Sonnet On The Sea Flashcards
When was it written
-wrote 1817 on holiday Isle of Wight
-at same time attempts begin work on Endymion— deliberate long project poem a test of poetic invention
-sends on the sea in letters to close friend Reynolds who has it published in The Champion 17th Aug
What is the poem about
-celebrates soothing + restorative powers of sea
-depicts seas as dangerous + volatile yet awe-inspiring + gentle
-poem holds nature high regard
-end with direct address to reader — telling them sanctuary sea provide as antidote to human suffering
-speaker wants everyone uphold nature as aspect of divine + sublime
What is the form and structure
-a petrarchan sonnet — first 8 lines octave states problem or expresses emotional tension
-last 6 lines sestets resolves problem + tension
-length limited punctuation + extensive enjambment est fluidity mirroring waves
-heightened by repeated rhyme scheme — reflects cyclical + rhythmic tide
-high concentration onomatopoeic sounds + liquid vowel sounds + sibilance linking to fluidity of seas motion
What does the first part of the sonnet (octet) create
-gentle, haunting, mystic mood for sea — incl 12 sibilant sounds within first 3 lines creates soft mood
-onomatopoeia, alliteration + consistent use elongated vowel sounds
‘Eternal whispering’ ‘desolate shores’ ‘shadowy sound’ ‘gentle temper’
-sibilant sounds — mystic + gentle mood of sea mimics how octave sets tone + creates sense harmony + balance in poem
-elongated vowel sounds — mimics vastness of sea + presents nature eternal + omnipotent are characteristics of god
-sea portrayed as godlike charisma/element of nature possessing ultimate power of creation + destruction
-sea has cyclical structure — everlasting + biggest part of nature which gives overpowering feel
‘Desolate shores, and with its mighty swell’ octave
-sea contradicts itself — both dangerous + harmless
-tranquil + isolated shores dichotomised with mighty + aggressive sea
-duality of nature as destroyer + preserver — further epitomising sea as godlike
-sibilance — nature overpowering speaker + coming through his speech
‘Gentle temper’
-personification + paradoxical oxymoron — duality of nature
-can be calm + all of a sudden dangerous
How and why is sea shown as powerful + mystical
-‘Hecate’ — Greek goddess magic
-gives sea otherworldly + supernatural powers
-‘shadowy’ — gothic + mystical imagery
-sea is epitome of sublime — scary + deep but also gentle + tranquil
‘Who have your eye-balls vex’d and tir’d’
-man perplexed by eternity of sea as constantly reviving itself
-only part nature with restorative powers — emph otherworldliness
-Keats wants be one with nature + have this power — whole life spent around death + perhaps wants power restore life + take away suffering
-emph futility of human life + transcendence of natural world — man death inevitable but no start + end with sea
-cyclical structure
Who is giving advice in poem as no first person
-ambiguity with speaker — could be sea itself, god or Mother Nature
-Mother Nature guides the poem
-emph her creations + get people notice the power of her world
‘Sea-nymphs quir’d!’
-Greek mythology — fifty sea-nymph daughters of Nereus the old man of the sea
-were goddesses of seas rich bounty + protectors of sailors + fishermen
-aided those in distress
-archaic language ‘quir’d’ — alludes how Keats hoped society sit within nature whose mythical powers evoked this thought process
What is the effect if the iambic pentameter
-creates soothing, tranquil + pleasing rhythm
-makes text more musical + memorable
-mimic heartbeats + movements
Key themes ?
-time
-transience
-power of nature
