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Shakespeare Sonnet 29

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  • September 30, 2008
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Figurative Language, Imagery. And Sound in “Sonnet 29”

Williams Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 29” is Shakespeare starts the first quatrain with himself talking of disgrace in his fortune and in the eyes of others. In the second quatrain, Shakespeare takes the inward thoughts and looks outward with coveting eyes and wishes he could be a different man. By the third quatrain, the poet thinks upon the young man to whom the poem is addressing, which makes him assume a more optimistic view of his own life. The speaker compares such a change in mood to a lark rising from the early morning darkness at sunrise. Finally, the speaker masterfully closes the sonnet by declaring an emotional remembrance of his friend's love which is enough for him to value his position in life more than a king’s friendship. Several poetic devices enhance his use of poetic imagery, figurative language, and sounds to create a unifying effect throughout his work, thus enabling him to express many intricate emotions in simply fourteen lines.

In this poem there’s only sense of sight and hearing For example, when Shakespeare. Imagery in “Sonnet 29”

Personification and simile assist the reader to better understand the poet’s change in condition from depression to utter joy. For example, when the speaker describes his lonely condition, he writes how he “troubles deaf heaven with my bootless cries.” (line 3) This shows that the poet gives a human quality to heaven in this case, the inability to hear. Readers sense the Bard meaning that his prayers have no purpose. The word "troubles" has particular interest because it suggests that he believes his prayers bother heaven, which shows a general exhaustion of hope and faith on the part of the speaker. He continues by wishing himself to be like someone with more prospects, someone more attractive, someone with more friends, and someone with greater artistic skill and range of opportunity. The speaker then reveals that he is least satisfied in the things...
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