Stella's Advice on Studying Shakespeare

To take a Shakespeare course, or not to take a Shakespeare course. That is the great dilemma. Dear nonexistent younger sibling, I sure care a lot about you, even though I've never met you. That's why I'm here to impart a little sisterly wisdom upon you. I just finished taking a Shakespeare course at BYU and while it seemed somewhat daunting at first, I now feel as if the Bard and I are kindred spirits.

So, first of all my Shakespeare experience this semester was definitely non-traditional and while I'm typically disinclined to use any form of social media, I was required to use a social app on my phone to discuss the texts we read with my peers. I hardly even use Facebook. It's impressive that I'm even friends with our other siblings. For some reason I can never find you on Facebook though . . . strange. Anyways, I gradually began to realize that the social app, Slack, actually greatly enhanced my reading of the texts, as my peers were able to provide ideas that I had never even considered before. Some of the ideas that were bounced back and forth between myself and my peers actually resulted in questions that I proceeded to research for my papers this semester. While your professor might not use a social media app to facilitate your discussions, I would find someone in the class who you could converse with or even text with as you read your assigned texts!

We also read all of our texts on the Kindle app. First of all, my back appreciates my "smartphone" experience this semester, as the Professor came in with a rather intimidatingly large novel the first day of class and then presented us with the option of using the Kindle app instead. I don't regret this. You know that I am a bibliophile and that I love the smell and feel of a book, but I began to realize the advantages of using the Kindle app as a means of studying Shakespeare! I could highlight the passages I loved or wanted to investigate into the meaning of a little more, and then easily revisit these passages later. This was a HUGE asset when I was required to write my papers, as different themes were highlighted in different colors and it was easy to find the passages I wanted to include in my paper.

I know you're thinking "okay, but how can I contribute to the vast research that has already been done and Shakespeare and all his works?" I have toured the vastly inauspicious shelves of the library, and I too wondered how I would ever find a topic that had not been absolutely exhausted. Yet our use of social media in studying Shakespeare helped me to recognize that our contemporary world still explores Shakespeare through modern means. I did a rather traditional character analysis for my final paper, but there were many students who explored how Tumbler or even Pinterest affect or even transform our understanding of Shakespeare's timeless texts.

We were heavily encouraged to use non-traditional sources throughout the semester, so as I researched my own paper one of my favorite non-traditional sources were audiobooks and theatrical productions that were posted on YouTube. Both audio and video performances can be your best friend, as these are plays that are intended to be SEEN, not simply read! So get out there and watch performances and see how they are able to enhance your understanding of the plays you read. Even pictures were helpful as I cited them in my paper, as they helped to convey my argument in a visual manner.

I know you've probably fallen asleep by now, but perchance you are still not convinced that you should enroll in a Shakespeare class, I want to tell you about one of my favorite experiences this semester. After reading Henry V, we watched several short clips from different films in class and we interacted on a google doc as we watched the videos. We wrote down our observations concerning the lighting, acting, props, dialogue, and the camera angles and shots and interpreted how these different elements contributed to the play's meaning. I LOVED this in-class assignment!

Well, this class should be added to your schedule by now. I know that you'll learn to love the bard just as much as me, dear non-existent younger sibling. He's a pretty funny and dramatic dude, so he'll probably catch you off guard quite often.

Love ya!

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Stella's Performance Review "Hamlet"

So, I had purchased tickets to the Benedict Cumberbatch Hamlet, but I was absolutely destroyed when I arrived at the theater at 7:40, thinking it started at 7:30, and found out that it started at 7:00. My reaction was probably similar to that of David Tennant in the Hamlet montage.

Although I was disappointed I didn't witness Cumberbatch parading around the stage as Hamlet, I thoroughly enjoyed the Shakespeare Royal Company production that I watched starring David Tennant and the illustrious Patrick Stewart. I though it was interesting that this was a contemporary adaptation of Hamlet, as the clothing and setting was modern. I had heard that it was difficult to place the production starring Benedict Cumberbatch in a specific period, as the time period seemed to remain intentionally ambiguous, yet it is evident that this production was very modern. This modernity even translated into the manner in which the actors delivered the lines. I found that Patrick Stewart was more fluid in his mannerisms and line delivery, rather than the more rigid mannerisms that I have noticed in productions that are found within a more archaic period.

