The assumption that a sonnet is in "the eye of the beholder" is both simplistically accurate and also questionably flawed. It is indisputable that as readers of any type of literary work, we will take our own individual meaning of a text which is likely to differ significantly from another's interpretation. In this sense, a sonnet will always be in the eye of the beholder as it lays with whom ever is reading and their viewpoint on the text. However, it is also questionable whether or not the reader has much room to take any individual meaning from a sonnet as they would be able to with other pieces of literature, as its strict contextual nature and rules that define its genre allow for limited variation across sonnet writing and therefore would appear to only present us with a single type of writing and style. In this way, what Don Paterson could be saying is that the sonnet is a product of a poet's meaning behind their individual observation of what a sonnet means to them.
Traditionally, as coined by Petrarchan, a poem about love, the sonnet holds certain connotations to a reader that leads their expectations of what they are looking for when reading one. More recently than Petrarchan, Shakespearean sonnets have taken a different approach on sonnet writing that blur the intentions of the sonnet itself and make us question the idea of love as a whole, something that Fineman calls a "mock encomium." Imposing the thematic sequence of a Petrarchan sonnet in a more formal pattern, Shakespeare uses the first and second quatrain to build on an argument and then concludes this by the final couplet. This is shown in "Sonnet 147" where the first quatrain outlines the speaker's feelings towards love being like a disease - "My love is as a fever," depicting a self-destructive nature to it all. This is then developed in the second quatrain as he introduces his out of control sexual desires and being on the verge of death.
Sonnet's 18 through 126 are focused on a beloved young man. ... The sonnets have three quatrains and a closing couplet. ... The sonnets also seemed to lack an obvious example of a simile. ... In the sonnets, each quatrain has its own metaphor. ... These sonnets are very similar. ...
General analysis: This sonnet after careful examination takes on a rather different meaning by the end. ... This is the first instance of a sexual reference, and slowly the rest of the sonnet takes on this nature. ... In earlier sonnets, he has been described as smelling worse than weeds, and is a lily that festers. ... These references occur up to around sonnet 94. However, there has also been questions of whether or not the sonnets are placed in the order that Shakespeare had wanted, and not in the order of someone else, leading people in different directions about the interpretations about...
Romanic poems and sonnets are the types of literature that attract me the most. However, Sonnet 116 is the special piece of literature which allures me and sets itself in the position which is more attractive that any other romance. ... Sonnet 116 completely entices me. ... My next interpretation of Sonnet 116 is that it attempts to define love. ... Shakespeare uses the sonnet to fully describe love, and is able to powerfully to add certainty to his point....
Both the poems, Sonnet 43 and Sonnet 18, express love in distinctive ways, Browning begins the octave of the sonnet with a question, "how do I love thee," giving the reader an indication of her intense love that is further elaborated by a three dimensional "depth and breadth and height" limit. ... Since Sonnet 18 was written in 1609 and sonnet 43 in 1850, it can be perceived that the emotion of love has evolved over the centuries, finding different expressions, meanings, and norms in different circumstances. ... Both Sonnets 18 and 43 are expressions of love that surpass e...
Beginning with sonnet twenty starts a long sequence of sonnets dealing with Shakespeare and having a lover of the opposite sex. ... The setting of sonnet 130 is open to the reader's interpretation. ... Each line of sonnet 130 has ten syllables. ... Sonnet 130 also contains a couplet. ... I have always loved sonnet 130. ...
These highly subjective sonnets are wonderful tales full of love, deception, and betrayal. ... The answer to this question is that Shakespeare's sonnets were not fiction. ... What better way to fulfill his urge than to write sonnets? ... Another sonnet of Shakespeare's in which subjectivity prevails is number eighteen. ... In Shakespeare's sonnet exists the power to defy time and last forever. ...
Because this is a holy sonnet, the sexual motif has been embodied by the Christian deity. ... In this interpretation, the first four lines seem to indicate a violent struggle rather than a romantic interlude. ... One critic published his unique interpretation that discusses this section of the poem. ... The interesting aspect of this interpretation is that it completely ignores the important religious theme of the poem. ... These interpretations seem to declare blasphemy and outrage. ...
Glanmore Sonnets IV There are many important elements within any given poem. Seamus Heaney's poem, "Glanmore Sonnets IV," is of no exception to this idea. Poetry is, more or less, up for interpretation. ... To obtain an insightful interpretation of a poem's content, many elements must be considered. ... Since this sonnet has seven rhymes in the form of, ABABCDCDEFEFGG it is an English sonnet. ...
In the sonnet "Ode on Intimations of Immorality," romantic poet William Wordsworth uses attitude and tone along with symbols and images, to trace the transformation he experienced in the maturing process. ... His sonnet supports the romantic ideology of the "fallen" nature of man and the idea of an immortal soul. ... Wordsworth's sonnet entices the reader to reevaluate their definition of nature throughout their life. ... Wordsworth solidifies his transformation in the sonnet with images. ... The sonnet resolves itself with an emphasis on redefining the individual maturing ...
