NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Carpe Diem Tichborne s Elegy by Chidiock Tichborne and Sonnet 115 by Edna St. Vincent Millay are two romantic poems that use nature-imagery as a metaphoric expression. The events inspired to write these poems were the loss of a loved one and the loss of one s own life. Even though the poems are two totally different situations, they both express the importance and similar outcomes of life and how it is relative to nature.
In Tichborne s Elegy, nature is used to give the alternative, yet dreary outcomes in the speakers life. My prime of youth is but a frost of cares defines that the prime of his youth is cold and lost forever. The speakers life turned from a golden crop of corn; meaning his life was once prosperous, into a field of worthless weeds. In comparison from the speaker to a tree, the tree is strong and able with green leaves, but has no fruit to accompany his now empty life. The surprising thing about all those outcomes in his life, is that when the he had that prosperous life, he never took advantage of it. The nature-imagery of Sonnet 115 is glamorized by a romantic relationship being a beautiful growing flower.
The alliance between the two lovers blossomed from a bud into a flower; a symbol of love. Although her love was a flower, it was over before it started. The cold frost of winter and the winds of autumn are images of the speakers past unsuccessful relationships. Through experiencing these past seasons, the speaker thinks she has suffered the brunt of what meaningless relationships have to offer.
I only hoped, with the mild hope of all who watch the leaf take shape upon the tree expresses the hope inside the narrator that some man will see her real beauty. She is depressed about what she thinks is her lack of beauty. The use of summer symbolizes all other women that are more attractive to a man s eye, while the later fall represents the negative feelings she has towards her own self. On the surface her relationships appear to be status quo, but the black vine of her flower symbolizes her unwillingness to commit herself to any one lover The images used in both poems are directly related by nature. They are similar because the speakers in the two poems both wanted, and definitely could have had a better and more fulfilling life.
A better life in the sense of metaphorical being beautiful flowers and trees, instead of turning into the black vines and rotten shrubs of life like they actually became. The images are dissimilar because in Tichborne s poem the speaker uses antithetical statements, and in Sonnet 115 the speaker uses direct symbols for all her thoughts towards herself and her feelings. The images in the two poems can be read differently in numerous ways; especially if you take the background of the writer into account. Since Tichborne wrote the poem before his execution, the idea might come to mind that the only reason he couldn t experience life to the fullest, is because he was captured and locked away. The first thing we know about Sonnet 115 is that the speaker has lost a love and foretold it happening.
Throughout the rest of the poem one might think that the woman is just finding the wrong man that doesn t treat her with dignity and respect. The two poems have similar images because both represent a dying life that has no way to get out or re-live. Sonnet 115 tells the reader that sometimes when everything is going wrong and you blame everyone else, you should take time and look at your own actions. The lesson to learn in Tichborne s Elegy is never let your life pass you by. Both poems strongly combine and suggest how you should not live you life, and how you should love yourself and seize the day.
Free research essays on topics related to: nature imagery, speakers, sonnet, speaker, 115
Research essay sample on Tichborne Elegy Nature Imagery Life
