481. XLIII pg. 231
This sonnet was written in the Petrarchan or Italian style of sonnet writing. The first eight lines follow the traditional rhyme scheme but the ending sestet varies a bit from tradition. The change in pace or “Volta” of the sonnet happens between lines 5 and 6 as the author goes from praising or admiring the flowers to commanding his lover to take them back and keep them for sacred memories.
The subject of love seems to flow from line to line and the flowing rhyme scheme continues to carry and build on the previous lines. The author uses flowers to express his subject of love. The flowers seem to represent feeling and emotion that can become everlasting which is symbolic the feeling of love and loving someone even when the physical love or person may not be present.
Though love is at the center of the poem there also seems to be an overtone of death that slips through. At the beginning of the poem the author mentions that flowers are brought that never seem to fade. Which could refer to the artificial flowers that are placed on one’s grave. The combination of the words “heart’s ground” reminds me of and cold buried heart. Lastly, the last two lines “Instruct thine eyes to keep their colors true, and tell thy soul, their roots are left in mine” brings out a lingering memory of experiences with those who have passed on. The poem feels loving yet sad in an awkward kind of way. The picture painted is more of a cry from the grave, a deceased person comforting their living love and assuring them that the love will carry on.
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