Iambic pentameter

In the poem Marrysong, Dennis Scott presents an unconventional relationship between the speaker and his wife, a woman so complicated and fluctuating that he has to persevere hard in order to “learn” her constantly changing moods, something that he inevitably cannot do. However, in Sonnet 18, William Shakespeare successfully presents a conventional love between the speaker and his partner, who’s beauty and love from the speaker is endless and timeless. In Marrysong, Scott compares the speaker’s…

imagery. The brevity of life and the necessity of passion in the face of death is reflected in the strict format of the poem. Thomas meticulously follows the villanelle structure, giving the poem five tercets and a quatrain. Also, Thomas uses iambic penatemeter in the poem, which adds to the poem’s strict nature and gives it rhythm. The rigidity and mathematical precision of the structure and meter reflect the exactness of life, which Thomas counters by adding passion to the poem. Within the…

Essay on Hamlet To be or not to be (Act 3, scene 1, lines 56-88) Who would have thought that the words "To be or not to be" would stand the test of time? These six words have echoed through thousands of actors' mouths and a myriad of books have recited these famously written words from William Shakespeare's pen. His colourful words paint worlds and his complex characters bring out a broad spectrum of feelings in us - and at times he makes us question our lives. Shakespeare's renowned soliloquy…

American writer Jonathan Safran Foer once proclaimed that “You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.” The outstanding moments in life make the poor ones miserable, but if one never sees the face of sorrow they will have nothing to make delight’s features more appealing. The key to happiness may very well be that very thing we long to lock up. Famous playwright and poet William Shakespeare grasped this centuries ago and decided to create a visual…

Languages in Julius Caesar, is unique because many of the dialogues spoken by the high-class citizens are not written in a typical Shakespearean rhymed iambic pentameter; they are mostly written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. For example, in the long conversation between Brutus and Caesar about Calpurina’s dream, notice the rhyme pattern, “This dream is all amissed interpreted;/It was a vision fair and fortunate:/Your statue spouting blood in many pipes./In which so many smiling Romans bathed,”…

The poem that I will be explicating is, “The Author to Her Book” by Anne Bradstreet. In this poem the poet compares her books to that of a precious child. A short summary of this poem would be: the poet had a book idea that she thought was “ill-formed”, her friends took it from her and “exposed [it] to public view” before she could fix her errors. Although she tried to fix the errors of her book she only saw more, but she realizes that maybe she can’t really fix the problems in her work by…

of two voices throughout the poem. A song of innocence and experience, Heaney presents a third-person perspective on the blossoming of blackberries, before transitioning to the first-person perspective. While the poem is structured as an iambic pentameter with occasional departures, the poem heavily employs slant rhymes and half-rhymes; Heaney captures the innocence of the speaker’s childhood through slant…

shalt not stir one foot to seek a foe”, and a servant’s language, “My / master is the great rich Capulet, and, if you be not / of the house of Montagues…” (I.i.82; I.ii.85-87)? The main difference occurs in the verse; Lady Capulet speaks in iambic pentameter while the servant does not. This slight variation in writing impacts character development and the portrayal of social standing. In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare reveals social class and develops character through descriptions and…

Act 1, Scene 2 presents the first soliloquy of Hamlet, revealing Hamlet’s inner thoughts to the audience and creating a dejected and bitter tone to reinforce Hamlet’s proclamation of his grief. Shakespeare’s specific diction, punctuation marks and mythological allusions provide a striking contrast to the controlled and artificial dialogue that he previously used with Claudius. Hamlet reveals his profound melancholy in his outpour of anger as he floods his speech with harsh and depressing diction…

delivered by Claudius allows for a pause at the end of the sentence making his imperative more authoritative so that it will be obeyed. However, it is not. Shakespeare reintroduces his familiar rhythm of iambic pentameter when Gertrude responds ‘I will, my Lord. I pray you pardon me'. The use of iambic pentameter mirrors Gertrude's finality, again suggesting Gertrude knowingly poisoned herself. Further evidence is shown by Hamlets line ‘I dare not drink yet' suggesting that Gertrude offers the…