"To the poet, to the philosopher, to the saint, all things are friendly and sacred, all events profitable, all days holy, all men divine." - Ralph Waldo Emerson, History
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
274. "Fear no more" (page 329)
"Fear no more" is a poem written by William Shakespeare about how we ought live in fear as we are all going to eventually die. This meaning is exemplified by the use of Repetition and Allegory, as the words, "Fear no more" are continuously repeated throughout the piece, giving the readers the obvious notion that we ought "fear no more", although this meaning is explained in the poem with the use of allegory, such as in the repeated words, "come to dust", which always follow something which cannot continue forever, whether it is the golden lads and girls; the scepter, learning, physic; or all lovers. Although this passage is another example of repetition, it is also an allegory as it is not only stating these subjects will literally "come to dust", but instead also that they will one day end.
277. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" (page 331)
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" is a poem written by William Shakespeare, professing his feelings that the subject is infinitely perfect both in beauty and in character, and that his poem will keep the memory of this subject alive forever. This is achieved through the use of Allegory and Imagery, as the line, "Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade", where death bragging of having the subject in his shade is an allegory representing both the literal idea that death will not be holding the subject in his shade, but also representing the idea that the subject will not die, which as the poem continues, Shakespeare explains this immortality as the result of his poem keeping the memory of the subject alive forever. Similarly, through imagery in the line, "By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed", it is depicted that the trees are losing their leaves with the coming of winter, an image which contrasts with the previous depiction of the summer's day. The meaning of this line is as part of a series of lines wherein Shakespeare expresses how the subject is in fact better than the summer's day, as where the summer's day will eventually spawn the transition to winter and the trees will become barren of leaves and their beauty, the subject will never lose that same beauty.
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