AStudyofKineticImagesinShakespeare’sSonnets

溫婧 吳楠

William Shakespeare is one of the most prestigious poets in the world， and his sonnets are among the most enchanting and magnificent poems in English language. In Shakespeares Sonnets， various kinds of images are used to express the speakers feelings and emotions. This thesis studies three typical kinetic images appearing in Shakespeares Sonnets and analyzes the literary effects of these kinetic images on the expression of the speakers feelings.

As a kind of imagery referring to activities， kinetic images are created to help readers to see the world in a new way and widen their understandings. “In literature， imagery refers to words that trigger your imagination to recall and recombine images—to fuse together old and new memories or mental pictures of sights， sounds， tastes， smells， and sensations of touch （Roberts， 603）”. Imagery can be used to refer to every sort of activity in which living beings may engage， among which， the imagery that refers to general motion is termed as kinetic images. Through the deliberate use of kinetic images， poets usually lead readers to recollect their imaginations to make the poetry lively and stimulating.

一、The Kinetic Image of Wind Blowing

Wind blowing is a familiar natural movement for human beings. It can be described as the warm spring wind or the rough winter wind in literature works. In Shakespeares Sonnets， the kinetic image of wind blowing is usually used to create a sad and sorrowful atmosphere and reveal the theme of death or the elapse of beauty.

In Sonnet 13， the kinetic image of winters wind blowing refers to death. Sonnet 13 is a typical reproduction sonnet in which the speaker persuades his young friend to have a child in order to make his beauty exist forever. In this sonnet， the image of wind blowing appears in the last quatrain： “Against the stormy gusts of winters day， And barren rage of deaths eternal cold？” （李，31）. In nature， the gusts of winters winds are usually cold and chilling and have the power of destroying most of the living things in the world. It is similar to the destructive power of death. By comparing death to winters wind， the speaker warns his young friend that even if the beauty can been protected carefully， it is doomed to move towards the grave in the end.

In sonnet 18， the wind blowing indicates the elapse of beauty. In this sonnet， the speaker states that the beauty can be eternal in his verse. In order to prove his opinion， he says that “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May” （李， 42）. It means that just like the buds of May being destroyed by rough winds， the beautiful things will decay soon. On the contrary， if the beauty is written in verse， it will exist forever. In this verse， the kinetic image of rough wind shaking buds is symbolized as the elapse of beauty.

二、The Kinetic Image of Eclipses Staining Sun and Moon

As common natural phenomena， eclipses appear several times in Shakespeares Sonnets. The movement of eclipses which blocks the light of sun or moon is usually regarded as a kind of negative meanings in sonnets.

The kinetic image of eclipses staining sun and moon in sonnet 35 is symbolized as human faults. Readers can know from Shakespeares Sonnets that the speakers young friend has affairs with the speakers mistress. In sonnet 35， the speaker forgives his young friends faults and tries to comfort him that every object has flaws and nothing is perfect， such as roses have thorns and canker lives in sweetest bud. In a similar way， clouds and eclipses can stain both moon and sun. As a result， making mistakes is very common for human， and there is no need to self-abuse. In this sonnet， eclipses are regarded as the mistakes that nature have done to sun and moon， which is used to illustrate the listeners faults.

In addition， in sonnet 60， eclipses are seen as a symbol of death. In the sonnet， the speaker says that “Nativity， once in the main of light / Crawls to maturity， wherewith being crowned / Crooked eclipses ‘aginst his glory fight / And time that gave doth now his gift confound.” （李， 138） It means that people from the breath of life will experience nativity， maturity and death one by one， and finally， their glories will all be blocked by the crooked ellipses. Eclipses block the light of sun or moon and take their glories away， which can be used to talk about death which robs the life and glory of human beings.

三、The Kinetic Image of Sunrise and Sunset

William Shakespeare uses images of sunrise and sunset to symbolize human beings whole life. The rising sun is full of energy and hope， and it just like a red-blooded young man. In sonnet 33， the poet compares his young friend as the rising sun which brings lights and glories： “Even so my sun one early morn did shine/With all triumphant splendor on my brow;” （李， 76）. However， the image of sunset， on the other hand， refers to the old ages. In sonnet 73， the poet uses the images of falling leaves， sunset and dying fire to reveal that he is going to die. Among these images， the image of sunset should be noted： “In me thou seest the twilight of such day / As after sunset fadeth in the west / Which by and by black night doth take away / Deaths second self that seals up all in rest” （李， 165）. In these lines， sunset is the end of a day and full of darkness and coldness， which is the same as the dying people who is weak and hopeless.

In conclusion， this thesis analyzes three kinetic images in Shakespeares Sonnets： wind blowing， the movement of eclipses， sunrise and sunset， which respectively refer to the decaying beauty， human faults， and human aging. All these kinetic images make Shakespeares Sonnets lively and stimulating.

References：

[1]Roberts， Edgar V.， and Henry E. Jacobs. Literature： An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Englewood Cliffs， New Jersey： Prentice Hall， 1998.

[2]李明強. 莎士比亞十四行詩. 昆明： 云南大學出版社， 2008.