The set was absolutely gorgeous in this production, as everything seemed to be cloaked in a rich black. One of the most striking features of the set was the stage floor, where the majority of the scenes took place. The floor was a very glossy and reflective ebony, which seemed reflected the play's action back onto the actors. The floor's black reflective quality made it seem cold and unfeeling as it did not alter the reality of the play's tragedy, but remained indifferent to the play's tremendous sorrow. At the play's ending Gertrude, Claudius, Laertes, and Hamlet are found lying on the glossy black surface. Maybe I'm reading too much into that beautiful floor, but I loved it haha.

I thought it was interesting that the cast took modern artistic liberties with the play. When Laertes admonishes his sister Ophelia to be careful as Hamlet might entice her to give into her passions, she mocks his advice and walks to his packed trunks and pulls out condoms and suggests that he has no room to talk. One moment that differed from the play was that Hamlet shoots Polonius through a mirror rather than stabbing him through the drapery.

I was intrigued by the frequent scene cuts to a security camera view of the play. The play opens through the view of a security camera and intermittently changes to the security camera perspective. This might be intended to make the audience feel as if they are stepping into the intimate reality of the prince Hamlet and witnessing his gradual descent into madness. Sometimes Hamlet directs his soliloquies directly into the monitors and at the climax of one of his rages he tears one of the security cameras from the wall.

Oh, and one more quick little thing . . . Hamlet wore a casual T-shirt with the image of chiseled abs on it. He pretty much looks like a voracious video gamer with his disheveled hair, yet I wondered if there was greater meaning in this shirt. I wondered if Hamlet wore the facade of masculinity after he found out about his father's murder and he consequently sought to assert his masculinity through avenging his late father. Behind the painted T-shirt image of chiseled abs stood an emotionally and physically weak man who eventually succumbed to the hatred which consumed him. Anyways, just a thought. I really enjoyed this production and would recommend this to anyone who wants to enjoy a production of Hamlet!

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Stella's Annotated Bibliography (2)

Working Title: Misunderstanding the Malefactor: Understanding Angelo's Complex Duality. My working thesis, as in this is pretty rudimentary, but here it be: In Shakespeare's Measure for Measure Angelo is typically perceived as an unadulterated villain who hypocritically propositions Isabella to fornicate with him in exchange for her brother's life, yet Angelo's actions can be paradoxically understood as his desperate need to create a symbolic union with Isabella's purity and innocence, as she represents that which he yearns to legally establish.

Scholarly Sources:

Mikkelsen, Robert S. "To Catch a Saint: Angelo in Measure for Measure." Western Humanities Review, vol. 12, 1958., pp. 261. <http://searchproquest.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/1291795055?accountid=4488>

Mikkelsen interprets Angelo's character psychologically, ethically, and dramatically in an effort to justify the widely disputed ending in which Angelo receives forgiveness following all his hypocritical behaviors throughout the play.
This source will be a valuable addition in my paper, as Mikkelsen dissects Angelo's character through various lenses, so that he may demonstrate how Angelo's character is more complicated and deserving of the forgiveness he receives in the end of the play than critics are initially prone to believe.

Magedanz, Stacy. "Public Justice and Private Mercy in Measure for Measure." Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, vol. 44, no. 2, 2004., pp. 317-332. <http://search.proquest.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/204323978?accountid=4488>

Magedanz analyzes the religious implications of society's sexual proclivities in Shakespeare's Vienna, as it begins to tear at the family and thus tear apart the social threads holding the material of society together.
This is an interesting analysis as it suggests that there is a certain need for the justice that Angelo exacts, although he seems to exact this order too abruptly. It calls into question the balance that is needed regarding moral law within political society.

