1‚Mark&nbsp;Canada‚canada@sassette.uncp.edu‚Essay 2: Explication‚200002181244‚1‚0‚Read "Understanding and Explicating Poetry" and use what you learn here to explicate one of the poems assigned for this week. Identify the poem's rhythm and rhyme scheme, summarize its content, and explain how at least three features of the poem--such as imagery, personification, or conceit--complement the content. In other words, how do these features of a poem's form work together with its content to shape its meaning?  To receive credit for this assignment, you must post it on the online forum no later than noon Monday, February 28.
2‚Jacob&nbsp;Gersh‚phitaujake@hotmail.com‚Explication of William Shakespeare's Sonnet XVIII‚200002221027‚1‚1‚Jacob Gersh  	In Sonnet XVIII, William Shakespeare poses the question; "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day."  Through fourteen lines or rhythm, rhyme, and conceit, he answers the question.  Many picture a summer's day as an event of beauty and serenity, thus comparing things and events of beauty and serenity to it.  Shakespeare, in his famous sonnet, shows that he has his eye on someone very special, someone who is so much greater than a summer's day.  Shakespeare basically critiques a seemingly beautiful day in the summer, showing that comparing this special person to a summer's day would almost be an insult.    According to Shakespeare, summer days are not permanent; sometimes they are too hot for enjoyment, summer days can be very windy at time, the beauty of the summer last only for a short time, and the sun is not always shinning.  The person who he speaks of contrasts these attributes.  This special person's beauty is permanent, always shining, and this person never causes extreme discomfort.  Shakespeare conveys his thoughts and feelings of this matter with the use of a contrasting metaphor, the one literary device that "creates" this sonnet.   The whole poem revolves around the contrast between a very special person and a summer's day.  In addition to conceit, personification and imagery play subtle rolls in this poem.  These literary devices exist within the work, however they are not integral in its shape.  Since Shakespeare was contrasting the summer's day with a person, the summer's day was given humanlike characteristics, thus making the metaphorical process have a greater effect on the work.  Summer was a male, with a golden complexion, with and eye, and with temporary beauty.  This example of personification tied hand-in-hand with the imagery that existed within the work.  After one reads this sonnet, they will have a picture of summer in their mind.  The reader will no longer picture summer in the same light (no pun intended), rather the reader will think of a time of discomfort and a temporary serenity.  Summer loses its beauty while it exists within William Shakespeare's Sonnet XVIII.  This sonnet (having the rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG) appears to be written in iambic pentameter.  However, the many anomalies that exist in the rhythm may lead a reader to believe that this work has no apparent rhythm.   
3‚Andy&nbsp;Stamper‚stamper@papa.uncp.edu‚Re: Essay 2: Explication of "Death Be Not Proud"‚200002221537‚1‚1‚In explicating a poem for this assignment, I decided to evaluate John Donne's personification of "death" in "Death Be Not Proud."  For this particular poem, the rhythm and meter are especially important in shaping an understandable meaning.  Being a metaphysical poet, Donne uses the paradox as a central device in "Death Be Not Proud," as well.  A third key feature of this poem is the aforementioned personification.  These features of "Death Be Not Proud" illustrate the rhythm of a living voice that is characteristic of Donne's metaphysical style. 	To begin, I decided that the poem's meter is trochaic pentameter and the rhyme scheme is ABBA, ABBA, CDDC, AE.  Since "Death Be Not Proud" contains such a strong supernatural element, trochaic meter seems appropriate for a metaphysical poet to use.  Of course, a poem's rhythm does not have an essential meaning.  However, realizing that certain rhythms help convey a poem's message better than other rhythms is important tot he understanding of poetry.  The stressing of particular syllables is a common way to reinforce meaning.  John Donne was an Englishman and probably wanted to express "Death Be Not Proud" with the meter that occurred in his society's everyday speech and writing.  Donne wrote this poem in a diction and meter similar to actual speech.  The entire poem is rather like an argument, or confrontation, with "death".  From the very first line, the rhythm and meter produce this effect as Donne speaks out to "death" as someone who might hear him.  Donne writes, "Death be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;" as if encouraging a response from "death".  This idea of using common speech to bring a personality, or life, to "death" leads directly into the second feature of this poem that I mentioned earlier: paradox. 	Any statement that seems to contradict itself, yet is still logical and sensible enough, is a paradox.  Numerous poets have, and continue to, enlist the aid of a paradox in their work.  Donne uses a paradox in "Death Be Not Proud" to express an idea that surpasses all human logic.  The final lines of this poem read: "One short sleep past, we wake eternally, / And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die."  After reading the preceding lines, one has to ask 'How can "death" die?' 	Now, no matter the paradox in the poem, the personification of "death" remains in this work.  A personification is the endowment of inhuman things with human personality.  In "Death Be Not Proud," Donne thinks of "death" as having life.  Donne even goes so far as to represent "death" as having an ego of sorts.  Donne recognizes this ego and refuses to fuel it.  He writes, "For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow / Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me."  This stripping of "death's" intimidating and fearful qualities can also be found in the first two lines; from which is seen the title, too.  Donne confronts the personified "death" and orders "Death be not proud, though some have called thee". 	Although "Death Be Not Proud" seems like a simple enough poem, it is not at all artless.  I had to digest the work slowly and seriously.  At the start, the central problem in my reading of the poem was :how can "death" die?  I could have tried to find a resolution to the poem and its ultimate paradox.  Be that as it may, the best information I gathered in understanding Donne's work was in learning about Donne.  Much of Donne's poetry concerns ideas that transcend our human understanding.  "Death Be Not Proud" uses language that we understand in order to personify "death" and lead into the paradox of the death of "death."  
4‚Charla&nbsp;Cobbler‚cobbler@papa.uncp.edu‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002251111‚1‚1‚In the explication of a poem for this assignment, I decided  to use "Death Be Not Proud."  This poem seemed fascinating to me because of the way that he took death in general.   He does not fear death, because he knows that it is going  to come to him no matter what.  Death is not going away  until it has taken him in.  After it has him, it will then  die itself.        This poem has a trochaic pentameter as the meter.  The  rhyme scheme is ABBA,ABBA,CDDC,AE.  The way that the  syllables are stressed really influence the way in which the  poem should be understood.  The stressed words are the ones  that you really focus on as a reader.  When the poet wrote  "Death be not proud" it seemed as if he is really talking  with Death himself.  He makes it out to be as if death is a  real person or thing that can hear and understand him.   Personification is used in this sense. He is giving death  human-like characteristics.  At the end of the poem he says that once death has taken him, then death will die.  This  puts a picture in your mind that "death" has human  characteristics and will really die.      This poem is very easy to analyze when you understand  how he refers to things.  His apostrophe is death.  This is  the person that he is communicating with throughout the  poem.  When trying to analyze this poem, I focussed on the  way in which he stressed the syllables.  This really helps  you understand how to explicate a poem.      As I have stated throughout this essay, Donne's view of death was as if it were a human.  He talked to him in this  manner also.  There was no reason for him to fear death because he knew that it was coming and once it came it would all be over with and death would die also.  This is a great  poem to use when explicationg poetry. 
