Stylistics Analysis of Shakespeares Sonnets - Term Paper Example

Stylistics Analysis of Shakespeare’s Sonnets Introduction It is often said that literature is difficult to analyse and that is because it is depiction of writer’s vivid imagination and experience of life. It is conveying writer’s experience of life, in his own style and language. Every writer has his or her own distinct style of writing. With respect to this, one appreciates how difficult it is to analyse literature. Stylistics as a branch respects the individuality each writer maintains in his or her writing but tries to analyse the way things are put across to a reader. There are multiple aspects that influence style of a writer. Choice of words, background of a writer, societal conditions in which the writer is living or has been brought up, contemporary trends in literature etc. in the earlier era literature was adorned by heavy language. Writers then thought that experience shared would not impact the reader much unless it is explained by multiple examples and metaphors. Over a period of time language dropped its heavy adornments and became more fluid. There were writers such as Hemingway who were later known for their crisp, to the point and short and simple sentences. On the other hand we also have Margaret Mitchell whose book Gone with the wind in which language helps build the tempo of incidences and the heavily worded descriptions actually carry the story ahead. Definition of Stylistics Stylistics in literature is defined as: Aspect of literary study that emphasizes the analysis of various elements of style (such as metaphor and diction). The ancients saw style as the proper adornment of thought. In this view, which prevailed throughout the Renaissance, devices of style can be catalogued and ideas can be framed with the help of model sentences and prescribed types of figures suited to the mode of discourse. In more recent theories, the relationship of style and the individual writers unique vision of reality is emphasized.1 This definition states analysis of various literary aspects used by a writer while narrating his or her story. Writer would use different styles of language to depict different moods of thoughts and experiences he wishes to share. Interestingly the definition also accepts individuality of each writer and his own vision of reality, and connection of the same with the way he stylises the same in his writing. Shakespeare’s literature William Shakespeare is known as king of literature due to his vivid imagery, powerful use of metaphors and creation of new words. His initial struggle with style is evident in his early works. However as he progressed one can definitely see his style getting more and more refined. He was a poet and writer with vivid imagination which knew no boundaries. In this essay we are going to consider his sonnets which exhibit his distinct style of writing. Iambic Pentameter English poetry at the time of Shakespeare was influenced by sonnets written in Italian style. A sonnet is basically a poem written in fourteen lines. It does not have any restriction on number of formal rhyme schemes used within. Petrarchan sonnet is defined as sonnet form popularized by Petrarch, consisting of an octave with the rhyme scheme abbaaba and of asestet with one of several rhyme schemes, as cdecde or cdcdcd. This is also known as Italian sonnet.2 Shakespeare as writer wanted to break this confining mould. He decided to write sonnets in his own format. The style in which he wrote sonnets came to be known as iambic pentameter. In this format he confined to writing ten lines in each sonnet. Each line was further divided into five pairs called iambs or iambic feet. Each feet or iamb consisted of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable. Let us look at few lines from sonnet 19 in this light. Yet, do || thy worst || old Time: || despite || thy wrong,    My love || shall in my || verse ever || live young.3 The vertical separating lines inserted are for grouping of words. If we read as per the separating line, we understand the impact caused by unstressed syllable followed by stressed one. In this was Shakespeare draws attention of the reader to the words he wants to emphasize and which convey feeling or mood of the poem. In this particular sonnet he says that time has never been kind to all of us. Time has always managed to fade beauty and youth. However beauty would be praised in the poetry written in its praise and would be immortal through words. Generations and generations later would read these words written in praise of beauty and would see the same in their imaginations. Words would stay and stay forever. In these two lines above, do, worst, time, despite, wrong are highlighted in the structure of the line to show that time who is your worst enemy can go or do wrong to you. However in the second line poet emphasises love, my, verse, young, is stating that his love and praise will survive the tests of time and stay young and stay forever. Thus Shakespeare conveys immortality of poetry and thought through words which are destined to stay using iambic pentameter as a powerful form and style to express. Blank verses Shakespeare used iambic pentameter in various ways. He wrote dialogues in his various plays in this style. Sonnets were primarily poems. Although they sounded prosed they did have a rhyming quality in them. He broke his own mould when he wrote dialogues in his plays. He used iambic pentameter but he wrote non-rhyming lines. These were known as blank verses. Going further Shakespeare again presents a distinct difference between his characters by the way they speak and choose language. For ex. In Julius Caesar, at Caesar’s funeral both Brutus and Mark Antony speak explaining their actions and or love for Julius Caesar. As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honor him; but as he was ambitious, I slew him. There is tears for his love, joy for his fortune, honor for his valor, and death for his ambition.4 These are lines said by Brutus at the funeral of Julius Caesar. Brutus gives an explanation why he assassinated Julius