Sonnets

Sonnet 27 - William Shakespeare

Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,

The dear repose for limbs with travail tired;

But then begins a journey in my head

To work my mind, when body’s work’s expired.

For then my thoughts, from far where I abide,

Intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee,

And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,

Looking on darkness which the blind do see.

Save that my soul’s imaginary sight

Presents thy shadow to my sightless view,

Which, like a jewel hung in ghastly night,

Makes black night beauteous, and her old face new.
Lo thus by day my limbs, by night my mind,

For thee, and for myself, no quiet find.

Lament - S. Alan Burgess



















First glance, I see your beautiful brown eyes.
I fall immediately under your spell.
Slipping into a dream, I hear love's sighs
The dream turns out to be a living Hell.
When you said you loved me, did you mean it?
Your lie is poisonous as blackened sin.
Your beauty cannot hide your soul, the pit.
Release the demon that has lain within.
I've looked into your eyes to find your soul
Wherever it has gone, I do not know.
Your mind controls the 'shell' it plays the role.
Your love is ice, as you know how to show.
Though you have proved the demon, played the role
I find all beauty in your broken soul.

ANALYSIS:
The picture for the Shakespearean sonnet is a boy dreaming sweet dreams. The sonnet talks of a guy who, even when physically weary, will always think of his girl. It's love in a sweet form. The picture for the modern sonnet, on the other hand, is a fiery heart. It's love alright, but a love from hell. That's no love at all. A fake love. Why is it that for some reason, it seems the meaning of love has changed over the years?

The poems both have 10 syllables for each line (except maybe the second line in the modern sonnet... I really don't get that) and both have iambic petameter (half the syllables are stressed, half are not). Also, they have the same rhyme scheme: ABABCDCDEFEFGG. Both have 14 lines, and only one stanza. The Shakespearean sonnet uses a bunch of words from his time, and most people have a hard time understanding it, (although this, I believe, is one of the easier ones). But then anyone nowadays could read the modern sonnet and understand what was happening. Change in language style over the years. But they both still contain the same format for a sonnet, and both talk about emotions.

Villanelle: "The Waking"

I think that the meaning of this poem is life. If I break down the first line, it would go something like "I live to die, and live my life slowly." He uses an analogy of waking and sleeping to living and dying. The second part, I think he takes life slowly, drinking it all in. That's the first refrain. The second refrain, "I learn by going where I have to go", has a deeper meaning too. I think that what he means by that line is that you learn how to live by living. You can't learn what to do without doing and trying it. These two ideas must be important in the poem, because together, they are repeated 8 times throughout the whole thing. He thinks life is precious, that we don't have that much time: "Great Nature has another thing to do/ To you and me; so take the lively air,". The rest of the poem, I admit, I don't understand. There may be even more to it than I see. But I think that this is what he means.

Ballads

TRADITIONAL BALLAD:
We are Seven - William Wordsworth
A Simple Child,
That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,
What should it know of death?

I met a little cottage Girl: (A)
She was eight years old, she said; (B)
Her hair was thick with many a curl (A)
That clustered round her head. (B)

She had a rustic, woodland air, (C)
And she was wildly clad: (D)
Her eyes were fair, and very fair; (C)
--Her beauty made me glad. (D)

"Sisters and brothers, little Maid, (E)
How many may you be?" (F)
"How many? Seven in all," she said (E)
And wondering looked at me. (F)

"And where are they? I pray you tell."
She answered, "Seven are we;
And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea.

"Two of us in the church-yard lie,
My sister and my brother;
And, in the church-yard cottage, I
Dwell near them with my mother."

"You say that two at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea,
Yet ye are seven!--I pray you tell,
Sweet Maid, how this may be."

Then did the little Maid reply,
"Seven boys and girls are we;
Two of us in the church-yard lie,
Beneath the church-yard tree."

"You run above, my little Maid,
Your limbs they are alive;
If two are in the church-yard laid,
Then ye are only five."


MY RESPONSE: Firstly, I'll analyze the meter and rhyme of this poem. I think that the meter throughout most of the poem is 4-3-4-3 but I'm not entirely sure. There's a clear rhyme scheme of ABAB throughout the whole ballad (except for in the first stanza). And, these rhymes aren't like the rhymes in my modern ballad (look below) because they are pure rhymes, not just vowel-sound rhymes.

Next, I will analyze the repetitions and message of this poem. If you continue reading the rest of the poem (I have only posted a portion of it) you can see that there is a repetition of the words "we are seven" or "seven are we". That is because the little girl is so convinced that she has 7 siblings. She probably did, once. But two are dead, and so technically, they are 5 now. But she's convinced herself SO much that her family has 7 kids that no one could tell her otherwise. The message of this poem is not being able to cope with death.