5‚Robert&nbsp;Wayne&nbsp;Bean‚bean@papa.uncp.edu‚Re: Essay 2: Explication: Astrophel and Stella:I‚200002251234‚1‚1‚     The first sonnet of Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophel and Stella is a powerful literary piece about the struggle between reason and emotion.  Its' rhyme scheme is abab abab cdc dee.  Its rhythm is iambic hexameter, with two anomalies in lines 6 and 8, in which there are thirteen syllables.  The significance of these two anomalies will be discussed as the form and meaning of the sonnet is explained.        One key point which should be mentioned before continuing is that Astrophel means star-lover and refers to Sir Philip Sidney, while Stella means star and refers to Penelope Devereux, the one Sidney once wanted to marry.  Here, Sidney sees Penelope as a great heavenly body that is beyond his reach yet admired greatly by him.  As there were no means of space travel in his time, except through the imagination, Sidney is implying that for he and Penelope to be together is impossible.  He can merely admire her from a distance as their marriage never came to fruition.  Instead, she was forced to marry Lord Rich and live in misery while Sidney married Frances Wallingham.  In the sonnet, the persona is Sir Philip Sidney himself.        The content of the sonnet deals with a poet who is madly in love with a beautiful lady, trying desperately to write a poem that will cause her to take notice of him.  He wants her to feel sorry for him so that she might have mercy on him and possibly decide to be with him.  After countless tries of trying to write impressive verse by studying and seeking for the most flowing, eloquent words, it finally dawns on the poet to write from the heart in order to conjure up the emotions he is seeking to express.        The form of the sonnet is a sheer work of genius.  Sidney chooses to stress a lot of syllables that imply action, paint a strong mental image, or suggest powerful, intense emotion.  Truth, fain, love, sought, fresh, win, fruit, up, fool, and heart are all stressed syllables which propel the sonnet forward so one can see the plight of the poet in his ordeal to produce a work worthy of the fair lady's acceptation.      Sidney succeeds in an ingenious use of personification to give the sonnet a sense of dramatic action.  When he pens "pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know", one gets the sense that pleasure and reading are rough characters trying to force the object of his affection to read and know his intense feelings for her.  Then he goes on to say, "knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain".  Here, there is a sense that knowledge must struggle to win pity as opposed to knowledge suffering loss, which could imply the lover might adopt a coldness and hardness to the poet after obtaining the knowledge of the poet's love for her.  If pity is to obtain grace, it is almost as if pity has a lofty goal to which it is reaching.  Thus, the reader can see pity going on an epic quest to obtain the grace of the one loved by the poet.  It is also interesting to note that the object of each of the first three entities personified becomes the personified immediately afterwards.  Pleasure might cause her to read but then reading might make her know. Then knowledge, which was previously the object, becomes the personified when it might have a chance of winning pity.  Pity, if won by knowledge, becomes the personified and could possibly obtain grace.  It is as if each one breathes life into the other and builds in intensity.        There are also other vivid examples of personification in Sidney's sonnet.  When Sidney speaks of words halting forth, it shows a glaring portrait of the writing block the poet is experiencing.  One can see his crippled and limited vocabulary at this point to pen what he really feels.  Invention, the acceptable figures of speech in rhetoric manuals, flees from study's blows.  Here is an image of hand-to-hand combat in which study is violently trying to attack invention but invention gets out of the way.  The implication, however, is no matter how much the writer studies, he can not produce anything from examining the figures of speech acceptable in his time.  When the poet mentions others' feet seeming but strangers in his way, there is a sense of not knowing anything about the other poet's lines or style.  Here again, there is the compounding of this distressed lover never being able to write anything down.      Sidney's rhythm structure points to the main overbearing theme of the sonnet.  It is no accident that lines six and eight  contain thirteen syllables instead of the twelve the other lines contain.  The reason these two lines contain thirteen syllables is to draw attention to them and set them apart from the rest of the sonnet.  Line six shows an action the poet takes, which is studying rhetoric manuals to find acceptable figures of speech.  Line eight shows the desired result of this action, which is fresh and fruitful showers flowing upon his sunburned brain.  The thirteenth and last syllable in line eight is brain.  Studying, the first word mentioned in line six, is an effort to feed and strengthen the brain.  Both of these verses show the great effort the poet is going through to rely on reason and logic to produce the intended emotional response from the lady he loves.  Referring to his brain as sunburned is a significant word choice by Sidney.  A person who is not sunburned has a fair complexion and purity is often connected with this concept, such as a fair maiden or virgin.  Sunburned implies a state of being weathered and worn, such as farmers who have toiled and labored all day in the heat.  Through the exacting labors of his brain to write the right thing, the poet has lost his ability to produce pure and original thoughts. Finally, in verse fourteen, his Muse tells him to look in his heart and write.  This sonnet is strongly implying that no amount of reason, logic, studying, or other cerebral exercises can produce or express the emotional entity of love.      One final element that will be discussed concerning Sidney's poem is the use of imagery coupled with symbolism.  Sidney uses this imagery to really telegraph to his audience the vehement longing of his soul to produce an adequate work for his love.  When the poet speaks of seeking fit words and often turning others' leaves, the reader can see him diligently thumbing through tomes of great literature and manuals in order to hit upon some great gem of inspiration.  The sunburned brain creates an image of this vital organ frying under an intense sun.  This image is symbolic, however, of that which was discussed in the preceding paragraph.  The prospective author being great with child to speak paints a picture of a lady in labor who can only groan and cry as opposed to uttering intelligible words.  This again is symbolic of the author's inability to think of any fitting words to ascribe on paper to the one he wants so desperately.  When he bites his pen and beats himself for spite, you can see a man almost going mad with despair and anger because he seems to find no direction, though he seeks it greatly.  Though he might be engaged in the literal process of biting his pen, the reference to beating himself comes across as symbolizing the inner turmoil he has of producing fruitless results with all of his taxing efforts to write a love poem.      Thus, Sidney's Astrophel and Stella is a sonnet which expresses a common frustration humanity faces today.  The inability to express our feelings to the one we love or feeble attempts at impressing them often lead to this utter despair the poet faces in Sidney's sonnet.  All can relate to this hopelessness of trying to think of ways to woo those we want so desperately but to no avail.  The sonnet so eloquently expresses that trying to win the heart of those we desire should come from the heart and not from the head.      
