Write an essay on three poems from the longlist th Essays

Write an essay on three poems from the longlist that use contrasting approaches to the same genre, foregrounding specific details of language, poetic convention and technique. This essay will focus on the sonnet and its sub-genres. Three different sonnets will be analysed: "Alas, so all things nowe doe holde their peace" by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey , "Leave me o Love, which reachest but to dust" by Sir Philip Sidney and "Sonnet. Written in the Church-yard at Middleton in Sussex" by Charlotte Smith . The essay will provide information on the three sonnets and at the same time highlight contrasting techniques to the style , structure and themes of the sonnet as a genre . It will also point out the differences and analogies noticed when the sonnets are compared to one an other and to the three canonical models, Petrarchan, Shakespearean and Spenserian. The sonnet was born in Italy and reached its best thanks to Francesco Petrarch who used to write short poems of 14 lines about Laura, the lady he was in love with. In fact, t he main theme in sonnets is usually love , especially when it i s complicated or frustrated or disappointed. It is determined by rules and conventions and follows the tradition of the genre. The first sonnet by Henry Howard follows the Shakespearean model rather than the Spenserian one not only because it is divided in four stanzas, three of which are quatrains characterised by alternate rhyme while the last stanza is composed by a rhyming couplet, but also because the rhyme scheme is closer to the typical Shakespearean one. It has to be said that this poem repeats the same sounds of the alternate rhyme throughout the three quatrains so that the rhyme scheme is ABAB ABAB ABAB CC, which is slightly different from Shakespeare's ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Henry Howard was one of the most representative literary figures of the Renaissance. One of the typical features of the Renaissance is the admiration and the revival of cla ssical art and culture. For example Alcman's "Nocturne" is an explicative example of the poems Howard may have been inspired by . However, for the themes analysed in the second half of the sonnet, this poem can be regarded as a solid base for Romanticism. It is evident that the themes it deals with are not just the contact with nature and the contemplation of it, but it also describes the feelings evoked in the poet : "For my swete thoughtes sometyme doe pleasure bring" (Howard 90). In this sonnet there is a shift from an outer state (nature being quiet and asleep) to an inner one (pain and agony of the author). The two main elements are clearly in contrast; in fact the sorrow and worries described by the poet in the last verses are contrasted to the complete calm of the nature : "When I thinke what griefe it is againe to live and lack the thing should ridde my paine" (Howard 90) . The second sonnet "Leave me o Love, which reachest but to dust" w as written by Sir Phil ip Sidney. Like Howard's one it i s composed of three quartets and a rhyming couplet. The r hyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF DD , which means the poet adopted an alternate rhyme for the quartets. The closest model to this poem would be the Shakespearean sonnet, even though instead of the final couplet going GG it rhymes with the sixth and eighth lines (" be", "see", "see", "me" ). Light is a recurring theme throughout the whole poem. It is mentioned in most of the stanzas and can be considered a metaphor for life. Amongst the themes that can be found in this poem the most evident ones are love and relationships, which are often complica ted. When Love is mentioned, it i s always spelled with the capital L, which implies a personification of the feeling itself and stresses its importance. "Leave me o Love, ", " Etternal Love maintaine thy life in me" (Sidney 153) . One of the most popular classical themes is time and brevity of life. Major authors such as Catullus and