A sonnet is a fourteen line that can be written with an form of a rhyme scheme. Also, a sonnet can be broken down into three quatrains, or four line poems, and a final couplet, or a two line poem. A famous sonnet writer is William Shakespeare, and throughout his lifetime, he wrote over one-hundred and twenty. However, one of his sonnets that seems to stick out is XVI. In this sonnet, the tone is presented with a negative or cynical tone, and the speaker, Shakespeare, talks about himself and the personification of Time throughout quatrains one, two, and three, as well as the final couplet.
The quatrain basically says, “Why don’t you stand against Time, and not let yourself be forgotten by doing something?” In this quatrain Shakespeare uses the words: “bloody tyrant,” “decay,” and “barren.” The use of this diction conjures a negative tone towards Time through the use of “bloody tyrant” and “decay,” as well as to himself through the use of “barren” as he describes his writing. Another way Shakespeare presents the tone is with his use of interrogatives. This helps to create a criticizing air to himself because he is asking himself why he isn’t doing anything to stop Time from removing him from history.
In the second quatrain of the poem, Shakespeare has come up with a solution for his fear of being forgotten. He simply states that he must have children so that he can live on through them. The diction that is used within the quatrain helps to create the tone through the use of the words “virtuous” and “counterfeit.” This is because virtuous is defined as having high moral standards, and counterfeit as being in the image of something else, showing that a child can help parents to live on through the morals and looks that are passed on through children. Also Shakespeare idea about living on through children is also supported through the use of the statement “living flowers.” This supports his ideas because it could be a metaphor for children because flowers arrive in the spring, spring symbolizes new birth, so the children are the flowers.
In the third quatrain, the gist is that we learn from time, the future is uncertain, and to be remembered, we must leave something behind. This can be expressed by the utilization of the words “pencil,” “pupil,” and “pen.” This is because pencil can be erased showing that even though Time has written something for the future it can be erased and changed. Pupil shows not the part of the eye, but a synonym for student showing that we must learn from the past that can not be changed. “Pen” also helps to create the effect that the past is written in pen meaning that it cannot be erased, so to live on you must leave something that cannot be taken.
Finally, in the Couplet, it basically says that “if you leave something memorable behind, you will be remembered in the eyes of people.” Also, Shakespeare talks about “your sweet skill.” This could be construed as people need to be remembered by the talents they possess, for example Shakespeare is a phenomenal writer and he has left behind his writings.
Shakespeare wrote over one-hundred and twenty sonnets in his life, but XVI seems to stand out. Even tough the tone is overall negative, the poem has a slight undertone of wanting and even admiration. The tone within the sonnet is evident through the diction used by the speaker in the first, second, and third quatrains, as well as the final couplet.
Sonnet XVI Explication
In Shakespeare's sixteenth sonnet, Shakespeare is talking about, and personifying, Time. He is talking about Time, describing him as a “bloody tyrant.” He also uses words such as decay and counterfeit establishing a more negative tone. The tone that seems to be evident is scoffing and a fearful undertone within. This is because Shakespeare makes it evident that he fears being forgotten by Time decaying all of his work. Shakespeare also talks about a counterfeit. This could be described as a child because the child has the traits of the parent and sometimes children have striking resemblances to their parents, being the child is a counterfeit. This can also be justified because before that line he says “with virtuous wish would bear you living flowers.” This could be a metaphor for a child because flowers are generally in the spring and spring generally symbolizes birth and children. This shows that he says that a person can live on through their children. Shakespeare talks about Time’s pencil, and his pupil pen. This shows that Shakespeare is talking about learning from Time because pencil can be erased, and after he writes something with his pen it can not be erased. This also has a meaning that Time has been written, but can be changed showing that Shakespeare can still be remembered in the future. Finally, Shakespeare’s final way for him to be remembered is by keeping up with his writing. This is shown when Shakespeare states’ “Can you make you live your self in the eyes of men. To give away yourself, keeps yourself still, And you must live drawn by your own sweet skill.” This quote explains that a way to live on is to be remembered by the thing that you were good at, and for Shakespeare, that is his writing. Shakespeare is trying to convey that the ways to live on is to have children and let their looks and values pervade through time, and to follow your skill and let your work live on and not be forgotten.