Miles, Rosalind. "Angelo and Isabella." The Problem of 'Measure for Measure.' London: Vision, 1976. 197-229. Print.

Rosalind interestingly argues that it is Angelo's very nature, his "gravity, austerity, and self-restraint," which cause him to fall when he meets Isabella and encounters emotions and passions, which he is unfamiliar with.
These emotions and passions illustrate that justice does not exist in perfection with the nuances of emotion, which man experiences. I love what Rosalind states throughout her article, as it provides me with a springboard for the importance of interpreting Angelo this way throughout the play-gives the play's ending more meaning.

Widmayer, Martha. ""To Sin in Loving Virtue": Angelo of Measure for Measure." Texas Studies in Literature and Language, vol. 49, no. 2, 2007., pp. 155-180. <http://searchproquest.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/208082515?accountid=4488>

Widmayer does not seek to exonerate Angelo in her article, yet she does point out that if we are to scrutinize the hypocrisy of Angelo's character then we need to do the same for every other character within Measure for Measure, as they are all guilty of hypocritical behavior.
Like Widmayer, I am not seeking to exonerate Angelo, as he is clearly not a moral being, yet I'm trying to illustrate that he is more complicated and dimensional than the villain label allows him to be. Widmayer carefully shows how Angelo conducted himself and his legal affairs sincerely until he met Isabella, yet I would continue to argue that even upon meeting Isabella he was simply vying for that which he was legally seeking to establish, a sense of morality that only Isabella represented.

Social Sources:

[Expert] Though I have not spoken with Robert Means yet I plan on discussing my thesis with him. Robert Means if of course the humanities luminary within the library and I'm hoping that he can direct me to more sources that help with my research. It will also be a helpful tool to simply discuss the nature of my paper and ask for feedback. I'll edit my post after I discuss this with Mr. Means.

[Homies]

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Stella's Annotated Bibliography (1)

I still plan to deconstruct Angelo's character in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, as I began to recognize the complexity of his character as I read the play. Though he is often depicted as an unadulterated villain, his character can be better understood when one explore his seemingly tyrannical need for justice. Angelo legally demands an unyieldingly perfect justice, yet recognizing that he cannot find this perfect order in himself, he seeks to create a union with Isabella's perfection. My thesis statement is rather rough, but here is a vague idea of how I want to focus my paper. My working title is "Misunderstanding the Malefactor: The Complex Duality of Angelo" and the thesis goes something like this . . .  In Shakespeare's Measure for Measure Angelo is invariably perceived as an unadulterated villain who hypocritically propositions Isabella to fornicate with him in exchange for her brother's life, yet Angelo's actions can be paradoxically understood as his desperate need to create a symbolic union with Isabella's purity and innocence, as she represents that which he yearns to legally establish.

Informal Sources:

Silbert, Roxanne. Royal Shakespeare Company Playbill. Measure for Measure. Stratford-Upon-Avon, 28 Jan 2012. <https://peterviney.wordpress.com/stage/measure-for-measure-rsc-2012/>
Isabella's saintly profile is embedded in the silhouette of what appears to be the King's head, as there is a crown atop his head in this image. This image is on the cover of what appears to be the playbill for the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Measure for Measure.
Though this picture does not depict Angelo, the image embodies the play's theme of justice and mercy, and shows the union of the two through the representation of the King and Isabella. Though Angelo seeks to be a part of this union, Isabella and the King are the only two that can truly unite the opposing concepts.

Fernie, Ewan. "To Sin in Loving Virtue: Desire and Possession in 'Measure for Measure'." Sillages Critiques. 2013. <http:sillagescritiques.revues.org/2608>
Um, this article is the best! Fernie details specific passages within Measure for Measure, which help to illuminate Angelo's conflicting nature.
This source will help tremendoulsy in my paper, as I had not previously come across any sources that suggest that Angelo's desire for Isabella's purity is actually an indication of his metaphysical hunger for the good, as Fernie states.

