The Home Page ·  The Integral Worm ·  My Resume ·  My Show Car ·  My White Papers ·  Organizations I Belong To

Contact Me ·  FAQ ·  Useful Links

My Professional Writing Papers

Technical Writing ·  Exposition & Argumentation ·  Non-fiction Creative Essays ·  Grammar and Usage of Standard English ·  The Structure of English ·  Analysis of Literary Language

Advanced Professional Papers ·  The History of the English Language ·  First Internship: Tutoring in a Writing Workshop ·  Second Internship: Advanced Instruction: Tutoring Writing

Visual Literacy Seminar (A First Course in Methodology) ·  Theories of Communication & Technology (A Second Course in Methodology) ·  Language in Society (A Third Course in Methodology)

The Writer's Guild

Journalism

UMBC'S Conservative Newspaper: "The Retriever's Right Eye" ·  UMBC'S University Newspaper: "The Retriever Weekly" ·  Introduction to Journalism ·  Feature Writing ·  Science Writing Papers

Analysis of Shakespeare

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark ·  The History of Henry the Fourth Part One ·  As You Like It ·  The Comical History of The Merchant of Venice ·  The Sonnets 1-18 ·  The Tempest ·  The Final Exam Preparation Wiki Workshops

The Shakespeare Quotation Workshops: Hamlet ·  Henry the Fourth ·  As You Like It ·  Merchant of Venice

The Sonnet Assignment: Analysis of Sonnets 1-18

Please read Sonnets 1-18.
Questions for Reading:
1. How are these sonnets related to each other? Consider images, sounds, ideas, word choice.

2. What value is there in using sonnets to address their particular theme? How, in other words, does poetry seem to solve the literary problem of persuading the young man to marry? Why might it be more persuasive than a lecture?

To Do:
Choose one sonnet that you would be willing to write about or present to the class, and prepare its language, rhythm, rhyme,and imagery with respect to its meaning. Identify one or two other sonnets in the first 18 that you think tie in especially well with your choice, either through word choice, imagery, or some other criterion. Be prepared to defend your choices. There will be a wiki writing follow-up.

Sonnet Writing Assignment (This is a wiki assignment.)
On the page linked below you should set up your page(s) for discussion with your sonnet partner(s). Set up a page for your discussion that is uniquely titled, for example with your names and sonnet numbers. Make links to your own personal pages within this page if you would like, especially if you haven't done your pages yet. Read through the other discussions, and link to those within the rest of the eighteen sonnet group that seem to reflect on yours. Be sure to insert your comments following your name, as, for example: Jennifer G. "Sonnet 18 begins with a comparison..."

Begin your discussion with a brief statement of what the sonnet is about, and then discuss how the sonnets tie in together. Use sound, the logic of the argument, topic, imagery, syntax etc to show how they work. Length: about 100 words. Then, read the other discussions created by your classmates and create links to your page, with comments (about twenty-five words for each link), when you find a tie-in there. Three links, please. Remember to be specific, and try to not repeat others' observations. It shouldn't be hard.

Post-Wiki Entry January 6, 2007: Disclaimer: The reason the links to other peer's sonnet analyses reads, "P.C. Paul" only is because my partner Megan M. Fay worked with me in performing the combined effort of analyzing Sonnets 6 and 8 but disappeared into "cyberspace" when it came time to perform the second portion of the assignment of connecting our analysis to three peer group's analyses.

Final Edition of Sonnets 6 and 8 in More Than 96 Words

        Shakespeare uses the word "treasure" twice. Once in quatrain 1, line 3 and once more in the same quatrain, line 4. We are told that "treasure" in this context means "enrich," but in most cases, when we are thinking in economic terms, treasure usually means, "wealth or riches stored or accumulated, especially in the form of precious metals; gold or silver coin" (OED). In general, the mind envisions "money, riches, and wealth" (OED).

         In the second quatrain, lines five and six Shakespeare suggests to the Earl that the lending - use of his seed is a type of lending for profit that is not sinful lending - usury. This makes happy a woman who is willing to lend and repay the loan with interest -the interest being children.

         In lines 7, 8, and 9, Shakespeare suggests that the Earl would do well having ten children for this will make 1,000% interest for you and this interest will be in the form of happiness in other words ten children will make you ten times happier. Within the couplet, Shakespeare continues with economic terms reminding the Earl to not be stubborn by leaving everything in a will to yourself alone for you are too beautiful to be acquired by force of death and make the worms entitled to your property.

         In sonnet 8, the rhythm, sounds and repetition do much to enhance the theme of music. The repetition and inversion of the sounds "Music...hear" and "hear'st...music" in the first line begins the poem with a song like resonance. It continues in line two with "Sweets with sweets," and "joy...in joy." Finally Shakespeare's instrument, "each in each" sings "all in one one pleasing note."

         The second quatrain is filled with words and meanings that are interconnected. Here Shakespeare introduces the idea of the strings of a musical instrument being like members of a family who, working together, produce beautiful music.

         One thing we noticed related to the rhyme scheme: especially in the first quatrain, the words that are rhymed together have quite opposite connotations, which mirrors the inconsistency of being saddened by harmonious music and loving that which saddens.