I realized that this one did not answer the question at all so i completely redid it. :)
Sonnet XVI Explication
A sonnet is a fourteen line that can be written with an form of a rhyme scheme. Also, a sonnet can be broken down into three quatrains, or four line poems, and a final couplet, or a two line poem. A famous sonnet writer is William Shakespeare, and throughout his lifetime, he wrote over one-hundred and twenty. However, one of his sonnets that seems to stick out is XVI. In this sonnet, the tone is presented with a negative or cynical tone, and the speaker, Shakespeare, talks about himself and the personification of Time throughout quatrains one, two, and three, as well as the final couplet.
The quatrain basically says, “Why don’t you stand against Time, and not let yourself be forgotten by doing something?” In this quatrain Shakespeare uses the words: “bloody tyrant,” “decay,” and “barren.” The use of this diction conjures a negative tone towards Time through the use of “bloody tyrant” and “decay,” as well as to himself through the use of “barren” as he describes his writing. Another way Shakespeare presents the tone is with his use of interrogatives. This helps to create a criticizing air to himself because he is asking himself why he isn’t doing anything to stop Time from removing him from history.
In the second quatrain of the poem, Shakespeare has come up with a solution for his fear of being forgotten. He simply states that he must have children so that he can live on through them. The diction that is used within the quatrain helps to create the tone through the use of the words “virtuous” and “counterfeit.” This is because virtuous is defined as having high moral standards, and counterfeit as being in the image of something else, showing that a child can help parents to live on through the morals and looks that are passed on through children. Also Shakespeare idea about living on through children is also supported through the use of the statement “living flowers.” This supports his ideas because it could be a metaphor for children because flowers arrive in the spring, spring symbolizes new birth, so the children are the flowers.
In the third quatrain, the gist is that we learn from time, the future is uncertain, and to be remembered, we must leave something behind. This can be expressed by the utilization of the words “pencil,” “pupil,” and “pen.” This is because pencil can be erased showing that even though Time has written something for the future it can be erased and changed. Pupil shows not the part of the eye, but a synonym for student showing that we must learn from the past that can not be changed. “Pen” also helps to create the effect that the past is written in pen meaning that it cannot be erased, so to live on you must leave something that cannot be taken.
Finally, in the Couplet, it basically says that “if you leave something memorable behind, you will be remembered in the eyes of people.” Also, Shakespeare talks about “your sweet skill.” This could be construed as people need to be remembered by the talents they possess, for example Shakespeare is a phenomenal writer and he has left behind his writings.
Shakespeare wrote over one-hundred and twenty sonnets in his life, but XVI seems to stand out. Even tough the tone is overall negative, the poem has a slight undertone of wanting and even admiration. The tone within the sonnet is evident through the diction used by the speaker in the first, second, and third quatrains, as well as the final couplet.
Sonnet XVI Explication
In Shakespeare's sixteenth sonnet, Shakespeare is talking about, and personifying, Time. He is talking about Time, describing him as a “bloody tyrant.” He also uses words such as decay and counterfeit establishing a more negative tone. The tone that seems to be evident is scoffing and a fearful undertone within. This is because Shakespeare makes it evident that he fears being forgotten by Time decaying all of his work. Shakespeare also talks about a counterfeit. This could be described as a child because the child has the traits of the parent and sometimes children have striking resemblances to their parents, being the child is a counterfeit. This can also be justified because before that line he says “with virtuous wish would bear you living flowers.” This could be a metaphor for a child because flowers are generally in the spring and spring generally symbolizes birth and children. This shows that he says that a person can live on through their children. Shakespeare talks about Time’s pencil, and his pupil pen. This shows that Shakespeare is talking about learning from Time because pencil can be erased, and after he writes something with his pen it can not be erased. This also has a meaning that Time has been written, but can be changed showing that Shakespeare can still be remembered in the future. Finally, Shakespeare’s final way for him to be remembered is by keeping up with his writing. This is shown when Shakespeare states’ “Can you make you live your self in the eyes of men. To give away yourself, keeps yourself still, And you must live drawn by your own sweet skill.” This quote explains that a way to live on is to be remembered by the thing that you were good at, and for Shakespeare, that is his writing. Shakespeare is trying to convey that the ways to live on is to have children and let their looks and values pervade through time, and to follow your skill and let your work live on and not be forgotten.
I realized that this one did not answer the question at all so i completely redid it. :)