Performances:

Measure for Measure. Arkangel Productions, BBC Audiobooks American, 2003. <http://literature.proquest.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/arkangel/audioclip.jsp?ID=ARK20>
This audio production of Measure for Measure is infused with the characters' emotions, which is clearly conveyed through their voices. This audio recording will be very helpful as I continue to analyze Angelo, as his audio solilquy conveyed a sense of earnestness, rather than lust when he considered Isabella's virtue and purity. His voice trembled as he delivered the solilquy.

Durham, Alexander J. "So You Must Be the First That Gives This Sentence" Measure for Measure (Kate Nelligan). YouTube, 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paAYJUx9MfQ>
This brief clip shows Isabella passionately censuring Angelo for his hypocritical proposition. Wow, this video is very moving, as Isabella's purity is epitomized by her starkly white apparel and Angelo gazes upon her with the tears of a penitent soul, revealing his conscience of a humbled man. 





This brief clip shows Isabella passionately censuring Angelo for his hypocritical proposition. Wow, this video is very moving, as Isabella's purity is epitomized by her starkly white apparel and Angelo gazes upon her with the tears of a penitent soul.Haut de page

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Understanding Angelo's Duality

As I read Measure for Measure I was surprised to find how morally ambiguous the play seemed to be. All sexually related injustices are reconciled in the end of the novel and mercy is extended unto everyone, including the "villainous" Angelo, yet as I read the play I was surprised to find that I did not regard Angelo's character as an unadulterated villain. It was apparent that when the Duke assigned Angelo as his substitute that he was aware Vienna's chaotic state of legal affairs and thus appointed someone who could restore a firm sense of justice to Vienna, which Angelo accordingly sought to restore.

While Angelo's unyielding and even tyrannic restoration of justice is often perceived as tyrannical, I began to note that Angelo presented a paradoxical nature. When Angelo propositions Isabella into having sex with him so that she may free her brother he was captivated primarily by her innocence and purity. Although his proposition of Isabella is hypocritical and one cannot justify his action, he seemed to ultimately desire to of her purity, rather than taint it. It was as if he so desperately sought perfection, as shown through his legal implementation, that he sought to create a symbolic union with that purity.

This argument would clearly divide an educated audience, as most scholars do not address this duality of character. I have found many scholars who comment on his hypocrisy, yet I could easily use those sources to establish my opposing argument. It's always fun to counter argue what everyone else is saying! I also found an interesting source that addresses the Russian poet, Alexander Pushkin's poem entitled Angelo. This source is interesting as it explains how Pushkin elaborated upon Angelo throughout the poem and provided an alternative perspective on the play altogether. I'm planning on comparing that poem to Shakespeare's Angelo to see how Pushkin revised his character. I haven't watched any film adaptations of Measure for Measure yet, but I'd be interested to see how Angelo is portrayed, or if a more sympathetic portrayal of Angelo even exists. What if he's just as misunderstood as Severus? haha...

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Stella's Sonnet 73 Recitation

Here it be . . . I hope to never view this again haha

Sonnet 73

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Embracing Sexuality in Measure for Measure

Throughout Shakespeare's play, Measure for Measure, justice is executed with unmitigated stringency, as Angelo condemns Claudio for fornication. Angelo's own hypocrisy regarding the sexual law he so strictly enforces becomes apparent as he promises to grant Claudio pardon on condition that Claudio's chaste sister, Isabella, will yield herself to him. Though it becomes apparent in the play's ending that mercy is critical in tempering justice, allowing the scales of justice to become balanced, Shakespeare's play does not exalt chastity and virtue in the end of the play.

As Hanann and I discussed Measure for Measure on Slack we noted Shakespeare's ambiguous stance on morality. Angelo's villainy does not reside in his desire to have sex with Isabella, but the contradictory nature of his desire, as he is executing Claudio for the sin he wishes and designs to commit. The play's characters certainly lie on a wide spectrum of morality, as Angelo is characterized as demonstrating no integrity or morality, while Isabella is epitomized as the pure figure of morality and integrity.

