In Shakespeare's Sonnet 14, some of the literary devices
are as follows.
In line one, a metaphor is used whereby the
speaker is like a farmer, plucking fruit (judgment) from an orchard (the stars). This
gives the sense that the author picks from the heavens, as one would
fruit.
Line two, "methinks I have astronomy," has title="metonymy"
href="http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_M.html">metonymy:
readability="6">
Using a vaguely suggestive, physical object to
embody a more general
idea
The speaker intimates
that he has a knowledge as of the heavens, referring to it in general terms as
"astronomy." This follows the idea that some are able to read the
heavens.
The next section is paradoxical in that having
said he has astronomy, the speaker contradicts this with a list of the things he
does not have, which would be ascribed to
astronomers of the time:
He cannot tell of good or bad
luck; or of outbreaks of plague or the kind of season will come ("harsh" winter, etc.),
nor the future ("fortunes"), or the weather or how successful a prince might be. The
speaker admits that in being an astronomer, he can do none of these
things. (But we can expect a statement of what he can do since he
infers that he is an astronomer...something else must be
left.)
Line six represents a
metaphor: "Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind..." which suggests that he cannot
foretell our personal troubles.... Once again, this line speaks of the poet's
limitations.
Keeping with the
idea of astronomy, the speaker shifts his focus in line nine and continues into line
ten. This is a metaphor:
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But from thine eyes my knowledge I
derive,
And, constant stars, in them I read such
art...
He derives his
knowledge by looking in his sweetheart's eyes, which he metaphorically calls "constant
stars," saying they have the same characteristics of stars: shining and bright. Here he
starts to allude that he can read some information with this
"astronomy," that "truth and beauty shall together thrive." And in relaying this, there
is personification in that two abstract ideas such as "truth" and "beauty" will
"thrive," which is a human characteristic.
Since "store"
means to keep in reserve, one sources suggests a translation for line ten, “If from
thyself to store thou wouldst convert,” means “If you would only turn your focus from
yourself to creating a
child…”
This lines seems like
a paradox in that to create a child one must turn one's focus to oneself, not away from
oneself. How can separating from oneself create a new life? The purpose of this line,
though, may point again to the power "she" has, which the author earlier alludes
to.
The last two lines, the rhyming couplet drive home the
sonnet's most important point, and this is a metaphor related to "astronomy" as
well:
readability="5.2352941176471">
Or else of thee this I title="prognosticate"
href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prognosticate">prognosticate:
[tell the future]
Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and
date.
If he is to tell the
future, of this he is certain, that when she dies, that will be the
doomsday, the death, of real truth and beauty. He is saying that no one is as beautiful
as she, and truth reside more in her than anywhere
else.
Because the imagery of astronomy runs throughout the
sonnet, this is also an extended metaphor, where the original
comparison runs throughout the poem (or sonnet). The purpose of the extended metaphor is
to create a comparison and then refer to that comparison over and again to impart the
poet's meaning to his audience more powerfully.
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