Analysis and Interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 60

Seminar Paper , 2013 , 17 Pages , Grade: 1 (Sehr Gut)

English Language and Literature Studies - Literature

In the following term paper I am going to analyse the sonnet 60 by William Shakespeare. The aim of this paper is to examine sonnet 60 in matters of its external form, its discourse and story level as well as its various different interpretations in general.

I decided to focus primarily on the sonnet itself and targeted to provide an accurate description of the poem’s characteristic features, syntactic and semantic levels as well as its phonetics and how these factors influence the meaning of the sonnet. Therefore I will not go into details concerning the sonnet’s author William Shakespeare or the poem’s history of origins.

Nevertheless I engaged myself with some secondary literature in order to gain a broader insight into the matter of the subject. A list of literature, I used for this interpretation can be found in the bibliography below.

Along with this secondary literature the term paper is generally based on the information, provided by the power point presentation of the course Literary Studies 1.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• Preliminaries
  • Primary Text
  • Translation into German
  • Vocabulary
  • Phonetic Transcription
• Story Level
  • Characters
  • Action
  • Temporal and Local Setting
• Discourse Level
  • Story as viewed from a discourse perspective.
  • External Form
  • Suprasegmental Level
  • Phonetic Level
  • Morphologic and Syntactic Level
  • Semantic Level
  • Tendentious Discursive modes
• An Interpretation

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

The aim of this term paper is to analyze Shakespeare's Sonnet 60, examining its external form, discourse and story level, and exploring various interpretations. The paper focuses primarily on the sonnet itself, providing a detailed description of its characteristic features, syntax, semantics, phonetics, and how these elements contribute to the sonnet's meaning.

• The passage of time and its impact on human life
• The inevitability of death and the transience of beauty
• The role of poetry in preserving memory and defying time
• The nature of the speaker-addressee relationship
• The use of figurative language and imagery

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The introduction establishes the scope and purpose of the term paper, focusing on analyzing Shakespeare's Sonnet 60. The "Preliminaries" section presents the primary text, its translation into German, a glossary of key vocabulary, and a phonetic transcription. The "Story Level" chapter examines the characters involved and the action presented in the sonnet, describing the speaker's thoughts on the passage of time and the inevitability of death.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This term paper focuses on the analysis of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 60, exploring themes of time, mortality, beauty, poetry, and the speaker-addressee relationship. The paper examines the sonnet's language, structure, and various interpretations, drawing on literary analysis techniques and scholarly interpretations.

• College: University of Graz (Anglistik)
• Course: Proseminar Literary Studies (Poetry)
• Grade: 1 (Sehr Gut)
• Author: Iris Strimitzer (Author)
• Publication Year: 2013
• Pages: 17
• Catalog Number: V316282
• ISBN (eBook): 9783668158344
• ISBN (Book): 9783668158351
• Language: English
• Tags: Shakespeare, sonnet 60, sonnet 60 analysis, poetry, interpretation, Shakespearean sonnets, sonnet 60 interpretation, Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore, literary studies term paper