Petrarchan Style of Elizabeth Barrut Browning's Sonnet 43

Sonnet 43 was written in secret in Petrarchan style by Elizabeth Barrut Browning. It was written in first person with dominant figure of speech anaphora. Expressing the intense love she feels for her husband-to-be, Whereas Sonnet 116 is about love in the most ideal form. It admires people who have got together freely and base their relationship on trust and understanding. Both of the poems are written in iambic pentameter form and the key theme is passionate, romantic love and marriage. Sonnet 43 presents the main theme passionate love in the octave while sonnet 116 presents the theme in the first quatrain. Sonnet 116 has a clear contrast of what love is and what love isn’t, although sonnet 43 is defining the personal love she feels for her husband. Her love is so intense she claims ‘‘my soul can reach, when feeling out of sight’ this shows imagery of spiritual love. Both of the poems talk passionately about love but from two different perspectives.

Both of the poets use a range of writing techniques throughout their poem to create imagery. Shakespeare uses repetition ‘Love is not love’ this helps to identify and emphasize the key theme; passionate love. He also uses a celestial metaphor ‘it is the star to every wandering bark’ this gives imagery of guidance and security. Shakespeare has used personification ‘love is not times fool’ this creates an imaginative and philosophical effect but more to the point creates imagery of time. In the rhyming couplet Shakespeare has included alliteration ‘nor no man’ this helps to make the last line more memorable and appealing to the reader.

Elizabeth Barrut Browning has included a variety of techniques fairly similar to Shakespeare. She uses repetition of ‘I love thee’ in eight lines, this creates rhythm but also reinforces the theme by building up passion. This displays that both of the poets have used repetition for the same purpose; to highlight the key theme. Elizabeth Barrut Browning demonstrates the use of similes ‘I love thee as freely as men strive for right’ this compares her love to a sensitive topic of the Victorian era; slavery. This was around the period Elizabeth wrote sonnet 43. I believe this may have influenced her to compare her love to freedom. This simile shows imagery of desire and passion it reflects how willingly she is going to love him. Elizabeth includes a rhetorical question for her opening line ‘how do I love thee’ this emphasizes her love but she also goes on to answer the rhetorical question throughout her poem. The rhetorical question is almost introducing and telling you what the poems about. She refers to the person she is writing about as ‘thee’ because it is more poetic.

Both of the sonnets have a second theme. Sonnet 43 has a theme of religion ‘if god choose, I shall but love thee better after death’ this creates imagery of religion. It also introduces her opinion that life after death does exist and love is internal, this influences her religious beliefs. This is the last line of the poem; I believe she purposely chose this phrase because death is the end. It seems like a sensible line to close the poem on because it gives the message across that loves internal. Sonnet 116 has a theme of loyalty ‘love is not love which alters when it alteration finds’ it is assuring you that love is persistent. Complications occur in relationships but your feelings won’t change if it is true love. Regardless of what happens true love will work its self out eventually.

Shakespeare uses different tones in the sonnet, suitable to the statements he is making to help create emotions. Shakespeare applies a certain tone ‘I never writ’ in the rhyming couplet it is showing an assertion of truth. He declares that if he is proved wrong he will take back everything he has said and no man has ever loved. Shakespeare is challenging people to prove him wrong. Elizabeth Barrut Browning keeps a continuous tone of passion and romance throughout the sonnet.

The rhyme scheme for sonnet 43 is ABBA ABBA CD CD CD whereas the rhyme scheme for sonnet 116 is ABAB CD CD EFEG GG.

The poems nettles by Vernon Scannel and Born Yesterday by Philip Larkin, aren’t displaying the unstoppable, passionate love between two people. It reflects the protective and caring parental love. Born yesterday is split into stanzas whereas nettles is only one stanzas. The rhyme scheme for nettles is AB AB CD CD EF EF GH GH. Born yesterday’s rhyme scheme isn’t clear. But it has a rhyming couplet at the end and a half rhyme ‘then’ and ‘women’.

In Born yesterday the speaker talks about how he doesn’t wish for sally Amis to have desirable looks or talents like everyone else wish’s her to have. He just hopes she’s ordinary and uncustomary, so that she won’t be enthralled or emphasised. The speaker just wants her to be happy but I also believe he wants people to realise her for what she is on the inside not the outside. The love is presented through care and aspirations for her future. ‘To pull you off your balance’ I believe this means going off the right paths in life; making the wrong decisions. You can see the strong bond between the father and son as he turns to his dad to sooth his pain. ‘The boy came seeking comfort and I saw’ this shows care and the adoration of his son. I think the moral behind the poems is that parents try to mould children in to certain people. But if they love their children they should be able to choose who they are themselves. Parents shouldn’t stereotype their children into something they don’t want to be. Children should be original and figure themselves out.

Nettles shows the strong relationship between a father and son. The son falls in the nettle bed and seeks comfort from his father. His father chops the nettles down and burns them to protect his son and prevent him from further pain but within weeks the nettles grow back. It shows how the speaker has great love and adoration for his son. The love is presented by the shield and protection the father gives towards him. ‘Slashed in fury ‘this shows that his father was angry by the pain the nettles had inflicted on his son. I believe nettles are just a symbol of the pain that will be inflicted on his son throughout his life. I think the whole point of the poem was to point out no matter how hard he tries to protect his son he will feel pain again and that some parents over protect their children.

Both of the poets use a range of writing techniques throughout their poem to display imagery. Vernon scannel uses military metaphors right through the poem. ‘Fierce parade’ the metaphors indicate the danger and how vicious the nettles appear to him. It conveys the nettles spite more vividly. I think the use of military metaphors was influenced by the Normandy Invasion that Vernon scannel engaged in. He includes alliteration ‘beaded blisters’ to intensify the imagery of his son’s pain and show his vulnerability. It also mirrors the wounded soldiers of when Vernon was in the army. Scannel uses enjambment on line’s four and five. It’s used to build one image upon another and to enact sympathy for his son this, shows the strong bond and adoration the writer has for his son.

Philip Larkin uses alike writing techniques to Vernon scannel; he uses a broad variety. On the opening line Philip uses a metaphor ‘tightly folded bud’ this if referring to Sally Amis as a baby; a small compact shape not fully developed. The flowering of bud represents the stages of her life as she begins to grow up, presenting visual imagery. He uses five consecutive adjectives ‘skilled, Vigilant, flexible, unemphasised, enthralled’ this intensifies the effect of the description and emphasizes the catching of happiness. Philip uses an oxymoron ‘not ugly, not good-looking’ this shows the two contrasts that he doesn’t wish for Sally Amis to be. What’s more he includes enjambment on line two for the same reason as Vernon; to build one image upon another.

Nettles and Born yesterday are written in first person narrative displaying personal experiences. By writing in first person it makes it easy for the Poet to inject emotions into the poem. I believe Vernon chooses to write it in first person so that we feel sympathy for his son as he is writing directly to the reader. I think Philip larking writes in first person narrative to create irony ‘may you be dull’ as he’s attitude is not a regular parental view