Oh, The Irony
Turmoil at sea; the rough and anarchic waves
On me reflect. Morally testing is this
Torturous scene. I do love thee, and am no knave.
From within I query; my mind is an abyss.
Seemingly stone-like is his condition for me.
My heart feels warmth with every stroke of his tongue.
His words are secure, then I don’t desire to flee,
But every rose has thorns and I am still young.
Clouds role in, and lust drives strong-the other calls.
He slithers to and fro and lust overrides,
And my sanity is gone. I’m enclosed by these walls.
Why doth he tempt me? I bid what my heart decides.
Strange the way these relationships turn out,
My love has his own thorn I’ve just learned about.
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Paige, I appreciate your interpretation of my sonnet (I’m kinda lazy so I’m going to withhold my analysis of yours… For now…). Honestly, I had no idea that so much could be taken from a sonnet written by an amateur as to necessitate annotation. I’m flattered!
You hit the nail on the head with the whole group discussion thing… But Shakespeare was not in my head when writing that thing…
I sorta kinda gave a little tiny clue with the title… So, because it is my nature I’ll spoil a little bit of it just to see if you can figure out what the character is talking about:
The main speaker is a school counselor (though speaking in a more foreboding and archaic manner than most usually do).
Now… What is it that school counselors advise on and help select? (Hint: This is based on how I was talked to about my decision to take a certain AP class we share…)
Ayy’ Paige!
Just to get the blatantly obvious out of the way…this is a Shakespearean sonnet.
I really enjoyed reading your sonnet (which makes this the first sonnet that I haven’t abhorred!) and thought that it was quite brilliant. The imagery of the tumultuous sea and the building clouds is absolutely captivating. It really creates an atmosphere surrounding the poem and emphasizes the speaker’s emotionally tearing situation.
The dilemma that the speaker is put in when she finds out that her love is unfaithful is rather thought provoking. The reader (me!) feels forgiving towards the male when the speaker says that his words are so secure and he makes her heart feel warm. This conflicts with the feelings that the speaker coveys with words such as “stone-like.” The effectiveness of the diction really creates a “torturous scene” within the reader too. I also love the duality of meaning in line six. Not only is it the seen physical manifestation of a relationship, but it also expresses feelings of comfort when the lover speaks. I would have to say that the quandary is represented rather well with a rose.
At first, I was left wondering why exactly you chose the word “abyss” when describing the speaker’s mind. To me, it seemed like instead of the mind being void of thoughts, it would rather be swarming with them– chaotic and confused. After reading the text several times, I have come to the conclusion that it could have perhaps reflected the initial shock of discovering such foul information.
The use of the serpent, to me, was rather trite (this probably has more to do with the allusion to the fall from the Garden of Eden in almost every text I have read recently, and really is no fault of your own). However, I did find enjoyment that, for once, a snake was being used alongside a male figure.
On an off note…this poem really reminds me of the Brett Michaels song: Every Rose has its Thorn.
Cheers,
Alexis
Word Count: 337