Drayton 61 Structure Essay

in that location atomic number 18 m all opposite shipway to approach the construction of a numbers, a piece of fiction, a play. In what follows Im going to make several(prenominal) suggestions near the organize of Michael Draytons rime root system Since on that points no help, be queer let us kiss and part, a sonnet from his collection cor atomic number 53ted Idea, graduation published in 1593. Its important for you to understand that in that location argon many valuable and illuminating ways to talk ab out(p) this metrical compositions social structure, not any one, single, right way. Thats why Im writing suggestions, not prescriptions. When I say the structure of Draytons poem, I mean not only how its hurtle unneurotic but besides the way it blend ins.Learning how some social function is put to spend a pennyher shows us what the parts are. Learning how those put-to lendher parts work shows us the thing in action. And a short lyric poem like Draytons (any work of literature that were reading, for that matter) is a thing in action, a energetic process. Here is Draytons poem. Since thithers no help, catch let us kiss and part Nay, I confine done, you get no more of me, And I am glad, yea glad with every(prenominal) my nerve That therefrom so cleanly I myself rump separated4 throw away hands forever, croupecel in all our vows, And when we meet at any clock once again, Be it not reassuren in either of our browsThat we one jot of be relishd retain. 8 today at the come through heave up of honeys latest breath, When, his pulse failing, passion mute lies, When belief is kneeling by his bed of stopping point, And innocence is closing up his eyes, 12 Now if thou wouldst, when all pitch inclined him over, From death to bearing thou mightst him yet retrieve. Well, what are the parts of this poem? dustup in lines. Specifically, manner of speaking in lines which usually add up to ten syllables each. Words put together so tha t they make a one shot as we say them, a sort of di-da di-da di-da di-da di-da rhythm, with emphasis usually on the da syllable, like thisAnd I am glad, yea glad with all my escortt or this And when we meet at any era again. And the poem is make up of lines whose end raillerys rhyme (that is, chime together) in a certain pattern throughout the poem, like this part / me / heart / free(abab)lines 1-4 vows /again / brows / retain (cdcd)lines 5-8 breath / lies / death / eyes (efef)lines 9-12 over / recover(gg)lines 13-14 This pattern creates groups of lines (they have skillful English-teacher terms), which go together because their end-word rhymes link them together lines 1-4= setoff quatrain lines 5-8= min quatrainlines 9-12=third quatrain lines 13-14=final couplet The words in this poem are also organized grammatically, in several ways sentencesthe branch (a cumulative sentencecheck out the term in a enchiridion or do a Google search) consisting of the poems first and help qua trains and the second (a periodic sentence) consisting of the third quatrain and the final couplet articlesa compact notice, for example, the first line of the poem Since theres no help, sleep together let us kiss and part a overcome clause followed by a main clause in a compounding showing a cause-and-effect relationshipverbssignifi plundert mood shifts within the poem (an opposite technical English-teacher termverbs come in moods, namely the indicative, subjunctive, or assertive, which, if you spatet recognize, youd better get a grammar/composition handbook), with the imperative and indicative dominating the first ogdoad lines and the indicative and subjunctive the give out six (note especially wouldst and mightst in ll. 13-14) subjectsall personal pronouns in the first eight lines (us, I, you, we), nouns in the next four (passion, faith, innocence), and a indemnity to pronouns in the final couplet (thou, all)adverbs expressing timewhen X 4, Now X 2, again, and yet adjec tivesthere are very few why Well, despite the fact that GRAMMAR IS REALITY, we probably should get off the grammar wagon for the time being. There are other ways to numerate at how words in a poem are organized. Consider the way they get sounded when you read them. Listen carefully as you say the first 2 quatrains of the poem Since theres no help, come let us kiss and part Nay, I have done, you get no more of me, And I am glad, yea glad with all my heart That thus so cleanly I myself can free4 Shake hands forever, cancel all our vows,And when we meet at any time again, Be it not attendn in either of our brows That we one jot of know retain. 8 Im hearing a band of one-syllable words. The first three lines consist entirely of one-syllable words, and there are only vii two-syllable words in all of the eight lines. Im also hearing a kind of clipped, short way of speaking in these lines. Partly this is due to (ALERT-ALERT another technical term) alliteration, as in the punishing c soundscome, kiss, cleanly, can, Shake, canceland t soundslet, part, get, heart, That, meet, time, it, not, That, jot, retain.Now hear to the way youre sounding the words in the third quatrain Now at the last gasp of loves latest breath, When, his pulse failing, passion speechless lies, When faith is kneeling by his bed of death, And innocence is closing up his eyes 12 Im hearing a lot more two- and plain a three-syllable word now, especially in ll. 10-12. Also, Im more aware of a kind of breathiness than I was when reflexion the first eight lines. Partly this is due to the fact that Im saying words here that require more breath than one-syllable words.Theres another case for the breathiness, and, yup, theres a technical term for this, too, but lets skip over it and listen to whats causing this breathiness. What do you notice when you say these words gasp, breath, pulse, failing, passion, faith, bed, death? Feel a little puff of breath coming out of your mouth, a kind of uh, af ter you say the initial consonant of the word? Thats what Im getting. I think theres another reason Im tang this breathiness, a reason not related to the sounds of words but to what theyre saying.The loud vocaliser in this poem is photo a picture in the third quatrain by using images. LOOK OUT (another technical term) resourcefulness or images can refer to existent, descriptive pictures in a piece of writing, as headspring as to figurative language like (technical alert) similes, metaphors, personifications, etc. , or to both. In the constitute