marriage of true minds

The anthology will consist of eight different poems, each addressing its own but slightly related issue. The first four poems will include pieces from Shakespeare’s sonnets and some from Allan Poe. These will all address several issues, primarily love, with a precise analysis of my point of view detailed after them. The rest of the anthology will focus primarily on the issues in the present-day society and the impact they have on our everyday lives. As in the other poems, a detailed analysis of the issues they portray and their significance will be provided after the poems to help the reader better understand my thought process and why I chose the specific poems for this anthology.

Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds by William Shakespeare (Editor, Poems, n.d)

The poem by Shakespeare stood out from the rest of his acclaimed sonnets for its pure and honest depiction of what love is. The poem portrays love in its singularity, its never changing form, that love is the same no-matter the bearer or the one who receives it. It is a feeling that, more times than not, leaves an eternal mark on a person, this could be taken to mean one’s first love can never be forgotten, no matter how many times one may think he/ she encountered it again. The thought may be targeted towards the people who change love partners every little while, hoping to find the perfect one, when there is the distinct possibility that the love they are searching for was ignored or rejected by them in the past. The poem also underlines the resilience of love, brought out artistically in saying that it would encounter a tempest without being shaken (Editor, Poems, n.d). This is to show that true love endures many hardships throughout its existence, but is never one to crumble under them. This may be in view of couples that claim to find true love between them but breakdown and eventually separate once any issues arise in their relationship.

Sonnet 130: My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun by William Shakespeare (Editor, Poems, n.d)

This particular sonnet by Shakespeare is commonly misinterpreted to imply that the persona is mocking her lover. It is, however a praise of the simplicity of the lover’s beauty without all the false ideas of true beauty that society is accustomed to. The woman being referred to seems not to have any stand out traits, a fact which is exceggerated to a large extent by Shakespeare. Her eyes don’t seem to be in any way astounding in the persona’s view, comparing it to the sun which may be the false standards that society expects of a beautiful woman. The colour of her lips is not in any way appealing, while the stink of her breath is hard to miss (Editor, Poems, n.d). These all serve the purpose of exposing the false expectations of what beauty is in today’s society. All that is focused upon is the outer beauty of a person, which in its own way, has been exceggerated to the extent of defying realism. This despite the fact that there are many dimensions to one’s beauty, such as one’s character and values which are often overlooked in the search for the “perfect” partner.  Hence the prevailing troubles in most relationships when another side of the partner comes out that is not so appealing, and ends up rendering the overlying beauty irrelevant.

Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe (Editor, Poems, n.d)

Poems by Edgar Allan Poe have earned the reputation of being dark in their representation of love, which is his dominant theme. Annabelle Lee is no different. The poem talks about a love so strong, which the persona shared with a lady by the name Annabelle Lee (Editor, Poems, n.d). The two have found refuge in each other’s love and have every intention of living the rest of their lives together. This, however, ends tragically, when Annabelle Lee dies, which the persona assumes was caused by the angels above who envied the love they had for each other (Editor, Poems, n.d). This segment of the poem may be a pointer to the extremes of grief that couples go through once a partner dies or leaves them for another. They mostly end up blaming those around them for the misfortune, without acknowledging their own hand in the separation, or, in the case of death, the fact that no one is to blame. The persona goes on to declare their love so strong, that not even death could separate them, as his love for her is undying to the point that everything he sees brings a memory of Annabelle Lee. This is a testament to the undying nature of love, the fact that it cannot be conquered even in death, and perseveres through hurts and torment but always emerges victorious.

A Dream within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe (Editor, Poems, n.d)

The poem almost feels like a continuation of “Annabelle Lee” in that the persona seems to be bidding goodbye to the one he loved. The poem brings out how life slowly slips away and that our existence is almost insubstantial, as everything goes on as usual once we are no more. The trickling of sand between the persona’s fingers may be viewed to signify his struggle in letting go of a loved one, though he is fully aware that one must. This applies in society where the loss of a loved one is usually accompanied by grief throughout the rest of the partner’s life, while there definitely comes a time where one needs to get over it and go on with life. The trickling of sand through the hands may also be viewed as a representation of how fast time flies by and our inability to stop it. Hence, this offers more incentive to live one’s life to the fullest, especially with the loved ones, taking advantage of every moment, for it is never know when those important to you will be no more.