Some might certainly point to Shakespeare's own morality when analyzing the moral intent of his play, as his child was born shortly after his own marriage. Disregarding his personal life experience, is becomes evident throughout the play that Shakespeare suggests that sexuality is natural, as even Lucio observes the naturality of sexuality in nature itself in the screen shot included above. He refers to Angelo's strict enforcement of the sexual law when he states, "sparrows must not build in his house-eaves, because they are lecherous." I started to conclude that Shakespeare sought to convey that sexuality even celibacy is fine, but one must remain true to oneself. Although Isabella seeks to yoke herself to a life of celibacy in the play's beginning as she enters a convent, she too yields to the sexuality of love when she consents to marry the Duke in the ending of the play. Each character within Measure for Measure undergoes a transformation throughout the play, but all the characters inevitably experience a more realistic conception of sexuality.

If I were to research this topic further, I would love to be able to reference film adaptations of the play, but I found that there are not many modern adaptations to refer to. I was particularly interested in listening/watching Wagner's Liebesverbot, as this opera was derived from Measure for Measure. I would love to explore how the music depicts each character's sexuality and whether the music positively represents sexuality through the play, or condemns it. This might be a little abstract, but it would be interesting to explore!

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Paper Pre-writing A Little Bit of Shakespeare is All I Need

Lear's fall from the comfort of nobility leads
him to question the true worth of man when
stripped of his external adornments and garb.
He is completely subject to nature.

I chose to include this screenshot, as the highlighted section reveals Lear's paradigm shift. Throughout the beginning of the play Lear's pride blinds him to the true nature of people and himself, yet after he is cast into the tempestuous storm by his daughters he begins to recognize the core of human nature. Though many scholarly articles remark on Lear's progressive descent into madness, this highlighted passage demonstrates his confrontation with his previous paradigm after his tragic filial disillusionment, which actually enables him to form a humbler and more distinct identity.

After receiving some valuable feedback from Prof. Burton, I realized that I was completely lacking a central argument in my sonnet analysis. I wanted to boldly assert an argument which called in to question Shakespeare's flawless genius (gasp), but I wavered and fell back on the ubiquitous belief that Shakespeare is a genius and all that he does testifies of his genius. Though I do not attempt to question the brilliancy of King Lear, I have been able to gain a great deal of insight into Shakespeare's works as I continually question why Shakespeare composed passages in the the manner that he did. This has been invaluable in helping me to transition from analyzing theme, to analyzing the figurative language, metaphoric devices, and rhythm of King Lear.

I loved the easy accessibility of various types of sources through our #team-lear discussion. These various sources really helped our discussion to evolve into more complex ideas and questions as members of the group provided sources they found to supplement different reoccurring themes that the members tended to gravitate to. I thought it was interesting that the group tended to gravitate to different themes such as blindness and the role of the fool, but these main discussions allowed me to branch off into related themes that I had not considered before. I particularly enjoyed the social sources that members of the group shared, which helped me to realize the significance and relevance of King Lear to contemporary readers. Imagine that, Shakespeare's themes are still relevant today.

Working through various types of claims . . . 

[policy] Though the play's tragic ending is often understood as neither exalting evil or goodness, the reader should recognize Shakespeare's portrayal of Cordelia as a Christ figure, which helps to reveal the triumph of goodness as she provides redemption to Lear, saving him from the evil which sought to corrupt his sanity.

[definition] Lear's descent into madness is metaphorically symbolized by the raging storm he is cast into, yet nature's serves a dual role throughout the play, as it both embodies his madness and serves to heal his severe disillusionment and madness, for it strikes his soul and causes him to see the true nature of reality.

[comparison] Edgar's fall from the prestige of nobility is similar to that of King Lear; this similarity serves to offer both Edgar and Lear an opportunity of introspection, allowing both Edgar and Lear to gain humility and strip themselves of the pride which is so easily corrupted.

[evaluation] Sight serves as a powerful metaphor throughout the play, yet is through the physical of Gloucester's blindness that it becomes apparent that it is better to remain physically blind than to be mentally blinded and lose all sense of reality.

