Love can be expressed in numerous ways. From the earliest times, poetry has been used to express one’s love. Such is the case in these two poems to be discussed here: “Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare and “The Flea” by John Donne. Donne is known for his dense erotic poems and Shakespeare is greatly appreciated for his rich and numerous sonnets and plays of varied interests throughout literature history. Therefore, here the plot, tone, expression and meaning of the poems by Shakespeare and Donne reflect the love theme in their own way.
To begin, both the poets show that love is the driving force for their works. All the lines in Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” are devoted to the features of his lover. He describes how he sees his mistress’ eyes, …show more content…
To discuss “Sonnet 130”, Shakespeare, at first, appears to be rude to his mistress, but later addresses to love her dearly. He seems to be stereotyping the typical love metaphors and saying that the comparison of women to those inanimate objects is wrong. For instance, instead of being straightforward in saying that his woman’s breasts are brown, he is saying that they’re not as white as snow as other poets would describe their lover’s breasts. Also, instead of only saying he loves his woman’s voice, he contrasts it with music being far better for his ears. In almost every line, he humanizes his woman to contrast those women described by inhuman love allegories in other poems. On the other hand, Donne in “The Flea” is more cunning in trying to persuade his lover by using love symbolism. He first dramatized the symbol of their love in the flea by symbolizing the flea as their conjugal bed due to mixing of their blood, and how killing it would be desecration of their love. But later when the women kills the flea, the poet immediately diverts his argument in saying that if killing the flea was not a big deal, the act of sex should not be too. Instead of consoling her directly to not be afraid, the poet used witty words to resolve the conflict in his lover’s mind for premarital
To begin, both the poets show that love is the driving force for their works. All the lines in Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” are devoted to the features of his lover. He describes how he sees his mistress’ eyes, …show more content…
To discuss “Sonnet 130”, Shakespeare, at first, appears to be rude to his mistress, but later addresses to love her dearly. He seems to be stereotyping the typical love metaphors and saying that the comparison of women to those inanimate objects is wrong. For instance, instead of being straightforward in saying that his woman’s breasts are brown, he is saying that they’re not as white as snow as other poets would describe their lover’s breasts. Also, instead of only saying he loves his woman’s voice, he contrasts it with music being far better for his ears. In almost every line, he humanizes his woman to contrast those women described by inhuman love allegories in other poems. On the other hand, Donne in “The Flea” is more cunning in trying to persuade his lover by using love symbolism. He first dramatized the symbol of their love in the flea by symbolizing the flea as their conjugal bed due to mixing of their blood, and how killing it would be desecration of their love. But later when the women kills the flea, the poet immediately diverts his argument in saying that if killing the flea was not a big deal, the act of sex should not be too. Instead of consoling her directly to not be afraid, the poet used witty words to resolve the conflict in his lover’s mind for premarital