         Sonnets 6 and 8 are stark contrast of one another when juxtaposed. The metaphors used are of economics and music. In Shakespeare's time, being a contemporary rock star and accumulating wealth were unheard of. Meaning-making is drawn through the couplets of 6 and 8: without an heir, a man is useless. Both sonnets chide the Earl for not having children. Sonnet 6 says, "Extract your beauty now by investing in children, otherwise you are merely worm food." Sonnet 8 says, "If you do not compose music with a wife and child, you will be absolutely nothing." ~P.C. Paul and Meghan M. Fay

Links by Peers to P.C. Paul and Meghan M. Fay's Analysis of Sonnets 6 & 8
In sonnet 12, the theme of furthering your dynasty and prolonging your beauty by having children is repeated. There was very much a sense of time and the passing of that time in the work. The sense of investing in your children as a means of fighting or cheating death connects these two sonnets. ~Zachary M. Dow and Sarah S. Sood (Sonnets 12 and 15)

Sonnets 6 and 8, like sonnets 17 and 2, discuss the idea of worth having to be proven. Sonnet 2 discusses worth in actual monetary terms and sonnet 17 touches on the idea of the worth of a poem long after its muse has died. Both of these sonnets, like sonnets 6 and 8, encourage the perpetuation and passing on of beauty, much as someone would pass on physical wealth, in order to keep the "worth" of ones own beauty intact long after it has faded. ~Rebecca L. Stern and Shanna M. Kibler

P.C. Paul Linking Sonnets 2 & 4 with Sonnet 6
Sonnet Assignment: Heidi Harrison Sonnets 2 & 4
Sonnets 2 and 4 are both about growing old and the need to marry and have children. Sonnet 2 describes in detail how age effects the body, for example, "dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field" and "deep sunken eyes." Shakespeare then goes on to say how we are no longer able to do the things we once could. For example, "proud livery...tattered weed" and "treasure of thy lusty days." Once Shakespeare explains the perils of growing old he says that our children are what preserve our beauty and how we live on. Sonnet 4 differs in that it discusses how when you are young you do all sorts of wild things and then realize when you are old that you have not found love. Shakespeare says that if you do not fall in love and have children, "thy unused beauty must be tombed with thee." Both sonnets compare a young person's life and growing old. They also talk about how children are the only way to live after death.

Poetry is short and meaningful. A poet can say a large amount of information in a short period of time. A poet can also pack a lot of meaning into his poetry without the reader realizing it until they are finished reading. It can talk about the good and bad in marriage in a light and airy tone that makes a man think marriage is good. It is more persuasive than a lecture because it is lighter and shorter. The young man will also feel less like he is being ordered to marry and more like he should and he wants to marry. Poetry also makes love more romantic and makes the man more involved, than a lecture.

P.C. Paul's Linking Sonnets 2 and 4 to 6
Fascinating. When I came to class on Thursday I had already paired Sonnets 2, 4, and 6 in my mind but not by the illustrations presented. I was thinking in terms of economics and agriculture.

In Sonnet 2, Shakespeare uses words and imagery such as the following:
Line 2: "dig deep trenches in thy ... field," preparing for planting.
Line 3: "livery" a place for horses.
Line 4: "weed" need I explain? Weeds drain crops of resources. Water, nutrients, and space for cash crops.
Line 6: "treasure" economic wealth.
Line 8: "thriftless" not flourishing, unprofitable.
Line 11: "sum my account" add up, the reckoning of money received and paid.

The reason I cross economics with agriculture or the business of farming, farming is a business. In the spring the farmer would borrow on an account for seed to plant and other needs and would pay back what he owed after the harvest provided that the harvest was good or bountiful.

Sonnet 6 is full of economic terms such as the following:
Line 1: "Unthrifty" Line 2: "Legacy"
Line 3: "bequest" transference by will, "lend" borrow.
Line 7: "usurer" lend for profit, "use" spend.
Line 8: "sum of sums" here I am thinking wealth built upon wealth.
Line 12: "audit" official examination of accounts with verification by reference to witnesses and vouchers.

Loosely stringing 2 with 6 is the references of summer and winter. I understand that Shakespeare is using these as metaphors of a person’s life; summer equaling youth and winter equals old age, yet on the other hand, there is no one more in tune with the change of seasons than a farmer. He has to be. Summer is the growing season or time to build possible profit and winter is the season to draw on the summer’s profit. The farmer also must be aware of winter’s approach in order to harvest his valuable cash crop. ~P.C. Paul

Other peers linking to Heidi Harrison Sonnets 2 & 4
Holly L. Johnson and Amy Lynn Herstein: You are right Heidi that poetry packs a lot of meaning in few words. Sonnet 2 with its 'd' sound alliteration and the imagery of a trench (grave) and tattered weeds evokes an idea of death and a mortal earthly existence. Sonnet 7 on the other hand has elements that evoke an image of an eternal divine existence. 'Lo' sounds biblical. Other words such as 'homage,' 'sacred,' 'adore' and of course heavenly all add to the eternal, divine or heavenly mood.

P.C. Paul Linking Sonnets 9 & 14 with Sonnet 8
Adrienne V. Hawkins and Bryan D. Dalina Sonnets 9 and 14
Sonnet 9 discusses possible reasons that man may have for not getting married (Is it for fear to wet a widow's eye....?), and then explains that the world will become the widow that weeps if the man remains single. Shakespeare goes on to say that if your beauty dies with you then you destroy it for the world. The last part of the sonnet where Shakespeare calls it a "murderous shame" to withhold one's beauty by not having children seems almost like a guilt trip by the way it is worded.

In sonnet 14, the narrator explains that while he cannot predict natural events (Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck...), he can predict that beauty and truth will end with the person to whom he is speaking (unless he provides for the future.) Shakespeare forcibly states at the end of the sonnet that if one does not do this then it will doom truth and beauty to die.

One of the main ways that these sonnets are linked together is through their celestial imagery. Sonnet 9 repeats the word "world" five different times. In this poem, the world takes on it's celestial meaning, the earth, as well as the widow that the subject of the sonnet doesn't want to leave behind. In Sonnet 14, the narrator uses things like astronomy and natural occurrences (his thunder, rain, and wind....) to show that while they are unpredictable, he does know that beauty will fade. So in both of these sonnets, there is sort of a mother nature vs. human nature theme going on.

