Is Love An Unattainable Ideal Essay - 1388 Words

Is true love an unattainable ideal? Do we all have a soul mate? Is love just an exchange of lies for the purpose of flattery? These questions, and countless others, regarding love have been pondered by philosophers and pop music stars alike for hundreds of years. William Shakespeare examines these questions from two vantage points in â€Å"Sonnet 116† and â€Å"Sonnet 138.† Firstly, in â€Å"Sonnet 116†, Shakespeare analyzes love in a rhetorical manner, meaning that he is not discussing a specific relationship of his, but theorizing on the concept of love as a whole, in abstract terms. Conversely, in â€Å"Sonnet 138†, Shakespeare analyzes love in a specific manner. He looks inward to inspect a relationship between him and a woman, also known as The Dark Lady, and paints a much different picture of love than in â€Å"Sonnet 116†, in specific terms. In William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Sonnet 116† and â€Å"Sonnet 138†, Shakespeare ana lyzes love in abstract and specific terms; concluding that abstract love relies on affection, does not change or age, and is built upon a solid foundation of truth, while specific love, on the other hand, relies on lust, actively ignores change and aging, and revolves around deception. These two sonnets paint entirely adverse portraits of love in order to emphasize the dichotomy between the poet’s expectations of love, and the reality which does not live up to the poet’s expectations. Firstly, how time and age affect love is one of the most obvious points of contention betweenShow MoreRelatedHow The Ideal Love Is Unattainable1373 Words   |  6 Pagespoet from 1785 until 1830, when the Romantic Movement ended. Many of his poems published as satires and root back to his ability to express his thoughts about things going on in his life, specifically his childhood. Writing about how the ideal love is unattainable comes through commonly through Byron’s works, this conclusion stems from his childhood. Byron grew up with an ill illusion of women with his mom, Katherine Gordon, being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and his nurse, May Gray, sexually abusingRead MoreThe Effects Of Time In Sonnet 138 And Sir Walter Raleighs Sonnet 116872 Words   |  4 Pagesother themes, but still portray time. â€Å"Sonnet 138† is a man pondering the changes of his relationship with his lover. â€Å"The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd† is a reply to a lover’s request for her to live with him and be his love. Both poems exhibits a lover whose youth, trust, and love have been changed over time; however, each offer a different outlook: one optimistic, one pessimistic. Time is the natural predator of youthfulness, and Shakespeare and Raleigh both portray it as such. In â€Å"Sonnet 138†Read MoreThe Depiction Of Women During The Renaissance Could Be1727 Words   |  7 Pagesthey weren’t viewed as multi-faceted beings like men, is where the issue of how women were represented in Renaissance art and literature lies. Many male writers and scholars of the time presented works pertaining ideals and ‘guides’ that women should follow so that they could become the ideal woman, yet this is where the trouble lies – it is the masculine deciding what the feminine should be, instead of the feminine being decided by the women themselves. Of course, there is some forgiveness to thisRead MoreWhat Ideas About Love and the Past Are Explored in ‘Love Songs in Age’ and ‘Wild Oats’ by Philip Larkin? Use ‘Down the M4’ by Dannie Abse to Illuminate Your Response.1403 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout Love Songs in Age and Wild Oats, Philip Larkin uses various literary techniques, such as imagery, structure and symbolism to convey certain aspects of love and the passing of time. 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Perhaps one of the greatest and most intriguing human emotions is love and this theme is present in literature from its beginning to the present day. However, as people and societies changed and evolved, so did the attitudes toward love change with the times. In Medieval French Literature, love is often portrayed as an unreachable emotionRead MoreNormality In The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time941 Words   |  4 PagesFirst, Haddon unveils the reality of the idealistic thoughts of normality in society through Christopher and his interpretation of certain aspects of life. The ideals of humans, conform society into making how Christopher views the world not normal. No one perceives certain aspects of life through the same lenses. Haddon connects with the ideals of normality in his novel, The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-Time. He uses Christopher and the fact that he only wants to get a degree and a job, earnRead MoreWhat is Beauty? Essay1385 Words   |  6 Pagesby many to explain for this discrepancy, but what does that quickly-spat out phrase even mean? In reality, while the adage is partially true, beauty is not relative or subject to our human whim - it is an ideal created and truly attained only by God, which as His children we are to reflect in love. With a brief analysis, the adage â€Å"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder† perfectly explains and melds into our personal selves, our culture, and the world today. What do people mean when they state thisRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1152 Words   |  5 PagesGreat Gatsby, the yearning for the past filled with flourishing dreams and ideals is strong enough for them to strive to repeat it. Jay Gatsby’s idealism of the American dream lies in the past with Daisy. To have Daisy’s love is to have her wealth and the possibility of being able to achieve anything. However, in the end, Gatsby’s pursuit is impossible because it is the money he wishes to gain that corrupts the purity of his ideal. Similar to the flaw in Gatsby’s dream, the process of gaining wealth to