family background was to him, as he shows a keep interest in all aspects of the visit.

Despite this, the true reveal of the close bond shared by both mother and son is seen most apparent in sonnet 3, whereby Heaney describes the activities shared between them on times where it was just the two of them alone. In sonnet 3, he mentions himself and his mother preparing Sunday dinner; ‘I was all hers as we peeled potatoes. They broke the silence, let fall one by one’. The close bond between them is easily spotted here, as peeling potatoes is seen as a feminine image, yet Heaney is eager to help and share quality time with his mother, emphasising the importance she has in his life.

The fact that there is silence is also an indication of their loving relationship, as neither feels the need to speak as they are enjoying just being in each other’s company. ‘From each other’s work would bring us to our senses’, this yet again shows the unifying element between the both of them, almost as if they are part of one another, showing how alike they are. The change in mood in the second stanza emphasises Heaney’s great pain at the loss of his mother. Yet despite this, they are still united as they were in the first stanza, ‘her breath in mine’, once again highlighting the closeness shared between them.

The final line in the third sonnet is a clear confirmation of the strength in the bond placed between Heaney and his mother as he feels the closest he has ever felt to her at a time when he should feel most distanced; her death, ‘never closer the whole rest of our lives’. A similar pattern of silence is shown in sonnet 4, where Heaney writes about his mother and how she dealt with her son being very intellectual despite only coming from a loving farming background.

In the sonnet, Heaney mentions the silent fear felt by his mother at the thought of people thinking of her as a snob, the fear of thinking that her family will think she’s above herself, ‘Fear of affectation made her affect. Inadequacy whenever it came to pronouncing words ‘beyond her’. Bertold Brek’. This shows us the discomfort felt by Heaney’s mother by being torn to stay at her family’s intellectual level or progress in order to be the same as her son.

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We gain knowledge from the sonnet that she is slightly more knowledgeable than she decides to show, ‘well-adjusted vocabulary’. The result of her choice here illuminates the close bond between her and Heaney, as Heaney shows respect towards her by ‘governed my tongue in front of her’. He speaks as she would in order to keep to his background and make her feel less uncomfortable, which shows that he thinks about her thoughts and feelings and puts them before his own. Despite this, Heaney’s education is affecting them as the ‘grammar which kept us allied and at bay’.

This illuminates the problems faced by Heaney and his mother, despite speaking less intellectually for the right reasons, at the same time neither are being true to themselves, and are lying about the real person inside in order to please each other. The devoted bond between Heaney and his mother is illuminated again in sonnet 5. In this sonnet, Heaney talks again about another female activity that he is helping his mother with, helping her to fold sheets that have newly come in off the line.

The intimacy between them is revealed once more as their hands ‘end up hand to hand’. This shows yet again the closeness between him and his mother as they are together in such an emotional way by performing such a simple task. There is a slight flaw again in their relationship in this poem however, as we begin to see the differences faced by both Heaney and his mother with Heaney’s education seems to overpower his mother, ‘and pulled against her; suggesting that as he grows and becomes more intelligent, it is slowly pushing them away from each other.

Sonnet 6 shows a change in Heaney’s age, and it becomes clear that he is in his teenage years. Despite the change however, his relationship with his mother seems unaffected. He compares his mother with the book Sons and Lovers. The title of the book immediately shows us the deep love felt for his mother during these years, and their closeness is still confirmed as they kneel ‘elbow to elbow’ in the church at Easter time. Heaney sees this as important and shows us that mother and son are both entering a different phase, they are both now devoutly religious.

At a time when their views should differ however, Heaney and his mother remain allied, a true indication of the emotionally powerful shared between them. The ultimate reveal of the unconditional love and strength between Heaney and his mother is show in sonnet 7, the sonnet describing the death of his mother. On her deathbed, Heaney, along with other members of his immediate family show his mother the affection she longed for and deserved, ‘he called her good and girl’.

