Close Reading of Shakespeares’ Sonnet 12 and 17

Close Reading of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 12 and Sonnet 17

The poetic language that Shakespeare uses has certain aspects of language to convey the feeling of his words. Among these techniques in use, for example, are aspects of meter, rhyme, reference, and figurative language. At the same time he also uses the iambic pentameter in interesting ways to stress meaning a point to key phrases, thoughts, or ideas. This paper will discuss two of Shakespeare’s sonnets and examine these qualities to see exactly how he brings these things into dramatic effect. The sonnets being discussed will be Sonnet 12 and Sonnet 17. I find that these two poems can be compared easily and also share a similar theme: the denial of the ability of mankind to see the same beauty the poet sees in words that makes the subject so interesting.

The first technique of note when dealing with the writings of Shakespeare is his use of rhyme. Both poems have the following rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. In both of these sonnets, meter and rhyme are used interestingly. Sonnet 17 starts out in an interesting way in that it does not rhyme in the traditional sense. The key words of note here are, “come” and “tomb”, and “deserts” and “parts”, in comparison, every other line ending in both sonnets ends in traditional rhyme, such as, “eyes” and “lies”, or “age” and “rage”. However, Shakespeare does not abandon rhyme entirely for the opening of Sonnet 12. He does something entirely different. Here he uses words that rhyme only to the human ear. In other words, on script, they do not appear to rhyme. But, when saying out loud, they have the similarities of rhyming words. For example, “come” and “tomb”, both have a long “o” sound, which is stressed when read aloud. Just as the “rts” of “parts” and “deserts”, is the stressed sound. In this way our mind can be trained to “see” rhyme where it is difficult to hear. This use of rhyme helps to compel us to continue reading the next line. It creates a feeling of suspense.

The use of meter is also very important in these two sonnets. First, meter is used in the iambic pentameter. It works with rhyme to bring about a flow of the words. Second, it causes the reader to focus more upon those words. It stresses and calls attention to a specific part of the text. In these two sonnets, a deviation from the traditional iambic pentameter is really only used in one line. In sonnet seventeen, the poet states, “Such heavenly touches ne’er touched earthly faces” (19). Using a traditional count, it can be seen that there are twelve syllables in a line that is meant for ten. Even if a reader counts syllables and combines “heavenly”, into two syllables, and “earthly” into one, there are still eleven syllables. In this way, we are forced to be aware of this line. This is such an important line that the author wants us to be aware of because it highly stresses the main theme of this poem: beauty. The purpose of this specific line is because the poet wants it to stand out more than the other lines on the poem. We can see them as one of the important issues of the sonnet. After all, the entire sonnet is composed to say only a few specific things, one of them announcing to the world the beauty of this one individual.

The next two important issues of these poems are reference and figurative language. Sonnet 12 is both a dark work of death and loss as well as a testament for the ability of immortality. At the beginning of the poem, the reader sees the images of the passage of time. In the first two lines, there are words and phrases such as, “clock”, “time”, “day sunk”, “night”. This use of time language continues throughout the sonnet with other words such as, “past prime”, “grow”, “Time’s scythe”, and another instance of “time”. The words begin to make us aware of our own mortality. This idea grows when the negative imagery begins to be discussed. The sonnet speaks of a, “violet past prime”, and trees, “barren of leaves”. All of this imagery of age and death is a not really a subtle way of reminding us that time is a precious thing that goes far too quickly. In line ten of the sonnet we find the text being extremely harsh in this respect. While the narrator of the sonnet can be said to be speaking about one he or she knows, line ten makes the words personal to us. The poet states, “That thou among the wastes of time must go” (14). The text uses the word “thou” for a reason. Here it is speaking to us directly, reminding us that everyone will become a victim of time. What makes this passage even more strange is what occurs two lines later, “And nothing ‘gainst Time’s scythe can make defense” (12). It is a harsh word that urges the reader to recognize any sort of defense against the harsh meaning of time. However, there is some hope