Edmund Spencer

One day I wrote her name upon the strand, (A)
But came the waves and washed it away: (B)
Again I write it with a second hand, (A)
But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.(B)

Edmund Spencer begins his poem with a vain attempt to keep his name and his lover's name in the sand. Yet, the waves come and go and continually erase the names. This was not the way for Spencer to gain the immortal love he yerned for.
Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay, (B)
A mortal thing so to immortalize, (C)
For I myself shall like to this decay,(B)
And eek my name be wiped out likewise.(C)

Spencer tried and defeat time by immortalize his love. He does this by writing in the sand. However, nobody can out live time. Everyone must leave the mortal world for the mystery of what comes next.

Not so, (quod I) let baser things devise (C)
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame: (D)
My verse, your virtues rare shall eternize, (C)
And in the heavens write your glorious name. (D)

Even if the body may not be eternal, words can live on. Spencer wrote this sonnet for his love in attempt to make their love everlasting.
Where when as death shall all the world subdue, (E)
Our love shall live, and later life renew. (E)

Words out live people. This poem was a way for Spencer to keep his love know a alive for centuries.

William Shakespeare Sonnet 60

"Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore, (A)

So do our minutes hasten to their end;(B)

Each changing place with that which goes before,(A)

In sequent toil all forwards do contend. (B)

Within the the first quatrain, it is written the waves make towards the pebbled shore so do our minutes hasten to their end. The pebbled shore can be interpreted as minutes. As each pebble moves with the waves it is as if minutes rolled away.

Nativity, once in the main of light, (C)

Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,(D)

Crooked elipses 'gainst his glory fight,(C)

And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.(D)

Every dawn the sun rises which brings new life. The sun is a symbol of life; rises to its peak. "Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd. Mid-day is the high point which symbolizes the peak in life, whether good or bad. Crooked ellipses, shows hard times, trial and turmoil. And finally bringing the day to an end, death.

Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth (E)

And delves the parallels in beauty's brow,(F)

Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth,(E)

And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:(F)

Nothing can escape time. For time will show on one's self. Beauty is fun to have but do not think nature can not take it away. Eventually time will out last all. Nothing can stop time from moving forward.

And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,(G)

Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand."(G)

Time may beat all, but Shakespeare is going to try and go with time with this sonnet. The "cruel hand" is the hand of time and Shakespeare has so far stuck with time through million of readers.

Edmund Spencer

One question can trigger intfinate answers. Edmund Spencer began his sonnet with the question of how he can love one person so greatly. "My love is like to ice, and I to fire; How comes it then that this her cold so great Is not dissolved through my so hot desire, But harder grows the more I her entreat?" Spencer uses ice and rain as personification of himself and his lover. A perfect way to describe how different, yet alike they are.


However, his love may be infitnate but is not recieve. For the love of his world does not feel the same. Her heart is distant and cold. Yet, his love for her is stronger than ever. "Or how comes it that my exceeding heat. Is not delayed by her heart frozen cold, But that I burn much more in boiling sweat, And feel my flames augmented manifold?" The love is so powerful, Spencer compares it to fire. To show how much affection he has for this one person.



Her heart has no place for Spencer, and yet his love burns inside him more and more as each day rolls by. "What more miraculous thing may be told. That fire which all thing melts, should harden ice,And ice which is congealed with senseless cold, Should kindle fire by wonderful device?" For endless amount he sends and recieve nothing in return. Does this prevent the love sicken puppy?


If you give love you will gain peace. There is always hope. "Such is the power of love in gentle mind, That it can alter all the course of kind." Love is a mighty force. I firmly believe love can alter nature's intended way. And this is what Spencer is showing the world with this sonnet.

William Shakespeare Sonnet

William Shakespeare beings his sonnet with the question, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" Only to answer his own question explaining, the beauty of a person compared to a summer's day would not do justice. "Thou art more lovely and more temperate...And summer's lease hath all to short a date." For this person is more beautiful than summer; and summer will soon come to an end as all seasons will. Yet, this beautiful, lovely person will not lose their significances.



"Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed." The bright summer sun can be dimmed by clouds. As everything considered beautiful will lose the attraction."And every fair from fair sometimes declines,By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed." Nothing can keep it's beauty forever, in Shakespeare's mind. Time and natural will take it course.



However, within the third section of Shakespeare's sonnets, he backs up what he had written in the first section. "But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest, Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade. When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st. For death can not even stop him now; and the beauty live on forever within the lines of Shakespeare's words.



To end Shakespeare answers his own question; "for long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and gives life to thee." One person's beauty can give one the motivation to keep going. Love is all, is you can find love you are a lucky person, but love is hard to hold on to.

Sonnets

Sonnets are written with a distinct rhyme scheme. In William Shakespeare's sonnet, he does not carry a line more than one quadrant. In Spencer's case, he takes for one quadrant and uses it in the next. I believe this would be a greater challenge for a writer to take on. With the example provided, Shakespeare carried his sonnet with an ABAB style and finished with a CDCD, EE. However, in Spencer's case his sonnet begins with ABAB and concludes with EFEF, GG. Edmund Spencer is my preference over Shakespeare; for his writing falls closer to how i would write. I enjoy the flow, it as if it could slowly go on for ever.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky

Hands down, this is the most endearing book I've ever read. What makes it great is the amazing characterization of the lovable Charlie. This is most definitely a book you can not put down. Chbosky has the most honest way of writing. The text is simple and easy to read, complementing Charlie's character. Through his letters to any reader, Charlie's world of innocence, literature, first-time drug use, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," sex, and growing up is unraveled in Charlie's own letters. Chbosky creates a relationship between the reader and Charlie, so that it seems Charlie is writing directly to the reader.This book has been compared to The Catcher in the Rye and A Separate Peace, but it is not a tale of a depressed, teenager in search of himself while criticizing the rest of the world. Rather, it is the narrative of a unique young "wallflower," one who "sees things, keeps quiet about them ... and understands," and looks for an honest world to live in. Through out his freshman year, Charlie grows from a naive child to an independent and thoughtful character with the guidance of an English teacher and two seniors. Charlie's mind is far from simple, and he faces many obstacles including death in his family, dating, drugs, rape, suicide and his strong emotions. By conquering these, Charlie becomes an even stronger character.On the first page, Charlie says that he "just needs to know that someone out there listens and understands and doesn't try to sleep with people even if they could have." This book immediately hit a connection with me because Charlie has a way of putting life in words. There is a little part of Charlie in everyone. After reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I assure you that Charlie will be with you forever.

Any form of writing will reflect its surroundings. The Canterbury Tales was written during the medieval time period. To began with, when you think medieval times you think kings, queens, death by judgement, and power. "That dampned was this knyght for to be deed,
By cours of lawe, and sholde han lost his heed", lines 897-898. Monarch was most definitely in power. For the king and queen decide who is to live and die under their rule. Also during this time period the church was still slowly but surly incorporating God into most stories. "And come agayn right at the yeres ende,With swich answere as God wolde hym purveye;And taketh his leve, and wendeth forth his weye", lines 922-923. Lastlty, the knight in the tale ends the story with the right way to please his wife. "My lady and my love, and wyf so deere,I put me in youre wise governance. Cheseth yourself, which may be moost plesance And moost honour to yow and me also.I do no fors the wheither of the two; For, as yow liketh, it suffiseth me" lines 1236- 1241. In every story there is a hidden meaning. The knight learned from his mistakes and lived a happy life with the help of a good hearted person.