Here, Heaney shows the most affection he ever has to his mother, revealing true feelings he has towards her. The fact that Heaney feels a ‘space’ after she dies is also a key suggestion to the closeness of their relationship, that the woman he has loved and adored has left him and he feels emptiness, as if nothing can replace her, showing how highly Heaney thought of his mother. ‘It penetrated Clearances that suddenly stood open.

High cries were felled and a pure change happened’, yet again here, the flawless relationship shared between Heaney and his mother is shown as despite her spirit leaving her body, her ways have been passed on to him, and the use of the word ‘kept’ suggests that Heaney will never forget her. The end of this sonnet, with the use of the word ‘felled’ links sonnet 7 with sonnet 8, the final in the collection. In it, Heaney talks about the tree that has been removed from the garden in which he lived by new owners. I thought of walking round and round a space’, this shows the emptiness felt by Heaney after his mother’s death, and the tree is symbolic of the loss of his mother also. The closeness of the relationship between them is reflected in the feelings felt by Heaney after his mother’s death, he, like the tree, also feels like he has been cut, both physically and emotionally, ultimately illuminating the desperation he feels now that his mother is not around, emphasising the closeness between them.

Despite the focus of Clearances being on the experiences of Heaney and his mother, we are also informed of Heaney’s thoughts and feelings towards other members of his family. In the invocation, we are made aware of Heaney’s ancestors, including his uncle and other, present day family members who are working on the farm. Heaney shares his fear of being different to his family ‘to face the music’. It is clear that he is different to them, an academic gem, and it is clear that he is of the opinion that his family are being who they are supposed to be, and he believes that he is putting himself in danger by going against family tradition.

This shows the respect he feels towards his family, and he takes their feelings into consideration, as he does not want to hurt them emotionally or cause them any unnecessary pain. The next family member we are introduced to is his great-grandmother in the hard times when she married outside the tribe and changed her religion. Heaney doesn’t see her actions as anything unacceptable and sees it as an inheritance ‘to dispose of’ after his great-grandmother’s passing.

He is ultimately respectful to his past family members and sees the ‘exonerated stone’ as a mark of triumph not embarrassment. He shows great support and respect towards his great-grandmother and is brave enough to speak against what other people think are right, illuminating the support and love felt for his great-grandmother. In sonnet 2, we are introduced briefly to Heaney’s grandparents. Yet again, Heaney feels respect towards them and sees their way of life as organised and traditional, a successful way to be.

He clearly feels great affection and love towards them as he listens to his mother’s imperatives in order not to upset them and make things easier for his mother, ‘to welcome home a bewildered homing daughter’. The final member of Heaney’s family that we are introduced to is his father. In sonnet 3, Heaney sees and portrays him as a quiet man, a man who does not speak much, ‘hammer and tong at the prayers for the dying’. There is also a hint that Heaney’s father is a man of few emotions, at the suggestion that he is not crying at his wife’s bedside.

However, in sonnet 7, Heaney sees him in a whole new light. His father describes his mother as ‘good’ and ‘girl’, and talks about the early days of their courtship, and finally shows her affection by bending down to her ‘propped-up head’. Heaney is overjoyed at this, ‘she could not hear but we were overjoyed’, as his father finally feels like he did towards his mother. It is possible that Heaney feels a slight closeness towards his father at this point, that both are united in their grief. He clearly feels love towards his father, and his comforted by the words spoken by him at his mothers deathbed.

It seems really ironic that a poem could be both an outcry during the Harlem Renaissance and a rallying song for Winston Churchill to persuade his country to fight against the Nazis, but that is exactly what this poem was.  Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die” was originally written about the race riots in Harlem in 1919, and it was a call to all African American men that it was time for them to stand up for their rights.  As with his poetry, McKay himself had quite an interesting life.

