Sonnet 30 Figurative Language Essay

William Shakespeare is known for many of his amazing, somewhat depressing, well-written poems and plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth and many more. However, despite his amazing work, sometimes it gets hard to understand what is happening. Mostly the language is the hardest part to understand -considering he was alive and writing in the late 16th century and early 17th century- that readers in the 21st century see a word and get a little confused until looking it up. Sonnet 30 by William Shakespeare is no different from his other masterpieces. Sonnet 30 sends a message to its readers that when people are alone they think of sorrow-filled memories that they have not thought of in awhile. Shakespeare sends this message through figurative language, word choice, and alliteration. Figurative language can be found a few times in Shakespeare writing. For one line, he writes, “Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,” (5) and it is not possible to drown an eye and your eye always has water. However, that line can be interpreted as he can cry and he never cries hence why his eyes are ‘unused to flow’. Another use of figurative language is, “For precious friends hid in death’s dateless night,” (6) and dateless, in this line, is meaning endless so the line interprets to death’s endless nights. No one can …show more content…
In this poem, he uses words that make readers think of sadness. In one line, Shakespeare writes, “And with old woes’ new wail my dear times waste:” (4). Woes means sorrows and wail is a sound made when in grief. These words are used in a time of mourning or sadness one has had. Another line that has a word associated with sadness is, “Then I can grieve at grievances foregone,” (9). In other words, He can mourn the deaths of friends and family members from the past again. Other words in the sonnet are related to the word sad without using the word