6‚Stacey&nbsp;Singletary‚singletaryst@papa.uncp.edu‚Re: Essay 2: Explication - "The Flea"‚200002271355‚1‚1‚John Donne's, “The Flea,” is a persuasive poem in which the speaker is attempting to establish a sexual union with his significant other.  However, based on the woman's rejection, the speaker twists his argument, making that which he requests seem insignificant.  John Donne brings out and shapes this meaning through his collaborative use of conceit, rhythm, and rhyme scheme.   In the beginning, Donne uses the flea as a conceit, to represent a sexual union with his significant other.  For instance, in the first stanza a flea bites the speaker and woman.  He responds to this incident by saying, “And in this flea our bloods mingled be.”  He is suggesting that they are united in this flea and ,thus, would equally be united in intimacy.  In addition, he states, “This flea is you and I, and this our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.”  The speaker is suggesting that through the flea the two are married.  Again, the flea represents marriage, union, and consummation through intimacy.  However, the woman crushes the flea, thus, refusing his request, and states that neither she nor he is weakened by its death.  Based on her reaction, the speaker states, “Tis true…Just so much honor, when they yield'st to me, Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee.”  In other words, he twists his argument to make the point that the woman will lose as much giving herself to him as she lost killing the flea - NOTHING!  Secondly, Donne's use of rhythm aids in shaping the poem's meaning.  The poem has alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and pentameter.  However, Donne varies this rhythm to create emphasis on particular words or phrases.  For instance, in the first stanza he states, “Mark but this flea, and mark in this.” Instead of beginning with an unstressed word or syllable as in iambic, Donne stresses the word “Mark.”  This is important in accentuating his argument.  In this same phrase, he uses a pyrrhic foot over “but” and “this” so stress can be placed over the word “flea.”  Again, the flea is an important part of the speaker's argument and emphasis is placed accordingly.  Finally, Donne's rhyme scheme plays an important part in the meaning.  All twenty-seven lines of the poem follow the aabbccddd rhyme scheme.  This consistency in pattern reflects the speaker's persistence as he proceeds with his request for intimacy throughout the poem.  
7‚Jennifer&nbsp;Winborne‚post18@hotmail.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication of Sonnet XVIII‚200002271848‚1‚1‚Rhyme Scheme: ababcdcdefefgg Rhythm: iambic pentameter Form: English sonnet  William Shakespeare's sonnet, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" is about a woman and her beauty, probably his lover or one of his many muses. In the first part, Shakespeare is comparing his muse to a summer's day, but next he is saying that she is more attractive and far more mild. He goes on by saying that they weather is harsh in the month of May and  that the summer is often not long enought for anyone to fully enjoy. Shakespeare moves on by saying that the summer is often gets too hot and  everything wilts under the heat, even beauty, either by fate or the natural course of things. However, Shakespeare promises his muse that her beauty will be forever. She will never lose it to aging or death, becaue it will live on in this testimony to her by him as long as men shall live to read and enjoy it. Some themes that run through this sonnet are the passage of time and beauty. The rhyme scheme complements this poem because it makes the words flow together,  especially since some of the words are early modern English like, "Nor lose  possession of that fair thou ow'st." The rhythm helps this sonnet especially, because instead of sounding like an ordinary lovesick poem, the rhythm pumps it up and gives it passion. You can really believe this came from Shakespeare's heart. Lastly, the  imagery in this sonnet is wonderful. Examples are, "Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines, " and "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May." Both these lines allow the reader to be caught up in the sonnet. The reader can imagine being outside with  the wind on his or her face. Or the reader will remember what it is like to be outside on a sticky, hot summer day, where all one can do is just be still and daydream.                                                                                    	
8‚Melanie&nbsp;Stephens‚ncnurse22@aol.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002271926‚1‚1‚Poetry is a unique combination of literary techniques and a poet’s imagination. It can be very difficult to understand and “Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God, For You” is no exception to this rule. Figurative language, stresses, rhyme; what does it all mean? The elements of content, form, and meaning work together to reveal a message to the reader. By dissecting or breaking down a poem into smaller parts, it can be easier to understand. Therefore, the reader is better able to see the message an author is trying to relate without stating it directly. John Donne’s poem “Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God, For You,” seems to be written in iambic pentameter. It places emphasis on the second word or syllable within the foot. This is very common in English poetry. The rhyme scheme is abbaabbacdbedd and will be discussed later. Through figurative language, rhyme, and stresses, Donne urges the reader to probe for deeper meaning within the poem. This individual reveals his struggle with evil and pleads with God to intervene (Kennedy et al 555). God gives this individual free will to choose which path to take. Temptation is around every corner, but this person realizes he needs God’s help to overcome them. Figurative language is used for the reader to apply his or her own translation to words. The underlying meaning of the text is the same, but perhaps allowing the reader to put it into his or her own words makes it easier to understand. For example, “Batter my heart, three-personed God,” speaks of an individual whose heart is being tried by the holy trinity (Kennedy et al 555). God is searching this person’s heart rather than literally beating it. Also “never free” reveals how God will never give up on an unsaved soul. He is always by this individual’s side despite the fact the he is “betrothed” or promised to God’s enemy-Satan (Kennedy et al 555). Rhyme is also employed throughout this poem. Donne uses both masculine and end rhyme. The rhyme scheme is abbaabbacdbedd. Masculine rhyme falls on the stressed, concluding syllable of the rhyming words (Holman et al 408). The words also fall at the end of each line which is called end rhyme. These two techniques together draw the readers attention to the last word of each line. These key words show actions taken toward the troubled individual and occur before a new idea is introduced. Stress is used to give emphasis to powerful words. This further leads the reader into imagery. Donne places stress on words such as “knock, breathe, shine, and seek” to show a reader vivid images of actions taking place within the poem. A figure of the holy trinity can be seen knocking at a troubled heart’s door. This use of expressive language gives each word life and provides a picture behind the story. Many people can interpret a poem to have the same basic meaning, but with a slight variation of images or feelings found within the poem. Each individual brings his or her own unique translation to a poem and can ultimately bring insight to other readers. Techniques such as figurative language, rhyme, and stress are employed by John Donne to evoke a reader to look deeper within the words written on a page.  