Also, both of these sonnets have the obvious theme that one's beauty is meant to be passed on by having children as do the other sonnets. However, the approach that Shakespeare takes to get this message across is a little different than in some of the other sonnets. In sonnets 9 and 14 he hints that if this doesn't happen the world will be robbed of something and Shakespeare makes there seem a certain amount of guilt in not passing this beauty on. The imagery of heavenly bodies, the world in the first one and stars in the second, add to the idea that if one doesn't pass on one's beauty through their offspring then they will have wronged something greater than themselves.

P.C. Paul Linking Sonnets 9 and 14 with 8
Sonnets 9 and 14 have a common link in celestial terms. Sonnet 9 uses the word "world" five times. During Shakespeare’s time the world or earth was still generally accepted as being he center of the universe and that the planets, sun, and stars revolved around the earth. Copernicus theory of all the celestial bodies revolving around the sun had still not taken hold. Copernicus theory has only been around 50, 60 years tops. The earth or world was accepted as being a celestial body. In Sonnet 14 the word astronomy is used, except astrology in Shakespeare’s terms meant astrology in our terms or gravitational forces induced by the planets and starts upon earth at any particular moment in time. Aries, Virgo, etc. These gravitational forces (they did not call them gravitational forces but celestial forces) could effect one’s health, moods, and create other influences within a person.

Hold on, here comes the stretch. Music. There was thought to be a direct connection between music, the celestial bodies, heaven and God. The planets and stars because of their movements in the night sky were thought to move in a form of a dance with each other. If there is a dance, then of course one must have music. The celestial bodies produced their own music. They had to after all they rotated about each other in harmony and of course everything in nature including the celestial bodies sing about the glory of God who is in heaven where the planets and stars are. This is how sonnets 8/9/14 link together in Elizabethan thinking. ~P.C. Paul

Other Peers Linking to Adrienne V. Hawkins and Bryan D. Dalina Sonnets 9 and 14
Again, in Adrienne and Brian's sonnets Shakespeare pushes the idea of passing on one's legacy. Today, men are stereotypical fearful of commitment and children. Although Shakespeare acknowledges the fact that a child will take part of ones life with "Is it for fear to wet a widows eye that thou consum'st thyself in single life" at this time, children were one's only "proof" of what they had done well in the past, as Adrienne and Brian state. I very much agree with this groups comparison of these two sonnets. There are many very subtle similarities within in them that my classmates have picked up on. However, I wish they would have expanded on the "quilt trip" idea. - Amber Shipp

Heidi Harrison: Like most of the other sonnets we read, the main theme in these two sonnets is the need to marry and have children. Men seem to fear having children, and Shakespeare speaks to this idea by saying it is natural and right to have children. Shakespeare says that children are not only the way for mankind to survive, but also a way for a man to pass on his good looks and family name. I like the way Adrienne and Brian discussed the celestial links in these two sonnets. It is a very good observation and they did a good job explaining the links. I also like how they interpreted the poems to be laying guilt on men who wish to not have children and get married.

Sonnets 17 and 2 mimic the idea of something being missing if one fails to produce offspring, yet it appeals more to the conceited nature than to the nature of ones commitment to the world, as in sonnets 9 and 14. Although both sets of sonnets address the legacy one leaves and the impact of that legacy, sonnets 17 and 2 pertain more to the nature of the impact upon oneself rather than the impact of that legacy upon the world. Sonnets 9 and 14 speak of passing on beauty as a testament to the beauty of the world, while sonnets 17 and 2 speak of passing on beauty as proof of ones own worth and beauty once beheld. ~Rebecca L. Stern and Shanna M. Kibler

Sonnets 9 and 14 echo the same sentiment that Sonnets 3 and 8 do that if the poem's subject does not have children, then the world will be denied something for the future, that something being the beauty of the subject. S. 9and 14 discuss the passing beauty of the youth through images of stars and weather (but mostly celestial images). These Sonnet's suggest that leaving one's beauty in the world, creates a more beautiful world. S. 3 and 8, however, are more a persuasion to create that beauty in the first place. -Christopher Fenlon and Emily H. Saltsman

After having read Brian and Adrienne's take on sonnet 9 my views on the sonnet have broadened. I believed that Shakespeare glorified the idea of beauty to the point in which it became vanity (the very thing he told the young man not to possess). But perhaps Shakespeare used the idea of vanity to catch the young man's attention by saying...if anything get married and have children to pass on your own good looks. Have a child so other's can see the beauty that once was yours. Shakespeare, a man who married at such a young age, understood the importance of marriage and having children. Sonnets 9 and 14 are his way of telling young men around him, convincing them that marriage and children are expected. I looked at sonnets 1 and nine. Sonnet 1 opens this idea of urgency to wed and father children in order to leave behind a living memory of yourself. Shakespeare's language is for a lack of better word: dramatic, elaborate, and has lots of imagery. He paints a picture of this glorified marriage with language and sound. And and the same breath almost scorns the idea of remaining single. Although he is talking to one individual in particular, I believe his sonnets were for the young men he interacted with daily and brushed past on the streets. With sonnets 1, 9, and 14 Shakespeare builds up this standard or moral (of wedding and fathering a child) and then chastises the man who opposes this moral.-----Fatimah Walee

P.C. Paul Linking Sonnets 5 and 18 with 6
Laura M. Duffy and Dorothy E. Garrett Sonnets 5 & 18

OMG!!! A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!!! I GOT THIS DAMN THING TO WORK!!!
............ moment of silence to pay our respects .............