MODERN BALLAD:
Way Back Into Love - Hugh Grant & Haley Bennett

I've been living with a shadow overhead (A)
I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed (A)
I've been lonely for so long (B)
Trapped in the past, I just can't seem to move on (B)

I've been hiding all my hopes and reams away (C)
Just in case I ever need em again someday (C)
I've been setting aside time (D)
To clear a little space in the corners of my mind (D)

All I wanna do is find a way back into love (Refrain)
I can't make it through without a way back into love (Refrain)

I've been watching but the stars refuse to shine
I've been searching but I just don't see the signs
I know that it's out there
There's got to be something for my soul somewhere

I've been looking for someone to shed some light
Not just somebody just to get me through the night
I could use some direction
And I'm open to your suggestions

All I wanna do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart again
I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end.

MY RESPONSE: If I were to analyze this modern day ballad, according to meter, rhyme, repetition, and the message of the song, it's very similar to a traditional ballad. Firstly, I don't think there is a meter to this ballad. At least, no meter of traditional pattern. There is definitely a rhyme scheme though. Most lines are AABB, with some slight rhymes that don't work when read, but work with the pronunciation in the song. Mainly the last, clearly-heard vowel sound is what makes this rhyme scheme work. "Again" and "end" don't exactly rhyme, but they have the same last vowel sound.

There is repetition of the line "All I wanna do is find a way back into love". It is repeated twice in just the first chorus. There isn't really much other repetition of this line in verses (just the chorus) and there aren't other lines that repeat. The message of this ballad is a story about a girl who wants to fall in love. I'm guessing the story is a girl gets her heart broken, and hasn't loved since, but now she wants to fall in love, and she's wanting the special guy to help her love again.


MY BALLAD:
To Live Again - Kristen Kim
I remember that first day,
when we were in the book store,
you gave a little smile my way,
and I dropped my book to the floor.

I left that book right where it fell,
my face going pink as I went,
when, as graceful as an angel,
you gave me my book like a gent.

You said, "Miss, I think you've dropped your book,"
and my face turned even more red
but I looked in your eyes and gave you my look
of 'please-mean-more-than-you-said!'

You read that look right off my face,
and continued on to ask me to dinner.
I said, "Thanks for cutting to the chase,"
and with a smile, "I'll give you my number."

I must admit I'd never been braver,
than that moment in the book store,
but you were so cute and quite so clever,
how could I admire, but do nothing more?

I cherish that very first day that we met,
with all the love I could give.
How could I really ever forget,
the day I truly started to live?

Comments

I commented on Nayeon's, Joe's, and Yesol's. :D

Boring Story Made Interesting

Written by Tommy
Edited by ME

I am Tommy. I was on winter break. During winter break it was cold. During winter break it snowed. During winter break I watched movies. I ate bagels and watched movies at the same time. During winter break I play basketball outside. It was cold. My hands hurt. My hands hurt so I could not play well. I did not play well and it made me mad. I am mad when I am mad. I instant messaged Yesol and Sanghyun. I slept late every day. I woke late every day. It snowed during winter break. Daegu had little snow. I ate candy over break. I ate chicken over break. I took many showers. Shower made me clean. I like being clean. I don’t like being dirty. I brushed my teeth. I don’t want cavities. I did pushups over break. I did sit ups over break. I stayed in shape. Mr. Eric told me to stay in shape. I went to the bathroom many times over break. I went to the to use the bathroom. In the bathroom there is a thing. I urinated my urine in the thing. I flushed my urine. I washed my hands. I like being clean. I don’t like being dirty.

EDITED:

I am Tommy. It was freezing cold during winter break. It was so cold, it snowed outside. But Daegu didn't get that much snow. During the break, I watched movies while I ate bagels. I also played basketball outside, but it was so cold that my hands hurt. They hurt so bad that I played horribly. It made me frustrated because I couldn't play well, and when I'm mad, I get really mad. Anyway, I instant messaged Yesol and Sanghyun a lot. I also slept late every night, ending up waking late every morning. I ate tons of candy and chicken. Over the course of the three-week break, I took many showers. Showers make you clean, and I like being clean. I hate being dirty. I also brush my teeth because I hate being dirty. Also, if your teeth are dirty, you get cavities. And I don’t want cavities. Mr. Eric told me to stay in shape, so I did push-ups and sit ups over break. That's how I stayed in shape. Like washing, another necessity is going to the bathroom. Therefore, I went to the bathroom many times over break. When I go to use the bathroom, there is a thing. I urinate in the thing, and then I flush. Then I wash my hands. Like I said, I like being clean. I hate being dirty.