StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Michael Drayton's Poetry - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
Michael Drayton (1563-1631), Shakespeare's contemporary and English Elizabethan poet, has written in a variety of poetic genres, including all of pastoral, spiritual, historical and epic poems. He is best known, however, for his sonnets, one of which, "Come Let Us Kiss and Part" (1619) will be critically analyzed in this essay…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97% of users find it useful
Michael Draytons Poetry
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Michael Drayton's Poetry"

Download file to see previous pages

Indeed, as Greg points out, in this sonnet Drayton captures the complexity of love and exposes the ease by which love can turn into hate (pp. 164-65). In direct comparison to the majority of sonnets which present love as the focal point of existence, as the raison d'tre, Drayton discusses the end of love in semi-bitter tones, projecting the termination of love as an act of cleansing. The structure of Drayton's poem provides readers with an insight into its underlying meaning. Identified as a Shakespearean sonnet by Williams, the poem is comprised of 14 lines and three parts.

The first part, spanning lines 1 through 8, are distinguished by the first voice; the second part, running through lines 9-12 are in the third voice; and the final part, from lines 13-14, are in the second voice (pp. 311-12). The movement from one part to another, from one voice to the other, is important because, as shall be illustrated in this analysis, it is further accompanied by a shift in tone and mood. The first part of the poem is expressive of its underlying love-hate relationship and of the poet's internal conflict between his desire to end the relationship civilly and his need to vocalize his rather acrimonious feelings towards his former lover.

The first line is a concession to his desire for civility: "Since there's no help, come let us kiss and part." He acknowledges that the relationship is beyond repair and that nothing which may be said or done can change that fact. Accordingly, speaking in the first voice, the poet proposes that the former lovers acknowledge the futility of further action or words and part on civil terms. The idealism of the aforementioned intentions are clarified in the second line, wherein one finds that, no sooner does the poet propose a civil parting, he gives in to his acrimony.

Thus, he quite abruptly tells his former lover that she can have no more of him; that their relationship is unequivocally over and indeed, as he goes on to claim in the fourth line, he is happy about that.The poet, as may be inferred from the preceding paragraph, is deeply conflicted over both the decision to part and the nature of the parting itself. He wants the relationship to end and he wants it to end civilly. At the same time, he does not maintain a civil tone and seems more intent on persuading himself, than his lover, that he wants their relation to end.

As he says "And I am glad, yea glad with all my heart," it is as if he is trying to persuade himself that he is happy that it is over. It is, thus, that that quoted line contains both confirmation and affirmation that the relationship has ended and that he is glad about it. After the above discussed declaration of happiness, the poet's tone descends into bitterness and his words become increasingly acrimonious. He no longer wants to "kiss and part," but wants to cleanse himself of the relationship.

He wants to "cleanly free himself," implying a desire to complete terminate all ties, including shared memories. The love which they had once shared has, at least as far as the poet is concerned, turned into an abiding hatred, whereby he can no longer tolerate the thought of his former lover and, indeed, wants to wipe the episode clean from his mind and life. Indeed, so unequivocal is the poet's hatred for his former lover, so overpowering is his desire to wash himself clean of her that he wants to formalize their separation.

It is thus that he says

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Michael Drayton's Poetry Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Michael Drayton's Poetry Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1529254-michael-draytons-poetry
(Michael Drayton'S Poetry Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
Michael Drayton'S Poetry Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1529254-michael-draytons-poetry.
“Michael Drayton'S Poetry Book Report/Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1529254-michael-draytons-poetry.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Michael Drayton's Poetry

Guess who's coming for dinner

Guess who's coming for dinner- Movie Review Course Date Filmed in the late 1960s, Guess who's coming to dinner was the initial film that talked about interracial relationships; where a young couple comprising of a white woman and a black man fall in love and resolve to get married after meeting in Hawaii, where the woman was on holiday....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Character of Michael in Impulse by Conrad Aiken

This paper “The Character of michael in Impulse by Conrad Aiken” provides an in-depth exploration of the character of michael in Conrad Aiken's short story 'Impulse'.... Discussion It is interesting to note that though michael was jailed, was abandoned by wife and friends, and basically marginalized by a society that saw him as a common thief and a flake of a human being, all that amounted to nothing more than three months of incarceration....
5 Pages (1250 words) Book Report/Review

The Talent of Michael Jordan

This essay was written about michael Jordan.... You will find out about his family history and the history of him on the basket ball court. In the 1986-87 seasons michael scored three thousand and forty one points, the third highest total in NBA history.... hellip; He was the first player in twenty-four years to score more than three thousand points in one year. michael played in every one of the Bulls' 1982 regular season games.... michael "Air" Jordan is a fantastic jumper and slam dunker....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Major Reflections on Poetry

I am also in love with poetry and poetic diction, and this love pulled me to attend a poetic session in the Rice University.... The way they go up Nelma Ferreira March 28, poetry Reflection “Any healthy man can go without food for two days - butnot without poetry”.... Charles Baudelaire poetry is a soothing tool with the help of which one can calm down one's disturbed soul.... I am also in love with poetry and poetic diction, and this love pulled me to attend a poetic session in the Rice University....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Imagery in Christopher Marlowe's Poetry

The poet strives to portray the beauty Imagery in poetry Introduction In his poem, The passionate shepherd to his love, Christopher Marlowe uses imagery systematically to help develop mental images in the minds of his audience thus enhancing the consumption of the poem.... He therefore uses descriptive words that help develop the images thereby enhancing the consumption of the poetry....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

How each text helps define national identity or solidarity

A tradition of representation and expression of beauty through art including poetry had been established through the influence of the poetry originating from Rome as well as ancient Greece.... This tradition had extended the European customs of courtly love as well as courtly poetry.... Many poets from the period wrote proclaiming love, for instance, michael Drayton, Barnabe Barnes as well as Thomas Watson did....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Anne Bradstreet and Michael Wigglesworth

From her poetry, it is evident that devotion to God and a spirit of love helped the pioneering woman to accept the hardships and establish a new life in America.... He examined the dogmas of his time and used them for admonishing and consoling mankind through poetry.... This paper has highlighted the similarities between the poems Verse Upon the Burning of Our House and The Flesh and the Spirit by Anne Bradstreet, and The Day of Doom by michael Wigglesworth....
10 Pages (2500 words) Research Paper

Analyzing the Poem My Ex-Husband by Gabrielle Stella

One of the reasons as to why people shun away from poetry is the difficulty of comprehension and due to this; poetry is one of the elite forms of… The main way of appreciating and understanding poetry is in knowing its formal components.... In the poem, my ex-Husband, ‘MY EX HUSBAND' by GABRIEL SPERA Introduction In order to understand poetic composition, of poetry have to conduct in-depth interpretation and analysis of the poem....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us