Sonnet 5 and Sonnet 18 both have strong references about life and legacy. Sonnet 5 speaks of aging and the necessity of carrying on one’s name and physical appearances through the creation of children. Line 9 of Sonnet 5 clearly demonstrates how beauty is only continued through the production of a child,

"Then were not summer’s distillation left
A liquid prisoner pent in walls of glass,
Beauty’s effect with beauty were bereft."

Beauty is charged with crime of disappearing. The only remedy to age is children. Should a man not produce a son, his life is void and meaningless.

"But flowers distilled, though they with winter meet,
Lose but their show..."
(Sonnet 5, 13 -14)

However, Sonnet 18 appears to be dealing with a different asset of aging. Seasons change, yet the internal beauty still remains. Man shall live on through the words he has left behind him: legacy through literature.

"So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."
(Sonnet 18, 13 -14)

The alliteration of this piece adds depth to the poem; living on through words is accompanied by alliterative style. I thought this made the reader slow down, emphasizing the necessity to be careful with one’s words as well as life. If your words live on while you lay in your grave, perhaps the poet suggests speaking words of wisdom’s as opposed to words of void of purpose. For example, alliteration benefits the poem on line 8 and line 10:

"By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed"
(Sonnet 18, 8)
"Nor lose possession not that fair thou ow’st,"
(Sonnet 18, 10)

Both Sonnets 5 and 18 repeat the word "fair" within one line. While 18 repeats it to emphasize beauty coming from beauty, 5 repeats it as a play on words: "unfair" meaning deface and "fair" meaning beauty.

"And every fair from fair sometimes declines"
(Sonnet 18, 7)
""And that unfair which fairly doth excel"
(Sonnet 5, 4)

Summer is mentioned in this sonnet as well as sonnet 5, but the motif is more positive. The season of summer is shown to be an internal state of being. Seen as a time of prosperity and life, sonnet 18 states that summer shall continue on inside a person through words of eloquence and virtue. That’s what I thought anyway.

Amen.
Linking Sonnets 5 & 18 to 6--P.C. Paul
Once again if there are associations of summer and winter, who understands the seasons better than a farmer? Not all summers are good. Some can be bountiful provided that there is enough sun and water. Winter is bad enough when a harvest is bountiful but have a bad summer, not enough sun or rain then the farmer has a poor harvest and an even worse winter in the form of there not being enough food to provide for winter. Yes I do see the main connection between all the sonnets 1-18. Shakespeare is telling the Earl that he is a handsome young lad and that he should marry a young woman for his bride, have many children so he can leave more like himself in the world when he dies but it all the nuances of delivering the same message in so many different metaphors, rhymes, and rhythms is only one more illustration of a man at play with his technology, language. In some ways I think Shakespeare many times sets out to amuse himself. Let me see how many different ways I can manipulate language and yet deliver the same message. Personally, I think he was blessed with hyperactive electro-chemical neural synapses in the brain and more neural gateways for language than most people. ~P. C. Paul

Other Peers Linking to Laura M. Duffy and Dorothy E. Garrett Sonnets 5 & 18

In our sonnets as well as 18 and 7, natural and celestial imagery can be found to describe beauty. In sonnet 18, beauty is compared to a summer's day (line 1-4), as well as the sun (the "eternal summer" of line 9). Like all of the other sonnets, the beauty will fade if it is not kept eternal by prosperity. The celestial imagery is heavier in Sonnets 9 and 14, but it is still present in sonnet 18. Sonnet 5 also mentions the summer, and puts a seasonal time limit on beauty as does sonnet 18 (and the rest of the sonnets.) Bryan D. Dalina and Adrienne V. Hawkins (Sonnets 9 and 14)

The Rest of My Peers Pairings

Andrea D. Clarke and Katherine M. Schmitt's analysis of Sonnets 5 and 12.
We discussed Sonnet 5 and 12. Sonnet 5 talks about time being the tyrant that moves the body to old age, and that in order to have your beauty live on you must encapsulate it. What is being said here is that before you get too old and lose your beauty you must have a child and by doing so this will allow for a part of you to live on. In this sonnet this idea of reproducing is compared to flowers in winter dying--winter being like old age, and the only way to remember the lovely scent of the flower (the beauty of youth) would be to distill it and keep it as a "liquid prisoner." Sonnet 12 have a similar idea to that of sonnet 5. It also talks about time as being the ultimate enemy and to act before you are a "violet past prime" and can no longer bare children. It also makes the point that the true way to defy time and live on would be to have children when you can.

Christopher Fenlon and Emily H. Saltsman say that "if his subject does not have a child, the subject himself will not be remembered in the future. " This is very much like Sonnet 5, where if you do not distill the flower, no one will remember the beauty in the future (old age). The same general idea that there needs to be a remembrance to cause memory. Sonnet 5 also has lots of seasonal imagery, as does Sonnet 3-comparing the youth's looks to spring.

Adrienne V. Hawkins and Bryan D. Dalina say that "he can predict that beauty and truth will end with the person to whom he is speaking (unless he provides for the future.)" Here again we see the idea of time being the ultimate decider- beauty WILL end as time moves on unless there's a provision for the FUTURE.

Jasmine L. Curry and Simran say that "if I could write the beauty of your eyes" (sonnet 17 line 5) connect to sonnets 5 and 12 because the line begins to measure beauty. Sonnet 2 says that the way to measure beauty is your succession. Your offspring is your ultimate beauty and the only way for you to live on is through your children.

