Marked by Optimism: The Web of Desire in Sidney's "Thou Blind Man's Mark" Anonymous 11th Grade

In Sir Philip Sidney’s “Thou Blind Man’s Mark,” the speaker details a complex relationship with desire, viewing it as both his downfall and his saving grace. The 16th century sonnet addresses the feeling of desire directly, allowing the speaker to express what seems to be a series of experiences and attitudes towards the personified emotion. Through the use of poetic devices such as apostrophe, the speaker in Sidney’s poem is able to weave a complex web of a relationship with desire, one characterized by negativity yet also metered by some measure of hope and optimism.

At the outset of the poem, the speaker characterizes desire in general terms as a highly negative emotion to have, mainly through apostrophe and negatively associated diction. The speaker first establishes an attitude of disgust towards personified desire, addressing the feeling directly in a series of apostrophes that continue throughout the entire poem. This direct address of the sonnet to desire creates an intimate link between the speaker and the feeling of desire: Every condemnation and accusation the speaker lists becomes an experience that he has experienced or witnessed at the hands of desire. The sonnet is also written in first person, which further...