Poetry Close Reading Chart and Essay #2

	Linguistic	Semantic	Structural	Cultural
Specific textual examples of what you’ve observed when reading at this level—cited in MLA format. (You may use numbers or bullets here to take notes)	“A woman’s face, with nature’s own hand painted,” (1) “the master-mistress of my passion” (3) “But since she pricked thee out for women’s pleasure” (13)	“the master-mistress of my passion” (3) “A man in hue, all hues in his controlling, Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth” (7-8)	“A woman’s face, with nature’s own hand painted,” (1) “But since she pricked thee out for women’s pleasure” (13)	“the master-mistress of my passion” (3) “A man in hue, all hues in his controlling, Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth.” (7-8) “But since she pricked thee out for women’s pleasure Mine be thy love, and thy love’s use their treasure.” (13-14)
Demonstrate the development of complexity of thought at each level by writing a descriptive response to what you’ve written in the row above. (Analyze your thought patterns when observing the examples you’ve listed above—these may also be in note-taking form)	This sonnet is a Shakespearean sonnet, so formatting is important to recognize. There are three quatrains and an ending rhyming couplet, which reveals the main idea of the poem. The rhyme scheme engages the reader because it is lyrical. Shakespeare first introduces the subject, and then describes the subject, creating a dramatic and meaningful characterization. He uses juxtaposition to create the conflict in his poem. In his couplet, he uses a pun to summarize different characteristics of this sonnet within the first line, and then the ultimate meaning in the second.	The juxtaposition utilized when describing the subject as “master-mistress” creates the sense that this is a man who is the master, in full control, of the speaker’s attention. By using the word “mistress” after, the subject is seducing him, and the speaker is aware that their love is considered wrong; forcing him to hide it, considering the word mistress is associated with women, this proves the speaker’s homosexual identity even further. It is blatantly stated that the subject is a man in lines 7-8, and the speaker idolizes this man as so alluring that he captures the attention of both women and men.  This is another hint that the speaker is a man. Both examples reveal themes of love and homosexuality.	In the first line, the descriptive phrase characterizing the subject is places after the subject, rather than before. This creates a dramatic description of the speaker’s love, while simultaneously revealing that subject is not a woman. This is all taking place at the beginning of the poem, contained within one line, which sets up the stage for how the rest of the poem will unfold. At the end of the poem, the pun of the word “picked” allows the reader to understand that the subject is a man, created by nature to physically love a woman, and concurrently captures the essence of the how special the subject is; so alluring and perfect that nature must have focused extra attention on him.	This poem captures the essence of forbidden love. The speaker cannot physically love the subject; they are both men and their society has instilled heterosexuality as a regime that must be followed. The entire poem idolizes the subject as the perfect person, that just so happens to be a man. This man is so enticing that people from both genders fall in love with him; especially the speaker. Since the speaker is a man and this subject is a man, the speaker must only emotionally love this man, because any form of physical togetherness cannot be tolerated.

Close Reading Text Analysis Chart

Complete the chart below by synthesizing your notes (above) into a brief (but thorough—fill the space) analysis of each level as it applies to your passage. You may replicate the chart and type your responses in the space provided—size 10 font, Times New Roman, roughly 300 words apiece

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet #20

Analysis of Close Reading

A woman’s face, with nature’s own hand painted, Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion; A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted With shifting change, as is false women’s fashion; An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling, Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth; A man in hue, all hues in his controlling, Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth. And for a woman wert thou first created, Till nature as she wrought thee fell a-doting, And by addition me of thee defeated, By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.   But since she pricked thee out for women’s pleasure,   Mine be thy love, and thy love’s use their treasure.

This sonnet, though it does not directly relate to any of the works I have chosen, relates to my theme of Shakespeare’s homosexuality. This idea of homosexuality is important to recognize, as this explains why Shakespeare would identify with women. This speaker idolizes the subject in this sonnet; this is evident in the beginning when the speaker gives this man all of the alluring characteristics of a woman without the negative characteristics of women. The speaker creates this image by using contrasting diction. At the end, the speaker refers to the subject as his love. Assuming the speaker’s voice is an outlet in which Shakespeare can reveal his true feelings, this implies that he does identify as a homosexual. Considering homosexuals were outcasts, frowned upon by Shakespeare’s society, this explains why Shakespeare gives his female characters such strong voices. He identifies with their oppression; since Shakespeare hides his true sexuality, his voice is respected. This allows him to aid women in their fight for equality. This sonnet is a Shakespearean sonnet, so formatting is important to recognize. There are three quatrains and an ending rhyming couplet, which reveals the main idea of the poem. The rhyme scheme engages the reader because it is lyrical. Shakespeare first introduces the subject, and then describes the subject, creating a dramatic and meaningful characterization. He uses juxtaposition to create the conflict in his poem. In his couplet, he uses a pun to summarize different characteristics of this sonnet within the first line, and then the ultimate meaning in the second. In the first line, the descriptive phrase characterizing the subject is places after the subject, rather than before. This creates a dramatic description of the speaker’s love, while simultaneously revealing that subject is not a woman. This is all taking place at the beginning of the poem, contained within one line, which sets up the stage for how the rest of the poem will unfold. At the end of the poem, the pun of the word “picked” allows the reader to understand that the subject is a man, created by nature to physically love a woman, and concurrently captures the essence of the how special the subject is; so alluring and perfect that nature must have focused extra attention on him. The juxtaposition utilized when describing the subject as “master-mistress” creates the sense that this is a man who is the master, in full control, of the speaker’s attention. By using the word “mistress” after, the subject is seducing him, and the speaker is aware that their love is considered wrong; forcing him to hide it, considering the word mistress is associated with women, this proves the speaker’s homosexual identity even further. It is blatantly stated that the subject is a man in lines 7-8, and the speaker idolizes this man as so alluring that he captures the attention of both women and men.  This is another hint that the speaker is a man. Both examples reveal themes of love and homosexuality. This poem captures the essence of forbidden love. The speaker cannot physically love the subject; they are both men and their society has instilled heterosexuality as a regime that must be followed. The entire poem idolizes the subject as the perfect person, that just so happens to be a man. This man is so enticing that people from both genders fall in love with him; especially the speaker. Since the speaker is a man and this subject is a man, the speaker must only emotionally love this man, because any form of physical togetherness cannot be tolerated.