It is very interesting to me how Andrea and Katherine found the common thread of flowers and nature in these two sonnets. Shakespeare does this a lot not only in sonnets, but also in poems. Though I don't know the exact words, in Romeo and Juliet, I seem to recall Romeo speaking to Juliet of roses and other flowers in a very romantic passage. These two young lovers represented youth and beauty, in that they were young enough to live in their beauty as well as pass is on to offspring. Flowers in Shakespeare’s' world possibly is very representative of beauty, the thing that many of these sonnets focus in on. - Amber Shipp

Andrea and Katherine say that Sonnets 5 and 12 "also make the point that the true way to defy time and live on would be to have children when you can." This is similar to Sonnets 3 and 8, in which the idea of being remembered by future generations is to produce offspring, in particular a son, which would reflect the beauty of the poem's subject. -Christopher Fenlon and Emily H. Saltsman

Rebecca L. Stern and Shanna M. Kibler's analysis of Sonnets 17 and 2.
Our group compared Sonnets 17 and 2. Sonnet 2 discusses ideas about aging. Shakespeare says that when your eyes are “deep-sunken” and people ask where your youthful beauty has gone, you can tell them you used your years to raise a child. Therefore you are able to see your youthful beauty reborn into another generation and he says how one can “see thy blood warm when thou feel’st it cold.” Sonnet 17 discusses how ones beauty cannot be captured into a piece of art such as poetry. If beauty is tried to be captured in that manner later generations would just say, “This poet lies” and would not believe how anyone could ever be that beautiful. However, when you have children your beauty can be seen in them, therefore your beauty can then be seen doubly. One of the common themes that we discovered between the two sonnets was that of the child. Both sonnets discussed the idea of how children are important in order to pass on beauty. By stating “Proving his beauty by succession thine.”, Shakespeare alludes to the fact that beauty is not just a outward quality it is something that can be passed down. This could be an early idea of reincarnation and that after you die your beauty can still be seen throughout the coming generations. This shows beauty to be something more than face value, which is ironic since there are many monetary values used throughout the sonnets. He uses words such as “antique”, “counting”, and “use” to describe beauty yet using the values to count something he says cannot be counted. We also decided that when Shakespeare wrote these sonnets, he most likely was not being hypocritical after he had already produced his lineage, rather paying tribute to the beauty he saw in his own children encouraging others to do the same.

Some important OED word definitions:
Sonnet 17:
Deserts: Deserving; the becoming worthy of recompense
Fresh: New, novel; not previously known, used, met with, introduced
Rage: To be under inspiration
Sonnet 2:
Besiege: to capture, to lay siege to
Livery: The dispensing of food, provisions, or clothing
Lusty: Of persons and their attributes: Joyful, merry, jocund; cheerful, lively
Excuse: dispense from payment
----Rebecca & Shanna

We discussed Sonnets 5 and 12 and found that these two sonnets would fit in very well. We also focused on aging in death as there is a direct allusion to a hearse in the 12th sonnet. Also the idea behind capturing beauty can also be related to Sonnet 5 with the idea of keeping the scent of the flowers (ultimately ones offspring) as distilled perfume. ~ Andrea D. Clarke and Katherine M. Schmitt

Holly L. Johnson and Amy Lynn Herstein: Your point that Shakepeare is talking about more than physical beauty is very interesting. On the surface, it looks like everything is about physical beauty. Two elements that support your point are in Sonnet 2, 'lusty days' (physical self) and in Sonnet 7, 'golden pilgrimage.' (spiritual self).

Christopher Fenlon and Emily H. Saltsman's analysis of Sonnets 3 and 8.
In sonnets 3 and 8, Shakespeare is attempting to convince his subject to have children. The thing that is most interesting in these two sonnets is the argument that Shakespeare makes for having children. In sonnet 3, the subject is suggested to look in the mirror, and is asked to analyze himself, asking, "how could you deny your beauty to future generations?" Shakespeare also says in the last couple lines of sonnet 3 that if his subject does not reproduce, the subject himself will not be remembered in the future thus having no purpose. Sonnet 8 reflects ideas that are in Sonnet 3, and it is an extended simile comparing the youth's beauty to a beautiful piece of music. He is saying that the young man can stand-alone and look good, just as a single note can sound good. However, Shakespeare also says that to be great, the young man requires two other pieces: a woman and a child. This is comparable to a chord, which requires three notes to be played at the same time. Of course, one or two notes might sound okay, but when three notes that go together are played at the same time, it is much more beautiful.

As Chris and Emily state above, Shakespeare is trying to convince the subject of the sonnets to have children on the same idea that sonnets 9 and 14 express; that if one does not have children they will be denying their beauty to the rest of the world. Unlike sonnets 9 and 14, these sonnets do not use celestial imagery to make that point. Shakespeare uses a more direct approach in sonnet 3 to get this point across telling the subject to look at his own beauty and ask how he could possibly deny that to future generations. In sonnet 8 he does so with imagery of music, both of which Chris and Emily pointed out. Also, these two sonnets end as sonnets 9 and 14 do; with a statement telling the subject with conviction that his beauty will die with him if he doesn't produce an heir. As in sonnets 9 and 14, it seems these last lines are supposed to convey guilt to the subject if he does not pass on his beauty. -Bryan D. Dalina and Adrienne V. Hawkins (Sonnets 9 and 14)

Similar to what Chris and Emily have pointed out about the idea of having offspring, both of our sonnets, 5 and 12 can relate to this. They stated that beauty will not live on without you having offspring for it to continue on through. This is the general theme of our sonnets as well, since both of them talk about a legacy and being able to remember what use to be even when the "leaves are bare." ~ Andrea D. Clarke and Katherine M. Schmitt

Sonnet 2 relates to Sonnet 3. Shakespeare is also attempting to promote procreation providing evidence of why you need to have offspring. In the couple in both sonnets 2 and 3 Shakespeare gives solid reasons for why you need to have children in life. Jessica D. Richardson and Sarah S. Sood

