Sonnet 50 :: essays research papers

William Shakespeares "Sonnet 50" ,on first read, is the story of a man on a sad journey, leaving a lovedone and riding a horse that seems more antipathetic to go than he does. Upon entropy evaluation one must ask, why would it pain the horse to leave of absence? The answer is that the horse represents the writers heart. The trudging journey in the sonnet is a illustration for the vocalizers grief and pain of parting with someone he loves.     In stanzas 1-4, the speakers chore is brought to light. For some unknown reason, the speaker cannot be with his jockstrap any long-life and must move on. He says that his journeys end will be when he can say to himself with no pain, "Thus far the miles are measurd from thy friend" If he can reach that point, his grief will truly be over.     The tool that he rides, which would most likely be a horse, is introduced in stanzas 5-8. The horse "plods" along slowly as if, &quo tby some full" it knows that the speaker doesnt really want to leave. The speaker "lovd not speed, being make from thee." "Thee" refers to the person the speaker is parting with. The horse is, in a sense, the speakers heart, reluctant to keep moving, although it must bear his grief.     The speaker, in stanzas 9-12, frequently gets frustrated and tries to baron himself on, as shown by the "bloody spur" which indicates repeated use. The groan that the beast makes from the spurring is "more sharp to methe speaker than spurring to histhe beasts side". The more the speaker tries to force himself along, the worse his pain. Knowing this, in stanzas 13-14, the speaker says, "My grief lies onward, and my happiness behind." He is leaving what makes him happy, therefore, he will be sad.