[causal] Edmund's contempt for his illegitimate or bastardly status ultimately resulted in the severing of the legitimacy of his relationship with Gloucester, causing the macabre scene of death in the end of the play.

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DRUMPF

His squint faced gaze doth bring me so much shame.

Our nation’s founding fathers would decree,

no man shall cast a ballot in his name,

else liberty for all could never be,

The amber waves of grain do not compare,

so golden is the nature of his tresses.

Dear Willy’s Oompa Loompas stop and stare,

to see so bold an orange, which impresses.

I’d rather take a hammer to my face,

than listen to the heresies he states,

Hispanics, women . . . all who are disgraced,

do cry as one to send him to his fate.

So how to make our country “great” again?

Alas, there proves no options, where’s my gin?

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Life's Falling Leaves

Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

Though it remains unclear whether yellow leaves still cling to the boughs in Sonnet 73, the meaning of these yellow leaves is not ambiguous. Just as the leaves fall from the trees every autumn, the years of our lives pass slowly by, like individual falling leaves. Shakespeare's conceit throughout Sonnet 73 employs autumn to paint a poignant picture of the inevitable fading of life. Just as each season must fade into the next, so must our lives fade into seasons or phases, until we eventually return to the earth.

Imagery

Though Bernhard Frank describes the imagery of seasonal change and sunset in Sonnet 73 as "cliche," even for Shakespeare's Elizabethan period, the imagery perfectly captures the tone and thoughts, which the speaker is trying to convey. Autumn, sunsets, and a dying fire perfectly capture the fading existence of the speaker. Though his life was rich with meaning, as illustrated through "Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang," the speaker recognizes his impending death (3). Death does not infuse the Sonnet with a foreboding tone, as the imagery captures universal nature of death. Just as the sun sets or the autumn leaves fall, so must mankind continue into the next phase of existence or death. The imagery of Sonnet 73 is strikingly similar to Sonnet 97, as they both represent the passing of time through seasons. Though seasons perfectly capture the passage of time, I can understand my friend, Bernhard, when he claims that this imagery has been exhausted, especially considering he relies so heavily upon it in both Sonnet 73 and 97.  Bernhard Frank's Sonnet 73 Analysis

   Couplet  

The last two lines of Sonnet 73 illuminate the meaning of the speaker's reflections and connects it back to the speaker's audience, addressed in the first line of the Sonnet. In line 1 of the Sonnet the speaker addresses someone, and desires that they recognize how the naturalistic metaphors embody the life of the speaker. In the couplet the speaker acknowledges that the person addressed loves the speaker despite the knowledge that the speaker will soon die. This truly is a test of the strength of that love, as it is most difficult to love someone or something, which will not endure the test of time or seasons. It is in the couplet that the speaker intertwines the imagery of death and love into one, and once again we recognize that Shakespeare is the master at unveiling the meaning of life. Death does not weaken the strength of love, as love endures all the seasons. 

Animating Death

Shakespeare's sonnet is brought to life in a simple animated video, which captures the simplicity of the imagery in Sonnet 73. The simplicity of the animation in the video mirrors the simplicity of Shakespeare's metaphors of seasonal change, sunset, and fire, yet the impact of the Sonnet is not reduced. The Sonnet's couplet succeeds in transforming the somewhat ordinary imagery of Sonnet 73 into a complex representation of love and death. While love and death are ordinarily perceived as binaries, these binaries are reconciled into one in the couplet. Just as the juxtaposition in line 13, "Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by," is reconciled. It is through the couplet that the contrasting imagery of the Sonnet is reunited. 

Shakespeare once again proves that he is the master of the English language. Though it may seem that the imagery in Sonnet 73 clashes with one another, Shakespeare craftily reveals in the couplet and the reader is compelled to read the Sonnet once again, recognizing the genius of the Sonnet's imagery. 