The idea in sonnet 8 of a single note sounding good but not being complete unless it's a chord reminds me of the idea in sonnets 5 and 6 of a distilled flower. A flower is beautiful on its own, but unless its essence is encapsulated (as it is when it is distilled into a vial), it will be a fleeting, incomplete beauty. - Shira M. Pilarski and Thomas Noble

Thomas Noble and Shira M. Pilarski's analysis of Sonnets 5 and 6.
We did sonnets 5 and 6. We found out that since 6 starts with the word “then”, it’s probably a continuation of sonnet 5. The sonnets relate in the imagery of a liquid prisoner in walls of glass, or a vial, to represent a child in the womb. Similarly, the distillation of flowers in a vial relates in both to the idea of distilling flowers into water. The flower itself is not there, like people are not when they die, but the essence of the flower is in the vial/womb. In the OED, it says the worm is “a destructive pest”. The worms from the end of sonnet 6 could go with the idea of flowers in the end of sonnet 5, because a destructive pest would decay flowers and make it impossible for them to reproduce, just as men cannot reproduce when they die. I just noticed that in sonnet 6 Shakespeare writes both self-kill'd and self-will'd. Tom, what do you think that's all about? I personally think it may be punning on the last will and testament, so self-will'd could be preparation for death. I like how Shakespeare uses the similar sound and look of self-kill'd and self-will'd to tie sonnet 6 together. - Shira I think Shakespeare is saying that to be self-kill'd is to do die with no family to pass your values and teachings. Being self-will'd is being selfish, but they do tie together in his thoughts, as it is selfish not to impregnate your mate and have children.--Tom

Jasmine L. Curry say that it is interesting that Shakespeare uses flowers as the imagery to symbolize the baby in the mothers womb in sonnets 5 and 6. In sonnet 2, Sakespeare uses a "Tattered weed" to symbolize old age. I believe that Shakespear is using the death of a flower to symbolize what happens to yous beauty when you don't have offspring.

Sonnet 12 also uses flower image to convey the aging process. The line "a violet past prime" in sonnet 12 inspires a picture of a wilting flower just as flowers get old and wilt, so do humans. The language is very beautiful and pessimistic.

Holly L. Johnson and Amy Lynn Herstein's analysis of Sonnets 18 and 7.
On the surface, Sonnet 18 is about the praise of the young love’s beauty. The young love is compared to a summer's day. The summer’s day is personified through the "eye of heaven" and "golden complexion." The essence of this poem is that this young love’s beauty will only last for a brief time. What is unique about this poem are two things: First, that every line can stand on its own. Unlike Sonnet 7, which has one image of a day's sunrise, high noon, and a sunset, Sonnet 18, has a different thought in every line. Second, each line ends with punctuation forcing us to pause at the end of every sentence. For example, "and often is his gold complexion dimmed," is an elaboration of the comparison between this hot day and the love's beauty. The comma at the end of this sentence tells us to pause, and visualize a fading sunset.

I also think there is less alliteration in Sonnet 18 which mellows this poem’s tone. The tone is more relaxed than the previous 17 sonnets. It is more "lovely and temperate" than the others. The poem sounds self-restrained and settled. This poem does not have the sense of urgency that Sonnet 7 does. "Lo, in the orient." In sonnet 18, there isn’t a push to coerce the youth to bear a son. The turning point occurs in line 9, "But thy eternal summer shall not fade." The word "shall" is gentle and soothing here with the "ll" sound. Even though summer fades, the declaration is that the youth's beauty will not fade. Rather, it will be preserved through the sonnet's verse. The poet is content with the youth's beauty being preserved through his sonnets.

Sonnet 18 is similar to Sonnet 7 in that they both give the image of the sun. In 18, the sun is referred to as "eye of heaven." In Sonnet 7, Shakespeare uses a play on the word Son as the youth is told that the only way he will keep his beauty is to have a son. The metaphor is the imagery of a sunrise where admirers (the stars) adore his beauty. Even in his middle age, he is adored. But when the sun sets, when the lover’s beauty is gone, admirers turn away. The assonance in this poem adds to its liveliness. For example, the line, "Lo, in the orient when the gracious light" has many "o" sounds and ends the line with a high pitched "i" sound. In the beginning and at the end there are two places with enjambment. This has us read the poem faster in these places and gives a strong sense of immediacy to the poem.

I just want to add that these sonnets with an iambic pentameter and rhyme of ababcdcdefefgg gives us the lyrical, romantic rhythm we enjoy when we think about love. It also enhances the imagery and works well with all of the other literary factors. As was said in class, a sonnet with all its elements can be compared to the special effects we see in movies. The impact of the language, tone, punctuation, imagery, rhyme, meter all work together for the perfect expression of love.

Zachary M. Dow and Sarah S. Sood These sonnets deal with the sort of transient nature of life, and how one leaves one's mark after a person is dead. In sonnet 15 Shakespeare describes how to leave a "legacy" or imprint by immortalizing somebody in a poem. In sonnet 12 the idea that one's beauty is prolonged in their children is reiterated. The long 'o' sounds and vowel stretches in sonnet are used in sonnet 18 as they are in sonnet 12.

In both sonnets 7 and 18, Shakespeare uses images of celestial bodies and nature as he does in 9 and 14. In sonnet 7 it takes the form of the sun and its position in the sky to illustrate different times in life as stated by Holly and Amy. Also the last line in sonnet 7 is much like the last lines of 9 and 14 as they give a sort of warning that beauty is as mortal as the one possessing it if it is not passed on. Sonnet 18 deviates from this idea as Holly and Amy said through its message that as long as the beauty is portrayed through sonnet 18, it will outlive the one possessing it and in this way it is different than most if not all the other seventeen. -Bryan and Adrienne (Sonnets 9 and 14).