9‚Melissa&nbsp;Houghton‚HOUGHTON@PAPA.UNCP.EDU‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002272021‚1‚1‚     In the sonnet, “Shall I Compare thee to a Summer’s Day?” Shakespeare considers a woman to be more beautiful than a summer day.  He goes on to say that the summer is too hot, and sometimes no sun at all.  Shakespeare says that everything dies either by chance or natural causes, even beauty. But the beauty of this woman can never fade or vanish, and death would never be able to speak of her.  Shakespeare ends the sonnet by stating that no matter how old the words of this sonnet, as long as men still live and breath, her beauty would live on.      Shakespeare uses imagery wonderfully in this sonnet.  In line 3, you can actually picture the rough winds of May shaking the buds.  This happens to be my favorite line of the entire sonnet.  In line 5, I can see a large eye hanging in the sky, watching over us.  But in line 11, Shakespeare’s words show you the long, cold shadow of death, as if it were a real being.  In line 5, Shakespeare uses “the eye of heaven” as a metaphor for the sun.  The rhyme scheme of this sonnet is ababcdcdefefgg.      According to Shakespeare, the beauty of this woman could not be compared to a summer’s day, because summer does not last, and her beauty is eternal. 
10‚Crystal&nbsp;Burnette‚cgburnette@webtv.net‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002272056‚1‚1‚John Donne describes the eternal stuggle between good and evil in his holy sonnet  "Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God For You." In the short poem, the character describes how he has struggled to give his heart to God and turn from his  "betrothed," Satan. He continues to ask, and at times it means, beg God to force His divine will upon his heart. He has tried and failed in his attempts to turn from evil, and he realizes that without God he will continue to fail to  "divorce" himself from the enemy. The character sees that he is not strong enough to fight Satan alone. He can only win the fight with God, and only with God can he finally be free from sin. This sonnet personifies and illustrates the struggle that most Christians feel that they must fight everyday-- the struggle to remain true to God knowing the temptation to stray and follow the path of the enemy. With Donne's words the reader can see and feel that struggle. He asks God to "break, blow and burn" the evil from his heart and make him a new person. He does say that he loves God, and the feeling is that he wants to belong completely to God and follow in His will. It must be noted that the three-personed God that the character speaks of in the first line of the poem refers to the holy Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This poem's rhyme scheme is abbaabbacdcedd and its rhythm is essentially iambic. However the poem does contain the anomaly spondee. This makes the content and the theme of good versus evil in this poem come alive.
11‚Stephanie&nbsp;White‚step_27@hotmail.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002272329‚1‚1‚Poetry can often be a confusing and bewildering means to express one’s feelings concerning a specific topic.  Sometimes the reader is swept away in a poet’s musical words and beautiful imagery.  One such poem is William Shakespeare’s sonnet “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?.”  Shakespeare’s use of personification, symbolism, and metaphor—along with the rhythm and rhyme scheme—all contribute in defining this poem.   	With respect to the rhyme scheme, taking the lines in groups of four, the rhyme scheme is ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, with the final two lines breaking from the scheme to be GG.  This is important in the sense that the author seemed to want these final lines to be set apart.  The final two lines read, “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”  These last two lines define the entire poem, citing that when the subject’s beauty is gone and their life has ended, the subject will forever live on in this poem.  In the last two lines of the poem, Shakespeare gives eternal life to his subject.  Each line in the poem contains ten syllables, and the poem’s rhythm is iambic, or unstressed and stressed syllables are alternated (- / , - / , - / , etc); thus the lines are defined as pentameters, or have five sets of the unstressed-stressed discussed previously to each line.  The rhythm is uniform throughout the poem with no apparent deviation from the iambic pentameter lines.   	Shakespeare’s use of figurative language contributes much to the content as well.  He uses personification in such phrases as “too hot the eye of heaven shines,”  and “his gold complexion dimmed,” in referring to the sun.  In giving human attributes to the sun and the season, it makes the comparison of the subject to a summer’s day easier to understand.  In analyzing these insignificant human characteristics prescribed to such wonderful things as the sun and summer, it makes the reader see that the subject is greater than something previously perceived as beautiful.  Additionally, symbolism can be studied in this particular poem.  In mentioning a summer day, one thinks of warmth, beauty, and happiness; or it can be said that a summer day symbolizes those things.  Then Shakespeare goes on to refute this attitude, giving unpleasant traits to summer, causing the reader to rethink their view on what is really beautiful and positive.  Moreover, the use of metaphor adds to the meaning of this work.  Lines seven through twelve are a metaphor referring to aging and eventual death and how everything, fair or foul, must endure it: but it does not specifically mention either of the two.  In using metaphors, Shakespeare manipulates language to allude to the concept of aging and eventual death, getting his point across without having to compromise rhythmic language.       	Thus, many aspects of language factor in to develop the meaning of a poem, and such is true with the sonnet “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” by William Shakespeare.  The sonnet compares a person or some subject to something seen as so beautiful, but when analyzed and picked apart does not seem to hold up.  It is an eternal shrine to its subject—its beauty will transcend time, even death, in the words of Shakespeare’s “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?.”  ***Definitions (iambic, pentameter, etc.) were taken from “Understanding and Explicating Poetry.” 
12‚Misty&nbsp;Tarlton‚Tarlton@papa.uncp.edu‚Re: Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002280059‚1‚4‚I decided to do the poem “Death Be Not Proud” because of the way it speaks of death with such human characteristics.  In this poem it explains of how death can take you at any time.  It also shows the human characteristics of death.  It shows how it is not to proud to take over anyone at any time.  For example in line nine it says “Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men.”  This is acting as a metaphor for pride.  The pride of death is so great that it will take over at any time.  If you are bad or good, rich or poor death will be waiting for you.  The rhyme scheme for this poem is ABBA, ABBA, CDDC, AE.  The way this is shown has an effect on how the poem is stressed to the reader. The human like characteristics the author gives death is an example of the personification.  The author states in the last line, “And death shall be no more; death; thou shalt die.”  This shows the life death has and it how it seems as though you can really hear and see death in a life like sense.  In the last line it seems as though you can really see how death will die.  The author views death as though it was a real living, breathing person.  And when it finds you there is no turning back it to will die with you.
