The Vividness of Love

In the two poems  “Merciless Beauty” written by Geoffrey Chaucer and “Sonnet #18” by William Shakespeare, we the audience can see two different styles of poetry, yet the similarities between both messages the writers are trying to convey. Merciless beauty,  a rondel, is a type of poem that has its roots in 14th-century French lyrical poetry. Merciless Beauty, originally, is a setting of seven songs about love. Chaucer dedicates this particular poem to the woman he has been in love with all of his life. He admires her and refers to her as this ruthless beauty because he believes that although she is charming and appealing, she inevitably abandoned him. “Sonnet #18” by Shakespeare, written in 1609, is a poem about the beauty of the writer’s love and it explains all the reasons why their beauty is superior to even that of a summer’s day. The overriding theme of this poem is the stability of love and its capacity to make a person everlasting. “Sonnet #18” is a poem that adheres to the Petrarchan or Italian sonnet rhetorical style. Although both poems are of different styles and end up conveying different themes,  we can see how they share the same kind of emotional vividness when talking about love. 

In “Merciless Beauty”, throughout the three stanzas that make up each section of “Merciless Beauty,” the first stanza is repeated.  The lines “Your eyes slay me suddenly” and

“their beauty I cannot sustain” develops the message of overall beauty that comes from this person and how it leaves an impactful impression on those around them. Repetition is a literary technique that uses the same words or phrases several times to make a point more clear. The poem is divided into portions, due to the repeating of these specific lines. The repeated lines highlight each section’s central idea and how it relates to the poem’s overarching theme of the overall dangers of attractive women. The speaker declares in the first repeated segment that the subject’s beauty is overwhelming. Repeatedly in the next part, it is made clear that the woman is cruel because of the pride that her beauty has given her. The speaker expresses relief and gratitude in the third repeated stanza for not having fallen in love to the point that he is unable to escape it. Together, the parts make up the poem’s main idea: it is best not to fall in love with attractive women. This main idea builds on the argument of the poem’s hidden message, which could be the effects of that very love being lost. Chaucer mentions his hearts’ wound “will remain green” which could be saying that, because his love interest has left, his heart grew with disgust or a type of hatred for her. Overall, this poem demonstrated the idea of the powerful influence of love and how it can affect someone. 

Shakespeare uses Sonnet 18 to truly express the beauty of his beloved and to explain all the reasons why their beauty is superior to that of a summer’s day. The overriding theme of this poem is the constancy of love and its capacity to make someone everlasting. In the first lines, the speaker considers equating his lover with a summer day, an image of radiation and warmth. The speaker expresses great appreciation and passion by contrasting the fleeting nature of summer with the permanent features of her lover. The strong contrast between the “hard winds” and the “beautiful buds of May” emphasizes the incomparable beauty of the beloved creating a sense of vulnerability. The speaker constantly uses imagery when talking about climate change and emphasizes how flawed nature is. The sun, which symbolizes the ups and downs of life, is called the “eye of the sky” and can be either too hot or covered with clouds. This image adds emotional complexity, suggesting that the beauty of the beloved transcends the transitory and changing qualities of life. The speaker’s assertion that the beloved’s “eternal summer” will not fade and that their beauty will not be tarnished by time marks a peak of emotional intensity. This statement enhances the emotional impact of the sonnet, radiating a strong sense of love and eternity. A strong connection and emotional resonance are evoked by the speaker’s belief that the loved one will continue to exist through the “eternal lines” of the sonnet. While “Merciless Beauty” considers the ephemeral and sometimes cruel aspect of beauty, Sonnet 18 praises the eternal beauty of the beloved. The emotional overtones and perspectives on beauty in these sonnets vary. While “Merciless Beauty” conveys a more melancholy and dejected viewpoint, Sonnet 18 emanates adoration, dedication, and a feeling of optimism. The complex feelings and experiences connected to love and beauty are skillfully explored in both poems, presenting diverse perspectives on the issue. 

In conclusion, although  William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and Geoffrey Chaucer’s Merciless Beauty contain different literary approaches, they share comparable underlying themes. Chaucer’s devotion to the woman he loved all his life is reflected in the rondel “The Merciless Beauty”, rooted in 14th-century French lyric poetry. He calls her a cruel beauty who later rejected him. On the other hand, Sonnet 18, a  Petrarchan or Italian sonnet-style poem, emphasizes the stability of love and its ability to capture and glorify the eternal beauty of the speaker’s partner. Despite their different themes and technical variations, both poems are emotionally engaging when they talk about love. “Sonnet 18” honors the eternal and unchanging beauty of the beloved, while “Merciless Beauty” explores the fleeting and sometimes harsh qualities of beauty. These poems explore complex emotions and experiences related to the themes of love and beauty from contrasting perspectives. Through their unique aesthetics and expressive looks, Merciless Beauty and Sonnet 18 offer insight into the complexity of human interaction and the impact of love on our lives.

Revision- In the two poems “The merciless beauty” by Geoffrey Chaucer and “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare we can see two different literary approaches, noting similarities in the ideas presented by the authors. Seven love songs make up the rondel “The Merciless Beauty”, based on a 14th-century French text. Chaucer dedicated this poem to the woman he loved all his life. He thinks of her as a cruel beauty and calls her that because, despite his charm and charm, she feels that he has finally abandoned her. Shakespeare, however, wrote Sonnet 18 in 1609 to celebrate the beauty of his love and list the reasons why it is more beautiful than even a summer day. The constancy of love and its ability to change a person forever is the main theme of this sonnet. “Sonnet 18” follows the Petrarchan or Italian sonnet style. Both poems eloquently describe the same emotional intensity regarding love, despite variations in style and general themes.

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