Sonnet 36- William Shakespeare PDF

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Summary

Analysis of the sonnet 36 from William Shakespeare, the rhyme structure, rhyme scheme, pentameter and analysis of the figurative speech and more....

Description

SONNET 36 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Sonnet 36 is one of 154 Shakespeare's sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is a member of the Fair Youth sequence, in which the speaker expresses his love towards a young man. Let me confess that we two must be twain, Although our undivided loves are one: So shall those blots that do with me remain, Without thy help, by me be borne alone. In our two loves there is but one respect, Though in our lives a separable spite, Which though it alter not love’s sole effect, Yet doth it steal sweet hours from love’s delight. I may not evermore acknowledge thee, Lest my bewailed guilt should do thee shame, Nor thou with public kindness

Structure: There are fourteen lines in a Shakespearean sonnet. The first twelve lines are divided into three quatrains with four lines each. In the three quatrains, the poet establishes a theme or problem and then resolves it in the final two lines, called the couplet. Let me confess that we two must be twain, Although our undivided loves are one: So shall those blots that do with me remain, Without thy help, by me be borne alone. In our two loves there is but one respect, Though in our lives a separable spite, Which though it alter not love’s sole effect, Yet doth it steal sweet hours from love’s delight. I may not evermore acknowledge thee, Lest my bewailed guilt should do thee shame, Nor thou with public kindness honour me, Unless thou take that honour from thy name: But do not so; I love thee in such sort,

As thou being mine, mine is thy good report.

1st Quatrain

2nd Quatrain

3rd Quatrain

Couplet

Rhyme scheme: Sonnet 36 follows the metrical rhyme: abab cdcd efef gg. Let me confess that we two must be twain, Although our undivided loves are one: So shall those blots that do with me remain, Without thy help, by me be borne alone. In our two loves there is but one respect, Though in our lives a separable spite, Which though it alter not love’s sole effect, Yet doth it steal sweet hours from love’s delight. I may not evermore acknowledge thee, Lest my bewailed guilt should do thee shame, Nor thou with public kindness honour me, Unless thou take that honour from thy name: But do not so; I love thee in such sort, As thou being mine, mine is thy good report.

a b a b c d c d e f e f g g

Sonnet 36 is written in iambic pentameter, a rhyme scheme in which each sonnet line consists of ten syllables. The syllables are divided into five pairs called iambs or iambic feet. An iamb is a metrical unit made up of one unstressed syllable ( ) followed by one stressed syllable ( ). For example:

Let me | confess | that we | two must | be twain, Although | our un | divi | ded loves | are one:

Analys is:

Let me confess that we two must be twain, Although our undivided loves are one: So shall those blots that do with me remain, Without thy help, by me be borne alone.

In the first quatrain, the speaker tells the young man that they can no longer be together, even though their loves are together and seem inseparable. It is something that the speaker does not necessarily want but it appears that they have no any choice.

Therefore, he has accepted that he must be alone, because he sees no way they can be together.

In our two loves there is but one respect, Though in our lives a separable spite, Which though it alter not love’s sole effect, Yet doth it steal sweet hours from love’s delight.

In the second quatrain, the speaker goes on to say that they are united by their love and that love will remain even though they cannot be together. But in reality, there is a separable spite that will take away the time they can spend together, and that spite will rob them of sweet hours they might have spent in love’s delight. I may not evermore acknowledge thee, Lest my bewailed guilt should do thee shame, Nor thou with public kindness honour me, Unless thou take that honour from thy name:

In the final quatrain, the speaker says that in the future he will be unable to greet the youth publicly because his guilt would bring shame upon the youth. Besides the speaker advises the young lover to not acknowledge him in public either. Unless the young lover wants to bring dishonor upon himself. But do not so; I love thee in such sort, As thou being mine, mine is thy good report .

In the couplet, the speaker tells the young man not to attempt to greet him. Since they are "one", if either is dishonored, then both are dishonored. It is evident the speaker has too much love for him and values the young man’s reputation just as he values his own. In Sonnet 36 the speaker tells the young man throughout the fourteen lines of this poem that it is not possible for them to greet one another in public anymore. It would just bring shame upon them both. The speaker expresses his guilt over something that happened and his desire that they remain united in love even if they cannot delight in love’s pleasures.

Figurative speech: Metaphor: In the third line, the word "blots" is a vague reference to some disgrace that the reader is unaware of....