Born in Jamaica in 1889, he published his first book of poetry at the age of twenty.  In this book called “songs of Jamaica,” he tells the reader about living the life of an average black in Jamaica.  In 1912, he came to America in order to attend Tuskegee, then moves on to the University of Kansas.  He flirted with communism and traveled to Europe only to find himself converting to Catholicism back in Harlem again.  Dying in 1948, McKay certainly left his mark on the world.  McKay’s poem “If We Must Die,” leaves a mark of his fierceness when it comes to social inequality and “bucking” the status quo.  McKay makes a plea to African American men.

McKay uses many literary techniques and devices in this poem to enhance and emphasize his meaning.  He uses “like hogs” in line one, which is a simile.  He immediately begins with this because the reader clearly does not want to identify himself or herself with “hogs.”  He is setting up the idea that black people do not want to live like animals.  Therefore, they must fight for their rights.  He uses apostrophe, both in lines 5 and 9.  He may allude to many other injustices suffered like Harper’s Ferry or slavery.

An extended metaphor would be the animal imagery that is carried through the poem with words like “hogs,” (line 1)“hunted, “ “penned,” (line 2) “ bark,” “mad and hungry dogs,” (line 3) “monsters,” (line 7) “cowardly pack” (line 13).  A metaphor is used in line 7 with the word “monsters.”   Again, McKay is making the conscience choice to evoke animal imagery because, in his mind, blacks have become animals.  They have been backed into a corner like animals, and now they must choose to fight their way out.

His choice of rhetoric or diction clearly demonstrates that of the black man’s dignity and the animal imagery that dehumanizes the black man.  An example of hyperbole is “If we must die, let it not be like hogs” (line 1)  and “and for their thousand blows deal one death-blow” (line 11).  In line 3, onomatopoeia is used with the word “bark.”  A rhetorical question is used in line 12 with “What though before us lies the open grave?”  This reminds the reader that death waits for all of us, so what have they really got to lose?  Many of these techniques are used to create a sense of urgency in the reader.

Basically interpreting this poem is simple.  It is brief but eloquent.  McKay does not feel that his fellow “kinsmen” should stand around and let society or white man attack them and do nothing about it.  He tells his brothers that they must fight.  They need to show themselves to be brave and fight back against injustice and oppression.  They must fight back against those who persecute them.  McKay clearly admits that they may be outnumbered, with their backs pressed to the wall, but they will not go down without a fight.  They will not be treated like animals in a pen by remaining passive; they will join together and fight.  If they have been made into animals, they will fight like animals.

This poem is clearly a Shakespearean sonnet.  One easy way to tell is the rhyme scheme of ababcdcdefefgg.  Also the reader knows because the poem consists of 14 lines and is made up of three quatrains and a couplet, with the last rhyming couplet being the “turn.”  This sonnet is also written in iambic pentameter as to stay with traditional form.  The poem is clearly end-rhymed as the rhyme scheme suggests.  There is repetition of the words “If we must die.”

By repeating these words McKay repeats his plea for people to fight back, not to just accept the way things are.  African Americans deserve equal rights and they should get them or at least go out trying.  This poem is a call to African American men to fight for their rights.  He uses a quite traditional poetic form with very strict rules to talk about a non-traditional topic—African Americans standing up for their rights.  It is formal structure to express a formal message, written almost like a speech or plea.

McKay’s hatred for the passive nature of black men is shown in this poem.  He is calling for black men to stand up and fight against the injustices that have been done to them.  He says that if they have to die, they should at least die fighting, knowing that they were fighting for their cause.  Society has, in many ways, made them into animals.  Instead of sitting passively by and being treated like animals, they should fight like animals.  They have nothing to lose because they have no rights and in many ways are simply waiting for death.

Works Cited

McKay, Claude, “If We Must Die,” Retrieved October 30, 2007 at Web Site:

McKay, Claude, Retrieved October 30, 2007 at Web Site:

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/25

A. J. Vega Professor Alba English 1317: Introduction to Literature February 13, 2013 Expression Through Experience: The Impact of Writers Lives Through Poetry Poetry comes in various styles, writings, languages, and elements, but it is not just the literature that is different: the poets have their own unique way to write and express themselves through poems. From the 1600s’ to the present, poetry and literature as a whole has changed greatly based on the experiences and events that have taken place in the lives of writers.

