FREE ESSAY ON SONNETS 130 BY SHAKESPEARE AND SONNET 292 BY PETRARCH

SONNETS 130 BY SHAKESPEARE AND SONNET 292 BY PETRARCH

The sonnets, 130 and 292, written by William Shakespeare and Francesco Petrarch, both
shows their passionate love towards their woman and it is very interesting to compare and
contrast the two. Although their passionate mind was similar, they differ in form, tone,
and meaning.
First of all, the form differs. The ??Sonnet 130?? is written in Shakespearean (English)
format, which has the rhyme scheme of a-b-a-b-c-d-c-d-e-f-e-f-g-g. It has three
quatrains, four-line stanzas, and ends with a couplet, a two-line stanza. Unlike ??Sonnet
130,?? ??Sonnet 292?? follows the Italian (Petrarchan) form. This has a different rhyme
scheme that goes a-b-b-a-a-b-b-a-c-d-d-e-e, and it has an octave, the first eight lines
which tells the story, and the sestet, the last six lines which the speaker comments on
the situation. Although they differ in style, they both follow the iambic pentameter. 
Secondly, the two sonnets differ in tone. ??Sonnet 292,?? like many other sonnets, it
idealizes the woman by using words such as ??the waving hair of unmixed gold that shone,
the smile that flashed with the angelic rays that used to make this earth a paradise??.??
(Lines 5-8) These words give the sonnet a very beautiful and heavenly tone. In contrast,
William Shakespeare ridicules the physical appearance of his mistress by using words such
as ??if hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head, I have seen roses damask??d, red
and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks??.?? (Lines 4-7) Although these words
doesn??t give a beautiful and heavenly tone, it sets the sonnet up for the meaning.
The two sonnets differ in meaning greatly. The ??Sonnet 130,?? later gives out the
meaning when the author says ??I love to hear her speak?? (line 9). He is stating that he
loves her uniqueness, and for whom she is, not for her physical appearance. The author
also gives a little moral lesson to the readers that people shouldn??t love based on
looks but for what they really are. In contrast, in ??Sonnet 292,?? the author grieves
for the loss of his love. His sorrow feelings are well shown in the lines ??the vein of
my accustomed art is dry, and this, my lyre, turned at last to tears.?? (Lines 13-14) He
is saying that his art was motivated by the woman he loved but his desire and passion for
art has run out due to the loss.
It is clearly shown that the two sonnets differ greatly in form, tone, and meaning. I
believe that this is due to the different time and society the authors lived in. But
these two sonnets show that no matter the time and society, one??s love towards another
has always been passionate through out history.