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Topic: Poetry
Read the following Sonnet carefully. Then in a well-organized essay, analyze the techniques the poet uses to develop the dramatic situation in the poem. Comment on the title, tone, figurative language, or any other appropriate poetic elements.
Since There's No Help
Since there's no help, come let us kiss and part,
Nay, I have done: you get no more of me,
And I am glad, yea glad with all my heart,
That thus so cleanly I myself can free.
Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows,
And when we meet at any time again
Be it not seen in either of our brows
That we one jot of former love retain.
Now at the last gasp of Love's latest breath,
When his pulse failing, Passion speechless lies,
When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death,
And Innocence is closing up his eyes,
Now, if thou wouldst, when all have given him over,
From death to life thou might'st him yet recover.
-- Michael Drayton
Apr 21, 2009
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I would have to say that the tittle of "Since There's No Help" puts a lot of feeling into the poem before even reading it. I would have to say that it makes the reader think of what the poem could possibly be about and what the outcome of the poem will be in the end. Dramatic poetry is something that someone would write a sad or dramatic story in poem format. Dramatic poetry is also about the technique of the poem.
Techniques in poetry is what makes up good poetry. In such of the subject of dramatic poetry, there are a few techniques to use to catch the reader's eye and make them read it, and wonder. One of the techniques in a dramatic poem I would say would have to be is suspense. Putting a hold on the outcome of the dramatic story till the end will make the reader keep reading until they find out whats happening, how it happened, and who or what did it or made it happen. Another technique I would say is the title of the poem, making an interesting title will also catch the reader's eye and make someone want to read it. These are some of the techniques I see in the poem.
I would have to say this poem has a very deep meaning. I would think that it has something to do with a breakup. The poet wrote this poem expressing how he feels that his love is dying out and that he doesn't know if he should hang on anymore. In the poem it gives a sad tone and expresses well of how he feels that his love is dying deep inside of him. I would think this poem would make me feel sad if I had a much better and in depth understanding of the poem. But, I would think it gives a sad, suspenseful tone in the poem.
This is what I think of "Since There's No Help." I think that the poet has done a great job with the language and tone of the poem made it very catchy to read. I would also have to think of why the poet decided to write such a poem on a sad subject such as love loss. Was it because he really did lose love deep down and wrote his feelings? Or was it just a made up poem to catch the reader's eye. Whether it is or not, I would think that it's a great poem.
This poem is considered a break-up poem . The author intends to divorce his wife and is for one is glad about it . He announces that he is tired of all the lies being told and the loveless relationship . He believes that there is nothing left in their marriage and that it would be best for the both of them if it ended . Their marriage is failing and it wouldn't be fair for the both of them to continuily pretend like it is working when its not . He is for one happy that the marriage is finally coming to an end and it would be best for them to split apart and never look back on what was and what could've been .
This sonnet is of course about love but to be more specific its about breaking up. It reminds me of a letter that you would write after you would receive the bad news. When I read this sonnet it also reminds me of this song by the Manhattans called "Lets Just Kiss and Say Goodbye"
There is a rhythm to the poem every even line rhymes with each other, and every odd line rhymes with each other. It contains 15 lines in the stanza. The theme of the poem in my opinion is lost love. It seems that they are married and one has felt that both has lost feeling for each other, or either they are divorced and are thinking back on the feelings that they use to feel once after loosing love for the person. The speaker of the poem is a brokenhearted person, one that has tried to put their all in the relationship and it didn’t work. I also since by the title, that the speaker at one point wanted to work their differences out, but received no help from the other.
I would say that the title, "Since There's No Help" is really talking about how this this person is lacking love and a failed relationship. The tone of the poem is one of a sad type of love poem. Which is describing a failed relaionship between a man and a woman. Commenting on the figurative language in the poem, I feel that he used the failed love in comparing it to a bed of passionless lies. Which I also feel gave the poem it's main type of personfication. Some other poetic elements in this poem are also it's unique use of the rhyme scheme by every other line.
The title of the poem "Since There's No Help" is describing how there is a possibility of life after death. The author was writing and describing how situations looking towards death as a helpless increment of the cycle we call life. Maybe the person has fallen ill and cannot reverse his illness and is slowly dying and withering away. There is nothing that can be done about the condition the person is in and that does implement how the outline of the title was chosen for this poem.
The poem was written in an ordered rythm called meter. The themes of the poem are death and pain because the character that is being described as a sickly and discomforted in hopes that he will not die even though he is already under conditions that can lead him to death. "Now at the last gasp of Love's latest breath,
When his pulse failing, Passion speechless lies,
When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death,
And Innocence is closing up his eyes" describes how he is living his last breaths and his heart is slowing down and he doesn't know what to say or do about his deceasing life. The tone is dramatic and passionate about death but wishing that there was a way to condone a better mindset and lessen the pain of knowing death is near is what the author is trying to inbed in the reader's mind.
The title to me speaks in reverence about a broken relationship. I believe that within that relationship there is only one person trying to bvuild something good, therefore they feel as if their mate is no help to them. The author doesnt use technique that is obvious. He draws his audience in with a very common topic, which seems to be Love and ironically it's not. The way the poem is written suggessts that its about loves ending in a once passionate companionship. I would say that this poem is very dramatic. Its tone is angry. The mood is sad and depressing. The author can connect with so many people on this level and thats what makes it such a good read!
