A comparative analysis of 'Sonnet XXXI' by Sir Philip Sydney and 'Sad Steps' by Philip Larkin - Essay Example

? Sir Philip Sidney’s ‘Sonnet XXXI’ and Philip Larkin’s ‘Sad Steps’ are two poems that evoke many deep and great feelings that revolve around the useof symbolism and creative imagery. Both poems induce its readers to actively construct a moving progression through their lines that encourages visualizations with the words that they contain. Taken separately, each has an individual characteristic that endears and arouses the imagination of the reader, making one emphatic to the tone of the persona. These two poems are similar in a number of ways that are essentially at their very core but they also have distinctive features that differ from one another. In some ways, the symbolisms at first glance seem so similar that it might seem like they should be taken together for a deeper appreciation of the two. But the value and the depth of each have a theme, tone and message that prominently make each a class of its own. These poems should be read not side by side but one after the other, specifically, ‘Sonnet XXI’ then ‘Sad Steps’ to allow sequence not manifested ostensibly. The moon is a reoccurring image in Sidney’s poem and Larkin’s. ‘Sonnet XXXI’ begins with the line, ‘With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb’st the skies!’1 Right from the beginning the symbolism of the moon and its apparent personification is clear in the sonnet. The Moon, in proper form, is described as having climbed the sky and this line is ended with an exclamation point as though it was a feat that it must endure. The sadness as referred to by the persona refers to the act of the moon of going up, indicating that as though its emergence that signals night is a duty it must fulfill. With the second line, ‘How silently, and with how wan a face!’2 Again, with the use of the exclamation the overall tone of the poem is set and it draws the reader to relate to the sentiment of the moon. The silence and the whiteness denoting its face further establishes the personification of the moon. With this introduction we are engaged that the light emanating from the moon, most often used as a positive symbolism to thwart darkness, is suggestive of sadness. Where the words ‘sad steps’ form part of the opening line of Sidney’s sonnet, this is used as the title of Larkin’s poem. Instantaneously, there is a sense that Larkin intended to make a connection with Sidney’s poem. This is strengthened by the mere fact that the second poem was written centuries after the sonnet. But just as to how far they are similar is straightaway made known by ‘Sad Steps’ first line, ‘Groping back to bed after a piss.’3 Perceptibly, these words used in the introductory part are not words that could be seamlessly integrated into Sir Sidney’s sonnet. ‘Piss’ is a word that would relatively be alien in the world of sonnets nor is there any evidence widely known that would surmise that it is a term used during the 14th century, the time when Sidney was alive. It is by all means a colloquial term and would obviously impress a sense of the crudeness in the poem’s choice of words that is quite uncommon in classical poems. Where ‘Sonnet XXXI’ is in that traditional style of the sonnet we know and love, ‘Sad Steps’ is a lyric narrative poem centered on the persona and sentiment involved. In its very essence, a sonnet will always be a sonnet and will have the main theme of love as its definitive characteristic together with its particular rhyme scheme as chosen by the writer. A sonnet signifies courtship and all that is beautiful that can be contained in a few ardent verses typically to profess love. While a poem, in its general sense, has a wider and encompassing theme and rhyme that could virtually be anything under the sun especially in this day and age of different genres. The two poems juxtaposed show how varied they are in these main points ‘Sonnet XXI’ talks about love, ‘What, may it be that even in heavenly place | That busy archer his sharp arrow tries? | Sure, if that long with love-acquainted eyes | Can judge of love, thou feel’st a lover’s case;’4 In these lines the persona is in a musing state where reference is made to the heavens and most likely of cupid. This would mean that a suggestion to mythology is illustrated. Cupid is known to bring love through his bow and arrow and the question pertain to an inquiry if he is also needed by gods and goddesses in the heavens. The relevance of the moon is the attribution that it oversees everything around it, including how lover’s act and their stories as it unfold. The moon moves as a silent but omniscient character. ‘Sad Steps’ also include love as a major part of its theme. In the fourth stanza, there was a quick but short-lived reverence made to the moon ‘Lozenge of love! Medallion of art! | O wolves of memory! Immensements! No,” 5 The moon, similarly, is shown as a proponent of love. It is depicted as a high being with immeasurable power including the command of memory. The persona remembers his own past and the recollections made him aware of his own life as he gazes up to it. The flow of the recollections of the past as he is prompted by the moon confounded him but in the end he buckles himself and ends with a resounding no. The emotion in these lines peaks in the middle unlike in ‘Sonnet XXXI’ where emotion runs high in the beginning. Where the disposition of the persona in Sidney’s writing is generally of bewilderment and curiosity