13‚Monica&nbsp;Horne‚hornemt@peoplepc.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002280109‚1‚1‚Poetry Explication of "Death Be Not Proud" "Death Be Not Proud" is a literary poem written by John Donne. Donne, is known as one of the Metaphysical poets of the Renaissance period for his "ability to startle the reader and coax new perspective through paradoxical images, subtle argument, inventive syntax, and imagery from art, philosophy, and religion using an extended metaphor known as a conceit" (John Donne).  Donne uses this style in "Death Be Not Proud" by relaying the message; we have power over death even though it is an unavoidable part of the human journey. An example of the unavoidable journey is  "thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men…can make us sleep well…". Although we all must face death we do not have to fear it. This is evidenced by Donne in the first line of the poem,  "though some have called thee mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so".  Sonnets are an example of the type works written during the Renaissance. "Death Be Not Proud" has the fourteen lines and the rhyming scheme of a sonnet. It has an a, bb, cc, bb, d rhyme scheme with some inconsistency in the scheme at the end of the poem.   "Mighty and dreadful" is an example of the trochaic metrical foot used by Donne.  	The use of the sonnet style, and Donne's figurative language make "Death Be Not Proud" a typical work of its time. Death is compared to sleep using the figurative language. I found this poem to be very moving and inspirational.   Works Cited "Death Be Not Proud". By John Donne. Kennedy, X. J. and Dana Gioia. Literature: An 	Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 2nd ed. Longman, 2000.  "John Donne". The Academy of American Poets- Poetry Exhibit. Online. 26 Oct. 1999.		 Available http://www.poets.org/LIT/poet/jdonnfst.htm. 27 February, 2000.                                                                                                                                      . 
14‚Eileen&nbsp;Flynn‚elennie79@aol.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002280147‚1‚1‚William Shakespeare’s poem "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?" is about  how he compares a woman to summer. He say’s that she is like a summer’s day and  how beautiful she is. And then he goes on to say how she is even more beautiful than summer, and even though summer does not stay very long his thoughts of her stay forever. He hopes that summer would stay longer and maybe nature will make it stay longer than it is suppose to, which is what he wants her to so is stay longer.  He say’s how she will stay forever in his mind or how he shall not lose how he feels or thinks of her. Even death can not make him lose the thought of her. As long as he has thoughts of her, she shall live forever.   	The rhyme scheme is ababcdcdefefgg.  Shakespeare use’s personification in this poem to explain a woman. The summer is the woman. And everything about the summer is something that is like the woman. Imagery describes how summer is this woman. For instance the fair’s is what  he remembers of the summer time and that is used to describe what he remembers about the woman. The conceit comes into the poem to make us feel the poem to feel and see it in our minds. How he sees this woman and feel it ourselves. All of these three things, personification, imagery and conceit work together perfectly to show what he is trying to explain and tell us exactly how it feels to him so we can see just how special this woman is to him. 
15‚Jennifer&nbsp;Baker‚jbaker32@collegeclub.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002280201‚1‚1‚In the poem, “Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God, for You,” the “three-personed God” referred to is that of the Trinity, the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.  The author, John Donne, does not want God to literally “batter” his heart, he just wants Him to enter into it again and take over.  In the poem, the imagery is in that the author seems to be asking God to show him the power that He has.  He wants God to enter back into his life by breaking the bond that has been created between the author and the devil.  John Donne is saying that he belongs to someone else, His enemy.  God’s enemy has taken over and the author wants to go back to God.  Donne is saying that he will go back to God for good if the connection between him and the enemy can be torn apart. The rhyme scheme in the poem is abbaabbacdbedd.  Iambic pentameter seems to be used in “Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God, for You.”  There is an example of alliteration in the poem also; “…break, blow, burn and make me new.”  I feel a little strange saying that the personification in the poem comes by God being considered human.  To me, God is above all humans, but he is being asked to do things that a human would do.  For example, “Divorce me, untie or break that knot again” seems to me very human.  God, one would think, could do something a little more creative or powerful.  The poem really is a neat poem once you look at it.  It symbolizes the way that people are.  We, for the most part, desperately want to be with God, but we are tempted and fall to the ways of the devil everyday.  We say that if God will just come and rescue us from the devil that we will stay with Him forever.  John Donne was very creative and did an excellent job with this poem. 
16‚Khalil&nbsp;Shakeel‚Khalid Sl@Aol.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002280610‚1‚1‚In "The Flea" by John Donne, it seems the poet is trying to express his love for his girlfriend.  I do not believe it's his wife because when he say " Thou know this can not be said, a sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead", maidenhead possibly represents virginity and it would be of no sin for a wife to lose her virginity.  I believe the word "Flea" is a metaphor for love, for example, when Donne says "It sucked me first and now sucks thee, and in this Flea our two bloods mingled be".  Replacing the word Flea with the word love fits perfect, and mingled is another way of saying feelings they have for one another.  When he says "Yet this enjoys before it's woo, and pampered swells with one blood made of two, and this alas is more than we would do".  He is merely saying that he is sad because they are not advancing with affection the way he would like.  From lines 10 through 18, you notice the poem take a twist where Donne tries to convince her that the pressure from others, her parents for instance have her confused; and she has been "cloistered" (secluded) by them in the "Living walls of jet"(Darkness).  I do not know if literally she has been secluded in the dark, or from a figurative stand point she is in the dark by not knowing what is really going on.  He tries to convince her not to kill him saytin that, "Let not to that, self murder added be, And sacrilege, (Stealing something sacred)three sins in killing three".  I believe Donne is saying by killing him and their love, it would only kill her too, because she really wants to be with him. That would describe the three killings; Donne finishes up by saying the "Death" of their love took life from the situation as a whole.  Donne Rhythym of iambic lines is done in a way to focus on certain words and keep a rhyme scheme of aabbccddd, while never getting off the focus of the poems main subject, "The Flea" or what I interpet to be The Love.   
