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  • Essay / A comparison of the literary styles of Philip Sidney and John Donne

    Stating that poetry should “teach, delight, and inspire men to take this goodness into their own hands”[1], it becomes clear why Philip Sidney in “Sonnet 90” and John Donne’s “Triple Fool” suggest that writing about love is foolish. The poems contain nothing other than the melancholy of a lover for his beloved and do not "move men to action." In fact, one could say that the opposite happens, as both poets are so critical of themselves that the reader almost expects them to give up on writing. Arguably their sense of stupidity comes from the "shame"[2] of being rejected, as this seems to be the recurring theme in their poems, especially as other poems such as Sidney's "Sonnet 63" make an argument in favor of the positive. aspects of writing. Sonnet 90 highlights a sense of madness in writing about love, the alternating rhyme of "fame" and shame in lines one and four inextricably connects the two, implying that Astrophil is ashamed of the popularity that he seems to derive from his poems. Furthermore, the lines "I do not wish to have the name of a poet engraved in my epitaph" (90, l. 7-8) suggest a desire to renounce one's name as a poet and also imply the failure that he has received so far while writing. poetry. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay However, despite his apparent despair in matters of poetry, he still attempts to proclaim his love to Stella with the phrase "who seeks, who hopes, who loves, who only lives for you" (90, l.2 ), the emphasis on "you" emphasizes his complete devotion to Stella while the use of hypermetria ensures that Stella is the thing in the poem he thinks about most. However, despite this madness they both feel about writing poetry to their loved ones, it could be argued that the sense of shame in Sidney and Donne's poetry does not just come from their writing, but also the very real rejection of their love interest. This can be seen in "The Triple Fool" in which the irregularity of rhythm and rhyme scheme have connotations of fickle love. Likewise, the use of “if” in the line “if she would deny” (Donne, l. 5) highlights his doubts about the beloved's words which fill the poem with uncertainty. Therefore, since they cannot blame the one they love for causing them pain, they withdraw into themselves and start blaming themselves and their work. Ironically, they turn to what they accuse only to neglect it. In this sense, they can be seen as consistent with the idea of ​​cynicism, which Zizek calls "negation of negation." This suggests that both Donne and Sidney are aware of their folly but do not renounce it because the image of a poet in love is their social identity. By practicing cynicism in their work, it allows both poets to momentarily free themselves from the constraints of being a male lover and express their true feelings about their given identity. The simultaneous recognition of the fact that it is senseless and the necessity of writing arguably only makes them seem even more senseless to the reader. Unlike this, Astrophil and Stella's "Sonnet 63", Astrophil uses "rules of grammar"[3] to attempt to continue his relationship with Stella. The use of anaphora on the word "grammar" highlights his erratic behavior and his obvious distress towards Stella who "twice said: No, no." (63, l. 8) to his love. The final point of this line suggests to the reader a very clear rejection; the accentuation of the second “No” further accentuates the force of Stella’s refusal. In juxtaposition to ,1989)