Holly Daugherty and Arthur Williamson: Sonnet 18 provides perhaps the most memorable quote out of all of the sonnets, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day," and within the metaphorical context of the other first 17 sonnets it contrasts greatly as well. Our sonnets, 15 and 17, have a feel that is very common among early Shakespearean poetry; all seem to want to immortalize an apparent male lover (perhaps Shakespeare's), and in no way does 18 differ in this manner. However, whereas the earlier sonnets end with phases such as, "You should live twice; in it and in my rhyme," depicts how the male lover will only be immortalized in the sonnet and in no other way, such as his off-spring (Sonnet 17). Sonnet 18 provides, then, the first refreshing alternative to Shakespeare's pattern because, " So long lives this, and this gives life to thee," extends the idea that his beauty will live on in his child; much in contrary to the previous sonnets.

Holly Daugherty and Arthur Williamson's analysis of Sonnets 15 and 17.

Sonnet 17
Who will believe my verse in time to come,
If it were fill'd with your most high deserts?
Though yet, heaven knows, it is but as a tomb
Which hides your life and shows not half your parts.
If I could write the beauty of your eyes
And in fresh numbers number all your graces,
The age to come would say 'This poet lies:
Such heavenly touches ne'er touch'd earthly faces.'
So should my papers yellow'd with their age
Be scorn'd like old men of less truth than tongue,
And your true rights be term'd a poet's rage
And stretched metre of an antique song:
But were some child of yours alive that time,
You should live twice; in it and in my rhyme.

Sonnet 15 is about immortalizing a loved one through poetry. Sonnet 17 is about a similar theme in that it is also concerned with the immortalizing a loved one. This sonnet ties in procreation as another means of immortalizing besides being described in verse. The two Sonnets have a similar sound in the last couplets that have similar structures. The last line is broken in two parts; the first part is directed at the "you", which is either a lover or friend, and the second part is in first person tying things back to the speaker. Both sonnets share a reference to "sight" and "eyes", both deal with time verse and decay.

Heidi Harrison: Many of Shakespeare's sonnets are about growing old and losing the ability to have children. He frequently compares youth and aging. I liked how these two sonnets expanded on that idea by discussing how poetry can also immortalize a lover and the beauty of youth. I loved how he compared love to flowers it really drove home how love makes a person grow.

Shakespeare seems very interested with stopping time, "immortalizing" beauty. He wants to stop time and hold on to beauty and youth as long as possible. Another way of "immortalizing" this beauty is through having children, which he also centers many of his sonnets around. I like that this group found other examples of this, however. The children are the obvious example in Shakespeare’s sonnets but Holly and Arthur took a little bit farther by talking about immortalization through poetry- amber shipp

Jasmine L. Curry and Simran analysis of Sonnets 2 and 17.
Sonnet 2 is explaining to the boy that when he is old and ugly, he needs to have a reason for being that way, and have something better to show for himself than wrinkles. The best reason for being wrinkled is by leaving behind a legacy, which should be his offspring. Sonnet 17 describes how words can’t express how beautiful the boy is. If he doesn't leave a legacy behind, no one will believe that he was beautiful. The similarities between the sonnets are that both describe what will happen if he gets old, and doesn't leave behind a legacy. Sonnet 17 answers the question posed in Sonnet 2. Both believe that he needs a better excuse for being old and both show the amount of time (40 years; decades) that has passed. The last two lines of the sonnets both propose the idea of a parent living on through their offspring.

Sonnets 3 and 8 relate to Sonnets 2 and 17 through the idea of "leaving a legacy." In this particular case, the legacy is the beauty of the subject. Sonnets 3 and 8 also echo the idea that the parent lives on through their offspring. Sonnet 2 seems to ask, "What is important to you right now? Everybody ages the same, but how they age, is different." -Christopher Fenlon and Emily H. Saltsman

Mark Mark D. Denz and Robert Yu's analysis of Sonnets 5 and 16.
These two sonnets are connected with ideas in time. They focus in on what happens after you die, and why it would be important to have a child as a future investment. In Sonnet 5, time is introduced both as means of becoming beautiful, and as a 'tyrant' that eventually takes it away. In sonnet 16, tyrant appears again in the same usage. In both sonnets, having a child is the suggestion offered to battle the ails of time. Sonnet 5 uses symbolism, comparing a child to a distilled flower, which still retains it's scent in winter. Here, the symbols are winter as old age, summer as the prime of youth, and flower representing the beauty of youth. In sonnet 16, maiden's gardens symbolizes an un-pregnant womb, and flowers represents a child. These symbols revolve around the growing and withering of nature, representing the life cycle of the death of a man followed by the birth of a child.

As far as wordplay is concerned, there are similarities in alliteration, and inverting words in phrases (i.e. lines of life that life repair (sonnet 16) ; that unfair which fairly doth excel (sonnet 5).

These sonnets connect to 15 & 17. They all deal with battling against time that takes away beauty. Similar to the 16, 15 & 17 suggest that creating poetry or art praising the young man is a way of prolonging him, but they are not able to replace the prolonging experienced in having a child.

Sonnets 5 and 6 connect in ideas, using summer and winter as representations of a man's prime and the time when it has past. They both ponder what happens after death, and both come to the conclusion that having a child, better yet, many, is the ideal way to prolong his "summer". In all three sonnets, time is once again used as an inevitable object that is being fought against.

