Renaissance Poetry Project

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Mr. Foster AP English per.3 November 23, 2012 The Renaissance Poetry Project I. The Sonnets The first out of the sonnets is Queen Elizabeth I. Being born in 1533 in Greenwich, England claimed the throne for England as Queen at the age of 25 in the year of 1558. As Queen and even when she was a young princess, she was seen as illegitimate through political machinations. Queen Elizabeth I ruled England through wars and political and religious turmoil. Elizabeth controlled England with strong authority and intelligence, only picking wise councilors to help her with her job. At the age of 70 years old she died in 1603. One of her most popular sonnets in poetry include “On Monsieur’s Departure”. The speaker of the poem is Queen Elizabeth herself. The occasion of the poem was created in probably the mid 1500’s. The audience was proposed to be for her citizens of England. The purpose was for the citizens and people in the future to understand what she goes through as Queen. The subject of this poem is about her and the way she thought and acted as Queen of England. The tone of her poem was a serious one and almost stuck up and stand offish. The theme was what she went through as Queen and the loneliness and bitterness she faced. In “On Monsieur’s Departure” there are many literary devices used from beginning to end. There are three stanzas with six lines in each. There is a simile in line 7 and diction of imagery is displayed throughout the poem. It is illustrated in Elizabeth’s sonnet that she was struggling of loving someone and being denied that love. This confusion of hers causes her pain and disorientation. In the first stanza it describes her in denial, the second, exemplifying her sadness and regret of the whole situation and the third, where she faces her feelings and copes with them. Another very famous sonnet poet is Sir Edmund Spenser.
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