Like many other people in this world, they have witnessed death, tragedy, heartbreak, and loss of hope, which inspired their writings and of literature. Because of this, many people can relate to these poems because of similar experiences and can reflect on their perspectives and compare their ideals to the poets that express their thoughts in their work. People like Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, and Matthew Arnold, all unique poets, have made connections to their lives and invested their time into writing poems to express their ideas and feelings to relate to people everywhere.

Robert Frost was an American poet during the Naturalism period. This period lasted from the end of the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. During this period there was brutality of human live and of nature as well (Alba). According to Josh Rahn, “The dominant theme of Naturalist literature is that persons are fated to whatever station in life their heredity, environment, and social conditions prepare them for. ” This implies that people’s lives would be dependent on their own experiences like where and how they lived, who they were and their status in society.

Rahn would also relate the Naturalist period to be “the logical growth of literary Realism” (Rahn). The Naturalist writers of this time did not include religion in their literature, and does not expect the world to change, whether their perspectives about it are good or bad. At the same time of the Naturalist period, the Progressive Era took place. This is a time where America was starting to be acknowledged as a powerful nation in the world, but internally, the nation was suffering. This was the time leading into

World War I and right before the Roaring Twenties and then the Great Depression, which were all unexpected and rapid events occurring right after another. Robert Frost was born in San Francisco in 1874 and moved to the New England area at the age of eleven. Frost married Elinor Miriam White, who was his main inspiration for many of his poetry before her death in 1938 (Academy of American Poets). He was also inspired by British poets during that time like: Edward Thomas, Rupert Brooke, and Robert Graves (Academy of American Poets).

Much of Frost’s work that he wrote described the area and landscape of New England, one of which is “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. ” The title, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” already gives a general idea of what the poem is describing in which the narrator is in the woods while it is snowing. What makes this poem so interesting is its many interpretations, its different perspectives and its eerie setting that is portrayed. As Frost describes the cold, snow-filled evening through intricate imagery (describing the New England winter nights), a question of why the narrator stops in the woods arises.

He admired the dark, snowy, woods a lot which would imply that he enjoyed living in the North New England area and that he often looked around and took notice of his surroundings. Also, many would like to interpret the last two lines of the poem, “And miles to go before I sleep,” in various ways. It is emphasized by its repeated two lines in the last stanza and based on his personal life it could be metaphorical to after losing his wife that he must continue to live. It is hard to tell why Robert Frost wrote this poem, because of the vagueness of the poem.

Maybe it was about Frost visiting an old friend or acquaintance or even a close relative. The mysteriousness about the poem puts the reader in a sort of disequilibrium, to fathom why would someone stop in the woods on a snowy evening. William Shakespeare was a famous British writer and poet during the English Renaissance. This period took place from 1500 to 1660, right after the medieval period, known as the Dark Ages, where a “rebirth” transformation occurred (Alba). People had a thirst for learning, reading literature, and rt; many of the things were man centered, rather than being focused on God, taking a shift from religion to the ideas on humanity (Alba). Also, advances in medicine and the discovery of the human circulatory system came about (Alba). One of the most important things that came about during the English Renaissance was the invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg (Rahn). Through the printing press, literature was made very accessible to people, and encouraged reading and learning and an increase of different ideas to spread.

As Rahn describes that it “maximized printing efficiency in a way that changed the world of arts, letters, and ideas forever. ” It was timely and expensive to rewrite copies of different literature, which made it hard for people to get a hold of and read, but now that it was accessible, everyone felt encouraged to start reading, especially the fascinating works of Shakespeare. William Shakespeare was known for both his poems and his other literature and also known as a “word smith,” where he would make up words derived from different languages, to further describe something that was happening in any of his works (Alba).