When a Boy Tells You He Loves You by Edwin Bodney (Editor, Button Poetry, n.d)

The spoken poem by Edwin Bodney is a more accurate representation of how much the three most important words; “I love you”, mean in present day society. The poem talks about a girl who finds himself in a very familiar situation when a boy decides to confess his love for her (Editor, Button Poetry, n.d). The girl has been the victim of several false confessions of affection from people who seemingly have no idea how much of a consequence the said words have. The girl, therefore, finds himself in a difficult situation of taking up the promise of life with this partner, or to take caution, something she was never able to do in the past and probably never will (Editor, Button Poetry, n.d). This is a mirror into the predicament that most go through these days, with several people confessing their love for them and most reciprocations leading to heartbreak at the same hands that promised to cherish and protect them.. The persona goes on to remind the girl that the person uttering those words to her is just a boy and nothing more, a boy who lacks any emotional maturity to put into context the words that come out of his mouth, hence warns the girl against making the same mistake again, else she end upon disappointed in the end.

Explaining My Depression to My Mother by Sabrina Benaim (Editor, Button Poetry, n.d)

This poem brings to the fore the struggles of the present day youth to express their worries to their parents, and those close to them generally. The persona in this case can’t find a suitable way of making her mum understand the depression she goes through every day, hence suffers silently hoping it would resolve itself. She goes on to detail how versatile this feeling is to the point that it is unidentifiable at times (Editor, Button Poetry, n.d). Young people of our generation find it hard to understand their own feelings and the purpose they serve. Someone depressed will almost always pass it off for a momentary mood swing, not knowing the underlying problem is much deeper. Parents aggravate the situation even further by not being there to offer a listening ear to their young ones, prioritizing other things in life instead of their own families. In the few cases when they offer a comforting shoulder, however, they tend to take a casual outlook to their children’s problems, overlooking its severity. As told by the persona, therefore, the victim tends to keep inside his/her own little cocoon, opting to let go of a problem that they obviously don’t understand, and letting it take control of his/her life.

The Difference between a Girlfriend and a Woman by T. Miller (Editor, Button Poetry, n.d)

The poem talks about the difference between a mere girlfriend and a woman. It glorifies the impact a woman has on her man’s life while downplaying that of a girlfriend. A woman is brought out as someone who brings progress into s man’s life and helps him achieve his desires while a girlfriend is described as one who doesn’t contribute much to the well-being of the partner, instead, treasuring the little things that are of no value to the man (Editor, Button Poetry, n.d). However, the poem which may seem malicious in its description of a common girlfriend has no such intent. It does not downplay the importance of a girlfriend in a relationship, but favors one who makes it her goal to strive towards the betterment of both herself and her partner, without making it the responsibility of the man to put in all the effort in sustaining them. It speaks to the youth, who often times get into relationships to benefit as opposed to building up their partners too, and always make an effort to leave once things stop going their way. Love, however should be built to last and should bear the interests of both parties involved.

To the Boys Who May One Day Date My Daughter by Jesse Parent (Editor, Button Poetry, n.d)

The poem shows the thought process a father who, after coming to terms with the fact that his daughter will have to, one day, go and get married, delivers a humorous warning to any boy who will wish to court her (Editor, Button Poetry, n.d). His fierce threats to the man in the event that his daughter will come back to him hurt, are an accurate show of how fathers tend to go about deciding the right person for their daughter. The threats are common-place, as they are well aware of the emotional hurt that boys are capable of inflicting on emotionally fragile girls just in the name of fun. This fear usually leads them to rejecting any partner the daughters may introduce them to, potentially ruining their love lives. While this may seem as an act of protecting their loved ones, it actually stems from the fear of losing their daughters to whom they have become too attached. This fear is usually masked in the anger and hostility towards their daughter’s courters, but shouldn’t be present as it is a futile effort to wish away something that is inevitable.

References

Editor. (n.d). Button Poetry. Retrieved March 5, 2020, from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=button+poetry

Editor. (n.d). Poems. Retrieved March 5, 2020, from Poetry Foundation: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems