The Synergy of Form and Theme in Millays Sonnet Love is Not All Essay

The Synergy of Form and Theme in Millays Sonnet Love is Not All - Essay Example Vincent Millay (1931). This short essay will discuss the synergy that exists between the particular form of sonnet and in theme, in presenting the poet's ideas on love, briefly analyzing the rhyme-scheme, alliterations and other techniques that enhance the lyrical quality of the sonnet. The analyses, it is hoped, will pave the way for a better understanding of the potentiality of the simple Shakespearean sonnet form. Francis Petrarch (1304-74) popularized the sonnet form in Italian, comprising of ten or eleven syllables to a line, with a total of 14 lines divided into two parts, the octet and a the sestet. The first contains one particular idea and the second presents the 'Volta' or the 'turnaround,' and follow the pattern - a b b a a b b a c d c d c d (or c d e c d e) (Spiller 1). Shakespeare modified the structure of his sonnets slightly, into three quatrains of four lines each, and a couplet of two lines in the end, which may contain the Volta. The form is simple and has more scope for exploring various ideas, and this bas bee utilized to the maximum by Millay, in her sonnet. The poem follows the typical rhyme-scheme is a b a b c d c d e f e f g g; for example, the first quatrain, (1-4) drink, of the first line rhymes with sink of the third line, just as rain of the second line rhymes with again of the fourth line. Each quatrain is used to present a