Caesar. As a reader one is taken aback by the way these lines are said. They are simple, to the point and very matter of fact in tone. He admits Caesar’s love and friendship and is saddened because of his death. He respects all the desirable and honourable qualities Caesar has. But Brutus is also unforgiving when he says that he killed Caesar because he was ambitious. Brutus was misguided into thinking that Caesar is turning into a tyrant and Rome is not going to be a republic anymore because of Caesar’s ambitions and utter disregard for the senate set up in fact to advise the ruler. Brutus is also made to believe that Caesar wants to be the king himself and hence is convinced that Caesar must be killed for better future of Rome. His speech here shows his conviction and no remorse of killing a friend, friend who trusted him and expected loyalty from him. Because his thinking is from his head which has convinced his heart his speech naturally comes out in prose and not in poetry. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.  The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar.5 These are Mark Antony’s words paying tribute to Julius Caesar. Although they are not rhyming and lyrical reader can identify poetry in them. Mark Antony never doubted Julius Caesar. He offered royal crown to Caesar many times which Caesar refused to take. Antony always knew that Julius Caesar had country’s best intentions in his heart. He was truly saddened by death of his most trusted aide and friend. He is angered that senate betrayed Julius Caesar, but he believes in greatness of Julius Caesar completely. Hence at the time of Caesar’s funeral Antony does not want to get into elaborate praising of Julius Caesar. Partly because he knows Julius Caesar is beyond praise. Those who knew Julius Caesar, knew that he did not require praise in so many words and those who could never understand him, do not need to be told how great Caesar was in praises and words. Since Antony always trusted Caesar completely and was convinced that he was an honourable man he speaks from his heart and hence in poetry. Shakespeare has classified Antony and Brutus beautifully by giving them two distinct styles of speaking. Murders and intentions of murder always come with a cold heart and clear logic; howsoever unconvincing it is for others who value life. Against which Antony is as honourable as Caesar and feels loyal which truly is a matter of heart hence speaks in poetry or gets blank verse from Shakespeare. Shakespeare manages to create a heavy emotional impact about character, values, ethics and loyalty of these two characters in his play Julius Caesar by clearly stylising their speeches differently, by setting them in different tones and languages. This use of poetry and blank verses is seen off and on in Shakespeare’s literature. He uses prose against blank verses to highlight class differences, societal structures, occult versus human life, and also uses as language of love only to emphasise on the tragedy that is going to follow the miracle of love. Imagery in Shakespeare’s literature Poetry being an image of a fluid mind is not written with a specific purpose. Shakespeare’s poetry being poetry cannot be pinned to any one particular theme. There are multiple themes that can be observed in his sonnets. Like all other great poets Shakespeare is also seen to be torn between love for life and the soon approaching death. His poems paint a picture of mortality. In the light of death he sees beauty which is going to fade, youth that will get old and frail, honour that will wilt away and friendship will change its colours. His sonnets are also known for his love pledged for dark lady, which is sensual, desired and wild. He also feels he is trapped in desires and worldly love. Muir (2008, chapter 5) states that, The impression he gives is of complete naturalness, however ‘poetic’ the diction, however elaborate the imagery, however complex the phonetic patterns, and however many types of ambiguity he has up his sleeve. This naturalness is due partly to his tact and restraint, partly to his consciousness, aroused perhaps by Sidney, of the poetic clichés of the time and his avoidance of those, which had not been proved upon his pulses, but mostly to the instinct of a practising dramatist not to stray too far from colloquial speech. Often does he stray, but always to return again: even with his singing robes about him, he is a man speaking to men. This was a lesson that Shakespeare gradually learnt painfully as he gradually abandoned the stilts of his predecessors and began to walk on his own feet. It is said that poetry is a direct manifestation of what goes on in the writer’s mind. No reader can assess the depth of creative mind of a writer and hence no reader can also guess the images painted by the writer with the help of words to convey his surreal experiences. Let us have a look at some such images created by Shakespeare in his sonnets. Shall I compare thee to a summers day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summers lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or natures changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou owst, Nor shall death brag thou wanderst in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growst,    So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,    So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.6 This is Shakespeare’s most famous sonnet. This is also a sonnet in which Shakespeare does not talk about carrying beauty through lineage and children. The image of a summer day is very vivid and beautiful. Summer flowers are pretty, brightly coloured and are darling buds of May because every shrub and bush blossoms in the month of May. Every little flower is at its happiest best in summers and looks lovely. Hence poet calls it darling buds of May. He compares his love to summer. Summer indicates bright sunny skies, wind blowing across, temperature soaring and lowering and start of life. There is all probability that the love the poet is feeling is in its early stage and hence he can feel the bright, shiny warmth of