toward the moon, Larkin’s spoke of a sense of envy and fear toward the gravity of the moon’s power and a resentment that it reminds of the beauty that comes with being young. ‘I read it in thy look; thy languisht grace | To me that feel the like, thy state decries.’6 The persona in the sonnet recognizes the power of the moon but reveres in its magnificence. He is an active observer and examines the moon and sees its face and senses the inquisitiveness that it has in the things before it. The focus was then shifted to him and makes explicit that he too is a creature of love. The reader is now engrossed into the human element that plays into the poem. The subjects are revealed not to be limited to higher beings but are also on people and that sometimes elusive search for love. One begins to understand that the curiosity on how love takes place up above comes from the subjective experiences of the persona and that he wants to be illuminated if it can also be as complex to gods as it is for people. ‘Are beauties there as proud as here they be?’7 This indicates that the persona may have had difficulty in finding love and has mostly likely experienced being turned down by one he adores. Nevertheless, calling them beauties denote that he remains a believer and advocate of love. In ‘Sad Steps,’ the persona resents the power of the moon and is somewhat offended by its supremacy. ‘I part thick curtains, and am startled by | The rapid clouds, the moon’s cleanliness.’8 The persona sees the moon and is taken aback. The clouds surrounding the moon and moving around it is of no moment as it remains white. This purity of the moon is not taken in a positive light by the persona as he deplored it. The tone shifts and he remains resolute in his aversion, ‘There’s something laughable about this,’9 Although one is not quite sure what exactly is laughable. The laugh would most likely pertain to sarcasm like a smirk as a way to mask contempt and generally antipathy. Where ‘Sonnet XXXI’ is curious as to what the moon sees, ‘Sad Steps’ is uneasy over the scope of the moon, its sheer vastness, and the hold that it has over everything below it. ‘One shivers slightly, looking up there. | The hardness and the brightness and the plain | Far-reaching singleness of that wide stare.’10 The persona sees it as unforgiving and invasive. As though it is someone who knows everything and these things are not information that he wants to share. He feels invaded and the stability of the celestial body as being a constant fixture is something he cannot dismiss. The reason for this resentment is thereafter revealed in the last stanza, ‘Is a reminder of strength and pain | Of being young, that it can’t come again.’11 The moon is represented as a holder of memory. It reminded him of the past and his youth. But instead of being thankful and simply reminisce on the joys that he had experienced years ago, the persona is indignant and detests that he is reminded of that youth. Because, just like time, it is a thing of the past that he can no longer have. The moon, on the other hand, remains as it is, magnificent and luminous in the sky. It is unchanging and would continue to be unmoved for all of eternity, while the persona, as a person, will have to suffer the cruelty of mortality and soon leave the earth and all these will be witnessed by the moon. The persona is unapologetic in his bitterness and revels in the thought that many others under the same sky are enjoying the pleasures that come with youth. Time is a curious thing. The setting in ‘Sonnet XXXI’ when the persona saw the moon can be said to be the beginning of the night which can be deduced from the very first line. Taken together with the tone of the poem where it spoke of love and longing for the same as well as an interest that is uncomplicated and in some ways youthful. There were an abundance of questions throughout where the persona never really meant for them to be answered such that the simple undertaking of asking them were enough. It was in a way, a roman’s rhetorical conversation with the moon. There were no conjectures made but just an overall impression that whatever love the moon may have witnessed over immortals is not so far-fetch nor unreasonable to the same human love that mortals experience. This comparison between immortal beings and human creatures did not highlight the disparity but served as a means to relate one from the other. Then in ‘Sad Steps,’ the persona saw the moon near dawn, ‘Four o’clock: wedge-shadowed gardens lie.’12 He observes it and reviles in how it looked and how it reacted, unwavering despite all the other elements that should cause it to nudge. The displeasure that the persona has for his advanced age in stark contrast to the moon’s perpetuity was evident. The poem imparts of envy of unknown people basking in their youth and that he begrudges them for this. If one imagines a continuation of persona in the two poems, ‘Sonnet XXXI’ would represent the young and vibrant person who is filled with curiosity and delight basking in the bliss of the moon’s eminence. A person who, though questioning and unlucky in love, still has hopes that love will soon find its way to him. While ‘Sad Steps’ could represent the older version of that voice, disillusioned by time and perhaps even love. Staring right back at the moon, reminded of his innocence and all that has occurred in between. That same moon that knows everything and yet remains the same, steadfast above the earth it overlooks. Read More