Ultimately, it seems as if the sonnet's main plot or purpose covers the topic of seperation. The title "Since There's No Help," is primarily referring that all things have been tried and all options have been explored and ther is nothing else that can be done about the situation. In the sonnet he states " And I am glad, yea glad with all my heart,
That thus so cleanly I myself can free," which is basically his way of saying that I am so happy that I can finally move on. The tone that is set is an attitude that compares with being nonchalant. He has an attitude that has him acting as if he knows the outcome of what is about to happen and he is no longer concerned with trying to correct the problem. The tone of this sonnet seems to be a very unhappy marriage with a husband who wants a divorce and is tired of trying to make something work that eally should have ended a long time ago. The figurative language in this sonnet compares love to someone slowly dying. It compares the failing marriage to someone taking their last breath and their pulse slowly failing. In other words, the marriage is slowly giving out like someone's heart who is dying. All in all, the sonnet is discussing how in some cases of marriage, people may try to hold on to things or people who they should let go of or who want to be released. Many marriages become worse by people trying to hold on to things that they need to let go of. If someone feels that they need to be released, the best thing for you and them is to let them go.
The Poem "since theres no help" was very influential and interesting to read. The title alone says alot by extrapolating on the fact that a marraige isn't easy and even the best of marraiges need help...and some aren't even meant to be. It tells of lies being spread and basic love dying in a marraige. When Webster defines marraige it uses phrases such as "being united", "intimate" and "close union", but this poem tells of a passionless marraige, a marraige in which one of the partners is glad it's over. How can there be love in a marrige when you say the faith you have in it is on its death bed and the innocence you fell in love with in his eyes only shows when he closes them? Perhaps its better off that way, being seperate and happy rather than being together and miserable. Who knows if its true love and meant to be maybe their love will return to them and they will reunite; but as of now its dosen't look good. They are happy being seperated.
The poem is about breaking up in a relationship. The first stanza of the poem is about saying the last goodbyes of their relationship. The speaker of the poem is telling the reader of their happiness from the break up. Expressing how the break up has given the speaker their freedom. The tone the speaker is expressing is glee, and happiness, even though the situation of a break up can be seen as depressing.
The second stanza is different from the first. Instead of the tone being happy, it seems more firm, and commanding. The speaker is saying they will never again show their love for one anothor, and that they will forever only shake hands. It seems the speaker is leaving no doubt that the relationship is over. The speaker seems to want nothing to do with the other person other then friendship.
The last stanza of the sonnet is more depressing the the first two. The speaker is telling the reader that their old love is now dying. It seems thqat the speaker is telling us that their old lover is now free. Free of his burdens and pain. I get this impression from how the speaker tells of the moments leading up to his dead.
"Now at the last gasp of Love's latest breath,
When his pulse failing, Passion speechless lies,
When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death,
And Innocence is closing up his eyes," (lines 9-12)
Now at last gasp Love's latest breathe is saying to me he is being freed from pain. Losing love may commonly be a bad thing, but his love broke things off with him, leaving him alone in the world. Maybe he is now free from the pain of a broken heart. The speaker puts personification on the word innocence, I think this is telling the reader that peace is coming to him. When you think of innocence you think of a child, who has yet to be corrupted by the world. Innocence coming to him might mean that he is no longer being corrupted, and critized by the world he lives in.
In the very last lines of the sonnet, the speaker says that from death to life he will recover. There could be many things implied by this one line, but I think that the speaker is saying that with his death he can finally live. Without the hardships of life, and the cruelity of the world. The speaker is saying that he now truely lives in death.
When I first read the poem, I thought that it was about love sure enough but i also got the impression that the love that the couple shared was being ruined by death. But when the sonnet "Since There's No Help" was explained to me, I got a better understanding. The sonnet is actually about a couple that was in love and it seems a bit hard to say goodbye but they must because the love that they once shared is gone. So they must go thier seperate ways.
The title of the sonnet, "Since There's No Help" catches the attention of the reader right off the back. The title is catchy. It creates an inner suspense within the reader. When writing any kind of literature it is best that you always try to come up with a good title because it would make the reader want to read whatever you may have wrote about. For example, if the author would have named the sonnet "Love" it wouldnt be as excited to read because it is such a typical title. It doesnt give you that inner suspense that i perviously mentioned.
The rhyme scheme of the sonnet keeps the reader interested. Personally when the last word of ever other line rhymes it keeps me on edge, making me want to know more so I continue to read.
Alot of times people like to read about things that they are personally experiencing or may have experienced, and love is one of those things. So when the author choose the subject of "Lost Love" it only made the reader more eager to read, well atleast thats the case with me.
Over all I feel that the authour's main point was to keep the reader interested from the title, the rhyme scheme,the tone, to the subject.
All in all, the sole purpose of the poem is to describe the the emotions of the poet, and the title does just that. Since There's No Help, what do you do when you have tried everything and it still doesn't work out.Do you let go or do you keep hope alive. In our poets case he chooses to let go as he says "I have done: you get no more of me, And I am glad, yea glad with all my heart. This clearly shows that the reader is done for good. Now he his free and can move on to the next stage of his life.
While reading the poem I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. This shows how skilled the poet is when it comes to his technique. Throughout the poem its is clear to see that the subject is to show the effect that love can have on ones' emotions.
As a result when you put all these things together you get a superb poem that the reader can relate to, and when you do that it brings you closer to the author.
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