17‚Deane&nbsp;Wells‚MoNative85@aol.com‚Death Be Not Proud‚200002280805‚1‚1‚John Donne’s “Death Be Not Proud” is a poem rich in implied metaphor, as the author does not reveal Death to be human, but rather assigns it a barrage of human qualities, as well in metaphors, where Donne states the relationship literally though its implied meaning is something entirely different.  In the very first lines, one imagines speaking to Death, as one would speak to another human.  Do not be overly confident or proud of your accomplishments, Donne tells Death, for though some may perceive you as “mighty and dreadful”, your so-called villainous deeds are actually, paradoxically, merciful, as they lead us to eternity.  In further personifying Death, Donne assigned him emotions such as vanity, and traits ranging from despotism to slavery.  Donne accuses Death of overthrowing his victims, when in actuality Death allows them to pass through the conjured idea of death as one resembling repose (a pleasurable act), to an eternity where pleasures such as sleep and rest are but a fraction of what awaits those whom Death has claimed.  But does Death actually claim his victims?  Donne belittles Death, removing his power and might by stating, “Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, and dost with poison, war and sickness dwell”; in reality, many who die do so not by Death’s hand, but by their own or another’s.  How, then, can Death be so mighty if he cannot even dictate those who will become his prey, but is a slave to simply accept those already chosen by other masters?  Further, Death is like a sewer rat, mired with “poison, war, and sickness.”  Death is so easy to come by, Donne asserts, that it can even be achieved through a simple potion made of poppies, putting us forever to “sleep”, a sleep even better than the sleep of Death --- why, then, is Death so proud of itself and its petty accomplishments?   Finally, the last two lines of the poem reveal the ultimate paradox that even in Death, we live forever in eternity, stealing from Death any power it may have claimed for itself.  One might argue that the entire poem is a petrarchan conceit, with the elaborate comparison of Death as a human trenchman, haughty with his power, yet actually powerless over those who pass through his station.  How else could one confront and scorn the mystical Death, other than to humanize it?  Lastly, Donne’s rime scheme in “Death Be Not Proud”, ABBA ABBA CDDC AE, was a common one at the time, as it continues to be so today.  Donne also employed the trochaic meter, wherein a line typically consists of trochees, a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable.  As a trochaic meter, it is also called a falling meter, one primarily used for more serious works of art.      
18‚Benjamin&nbsp;D.&nbsp;Stepp‚steppbenjamin@hotmail.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002280838‚1‚1‚As do many great poets, John Donnes' works reflected his feelings towards things in his life.  In his two poems; "The Flea", and "Batter my Heart, three person'd God", Donne shows us his passion, and views on religion and sex.  In his poem "The Flea", Donne is using his powers of persuasion to tell the listener that sex and being bitten by a flea are in someways alike.  Such as in lines 3-4, "It sucked me first, and now it sucks thee, and in this flea our two bloods mingle be."  Donne is saying that being bit by the flea and having their bodily fluids mix, is just the same as in the sex.  Later in lives 8-9, Donne is saying the same thing.  At the end of the poem (Lines 26-27), Donne is saying that the only difference is that the flea cannot take the blood of the two and make life, as they can in sex. Donne's passion in "Batter my Heart, three-person'd God", comes from his religious faith in God.  In the first five lines, Donne is crying out for salvation.  In line 4, "Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new" is him calling out for his sins to be washed away.  Later on in the poem, he is telling the savior that he feels like a woman who loves one man (that being God) but is married to another (Satan) and wants to be rescued, even by force.  The overall of this poem is based on the Christian belief that one cannot be free without being bound to God.  That is where his passion comes from.
19‚Victoria&nbsp;Henderson‚vichenderson_2000@yahoo.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication Death Be Not Proud‚200002280913‚1‚1‚Explication of Death Be Not Proud by John Donne In this poem John Donne addresses one of man's biggest enemies, Death.  Death is an event that we all must face as a part of life.   Our family and friends consider death the end of our life because in this world our existence ceases.  Most people fear death because it is an experience of the unknown.  Humans seem powerless in the face of death.  In this poem, Donne questions what reason death should have to be proud, "why swell'st then thou?". The poem's rhythm is iambic pentameter.  The rhyme scheme of this poem is very similar to a sonnet.   In the first two quatrains  the rhyme scheme abba, abba fit the pattern of an Italian sonnet.  However, the last six lines have this rhyme scheme cddcae.  Which does not fit the pattern for either an Italian or English sonnet.  The rhyme scheme goes like this abba, abba, cddcae.  Through the use of personification Donne is able to employ both irony and apostrophe.  Personifying death enables Donne to take a stand against it and put it into perspective.  This is an example of apostrophe because death is an invisible, or abstract object that can not answer the poet.  Because of this element, Donne is allowed to have his way with this enemy.  Donne expresses his lack of fear of death by welcoming it.  "And soonest our best men with thee do go,...".  Donne writes that man's soul will be delivered or set free once they have died. "Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery".  Normally, mankind is held captive to fate and death.  However, Donne writes, "Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,".  Death is a slave to fate which lingers among the most desolate aspects of humanity.  God ultimately decides when one's life is over.  Death must lay in wait until God unleashes it to accomplish His will.  The irony here shows that rather than humans being slave to death, death is a slave to our lives.  He states that death will actually die, "we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die".  Another example of irony is found in line three.  "For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor death,..."  Death has been fooled because it thinks it has taken lives when in actuality it has bridged the gap into eternal life.  During our eternal lives there is no place for death.  Death is silent.  Another feature employed by Donne is metaphor.  "From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be".  A lot of times people who attend a funeral will say the dead person looked like they were asleep.  Donne supports this statement but goes a step further.  The dead person does appear to be asleep, but when "we wake eternally, And death shall be no more".  Death will be dead.         
