Jordan Lute Ms Gardner English 10 honors 1 12 September 2013 Sonnet 27 Analysis In Shakespeares Sonnet 27, the memories of loved

ones illuminate the sinister darkness: Through verse, the poet overcomes the darkness by remembering his loved ones. Shakespeare uses a series of paradoxes to describe his complex situation of darkness and light. A strong example of this is in the beginning of the sonnet when he states: Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed, and at the end he write: For thee, and for myself, no quiet find. This hidden paradox displays an underlying sharp contradiction that shows the reader how seeing his loved one every night excites him, but it also leaves him restless. This adds to the theme of light versus dark, and the effect on people, by showing the subjects struggle every night. It is similar to a frightening movie, in that it excites the watcher, but can leave them restless and/or disturbed afterwards. Another paradox that is used is sightless view, which adds emphasis on the level of darkness he is dealing with. It suggests a sense of total darkness whereas one struggles with the helpless emotional prison of darkness. Another device Shakespeare uses throughout Sonnet 27 is dark imagery, which he uses to add emphasis on his mental battle of light and dark. He uses words like darkness, blind, and shadow to tell of not only a physical darkness, but a mental darkness as well. By using these words, Shakespeare has prepared his audience for a sharp contradiction of light to pierce through the sinister darkness he has established.