Shakespeare composed his sonnets between 1553 and 1601, and published in 1609, which consisted of 154 different sonnets written in Shakespearean (Academy of American Poets). The Shakespearean writing technique is written with three quatrains and a couplet, making it a fourteen line poem, called a sonnet (Alba). All the sonnets fell into two groups: sonnets 1 to 126 were written for “a beloved friend, a handsome and noble young man,” and 127 to 152 were addressed “to a malignant but fascinating ‘Dark Lady,’ whom the poet loves in spite of himself” (Academy of American Poets).

This is interesting and yet mysterious, as Josh Rahn explains that, “very few details of the playwright’s life are known today. ” What is known about Shakespeare is that he married Ann Hathaway at the age of eighteen and had two daughters (Academy of American Poets). One of the sonnets Shakespeare wrote, Sonnet 116 talks about what true love is in the eyes of Shakespeare. Since this is the one-hundredth and sixteenth sonnet, this poem was addressed to one of his beloved relatives.

Maybe Shakespeare was a mentor to his relative and was trying to describe what love is to him or her and trying to encourage the relative to not give up on the power of love because it could be mistaken for something else. In the first stanza, Shakespeare first lets the reader know what love is not before he continues to what love is. He describes love to not be a marriage of two people, and change or fall when things happen. He continues on his second stanza where Shakespeare describes that, “It is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempest and is never shaken” (Shakespeare).

The “ever-fixed mark” that Shakespeare describes is the North Star, the only star in the sky that never moves when traveling; it was a great way for navigation, especially for naval exploration (Alba). During this time, naval exploration began, in which the Americas were discovered and Britain had the greatest navy at the time (Alba). Compared to the North Star, love is never changed and will always be there and will be the “star to ever wandering bark” (Shakespeare). He also capitalizes the word “time” in this case, also personifying it to provide emphasis and power to the word. Love’s not Time’s fool” simply relates to the fact that love is forever and that is not controlled by time and does not diminish over time. His last two lines of his sonnet portray his confidence in his own intellectual thoughts and ideas on love. If he was not right, then he never did write, which is not true at all. The Victorian Era (named after Queen Victoria in England) lasted from 1832 to 1901, ending immediately the death of the Queen (Alba). During that time, “Nearly every institution of society was shaken by rapid and unpredictable change” (Rahn).

All of Europe’s nations economies increased and accelerated, the steam engine technology grew, leading to an increase in factory production, and a large income of wealth started the rise of the “middle class,” according to Josh Rahn on his writings of the Victorian Era. Apart from the positive progress scientifically and economically, there were negatives that affected the demographic of Europe at that time. People were looking towards science and leaving their faith and religion (Alba).

The theories of evolution and natural selection, according to Rahn, “brought humanity down to the level of an animal, and seemingly reduced the meaning of life to a bloody struggle for survival. ” They had no need for a God in their lives and relied on their strength and wisdom alone. This led to both an increase in optimism and hope for the future, yet also for others, the downfall of human society and the loss of hope in the world. Matthew Arnold, who lived during the Victorian Era was the son of a clergyman and had religion in his whole life (Alba).

He studied at Oxford University and eventually became a professor of poetry at Oxford through his “reputation as a poet” (Academy of American Poets). One of the things that Arnold struggled with in his writing was that his poetry reflected his problems with psychological isolation (Academy of American Poets). Although he was the son of a minister, he often had trouble with his own faith and “sought to establish the essential truth of Christianity” (Academy of American Poets).

One of the most well known things that Matthew Arnold was known for was his critical essays which “established criticism as an art form, and has influenced almost every major English critic,” making him undoubtably encouraging with his writings (Academy of American Poets). During this era, he felt encouraged to write, “Dover Beach. ” Dover Beach, located in England, is a vacation spot and a place for romantics with white cliffs that are made of salt with smooth, round rocks and pebbles that replace regular sand that would normally be on the beach (Alba).

