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Sonnet 30 Comparison Essay

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Sonnet 30 Comparison Essay
Sebastian Mejia
Teacher Aubert
Literature
17 February 2010
Compare and Contrast Paragraph, “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare and “Sonnet 30” by Edna St. Vincent Millay have similarities and a variety differences which make them very intriguing and appealing to the reader. First, the rhyme scheme of “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” are alike since their pattern is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, as demonstrated in “day, temperate, May, date” in “Sonnet 18”; and “drink, rain, sink, again” in “Sonnet 30”. Due to this pattern, “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 30” are denominated as English Sonnets. On the other hand, the units of meaning for both sonnets are found in absolutely different places. In “Sonnet 18”, each quatrain and couplet
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On the other hand, the mood of “Sonnet 30” makes the reader feel depressed and at some point loveless. Also, another difference between the sonnets is the tone of each. In “Sonnet 18”, a” lovely” and “temperate” (Line 2) tone is emitted yet, the tone of “Sonnet 30” is cheerless and painful as expressed in “even as I speak, for lack of love alone.”, “Yet many a man is making friends with death”. Moreover, the different respective themes of the sonnets show a great difference between William Shakespeare’s and Edna St. Vincent Millay’s perception of love. The theme of “Sonnet 18” is “the ephemeral nature of beauty.” This theme is expressed in “But thy eternal summer […] to time thou grow'st” (Line 9-12). Conversely, the theme of “Sonnet 30”, is, the importance of love for human beings. This theme is uttered in the axiom, “Love is not all: It is not meat nor drink.” The message of “Sonnet 18” is that poetry immortalizes beauty, expressed in “But thy eternal summer shall not fade” (Line 9), while the message of “Sonnet 30” is love is not essential for human beings yet, people lack of it mentioned in “Yet many a man is making friends with death” (Line 7). Concluding, “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare is written in a classical style due to

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