Manhunt and Sonnet 116

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Manhunt and Sonnet 116 Both poems; ‘The Manhunt’ and ‘sonnet 116’ discuss the theme of unconditional love, conveying that if the love is strong enough, nothing should ever alter it. However, both are very different in the ways love is challenged; in the poem ‘The Manhunt’, the fact that a husband has come back from war a different man than what he went is what makes the wife reflect on her feelings towards her broken husband. Whereas ‘Sonnet 116’ talks more about love not being affected by anything, whether that be time, old age or death. During ‘Sonnet 116’, in line 9 Shakespeare personifies love, ‘Love’s not Time’s fool’ suggesting that time should not affect true love, and it doesn’t matter whether you spend ‘hours or weeks’ with somebody, love will always prevail. However, in ‘The Manhunt’, the poet uses metaphors to refer to some of the husband’s body parts. His jaw is called a ‘blown hinge’ tells us that the husband can no longer open up to his wife about his feelings and emotions, and that he is keeping not able to communicate with his wife like he used to before war. This communication is what is making the wife question whether her husband will ever normal again. Just after the personification in the poem ‘Sonnet 116’, Shakespeare then adds, ‘though rosy lips and cheeks. During Shakespearean times, rosy lips and rosy cheeks were often used to describe beautiful girls, representing health, wellness, beauty and youth. In this sentence, Shakespeare is saying that even after physical beauty is over- since everyone has to grow up and die, love will still endure. Conversely, the verbs, ‘handle and hold’ give a gentle feel to the poem ‘The Manhunt’ due to the alliteration of the ‘h’ sound. The wife gentley ‘handles and holds’ her husband’s collar-bone proposing that if he isn’t treated with the right care, he could break because he is so fragile or that he is
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