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An analysis of Shakespears Essay The original sonnets were written by Francesco Petrarca in Italy. The word sonnet comes from the Italian word sonetto meaning little song. The Italian sonnet is made out 14 verses that are split into two parts. The first eight lines, called the octave, describe the problem while the six last lines, sestet, provides the solution. This form is different than English sonnets such as Shakespeare Sonnet 106. English sonnets still have 14 verses but they instead have three quatrains and one rhyming couplet. The first part, like the Italian sonnet, presents the problem. The second and third part complicated this situation further. Then the last part, the rhyming couplet, resolves the presented problem usually in a way that makes it a paradox. Sonnets are written in a strict rhyming and meter scheme. Iambic pentameter is used as a device in writing sonnets. This means that each line has ten syllables that alternate from hard to soft tones. The rhyming scheme for English sonnets is abab cdcd efef and gg for the rhyming couplet. We will be taking a look on Shakespeares Sonnet 106. Shakespeares sonnets are much different from Francesco Petrarcas sonnets. Petrarcas sonnets are about love and beauty while Shakespeares sonnets are mocking all the clichi s of the same thing. Shakespeares Sonnet 106 is a very beautiful sonnet about a lady. What I am assuming is a young man is telling this girl that her beauty is beyond description. He tells her all the writers before him, had premonitions about her and thats why you can find her beauty described in history books. The best lines, in my opinion, is I see their antique pen would have expressd even such a beauty as you master now. I think this line really sums up what Shakespeare is trying to express in the sonnet. I love that even though Shakespeares sonnets are about love, his sonnets are written in a non clichi way. He even mocks the clichi writers in his sonnet. Even though Shakespeares sonnets do not use clichi s, I think that his sonnets are the sweetest things I have ever read. The thing that makes Shakespeares sonnets complete is his choice of words and the technique he uses. Shakespeare describes everything unconventionally but in a genuine way. He explains history, for example, as chronicles of wasted time. In a way, this metaphor reflects the inner working of Shakespeares mind and shows us what his motivation behind his work was. In the sonnet, he shows us that beauty will eventually die and that literature will pass it on to the future. His use personification is very deep and meaningful, such as beauty making beautiful rhyme or antique pen cannot express I also love adjectives, such as lovely and divining eyes. These adjectives really set the tone of the sonnet, which is the essence of beauty and it being everlasting through the art of literature. Shakespeare was a genius of his day of age. His sonnets so intricate that it takes hours just to properly analyze one of them. His non-clichi writing style gave his work a little more pizzazz to his work. He expanded on the idea of the Italian sonnet and made it his own. Shakespeare wrote over 150 sonnets, all them unique in their own way. Shakespeare opens up his mind on paper and tells us the world as it is.