The Sonnets of John Milton Literary Elements

The Sonnets of John Milton Literary Elements

Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View

The action in the sonnets is told from the perspective of a first-person subjective point of view.

Form and Meter

The sonnets are written in an iambic pentameter.

Metaphors and Similes

We find a metaphor in the 19th sonnet, which has the title "When I consider how my light is spent". The main metaphor is the light described by the narrator. In this context, light is used as a metaphor for a person's vitality and power. As a person ages, this light slowly fades until it eventually burns out completely when a person dies.

Alliteration and Assonance

We have an alliteration in the poem "Lawrence, of virtuous father virtuous son" in the line "Where shall we sometimes meet, and by the fire".

Irony

N/A

Genre

Collection of sonnets

Setting

Because most of the sonnets are meditative ones, there is no fixed setting mentioned. Instead, the action seems to take place outside time and space.

Tone

The tone used in the sonnets is a reverential one.

Protagonist and Antagonist

The protagonist in the poem "When I consider how my light is spent" is the light and the antagonist is darkness.

Major Conflict

The major conflict in the sonnet "Lawrence, of virtuous father virtuous son", is between young age and old age.

Climax

The poem "How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth" reaches its climax when the narrator reaches the end of time.

Foreshadowing

The death of the character about which the narrator talks about in the poem "How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth" is foreshadowed from the first line when the narrator describes time as being a thief.

Understatement

We find an understatement at the beginning of the poem "How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth". There, the narrator claims that one should not be afraid of time passing. This is later disproved in the later lines.

Allusions

The main allusion in the poem "How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth" is the idea that a person can never reach absolute truth.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

The bird is used in the poem "How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth" as a general term to make reference to the passing of time.

Personification

We have a personification in the poem "How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth" in the line "The truth deceived me".

Hyperbole

We have a hyperbole in the poem "Where shall we sometimes meet, and by the fire" in the line "The frozen earth, and clothe in fresh attire".

Onomatopoeia

We have an onomatopoeia in the line "That murmur, soon replies" in the poem "When I consider how my light is spent".

Update this section!

You can help us out by revising, improving and updating this section.

Update this section

After you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. An editor will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback.

Cite this page