20‚Victoria&nbsp;Henderson‚vichenderson_2000@yahoo.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication Death Be Not Proud‚200002280916‚1‚1‚Explication of Death Be Not Proud by John Donne In this poem John Donne addresses one of man's biggest enemies, Death.  Death is an event that we all must face as a part of life.   Our family and friends consider death the end of our life because in this world our existence ceases.  Most people fear death because it is an experience of the unknown.  Humans seem powerless in the face of death.  In this poem, Donne questions what reason death should have to be proud, "why swell'st then thou?". The poem's rhythm is iambic pentameter.  The rhyme scheme of this poem is very similar to a sonnet.   In the first two quatrains  the rhyme scheme abba, abba fit the pattern of an Italian sonnet.  However, the last six lines have this rhyme scheme cddcae.  Which does not fit the pattern for either an Italian or English sonnet.  The rhyme scheme goes like this abba, abba, cddcae.  Through the use of personification Donne is able to employ both irony and apostrophe.  Personifying death enables Donne to take a stand against it and put it into perspective.  This is an example of apostrophe because death is an invisible, or abstract object.  Because death cannot answer the poet, Donne is allowed to have his way with his enemy.  Donne expresses his lack of fear of death by welcoming it.  "And soonest our best men with thee do go,...".  Donne writes that man's soul will be delivered or set free once they have died. "Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery".  Normally, mankind is held captive to fate and death.  However, Donne writes, "Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,".  Death is a slave to fate which lingers among the most desolate aspects of humanity.  God ultimately decides when one's life is over.  Death must lay in wait until God unleashes it to accomplish His will.  The irony here shows that rather than humans being slave to death, death is a slave to our lives.  He states that death will actually die, "we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die".  Another example of irony is found in line three.  "For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor death,..."  Death has been fooled because it thinks it has taken lives when in actuality it has bridged the gap into eternal life.  During our eternal lives there is no place for death.  Death is silent.  Another feature employed by Donne is metaphor.  "From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be".  A lot of times people who attend a funeral will say the dead person looked like they were asleep.  Donne supports this statement but goes a step further.  The dead person does appear to be asleep, but when "we wake eternally, And death shall be no more".  Death will be dead.         
21‚Becky&nbsp;Davis‚rjdavis_98‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002280952‚1‚1‚Death Be Not Proud is a petrarchan sonnet by John Donne.  The narrator is talking to death telling him that he does not have the final say so.  When we die we go on to live in heaven for the rest of eternity, so we really do not die.  He has no reason to be proud.  It is almost like the poem is making fun of death because he can not really take our lives.  The rhythm in this poem is an iambic pentameter, but since the rhythm is not strong it does not have very much effect on how the poem is read.  The rhyme scheme is abbaabbacddcae.  One of the main features of Death be not Proud is the personification of death.  This helps the reader get a better understanding death because of it’s human like characteristics.  Another feature that is expressed in this poem would be apostrophe.  Since death is so abstract it is easier to address it as if it was actually there.  By actually addressing something, rather than just talking about it there will be more emphasis on it.  “And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well” was the first use of imagery that I picked up on.  Some people think of death as an eternal sleep.  The poem is stating how poppy or charms will make us sleep as well.  The poppy or charms helps us understand how sleep is all death is.  
22‚Nancy&nbsp;Bullard‚nancybullard@hotmail.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002281038‚1‚1‚John Milton's Sonnet XIX - When I Consider How My Light Is Spent is a meditative sonnet questioning the quality of his life since becoming blind.  The form used is an Italian sonnet, also known as Petrarchian sonnet, written in iambic pentameter.  This means that each line consists of five feet, each foot containing two syllables, the first one is unstressed, the second one stressed.  The Italian sonnet is a 14-line poem divided into two parts - two quatrains which set up the theme or problem of the verse, and a sestet, or six-line stanza, which solves it.  The rhyme scheme is abbaabbacdecde.  In this poem, he compares his blindness to a light that's spent and as his yoke to bear, both examples of metaphor.  He also makes an allusion to Matthew 25: 14-30, the parable of the talents.  An allusion is a reference to another well-known work of literature or art, person or event.  This is an attempt to share the experience, to make the reader understand and relate.  In this parable, the unprofitable servant (Milton) was cast out into darkness (blindness) for wasting his talent (ability to write poetry).  He also makes use of a pun when he writes of his light being spent like the talent (unit of money in the parable).  He also mentions an account (also connected with money being exchanged).  Personification is used, giving human-like qualities to Patience, allowing it to speak and solve problems.  He considers the meaning of his blindness and how he can still use his talents (abilities).  It is a "mild yoke" or burden, but he can still serve his Maker and make his life profitable.  This type of poetry also allows the reader to reflect on the poem, the question presented and the answer offered, and apply it to him.
23‚Machella&nbsp;Caldwell‚Caldwell@papa.uncp.edu‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002281107‚1‚1‚Explication of “Astrophel and Stella: I”  Rhyme scheme: abab abab cdc dee Rhythm: Iambic hexameter Form: English Sonnet  Sir Philip Sidney’s sonnet “Astrophel and Stella: I” depicts the emotion of love and reason. The persona Astrophel, star-lover, is trying to compose a poem for Stella, or star, who represents Penelope. They were engaged but due to the death of Stella’s father those plans were altered. Stella eventually ends up marrying Lord Richard and Astrophel married Frances Walshigham. When I read the poem the first couple of times I thought that Astrophel was trying to convince Stella to fall in love with him. In order to interpret the sonnet correctly one should read the notes that are giving at the end. By reading the notes I was able to interpret the sonnet somewhat. The rhyme scheme is abab abab cdc dee. The rhythm for the most part is iambic hexameter written in the form of an English sonnet. There are two divisions in the sonnet. First of all, in the first eight lines the persona is contemplating on how to win Stella back. The language and imagery that he uses in these lines create a sense that he is trying to show her how empty he feels without her. Examples of Astrophel loneliness are “might take some pleasure of my pain”, Knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain--“. Astrophel believes that if he writes Stella an elaborate poem that contains “words to paint the blackest face of woe” then maybe they will fall in love again. The last six lines of the sonnet can be considered as an awakening for Astrophel. He has finally come to the realization that he should just write from his heart“ “Fool, said my Muse to me, "look in thy heart, and write.” The Muse could be interpreted as his consciences. The persona personifies invention, “a creation of the imagination, especially a false conception”(Webster dictionary), as being “Invention, Nature’s child, fled step-dame Study’s blows”. In that particular line Invention represent the first eight lines in which he is confused and frustrated because he is searching in all the wrong places as line 7 states, “Oft turning others’ leaves, to see if thence would flow some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sunburn’d brain” to express his true feelings. Basically he is trying to reason with his emotions instead of being straightforward and writing what he feels about Stella. The transition that shows that he has triumph this obstacle is in the beginning of the last sestets “But words came halting forth, wanting invention’s stay”. The persona uses commas throughout the sonnet for a distinctive reason. The commas are use for the purpose of the reader of the sonnet to pause like Astrophel paused when he is trying to collect his thoughts.  
