Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Mary's Take on Sonnet 129

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This sonnet is often grouped with others written about the Dark Lady and may have had to do with her.  In this sonnet, lust is condemned and an unworthy vice to fall into.  I would paraphrase the sonnet so:
Perusing lust is a waste and, until lustful desires are achieved, it causes a person act their worst. The goals of lust seem desirable and like a dream, but are the opposite when actually achieved.  Everyone seems to know this, but few know enough to avoid falling for it. 

This sonnet seems different than many of Shakespeare's other poems as the rhythm is a bit more jarring or abrupt, particularly in it's use of varying stresses.  It also condemns lust where other poems may seem to encourage it instead.  However, the themes of folly and mistakes made through the pursuit of desires along with themes of dissatisfaction can be found in many of Shakespeare's poems. Just one example might be sonnet 118.  This sonnet discusses how a pursuit of appetite often ends in poisoning oneself.  It matches the concept of how things that seem heavily from far off often turn out to be our downfall. 

This poem also seems similar to  Sonnet 152, especially in form and devices used.  Sonnet 152 uses repetition is a similar way to solidify a theme.  It also has some parallel bits such as: 

"For all my vows are oaths but to misuse thee
And all my honest faith in thee is lost,"

This can be compared to lines in Sonnet 129 like:

"Past reason hunted, and no sooner had,
Past reason hated as a swallowed bait"

Both poems also make use of lists to emphasize certain ideas. 

3 comments:

  1. I like that you said that this is something that everyone seems to know but can't avoid falling into because it makes this poem seem more relevant to people today. It's a timeless concept that people are still grappling to understand and apply. I also liked how you mentioned that the poem is slightly jarring. Maybe that is because of the theme of the poem?

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  2. I like that you said that this is something that everyone seems to know but can't avoid falling into because it makes this poem seem more relevant to people today. It's a timeless concept that people are still grappling to understand and apply. I also liked how you mentioned that the poem is slightly jarring. Maybe that is because of the theme of the poem?

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  3. I'm glad you found a sonnet to compare those "Past" lines to. I knew there was one! I also think you're right about 118. I love it when Shakespeare laments human stupidity.

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