Thursday, March 24, 2011

120. X. Describes Phaon

Robinson’s Sonnet 12, “Describes Phaon,” is a blazon. Robinson's sonnets are strictly Petrarchan and are about the love a woman poet has for a man who abandons her. I think her sonnets may be drawn from real life, as she was abandoned by the Prince of Wales.

As cliché as this may sound, I think using the method of blazon in sonnets is the most effective way to portray love for another person. Describing the features of one's face takes an incredible amount of focus and attention, I imagine. So when Sappho describes Phaon's eyes as being "murderous," there is something to be said about how Sappho feels for Phaon. Who knows, Phaon could be a very ugly man for all we know, but all that we know for sure is how Sappho describes Phaon to the reader.

In the octave, Sappho describes Phaon's features using some unexpected words. She describes his eyes as being "murderous." She also talks about arrows in the first quatrain. The volta occurs between line 8 and 9. In the first eight lines, Sappho is describing Phaon's features. Her tone is almost regretful that his features are so fine. Because his voice is so melodious and because his eyes are so beautiful, they not only attract Sappho to him, but it may also attract other women. When the sextet starts in line 9 with the word "still," the volta occurs. The word still is the weight that's balancing the two sides of the seesaw. The two quatrains are on one side and the two triplets are on the other side. In the sextet, Sappho says that she will still look at him until the day he dies.

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