Sonnet 30 Figurative Language
The poem that I chose for my Performance Task is Sonnet 30 by William Shakespeare. This sonnet shares deep emotions as the speaker reflects upon the past. It expresses in writing the process of being reminded of former times and individuals who were once very close to the heart. This feeling is something that we all have experienced at one time in their lives. Symbolism is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea. In this poem symbolism is a key figurative language aspect, that acts as almost a gateway for other literary devices in this work, such as metaphor, alliteration, and anaphora. One quote from the sonnet that shows symbolism is in lines one and two where it says, “When to the sessions of sweet
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It is often used in poetry to emphasize and draw out certain pathos in the reader. In the case of Sonnet 30, anaphora is used to emphasize the extent of Shakespeare’s sorrow, using the words ‘and’ and ‘then’ at the beginning of certain lines. By using these words at the beginning, the audience can feel a certain weight in reference to the memories that Shakespeare is speaking of. The lines that Shakespeare uses anaphora are as follows,“And with old woes new wail my dear times waste: Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow. . .And weep afresh love’s long since cancelled woe, And moan the expense of many a vanished sight. Then can I grieve at grievances forgone, And heavily from woe to woe tell o’er. . .” By having words such as ‘and’ and 'then' repeated, this adds to the weight of the feelings in the poem. The emphasis placed on such words helps to add depth to the symbolic “session of sweet silent thought” that Shakespeare is envisioning. Shakespeare expresses feelings using symbolism as a gate way to other figurative language aspects and literary devices, such as imagery, anaphora, alliteration, and metaphor, throughout Sonnet 30. After reading, the audience is left touched by his tone, and is able to share the feelings that William Shakespeare once
It is often used in poetry to emphasize and draw out certain pathos in the reader. In the case of Sonnet 30, anaphora is used to emphasize the extent of Shakespeare’s sorrow, using the words ‘and’ and ‘then’ at the beginning of certain lines. By using these words at the beginning, the audience can feel a certain weight in reference to the memories that Shakespeare is speaking of. The lines that Shakespeare uses anaphora are as follows,“And with old woes new wail my dear times waste: Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow. . .And weep afresh love’s long since cancelled woe, And moan the expense of many a vanished sight. Then can I grieve at grievances forgone, And heavily from woe to woe tell o’er. . .” By having words such as ‘and’ and 'then' repeated, this adds to the weight of the feelings in the poem. The emphasis placed on such words helps to add depth to the symbolic “session of sweet silent thought” that Shakespeare is envisioning. Shakespeare expresses feelings using symbolism as a gate way to other figurative language aspects and literary devices, such as imagery, anaphora, alliteration, and metaphor, throughout Sonnet 30. After reading, the audience is left touched by his tone, and is able to share the feelings that William Shakespeare once