There are two perspectives as to why Matthew Arnold wrote this poem: that he was talking to a loved one to try to find something to hold on to while the world is dark and seemingly falling apart, or that he is trying to seduce a woman. Since he struggled with various problems in his personal life and the changes that had been occurring in Europe, he must have been trying to find something positive in his life to escape from the real world and focus on the present time. Arnold proclaims in his last stanza of his poem, “let us be true to one another!

For the world, which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams, so various, so beautiful, so new, hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light” to try to keep an optimistic point of view in the darkness of everything around him (Arnold). The way that Arnold uses metaphors to compare the sea to the faith that used to be strong and shake the rocks back and forth now dies in the encompassment of the earthly things that darken the hopes and dreams and people with its “melancholy, long, withdrawing roar” (Arnold).

Matthew Arnold was not trying to use crafty words to seduce a woman into bed with him, he was begging for a light of hope to beacon from this Dover Beach that seems to have lost its own light through the struggles, doubts and despair of others. Through these different poets and writers, people can get a clearer understanding of what it meant to live in various time periods, and the struggles and achievements that they went through and relate it to their poems and writings.

Robert Frost, William Shakespeare, and Matthew Arnold affected the literary world through their writings and influenced others to express their lives through the art of poetry and other literature. As their works continue to live on, people will continue to be influenced by both their lives and poetry and hopefully shape their perception on life based on both their individual experiences, and the experiences expressed through these writers. Works Cited Academy of American Poets, 1997-2013. Web. 09 Feb. 2013. Alba, Brandy. “Dover Beach” Lecture. Concordia University Texas. 30 Jan. 013. Lecture. Alba, Brandy. “Sonnet 116” Lecture. Concordia University Texas. 25 Jan. 2013. Lecture. Alba, Brandy. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” Lecture. Concordia University Texas. 01 Feb. 2013. Lecture. Arnold, Matthew. “Dover Beach”. The Victorian Web, 2002. Web. 10 Feb. 2013 Frost, Robert. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”. The Random House Book of Poetry,1983. Poetry Foundation 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2013. Rahn, Josh. The Literature Network. Jalic Inc. , 2011. Web. 09 Feb. 2013. Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 116”. Amanda Mabillard, 1999-2010. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.

Matthew Arnold critical commentary West London raises multiple literary observations. These include the type of language used, the structure of the poem and the use of poetic techniques, such as imagery. The first striking feature is the rhyming structure that follows the criteria of an Italian sonnet, with a slight variant in the last tercet. This can be seen as Arnold attempting to tweak the model to emphasise the final three lines. This ending can be interpreted as the heightened and emotionally charged culmination of feelings of the central characters.

The Italian sonnet commonly produces a statement followed by a counter statement, by means of an octave, which consists of two quatrains, followed by a setstet which is displayed by two tercets. This poem conforms as the first two quatrains provide negatively charged language, such as “ill,” (“West London” 2) and, “their feet were bare. ” (West London” 4) The mood of the poem shifts dramatically after the turn and the language changes, suggesting that Arnold is deliberately showing the reader opposite attitudes.

This is evident by, “this spirit towers,” (“West London” 9) and “she will not ask of aliens, but of friends. ” (“West London” 10) The use of the turn can be seen as an attempt to show the readers the complexity of the situation on the streets of London, during this era of industrialisation. This is further explained by the two quatrains, which display a common view of the homeless, while the sestet provides a romantic and humble image of gratitude, evidenced by how the girl, “begg’d and came back satisfied,” (“West London” 7) from the passing labour workers.

