Sonnet 30 Comparison Essay
Sebastian Mejia
Teacher Aubert
Literature
17 February 2010
Compare and Contrast Paragraph, “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare and “Sonnet 30” by Edna St. Vincent Millay have similarities and a variety differences which make them very intriguing and appealing to the reader. First, the rhyme scheme of “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” are alike since their pattern is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, as demonstrated in “day, temperate, May, date” in “Sonnet 18”; and “drink, rain, sink, again” in “Sonnet 30”. Due to this pattern, “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” are denominated as English Sonnets. On the other hand, the units of meaning for both sonnets are found in absolutely different places. In “Sonnet 18”, each quatrain and couplet …show more content…
expresses a new idea. However in “Sonnet 30”, the ideas expressed by the quatrains extend to further lines which make them irregular. The couplets’ first line, which shares the same meaning as that of the last quatrain and the second line of the couplet that has a different meaning than the first line of the couplet. Furthermore, another discrepancy among “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” is their turning point. For example, the turning point of “Sonnet 18” is expressed with the word “but”, which is found at the beginning of the third quatrain (Line 9) while the turning of “Sonnet 30” is introduced by the word “yet”, that is placed in the middle of the second quatrain (Line 6). In addition, another disparity among “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” is the mood that each author emits for the reader in the poem. “Sonnet 18” expresses a joyful mood, as affirmed in the phrase “darling buds of May” expressed in the third line of the sonnet. However, “Sonnet 30” expresses a mood of misery and hopelessness as confirmed by the stipulation “moaning for release” (Line 10) presented in the tenth line of the sonnet. The mood of “Sonnet 18” makes the reader feel alive and immortal since the author is celebrating someone’s beauty.
On the other hand, the mood of “Sonnet 30” makes the reader feel depressed and at some point loveless. Also, another difference between the sonnets is the tone of each. In “Sonnet 18”, a” lovely” and “temperate” (Line 2) tone is emitted yet, the tone of “Sonnet 30” is cheerless and painful as expressed in “even as I speak, for lack of love alone.”, “Yet many a man is making friends with death”. Moreover, the different respective themes of the sonnets show a great difference between William Shakespeare’s and Edna St. Vincent Millay’s perception of love. The theme of “Sonnet 18” is “the ephemeral nature of beauty.” This theme is expressed in “But thy eternal summer […] to time thou grow'st” (Line 9-12). Conversely, the theme of “Sonnet 30”, is, the importance of love for human beings. This theme is uttered in the axiom, “Love is not all: It is not meat nor drink.” The message of “Sonnet 18” is that poetry immortalizes beauty, expressed in “But thy eternal summer shall not fade” (Line 9), while the message of “Sonnet 30” is love is not essential for human beings yet, people lack of it mentioned in “Yet many a man is making friends with death” (Line 7). Concluding, “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare is written in a classical style due to
the era in which it was written while “Sonnet 30” by Edna St. Vincent Millay is written in a more contemporary and freestyle way.
Teacher Aubert
Literature
17 February 2010
Compare and Contrast Paragraph, “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare and “Sonnet 30” by Edna St. Vincent Millay have similarities and a variety differences which make them very intriguing and appealing to the reader. First, the rhyme scheme of “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” are alike since their pattern is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, as demonstrated in “day, temperate, May, date” in “Sonnet 18”; and “drink, rain, sink, again” in “Sonnet 30”. Due to this pattern, “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” are denominated as English Sonnets. On the other hand, the units of meaning for both sonnets are found in absolutely different places. In “Sonnet 18”, each quatrain and couplet …show more content…
expresses a new idea. However in “Sonnet 30”, the ideas expressed by the quatrains extend to further lines which make them irregular. The couplets’ first line, which shares the same meaning as that of the last quatrain and the second line of the couplet that has a different meaning than the first line of the couplet. Furthermore, another discrepancy among “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” is their turning point. For example, the turning point of “Sonnet 18” is expressed with the word “but”, which is found at the beginning of the third quatrain (Line 9) while the turning of “Sonnet 30” is introduced by the word “yet”, that is placed in the middle of the second quatrain (Line 6). In addition, another disparity among “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” is the mood that each author emits for the reader in the poem. “Sonnet 18” expresses a joyful mood, as affirmed in the phrase “darling buds of May” expressed in the third line of the sonnet. However, “Sonnet 30” expresses a mood of misery and hopelessness as confirmed by the stipulation “moaning for release” (Line 10) presented in the tenth line of the sonnet. The mood of “Sonnet 18” makes the reader feel alive and immortal since the author is celebrating someone’s beauty.
On the other hand, the mood of “Sonnet 30” makes the reader feel depressed and at some point loveless. Also, another difference between the sonnets is the tone of each. In “Sonnet 18”, a” lovely” and “temperate” (Line 2) tone is emitted yet, the tone of “Sonnet 30” is cheerless and painful as expressed in “even as I speak, for lack of love alone.”, “Yet many a man is making friends with death”. Moreover, the different respective themes of the sonnets show a great difference between William Shakespeare’s and Edna St. Vincent Millay’s perception of love. The theme of “Sonnet 18” is “the ephemeral nature of beauty.” This theme is expressed in “But thy eternal summer […] to time thou grow'st” (Line 9-12). Conversely, the theme of “Sonnet 30”, is, the importance of love for human beings. This theme is uttered in the axiom, “Love is not all: It is not meat nor drink.” The message of “Sonnet 18” is that poetry immortalizes beauty, expressed in “But thy eternal summer shall not fade” (Line 9), while the message of “Sonnet 30” is love is not essential for human beings yet, people lack of it mentioned in “Yet many a man is making friends with death” (Line 7). Concluding, “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare is written in a classical style due to
the era in which it was written while “Sonnet 30” by Edna St. Vincent Millay is written in a more contemporary and freestyle way.