24‚Starlet&nbsp;M.&nbsp;Chavis‚coldheart21@hotmail.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002281147‚1‚1‚In William Shakespeare's poem, "Shall I Compare Thee to A Summer's Day?" I get the feeling that he is mourning over the departure of a lost love, and in doing so he describes his love for her compared to the love of a "summer day."   In line one he immediately begins to use simile when he starts to compare the two together, for example, when he says "Thou are more lovely and more temperate." Further on, Shakespeare uses personification when he states that "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date."  Shakespeare is trying to say that even though their love may experience a few bad bumps, they do not ponder on them because they must cherish the time they have together because his fair lady's stay is only for a short time.  As he continues, he uses kenning when he speaks of the sun when he says, "Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines."  Shakespeare later concludes that even though the summer is gone, his memories and love will never die and no one will be able to take that away from him.  The rhyme scheme of this poem is ababcdcdefefgg.  For example, the last words of lines 1,"day" and 3,"May", rhymed together, so did lines 2 and 4, and so on until lines 13 and 14.  The last words in each of these consecutive lines rhymed together instead of it being each alternating line.  Finally the rhythm of Shakespeare's poem was iambic pentameter (-/) to my knowledge.  The pattern of each line was mostly five, indicating five feet, and the stressed syllable usually came last.  Therefore, these findings led me to believe that the rhythm pattern was iambic pentameter.  
25‚Susan&nbsp;Severson‚UVLight146@aol.com‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002281148‚1‚1‚William Shakespeare is one of the best known writers of all time.  One reason that his work has such renown is due to Shakespeare’s eloquent mastery of language.  An analysis of one of Shakespeare’s works, Sonnet XVIII, reveals how his engaging use of figurative language truly captures the reader’s attention. Shakespeare’s opening line, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” informs the reader that the entire sonnet is a metaphor comparing his love interest with a summer’s day. (A sonnet as defined in NTC’s Dictionary of Literary Terms by Kathleen Morner and Ralph Rausch as a “fourteen line lyric done in iambic pentameter”, and which this poem follows in a ‘ababcdcdefefgg’ pattern.) He describes positive aspects of a summer’s day, such as pleasant and mild weather with “Thou art more lovely and more temperate” (2), meaning simply that his lover is more beautiful and calm than a summer’s day.  A critic of his work might ask, “How difficult is it to compare positive aspects of a summer’s day and make it sound pleasing to the reader OR to the subject of his poem?”  However, Shakespeare’s use of figurative language also manipulates negative aspects of a summer’s day to create a positive ending.  He personifies the summer in an negative manner as being either too hot or too cloudy with, “Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines, and often is his gold complexion dimm’d” (5-6), giving summer the human characteristics of an eye and a complexion.  Shakespeare further builds the comparison with “And every fair from fair sometimes declines (7)…But thy eternal summer shall not fade” (9),  meaning that although a summer’s day may be too hot or too cloudy and that the presence of summer is fleeting, that his lover will always be considered fair.  His lover will be always be considered fair because of the immortality of Shakespeare’s words, “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this and this gives life to thee” (13-14). This shameful analysis does little to fully describe Shakespeare’s genius with the use of language. Perhaps time would be better spent savoring Shakespeare’s immortal words.       
26‚Theotis&nbsp;Gibson‚gibsont@papa.uncp.edu‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002281157‚1‚1‚Theotis Gibson  Explication of John Milton's "When I Consider How My Light is Spent"        Milton's, "When I Consider How My Light is Spent", is looking at ones entire life.  The first two lines of the poem refer to him perhaps being physically blind and spending one-half of life on earth and the other half being spent in heaven for eternity, "Ere half my days in the dark world and wide, And that one talent which death to hide." Milton does not look at death as something devastating or catastrophic, instead he looks at worshiping his God "my Maker" as his only priority.  In lines 9-10, he reveals that God works alone and is not influenced by surroundings, "God doth not nee Either man's work or His own gifts."  I feel that Milton means in lines 11-12 "Who best Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best," that if you worship someone you have to be on the same spiritual page to give your all. God is this poem is described as majestic with many people succumbing to his present. He oversees the whole earth great and small constantly, "His state Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed, And post o'er land and ocean without rest." 
27‚Kate&nbsp;Endriga‚‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002281521‚1‚1‚When I Consider How My Light Is Spent is a poem written in 1655 by author John Milton after succumbing to adult onset blindness.  The poem is structurally divided into two parts.  The first part is comprised of the first eight lines and is called an octave.  The octave has a repeating four line rhyme scheme which forms an "abba abba" pattern and can be heard when lines 1,4,5,8 or 2,3,6,7 are read together.  In addition to it’s structure, the octave’s function is to present a problem.  In this octave, Milton questions the purpose of his life and describes the impact blindness has on his desire and ability to write.  In the sentence "Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?", Milton questions the religious purpose of his existence and writing talents given the debilitating limits of his affliction.  The six lines following the octave are called a sestet.  The rhyme scheme of the sestet forms a "cde cde" pattern and can be heard when lines 9 and 12, 10 and 13, or 11 and 14 are read together.  One technique to help identify these patterns is to identify words that rhyme at the end of each sentence.  For instance, lines 9 and 12 end in the rhyming words "need" and "speed".  The function of the sestet is to offer a resolution to the problem presented in the preceding octave.   In response to the problem presented in the octave of Milton’s When I Consider How My Light Is Spent, God replies "who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best." This revelation from God encourages Milton to use his blindness as a tool to enhance his writing, not a crutch to stifle his creativity and talent.  John Milton effectively uses rhyme scheme, structure, and function to facilitate understanding of When I Consider How My Light Is Spent. Kate Endriga, Eng. 203 student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
28‚MJ&nbsp;Graham‚grahammj@intrstar.net‚Re: Essay 2: Explication‚200002281700‚1‚1‚William Shakespeare's Sonnet  XVIII: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?  Begins with a comparison of a mysterious woman whom Shakespeare is perhaps infatuated (or possibly in love) with.  His literal meaning of figurative language is not giving summer actual human like characteristics, but rather uses comparisons between summer and this anynomous woman.  For example line number four, "And summer's lease hath all too short a date, meaning when rough winds come and time still progresses, the season changes while her virtues and attributes change with age, the beauty he sees will never fade.  Meanwhile, even in death his compassion for her in his heart remains as long as she lives and even in death, her life gives him a purpose to live. This fourteen-line poem follows the pattern iambic pentameter meaning the poem does not have a concise rhythm. The poem is in sonnet form: ababcdcdefefgg.  It sounds as if it could also have been written in free verse form. My impression about this poem was one of hope and anticipation of words that this man had all balled up inside but never was able to freely express in person, therefore he expressed it in his poetry.