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Stella's Informal Analysis of Sonnet 73

• One of the articles I found on the MLA International Bibliography database was explicated by Bernhard Frank, who explains that while the sonnet's lyrical rhythm is universally affecting, the sonnet defies reason from a pragmatic perspective. I found it interesting that he was able to articulate what I sought to relate when I read lines 2-3 of the poem, yet failed to do. He argues that listing the leaves in sequential order (ex. When yellow leaves, or few, or none do hang / Upon those boughs) that it invalidates the image of the leaves on the bough. The juxtaposition of the sequence in the original line (When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang / Upon these boughs) questions the existence of leaves upon the bough, yet restores the leaves to the bough for the final image.

• The blog's author, John Renkeiwicz, unpacks each individial line in sonnet 73, illuminating the embedded figurative language and symbolism that so many other analysis reveal in the explication of this sonnet. Although I did not find this blog to be tremendously helpful in my own analysis of sonnet 73, it did prove helpful in reminding me what an anaphoric is (the deliberate repetition of the first part of a sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect). I feel that I often have to look up the figurative language terms I so often forget! http://commons.marymount.edu/en200fa13/category/shakespeares-sonnet-73/

• I thought that this simple animated representation of sonnet 73 really captured the theme of the sonnet. Though the animation is quite simple, the viewer is able to get a get a glimpse of the brevity of life, which the sonnet seeks to convey. The speaker's voice is definitely not my favorite, but I selected this video for the animation.                               https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=J27cpy-To8s

• So, I tried to discuss this sonnet with my fiancé, who was engrossed in a TV show, but to no avail. He responded with, "I don't get it," and then continued to watch Limitless. So, I decided to have a nice little chat about Shakesperian sonnets with his roommate, who actually found the poem to be quite "pleasant." His words, not mine. I thought it was interesting that he really appreciated the couplet of the sonnet, as he thought that the couplet reconciled the contrasting imagery of the sonnet. I, however, found the couplet to be somewhat didactic, but I realized after speaking with him that the couplet really is integral to the meaning of the poem. 

Dazed and confused after composing my own sonnet:

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Stella's Sonnet Draft

Drumpf

His squint faced gaze doth bring me so much shame,

no amount of money could you pay me,

to cast my ballot in that dreadful name.

Adams, Franklin . . . Our fathers would decree,

the amber waves of grain do not compare,

to the swooping nature of his tresses. 

Dear Willy's Oompa Loompas stop and stare,

so bold an orange, which so impresses.

I'd rather take a hammer to my face,

than listen to the heresies he states.

Hispanics, women . . . all he abases

do cry as one to send him to his fate.

So how to make our country "great" again"

Alas, there proves no options, where's my gin?

So, I'm clearly not proficient at writing sonnets, as I did not do the Drumpf the justice he so deserved. I was especially struggling with line eight. I could not formulate a line that completed line seven, yet still rhymed with the perniciously difficult word, "tresses." Dang Nabbit. I might just have to revise both lines. What do ya'll think?

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Stella's Sonnet 73 Analysis

Sonnet 73 employs nature as a conceit to convey the speaker's fading existence. Autumn imagery acutely illustrates the state of the speaker who was once imbibed with vitality like that of the trees in the full bloom of summer, but are now nearing their autumnal abscission, just as the speaker's death approaches. The trees have lost almost all their foliage, yet line two demonstrates the speaker's uncertainty of how soon autumn will fade into winter (his impending death) stating, "when yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang." Just as the time of the speaker's death remains unclear, the indistinct imagery of the leaves reflect this uncertainty, as the speaker cannot sense how many, if any, leaves cling to the branches of the tree. The speaker is not the only one conscious of his impending death as he addresses someone who recognizes the speaker's fading life, yet nevertheless loves the speaker with an enduring love. The last line of the poem seems somewhat didactic by nature, as it suggests that one must love with all one has throughout life, as life will inevitably fade away just as every summer fades into autumn. The conceit of sonnet 73 bore a strikingly similar resemblance to the conceit of sonnet 97. Although seasons embody the passage of time in both poems, poem 73 refers almost exclusively to autumn. Sonnets 71, 72, and 74 all address the theme of death as well, yet they address death more directly rather than relying heavily upon metaphor.

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