Sonnet 16 and 5 compare to 12 and 15. The image of "time's scythe" in sonnet 12 fits in nicely with the idea of time as a tyrant in 16 and 5. Here, night and day symbolize youth and old age. The withering imagery is very similar to sonnet 5's flowers.

Sarah A. Melchior and Jessica D. Richardson analysis of Sonnets 2 and 15.
Sonnet 2: It begins with the discussion of time passing (forty years used in this poet) will cause ones youthful beauty to fade into wrinkles and sunken eyes, and all that is so appreciated today will be gone. When you are asked where your beauty has gone, it is no use to claim that you are proud, because you are no longer one to be proud of (your appearance). So, instead speak of the child you've raised. When they ask how your child has effected your beauty, remind them that not only have you passed you outward beauty to that child, but also you blood. For that child will be the reincarnation of your youth, and as they find old age, they will pass their beauty and blood to their child, as so on.

Sonnet 15: Shakespeare returns to his favorite concept, that "all the worlds a stage." He is reminding the reader/listener, that in this world, perfection is forever fleeting, and lasts no more than a moment. He claims that they stars are controlling fate, and as men grow (just as plants, both quickly and toward the stars), they are slowly vanishing, along with the glory they once held so dearly. Shakespeare believes that he is at war with time, because it is with time that life decays.

We compared sonnets 2 and 15. Sonnet 2 discusses how beauty fades with time, and how producing offspring is ones duty in life. Producing offspring shows that time was not wasted while living on earth. Sonnet 15 focuses on people growing old as well, but instead of a child renewing a life, poetry restores what time has taken away. These two sonnets are similar in the way they consider how men fade with time. Shakespeare uses imagery from nature to describe the affects of aging. In sonnet two, fading youth is likened unto "a tattered weed of small worth held (4)." In sonnet 15 Shakespeare describes aging as time debating with decay in order to "change your day of youth to sullied night (12)." In the concluding couplet in each sonnet, Shakespeare offers a way to experience a renewal in old age. A child is "new-made when thou art old" in sonnet two, and in sonnet 15, whatever the war with time takes away poetry "ingraft[s] you new."

Heidi Harrison: I agree with your analysis of the poems. Shakespeare tied these two poems together very well through his descriptions of aging and how to beat getting old. He first describes getting old as a horrible thing where the body deteriorates and you end up alone in a tomb. He then cheers up the reader by saying how you can beat these effects. If one has children, his youth and beauty is seen in his children or preserved in poetry.

Laura Duffy and Dorothy Garrett~ Sonnet 2 allows for the image of a child to represent the continuation of a man's legacy. In sonnet 18, Dorothy and I discovered that man is encouraged to leave a legacy by a more literary means: words on paper. Words will remind people of the person that you used to be much like how a child would remind people what you used to LOOK like. Both are reincarnations of a time previous to the one in which they dwell. Then in turn, when the child gets old and reproduces his own children, his legacy shall continue as his father's did.

Zachary M. Dow and Sarah Sarah S. Sood's analysis of Sonnets 12 and 15.
We discussed Sonnets 12 and 15. Sonnet 12 is about how time makes us all older and that the only way to sustain beauty and cheat time is to have children. The sonnet describes getting old using many nature images to represent the “youth’s” mortality. Examples of this are “violet past prime” and “lofty trees I see barren of leaves.” It has a musical quality to it and an interesting rhythm. The first line is filled with mono-syllables that create somewhat of a tick-tock rhythm. The vowel runs in the poem also make the reader slow down while speaking it. Sonnet 15 also ponders how time makes us older but this time the solution to keeping beauty alive is to have the youth’s beauty written about. It is also contains the images of nature such as “self-same sky” and “every thing that grows.” This sonnet also contains the vowel runs and has a musical quality to it. In the beginning of both sonnets the language is slow flowing and melancholy with the images of the changing times. The ends of the sonnets however have much harsher language and tone. For example, in sonnet 12 the line “Time's scythe can make defense” contains a harsh image of a person being struck down by Time’s scythe, curved, sharp blade at the end of a long handle. In sonnet 15, the line “Where wasteful Time debateth with Decay” has much stronger words.

Sonnets 12 and 15, like most of the other sonnets, share the idea of death being cheated by giving birth to a child. Sonnet 12 is most like sonnet 2, in that it deals with the theme of a child being a living testament to ones fleeting beauty. A child will give your own beauty a sense of “immortality.” Sonnet 15 is more like sonnet 17 when it speaks of “the youth’s beauty written about.” Sonnet 17 talks of beauty being written in poems, yet these poems will not withstand the test of time without living proof in the form of a child. ~Rebecca L. Stern and Shanna M. Kibler

Sonnets 5 & 18 (more so 18) also have the vowel runs that make one slow down while reading or speaking them. 18 has a very lyrical sound to it, much like 15, forcing the reader to slow down to think about what the sonnet is saying. The theme of leaving a legacy behind is apparent in 5 and 18, just as it is shown in 12 and 15. 5 says that one must leave behind a child, just as 12 does. Just as Sarah and Zach said that in 15 the solution to beating time is to have "youth's beauty written about," in 18 the youth does not have to worry about time because he will forever live on in the lines of the sonnet. Both sonnets 5 and 18 also use images of nature to suggest mortality, just like sonnet 12.

In Sonnets 5 & 6 (primarily 5), Shakespeare also uses nature as a metaphor. The "lofty trees I see barren of leaves" reminds me a lot of Sonnet 5's "Sap cheque'd with frost and lusty leaves quite gone". In 5 & 6, Shakespeare's answer to the dying of trees or flowers in the winter is the distill flowers into a vial, which represents a womb. This keeps the essence of the flowers going on, even when the trees are barren of lusty leaves. - Shira M. Pilarski and Thomas Noble

Works Cited