it. He is not baffled by the questions of mortality and death. He does not talk about creating children to preserve beauty and youth. On the contrary he talks about this day giving life to him and his love. Unlike all other of his sonnets, this sonnet is known for its simplicity and directness. He is carefree in this poem and it shows in the images he chooses. He talks about rough winds, buds of flowers dancing to winds, gold shimmer of sky and sun. He talks about being temperate which is being fluid only to flow to take shapes and forms as per heart’s desire. He is not worried about death; on the contrary he sees life in these things around him because summer is a starting point of life. Through this sonnet Shakespeare uses images of a summer day to convey hope, love, beauty and above all life. It is the way he sees it he has written it. Shakespeare has used image of roses in his sonnets very often. In sonnet 54 he compares a scented and a nurtured rose with youth having honesty and truthfulness. For others who have youth but no inward beauty he uses image of wild roses who bloom to beauty but with no scent. In sonnet 67 he portrays plight of a woman in love. She compares him to a true a rose. He according to her is a man of virtue and true beauty and when the world is allowed to draw from his resources of beauty, it is she who is the rightful person who should benefit from it is waiting for him forever. Sonnet 98 describes the pain of true love being away. Although there is spring around and white lilies have blossomed along with deep red roses these flowers fail to attract the aching heart. In absence of true love the season of summer has yet to set in and even though there are beautiful flowers around they look like a reflection of lost love and seem surreal. In continuation with sonnet 98 the poet accuses red and white roses for stealing colour and fragrance from the beloved and gets pacified when a worm punishes roses for this blatant stealing. Shakespeare wrote the most beautiful line about rose in Romeo and Juliet which became a phrase to quote later in English. It is when Juliet comes to know that Romeo is the son of arch rival of the family she says to him, “Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself though, not a Montague. What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O! be some other name: What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d, Retain that dear perfection which he owes          Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name; And for that name, which is no part of thee, Take all myself.”7 With this one line Shakespeare presented a heart full of love and which is rebellious. For the ill-fated lovers, life is not in the years they have lived, but in the moments they have been together. With both families being rivals of each other, they are aware of the dangers and pitfalls of their relationship, but along with youth comes the confidence of conquering the world with love and own conviction. They don’t care for getting caught, they don’t care about their families who are perpetually pitted against each other, they don’t care about the world, and all they know is their true and pure love for each other. With this one line Juliet exhibits a carefree attitude, her unbridled passion which she confesses for him in clear words, “I don’t really care who you are, but all I know is I am madly in love with you. I don’t know if a rose would have named something else and stopped being a rose altogether. I don’t care if you are a Montague but all I know in my heart is that I care for you and I am passionate about you”. Shakespeare used verses and poetry profusely in Romeo and Juliet because it is a play of heart and love, but with this one image of a rose being a rose he managed to convey the rebellious and carefree lovers’ passion for each other. Conclusion It is very difficult to pick and choose imagery, and other stylistics aspects in Shakespeare’s literature because of its vastness. The aspects that are considered in this essay are a few. However these are the most prominent stylistics used by Shakespeare in his literature. He created vivid imagery for his readers and painted portraits and stories for them. He was a truly gifted and a powerful writer. Stylistics is those aspects of literature which help us analyse why and how literature makes an impact on us. Stylistics does not challenge the individuality of a writer. It however explains the way a writer chooses to convey his experiences to general reader. It is certainly not an easy task to make the reader feel exactly the way you have felt or are feeling a particular experience and to achieve the same impact a writer may use different forms of words and images as medium of expression. Stylistics although may critique this medium of expression but cannot challenge the experience in itself. This limitation on stylistics analysis does not however stop stylistics from expanding its boundaries of understanding literature. It may best go hand in hand with the experience itself because it will always complement the sharing of experience rather than distorting it for the reader and that’s the way successful stylistics will work. References Dictionary.com. (2014) The definition of Petrarchan sonnet. (Online), available: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/petrarchan+sonnet (28th April 2014) Julius Caesar: Entire Play. (2014) Shakespeare.mit.edu (Online), available: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/julius_caesar/full.html Mabillard, A. (2008) ShakespeareWilliam Sonnet 19, Merriam & Webster. (2014) Stylistics – definition and more from the free Merriam-Webster, (Online), available: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stylistics (28th April 2014) Muir, K. (1979) Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Routledge, Oxon. 2008 Romeo and Juliet: Entire Play. (2014) Shakespeare.mit.edu (Online), available: http://shakespesare.mit.edu/julius_caesar/full.html Shakespeare’s Sonnets. (2014) Shakespeares-sonnets.com (Online), available: http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com Read More