Keat’s sonnet ‘When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be’ represents a reflection on life and death. The leading theme is fear, as he is afraid that he will not be able to complete all the tasks that he has set for himself. Indeed, he aches to leave a mark in the world with his writing. The sonnet begins with the word “When,” implying that this fear of death is an emotion that he has experienced and reflected on several times. The first two quatrains establish his fear of never being able to develop his ideas and put them onto paper for the world to see. He believes his thoughts can still evolve through learning: “my teeming brain” (l.2), which he also exposes through the imagery of harvest with an alliteration: “glean’d”, “garners” and “full ripened grain.” In fact, “I may never live to trace / Their shadows” (l.7-8) suggests that Keat is perplexed by the thought that he may never be able to fully explore the meaning of something. He then reveals his fear of losing his beloved: “I shall never look upon thee more” (l.10). The closure of the sonnet is somewhat hopeless and depressing: “[I] think/ Till Love and Fame to the nothingness do sink” (l.13-14). By using capitals, he shows what great importance love and fame are for him; without them, everything is worthless. Recognition by the public was something that was important to the author. In a way, this may be what motivated him to write. Thus, death is something that will abruptly end everything: his thoughts, his love and his fame. Although he became even more famous later on, it appears as though it has no true value for him since he is not there to experience it. The use of enjambments emphasizes his continuous distress, which will follow him until death finally comes. This apprehension of death demonstrates how he is willing to accept that death will come, as it is inevitable. Nonetheless, it seems like Keat will not accept the fact that he may die with parts of his life remaining incomplete. What can be perceived as ironic, is that John Keat died four years after writing this sonnet. As he contemplates death, instead of regretting the past, he regrets the future.

The Harlem dancer is a poem that celebrates the soul of african americans living in the north. In this poem, Claude Mckay is creating a festive atmosphere through the diction of party "applauding"(l1)"laughed"(l1)"voice"(l3) " sound"(l3) " flutes"(l3) "sang"(l5) "danced"(l5). The first word of this poem is "APPLAUDING" it brings the reader right into this party atmosphere ,and its written in capital letters which emphasize the importance of the word. The main attraction in this party is a dancer. She is being watched by the "laughing youths with young prostitutes". They are watching her " perfect, half -clothed body sway;". They are focusing on her body, she is also being "devoured" by these people. The verb devoured is usually used for animals. The people watching her are associated with animal characteristic. The dancer is the prey and they are the predators. The only one that seems to be looking on beyond her figure is the "me". He sees her differently than the other people "to [him] she seemed a proudly- swaying palm growing lovelier for passing through a storm." He is admiring her for not paying attention to the laughters of the young people there to watch her. She just keeps on dancing "gracefully". All of those that are making fun of her are looking down on her, for the exception of the poet. He is the only one that is putting her on the same level as him " i knew her self was not in that strange place". In this line the "her " and the "i" are on the same sentence because they are both black, and the rest of the spectators are white.

Sonnet Reader's Response (Shakespeare's 73rd sonnet)

Love is treated in this sonnet, but rather than being dominant, it takes a secondary role, the poet’s troubles overshadowing it.

Indeed most of the sonnet seems to be concentrating on problems and does not consider love as a solution. One of the elements that show this is the amount of lines consecrated for love. In the fourteen-line sonnet only the two last are consecrated to the theme of love. Also, when the poet finally mentions it, he only speaks of the other person’s love for him, saying “thy love,” and does not seem to reciprocate. There is almost coldness in the way love is treated.

The poem is indeed dominated not by love but by the thought of death. He speaks of it directly in the lines 8 and 11, but its power in opposition to the power of love is also highlighted in the rimes. Indeed, Shakespeare thus associates terms designating pleasant and comfortable things to elements reminding one of death, like for example in lines 2 and 4 with “hang” and “sang,” in lines 6 and 8 with “[the] sunset […] in the west” and “Death’s second self […] in rest” and finally in lines 9 and 11, associating the warmth of “fire” with the term “expire.” Thus the theme of death essentially rules the sonnet.

Sonnet on Sonnet-Writing

Here's a sonnet that I thought was interesting, because it acts as a sort of bridge between older and more modern sonnet-writing: it references Petrarch and his Laura, and the "iambic bongos" of Elizabethan sonnets, yet also doesn't necessarily abide to all the codes involved in the process (no rhymes...). It's also great to how Collins is simply describing writing a sonnet, yet at the same time does just what he is talking about in his poem. (A sort of mise en abyme?)

Sonnet - Billy Collins (1941-)

All we need is fourteen lines, well, thirteen now,
and after this one just a dozen
to launch a little ship on love's storm-tossed seas,
then only ten more left like rows of beans.
How easily it goes unless you get Elizabethan
and insist the iambic bongos must be played
and rhymes positioned at the ends of lines,
one for every station of the cross.
But hang on here wile we make the turn
into the final six where all will be resolved,
where longing and heartache will find an end,
where Laura will tell Petrarch to put down his pen,
take off those crazy medieval tights,
blow out the lights, and come at last to bed.

(From Sailing Around the Room: New and Selected Poems)

On a funny note (at least for me), this is what I imagined every time I thought of Gregor Samsa.

Post your sonnet responses here!!

Peter Kuper's cartoon of Metamorphosis

I saw that the other class with the BAC traditionnel are reading The Metamorphosis as a graphic version, by Peter Kuper. I looked it up and found his website, and at the beginning there's also a video with the beginning of the novel. I borrowed the book and found his adaptation really original; he really manages to keep the same vibe as the real novel throughout the book, but still makes it a darker version at the same time (maybe just because we're able to see the elements visually). I hope you guys enjoy it!