The poem finishes with the image of the unfortunate girl that, “points us to a better time than ours,” (“West London” 14) which can indicate the level of ignorance of passers by. It also suggests a sense of untold experiences, due to social neglect. Various prominent images run throughout the poem. One example can be seen on lines six and seven with the girl begging the workers, which can be used in conjunction with, “of sharers in a common human fate. (“West London” 11) These images indicate a type of alienation the lower classes feel, when compared to wealthier members of society. This image is used aptly with the image on line eight, “the rich she had let pass with frozen stare. ” (“West London” 8) This can be seen as Arnold deliberately exposing the ignorance of the wealthy. This sentence is the shortest of all in the poem, which indicates a definitive response. Another notable image can be seen on line nine, “above her state this spirit towers. ” (“West London” 9) This is the most powerful image of the entire poem.

Arnold deliberately uses such emphatic language to conjure this image, on the pivotal first line of the turn, to demonstrate the strength of the human spirit. This image also alludes to the idea of the towering human spirit contesting the new skyscraper buildings that claimed the landscape of London during the nineteenth century. West London is full of unique imagery, and carefully selected language, for its time period. Arnold uses an Italian sonnet structure to speak about controversial issues, in a style readers would have been familiar with.

William Shakespeare’s sonnet “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” is a fourteen line poem that contains three quatrains followed by a couplet. The poem is also known as Sonnet 18, and is a beautiful poem describing just that, a summer’s day. If one wishes to be technical, Shakespeare does more than describe a summer’s day, he is comparing an individual to a summer’s day. Shakespeare uses the literary devices imagery and diction throughout the poem.

Imagery is the one device that stands out the most due to Shakespeare’s intricate way of describing the summer day with such detail that the reader feels like they are there. Diction is an important literary device which I will focus on, because Shakespeare switches back and forth between abstract and concrete diction. Shakespeare used imagery to its fullest in this poem. Using the phrases summer’s day, buds of May, heaven shines, and so on… It all sounds so beautiful and the reader is able to picture all of these images as it brings a smile to the readers’ lips.

While reading the poem, the gender of the person to whom Shakespeare is comparing to a summer’s day is left unknown and can easily be confused with that of a woman, although the poem gives no indication of this relationship being a romantic one. The line that strikes me as being the most beautiful is “But thy eternal summer shall not fade” (Shakespeare 76). I as the reader can just imagine a summer that never ends, and the sound of that is pleasing to the mind. Thus this is the best example of how Shakespeare used imagery in this sonnet.

One that is a bit more difficult to understand is Shakespeare’s use of diction throughout the poem. Just like the rest of Shakespeare’s work, in this poem he primarily uses formal form of speech with words such as thou, thy, shall, nor. This choice of words was common when the poem was written back in 1609, but no longer is for the readers of this day and age, which makes Shakespeare’s choice of diction easily misunderstood. In this poem, Shakespeare uses concrete and abstract diction interchangeably.

Concrete language can be considered something specific or definite such as objects you can picture with your five senses such as walking, cold, lawn mower, etc… Shakespeare uses this type of diction scarcely throughout the poem with the following words: buds, hot, shines, men, breathe, and eyes. Most poets do not use abstract or concrete diction uniformly (Deblanco and Cheuse 75). Shakespeare had to move back and forth between dictions in order to make the poem sound. Abstract diction is more general, because it refers to terms that you cannot touch, see, smell, feel or taste.

Examples of abstract diction are love, freedom, sexism, morale, etc… Shakespeare uses abstract diction much more freely throughout the poem, perhaps because abstract diction is much easier to use for his need to achieve imagery. He uses the phrases “Thou art more lovely and more temperate” (Shakespeare 76), lovely being the abstract term in this phrase. Same concept applies to the phrase “But thy eternal summer shall not fade”(Shakespeare 76), eternal is not something you can sense with any of your five senses.

Abstract words can also vary from person to person, because a word be interpreted differently varying on the person. In sum, throughout the entirety of the poem “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” by William Shakespeare, he uses concrete and abstract interchangeably in order to achieve a perfect balance and to incorporate imagery for the reader to visualize his words. The use of concrete and abstract diction brought Shakespeare’s poem to life, thus making the reading a pleasant experience for the reader.