• Extended Metaphor: The entire poem hinges on an extended metaphor where the ocean and its relentless waves represent the passage of time, threatening to erase everything in its path, including the speaker’s love and his written words. This comparison between the impermanence of physical things and the enduring power of love forms the core of the poem’s message.
• Imagery: Vivid imagery brings the poem to life. The opening lines paint a clear picture of the waves washing away the inscription on the sand, while later lines evoke images of marble tombs, skies filled with stars, and a phoenix rising from its ashes. These images effectively communicate the fleeting nature of life and the contrast with the everlasting power of love.
• Enjambment: The poet frequently uses enjambment, where a sentence runs over from one line to the next without a punctuation mark. This creates a sense of flow and momentum, mirroring the relentlessness of time and the speaker’s determination to defy it. Lines 9 and 10, for instance, with their enjambment, build tension and anticipation before revealing the speaker’s hope for his love’s immortality.
• Alliteration: Spenser uses alliteration throughout the poem to create a musical quality and emphasize keywords. For example, the repetition of “w” sounds in the first line (“One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away:”) mimics the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. Other notable examples include “pains” and “prey” in line 4, and “verse” and “virtues” in line 11.

Sonnet 75 Summary

• Symbolism: The stage, costumes, and curtains all carry symbolic meaning, representing different aspects of life and death.
• Enjambment: Lines run over without punctuation, creating a sense of continuity and fluidity.
• Alliteration: “play of passion,” “mirth the music,” “searching sun,” These sound repetitions create a musicality and flow within the poem, enriching the reading experience.
• Rhetorical questions: “What is our life?” This opening question sets the stage for the poem’s exploration of life’s meaning and nature. It invites the reader to ponder the very essence of existence.
• Metaphor: Life as a play: This is the central metaphor of the poem, comparing life to a dramatic performance. This evokes ideas of impermanence, roles, and audience judgment.

What is our Life? Summary

• Personification- Personification is a literary device in which non-human entities are given human characteristics or qualities. In the poem, the poet has personified the nightingale as a singer of sorrowful songs. Additionally, the Earth is personified in the lines, “While late bare earth, proud of new clothing, springeth”.
• Allusion- An Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance. The poem alludes to the myth of Philomela which is mentioned in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
• Apostrophe- Apostrophe is a figure of speech where the speaker addresses an absent or imaginary person, or an abstract concept as if it were present and capable of responding. This is used in the lines, “O Philomela fair, O take some gladness”.
• Refrain- A refrain is a repeated line, phrase, or group of lines in a poem or song. It serves as a chorus or a repeated element that adds rhythm, emphasis, or emotional impact to the work. The lines, “O Philomela fair, O take some gladness,/ That here is juster cause of plaintful sadness:/ Thine earth now springs, mine fadeth;/ Thy thorn without, my thorn my heart invadeth.” are used as a refrain at the end of the first and second stanza.
• Antithesis- Antithesis is a rhetorical device in which contrasting ideas are expressed in parallel grammatical structures. It is used to create a balanced and contrasting effect, highlighting the differences between two ideas. It is used in the lines, “Thine earth now springs, mine fadeth;/ Thy thorn without, my thorn my heart invadeth” in order to set a contrast between the emotional states of the speaker and the nightingale.
• Alliteration-Alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant sounds in a series of words within a phrase or verse. It is often used for poetic or rhythmic effects, adding musicality and emphasis to the language. The sound “th” is repeated in the line, “Thy thorn without, my thorn my heart invadeth.”
• Symbol- A symbol is a literary device that represents an idea, concept, or object beyond its literal meaning. In the poem, the singing nightingale, who was previously Philomela, is a symbolic representation of women who go through traumatic experiences and are victims of sexual violence.

The Nightingale Summary