Sonnet Reflection #130

This sonnet was pretty much a parody of the Italian sonnets that have been used by many other poets. Rather than claiming one person is like the sun or like something beautiful, the speaker states that the mistress is nothing like these commonly used, romantic terms. The speaker claims that his mistress is not at all like the attractive women of their time and he says that she treads rather than walks like a goddess. However, his final message, I think, was that his love for his mistress goes much deeper than just appearance. He states "And yet by heaven I think my love as rare" which shows that he does love her and that she doesn't have to be super beautiful and amazing to be loved by the speaker. However, I don't think that this message would be reached by a woman of today. I think that most women would find this sonnet very rude and would look past the actual message that is trying to be read through.

Sonnet Reflection #129

This is one of the more passionate sonnets written by the speaker. The first twelve lines have verbs that are in the past tense, while the last two lines contain present tense verbs. I found this to be curious and the fact that the speaker uses every tense of one verb, in one line in the sonnet. There were also a lot of adjectives throughout this sonnet, and not many verbs or nouns. Shakespeare showed his use of improvised speech, where one idea is attacked until a new idea is brought forward. This technique is also usually used when a person write in a frustrated state. The speaker also seems to keep reusing words like the verb, to have, in line ten. This frustrated writing use is also shown in the first twelve lines. It is shown because, despite the length of these twelve lines, those lines are indeed one sentance. This shows how intense this sonnet was taken into account and how important and strongly the speaker felt about this sonnet.

Sonnet Reflection #116

This sonnet is much different than the other sonnets because it is comparing what love isn't to what love is. One theme that was shown throughout this sonnet was the relationship between time and love and how love can always outlast time. Love and time are both personified in this sonnet which just proves that these two concepts are the main point trying to be made by the speaker. I also noticed that love is said to be immortal in this sonnet, despite the restrained and negative tone. The connection I made was the fact that the speaker encouraged the boy to be immortal in previous sonnets. This shows me that the speaker is starting to relate love with the young boy and might start to become romanticlly interested in the young boy. This couls start to be the shift from writing to convince the young boy to have children to be obsesively flattered by the speaker.

Sonnet Reflection #99

This sonnet was very different from all the other sonnets because this sonnet technically has fifteen lines, which I thought was pretty intriguing. The first line of this sonnet was not considered a line because it was a precurser to the actual sonnet itself, but there is still a debate going on about this. This sonnet includes three different types of flowers that are taking the beauty away from the young boy. There are violets, lillies, and roses which are the "chief thief" of the young boy's beauty. These flowers have to do with the body parts of the boy. For example, the lillies have taken the hands of the young boy and the roses have basically taken the boy's essence. However, the roses are scolded by the speaker for stealing the young boy's beauty and the speaker predicts death for the roses. The speaker is mostly complimenting the boy saying that his beauty is so great that flowers have to steal it just to compete with him.

Sonnet Reflection #94

This sonnet, like sonnet number 55, talks about man-made things in the first eight lines of the sonnet. However, the speaker then begins to talk about more natural things like flowers and summer in the last six lines of the sonnet. The shift in this sonnet is right where this change happens, which makes perfect sense because it shows that the focus has changed for the speaker. There were many symbols in this sonnet that related to power or weakness. I noticed one symbol that was different because I thought it could possibly represent both power and weakness. The symbol was a weed. In the sonnet, the line "The basest weed outbraves his dignity:" made me think about time passing on and the weed becoming weaker and weaker. Then as I thought more into the subject, if the weed outbraves, or outlives the other flowers, then it must be strong in some sense because it is still living even after the "infection" met the flower. The weed could still survive through this "infection" thus proving it can be a symbol for strength.

Sonnet Reflection #55

This sonnet was very different from the other sonnets previously talked about because this sonnet is about was, marble, and stone while the other sonnets are about summer and life. This sonnet shows more of the man-made materials at use to help the speaker prove his point. What I got from this sonnet is that letters on monuments, or a man-made object, may not, or cannot, be read, letters in poems can always be read and interpreted. He also goes on to talk about the young boy's beauty once again and how he could be immortal. The speaker also comments on how every time a lover looks at their beloved, they will see the young boy because his beauty will live throughout the times. I also saw in this sonnet the use of words that have changed in meaning from those times to the present. For example, the word, "sluttish" was used to describe a maid or housewife who cleaned or was dirty. Now, this word is used to describe a much different concept that is kind of inappropriate for this blog.

Sonnet Reflection #18

This sonnet was very interesting to me because of the overall meaning that I took from it. The entire time, the speaker is talking about how the young boy is better and more lovely than most of the items beautiful men and women are compared to. He also states that everything good must come to an end, but the poem will always live on. This again just shows how the speaker is trying to convince the young man to have children so he can continue his beauty, even though he will die. This is possible because his beauty will live on through the children he has. I also noticed in this sonnet the original spelling of some words and the modified version. For example, the word in the modified version of this sonnet is spelled, "summer," but in the original sonnet the word is spelled, "Sommers." This could just be a mispelling of the modified version or this could have a deeper meaning to it. I think that it has a deeper meaning, but it's hard to figure out what thaty meaning really is.

Sonnet Reflection #12

Within this sonnet is mostly a reference to time. The first line of the sonnet mentions a ticking clock which branches into an even deeper meaning of the concept of time. Shakespeare shows his clever word play using the symbols of day and night. Day represents the positives, like life while night represents the negatives, like dealth. These concepts are used to sort of frighten the young boy into having children because this sonnet mentions the "lofty trees I see barren of leaves," (line 5) which could mean the leaves will soon be not full, or not fertile. This relates to the fact that these sonnets are being used to convince the young boy to have children because his beauty could be passed on and that's what his parents want him to do. The speaker also uses the word "bier" which means a wheelbarrow, or a corpse. Shakespeare uses this word to show the young boy the outcomes of wasting his beauty.

Sonnet Reflection #2

Within this sonnet, I noticed a lot of mention about the seasons and their importance. The meaning behind the seasons is mostly about aging and it's effects on human beings. Spring is the season of childhood and is often recognized with the color green. Summer is the season of youth and is a very colorful time in one's life. Fall is usually a symbol for aging because of the changing colors which represents the passing of time. Then, finally, winter is the season of old age, brittleness and coldness. These seasons played a major role in this sonnet because they prove that time goes on and beauty fades. The concept of "Carpe Dium" is also shown in this sonnet. "Carpe Dium" means "to seize the day" which is exactly the message the speaker is trying to send to the young boy. The speaker is basically telling the young man not to waste his beauty because time is passing and that beauty could be turned into much more than just a memory; a child.

Sonnet Reflection #1

My interpretation of this sonnet is mostly the feeling of confusion. I wasn't really sure about what the point of this collection of sonnets was about and the actual meaning of this sonnet made me very indifferent. I wasn't sure how to read deeper into the meaning of the words of each sonnet, so reading and interpreting this first one was kind of difficult for me. However, once I understood the meaning of the lines and the different words in this sonnet, I began to feel the reaction of complete flattery from this sonnet. The speaker is basically saying how the young boy these sonnets are being written to is selfish for hoarding all his beauty and how he should give his beauty to his children. By the thirteenth line, the speaker makes the young boy out to be a selfish hoarder and one who keeps hazardous waste. by using the words "glutton be".