Q1. Francesco Petrarch's sonnet "Upon the breeze she
spread her golden hair" (composed approx. 1334) is a fine example of the
style of the Italian sonnet in the 14th century (when the form of the sonnet
originated). Most typically, the traditional sonnet features a male speaker
addressing a female beloved (sometimes named, sometimes not). What is most
distinctive abut these early sonnets is the way in which the female beloved is
exalted by the speaker--that is, given qualities of both physical and spiritual
perfection that are idealized and (to modern ears) exaggerated. In this
scenario, the beloved is often beyond the reach of the speaker (usually because
she is already married), and he sometimes abases himself before her image or
sees himself as hopelessly imprisoned by her erotic power--"erotic"
meaning here a kind of spiritualized passion aroused by her beauty and
goodness. Frequently, one also finds in these poems references to the god of
love (Eros or Cupid) with his bow and quiver of arrows. In a short analysis of
this sonnet, supported by 2-3 brief quotations, demonstrate how "Upon the
breeze …" illustrates these qualities or attributes. Among other things,
what is the primary symbol of her erotic and spiritual power?
Q2. Shakespeare's sonnet "My mistress' eyes are nothing
like the sun" (1609) was written over 250 years later, not long after the
sonnet form had become popular in England. While the Shakespearean sonnet runs
for 14 lines (like the Petrarchan sonnet), its structure is somewhat different
(as covered in the introduction to "The Sonnet: An Album" in your
textbook) and Shakespeare's sonnets, though they are sometimes addressed to a
female beloved, rarely indulge in the kind of idealized exaltation of the woman
that is so typical of the Petrarchan style, as well as the style of many of
Shakespeare's contemporaries. In "My mistress' eyes …" he seems to
reject entirely that older, more romantic approach--so much so that, as noted
in the Course Lesson, this poem could be called an "anti-sonnet." In your
post, work through some of the dominant images in the poem, showing how this
might be true. He is addressing a female beloved, but what is the tone of voice
in which he speaks? Is it respectful? adoring? What qualities does she lack?
And what are we to make of the closing couplet (the final pair of lines) where
he says: "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare / as any she belied
by false compare"? Is this "anti-sonnet," in its way, a strange
sort of praise?
Sonnets, 2nd set
Modern sonnets usually (with some exceptions) do conform to
the traditional 14-line format, and while they are not always "love"
poems, they are virtually always deeply personal expressions of an emotional
state. The pair of sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay (composed in the 20th
century) display rhyme schemes that are closer to the Shakespearean than to the
Petrarchan style. Both of her sonnets are very personal expressions of a
point-of-view, and yet are almost opposites in their attitude toward love (in
these poems to be understood more as sexual passion, not necessarily
monogamous):
Q1. The first of the two, "What lips my lips have
kissed, and where, and why" is not addressed to anyone in particular--it's
a kind of lament in which the poet gives us a glimpse of an otherwise private
emotional state. Break the sonnet down and demonstrate how the speaker
illustrates her lament, and discuss what it is that she is, in fact, lamenting.
Q2. The second of the two, "I, being born a woman and
distressed," is addressed to someone in particular. We can't actually be
sure that it is addressed to a man, though you might make that assumption on
the first reading. Nevertheless, it is addressed to a nameless someone who has
had intimate relations with the speaker--possibly in the form of a "one
night stand." Clearly, the tone in this poem is radically different from
the first of the two sonnets. How would you describe this difference in tone?
What seems to motivate the speaker's attitude in the second sonnet? Is it
necessarily something that the other person has said or done? What other
possibility might there be? Does the term "frenzy" in l. 13 provide a
clue? And what about the two opening lines of the sonnet? Do they offer any
suggestion about why the speaker may have sought out this disturbing encounter
in the first place?