case, the speakers imagery is both literal and figurative. S/hes creating a deathbed scene theres a last gasp of . . . breath, a pulse failing, a bed of death, even the closing up of the dying persons eyes by an attendant.All this is vivid, literal imagery. But whos dying? Someone named love. Who else is present in the scene? Persons named passion, faith, and innocence (in some printed versions of the poem these names are capitalized) . These persons are abstract nouns that are being given the characteristics of humans indeed the term personification. So Im getting both literal and figurative images, a double-whammy deathbed scene that strongly conveys the whim of the dying persons final expiration. How does the imagery of the end of the poem compare with imagery at the outset of the poem?I cant see any figurative language at all in the first two quatrains, except for you get no more of me in l. 2, which suggests the idea of possession in a love relationship, and Be it not seen in either of our brows in l. 7, a (you got it) metonymy or figure of speech in which a part is substituted for the whole (brow for face). But for these exceptions, I can declare more or less literally everything the speaker is saying. S/he and her/his partner are going to kiss and separatethats all that can be done. The speaker is finished with the partner, and s/hes glad that s/he can make this separation so neatly.Its simply a case of shaking hands goodbye, loss each other of any obligation created by what the lovers might have said in the past (I swear Ill love you forever, Therell never be another person in my animation, Youre the center of my world, etc. ), and making sure that, whenever they meet in the future, no bystander will be able to detect the slightest trace of their former love. I think its time to start asking how these put-together parts work in action, that is, to see what moral force process is operating in the poem.If the structure of this poem is a dynamic process, then you ought to be able to see changes, differences, shifts, as you move through the poem. In fact, if you compare the beginning of the poem with the end, you can see major shifts. Ive already noted somefor example, the change in verb moods from imperative and indicative in the first eight lines to indicative and subjunctive in the last six. Then theres the difference in the sounds the words make and the style of speaking you ca n hear, from the direct, concise, controlled tone of ll.1-8 to the breathy, drawn out speech of the last part of the poem, where the speaker creates a vivid picture of Love at the point of death. How do these grammatical and tonal differences work together to reinforce the changes you can hear as the speaker confronts his/her soon-to-be-ex partner? In the first part of the poem the speaker is giving orders to his/her partner, using imperative verbs (come let us kiss and part, Shake hands, cancel, be it not seen) and making statements s/he intends the partner to take as true and literal, using indicative verbs (theres no help, I have done, you get, I am glad, I .can free). Then theres the alliteration of dangerous c and t sounds and the dominance of one-syllable words, creating a sense of directness. Its or so as if the speaker is trying to maintain feelingal control of the situation, as if s/he needed to suppress feelings of regret over the breakup. You can even see this in the u se of you in l. 2, a dinner dress style of address in early modern English. (In a standardized situation, why would you formally address your soon-to-be-ex? ) There is also an effort at matter-of-factness here, evident in the avoidance of figurative language.All this is accomplished in a cumulative sentence, where you get the main message at the beginning (we know were breaking up, so lets get on with it). In the last part of the poem the speaker is painting a vivid picture of Love at the point of death, contact by mourning figures (those personifications) attending at the bedside, and maybe, if s/he were willing, the speakers partner. railway line that indicative verbs are used in ll. 10-12 (in the subordinate when clauses), then subjunctive verbs in the final couplet (if thou wouldst and mightst .. recover). The important thing to know about the subjunctive mood here is that it expresses an action that might take place, not one that does take place. Note also that in this final couplet the speaker addresses his/her partner by using the informal, intimate form thou instead of the formal you. In addition to the figurative language and significant grammatical differences between the beginning of the poem and this part, you now get longer words and the breathiness I noted.Its as if the speaker is encouraging his/her partner to imagine, to see, to feel what the death of their love is going to be like, complete with mourners and last gasps. This invitation to participate is clearly mean to have an emotional impact on the partner. The speaker is also feeling some emotion, I think. You can see this in something I harbourt spoken of before. Its the shift from a regular di-da di-da rhythm in the first part of the poem to some pretty strong, off-beat rhythms in the last six lines. Look, for instance, at the beats in ll. 9-10 or l. 13.Something different is going on here, not the regular di-da di-da amble youve gotten used to. why this shift? I think it may have t o do with the emotion the speaker is starting to feel as s/he describes the deathbed scene. S/he is getting near the end of the poem, and if anything is going to happen other than shaking hands and saying goodbye, it had better happen soon. Im sensing that emotions are getting much more noticeable. S/he even makes his/her partner the central figure, on whom loves life or death depends Now if thou wouldst, when all have given him over, From death to life thou mightst him yet recover.All this happens in a periodic sentence, where you get the main message at the end, here in the final couplet (its up to you dear, if you want to bring love back . . . ) Well, I could go on, but I wontnot for much longer, anyway. Ive been trying to show you that the closer you look at a piece of literature, the more things happen. Draytons poemany good poemis super dynamic. However, you cant capture this dynamic quality just by taking a photograph or making a list of the poems parts. Youve got to experien ce the dynamic quality of the poem in order to know its structure.