The Indirect Description in Shakespeare`s Sonnets

Shakespeare is a significant and dazzling writer in the English literature， as well as in the world literature. In his life， he wrote about 37 plays， 154 sonnets and 2 long narrative poems. His sonnets enjoy the sound rhythm and profound meanings. In his sonnets， he applied many rhetorical devices and a lot of images and he combined them perfectly. Some meanings were presented in clear sentences， while some were shown by indirect description. Indirect description makes readers to feel the potential meaning by themselves instead of presenting the meaning clearly， which makes the poem more readable and powerful.

In Shakespeare`s sonnets， indirect description is used for expressing various meanings. This essay will concentrate on two aspects： persuading having a child and the rival poet.

Live and multiply are always the eternal issues for human being. People make the society more colorful and meaningful. Some beautiful appearance and quality can be transmitted from one generation to the next generation. In Shakespeare`s sonnets， the handsome young man possesses the good appearance. The writer hopes to pass the good looking to the next generation. But he always expresses this in roundabout ways. In sonnet 5， the couplet “But flowers distilled though they with winter meet， Leese but their show their substance still lives sweet.” From the surface， it seems to show how flowers keep its sweetness， but the truth is the way to make beautiful things maintain. Winter comes， and beautiful flowers will fade. It is the same for the time past and the beautiful people will become old and not pretty any more. Flowers maintain its beauty by distilled， however how can people protect their beauty from the time`s erosion？ The only way is having children. In sonnet 13， at first the poet uses explicit words to persuade the young man having children. However， in the third quatrain “Who lets so fair a house fall to decay， Which husbandry in honour might uphold. Against the stormy gusts of winter`s day， And barren rage of death`s eternal cold？” The writer uses indirect description， which the fair house refers to the beautiful appearance， and the husbandry in honour means having children. Only in this way， the house can against the cold winter； the beautiful appearance can against the time. The combine of direct description and indirect description makes the poem more acceptable and more persuasive.

There exists a rival poet in Shakespeares sonnets. Shakespeare did not use simple and straightwords to compare the rival poet and himself， but using the incidental description to highlight his own poems. In sonnet 78，firstly the writer said “every alien pen hath got my use”， because the “Muse” giving fair assistance to the writer`s verses. Then in the second quatrain. “ Thine eyes that taught the dumb on high to sing， And heavy ignorance aloft to fly， Have added feathers to the learned`s wing， And given grace a double majesty.” The writer use indirect description， “taught the dumb to sing and let ignorance to fly”， which points that the rival poet`s talent but the “Muse” herself giving the poems power and vitality. Then in the third quatrain” Yet be most proud of that which I compile， Whose influence is thine， and born of thee； In other works thou dost but mend the style， And arts with thy sweet graces graced be.” The writer uses a euphemistic way to prove that his poems were original and were inspired by the “Muse”， while others copied his ideas and altered the form. By using this ingenious way， on one hand， the writer praises the pretty “muse” who support him with the inspiration and make the poem so wonderful； on the other hand， he satirize the rival poet， who copies his poems and stole the inspiration from him instead of creating the original poems and praising the “muse” from the bottom of heart.

However， despite the satire of the rival poet， Shakespeare also shows his respect to him. In sonnet 80“Knowing a better spirit doth uses your name. And in the praise thereof spends all his might” the rival poet is a hard working and talented poet， which cause the writer feel faint as writing the poem of the listener. “My saucy bark inferior far to his， On your broad main doth willfully appear” Shakespeare does not claim that he is not so talented as the rival poet， but using metaphor to make the situation more vivid and moving.“Or being wrecked I am a worthless boat， He of tall building and of goodlu pride” Here the indirect description likes drawing a picture for the readers which helps them have a better understanding of the poem.

Indirect description does not focus on the details， but pay attention on the underlying meanings. Shakespeare uses this method of creating a profound and powerful effect. Firstly， When persuading people having a child， the indirect description makes it more pleasing and persuasive. Besides， indirect description can present the things in various aspects. Secondly， When writing the rival poet， by applying indirect description the writer not only praising the listener， but also satirize the rival poet. Thirdly， the indirect description gives more imagine space for the reader and sometimes also makes the poem more readable and vivid. When comparing the rival poet and the writer， indirect description utilizes the metaphor of different ships and sea to show the capacity of the rival poet and the writer. Although the writer uses this in a modest way， it shows us a colorful and vivid picture of the poem. Last but not least， the combination of precise description and indirect description is provided to a magnificent poem. Shakespeare`s most sonnets use this kind of method， which provides readers with a broad perspective and a better understanding. Indirect description is an important and irreplaceable role in Shakespeare`s sonnets. It allows us to read and understand his sonnets and experience the beauty of them.

Works Cited：

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[2]杨娇霞. 莎士比亚十四行诗的主题与结构分析[J]，科教文汇，2008年第11期：249.

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[5]Vendler， Helen Hennessy. The Art of Shakespeares Sonnets [M]. Cambridge： Belknap Press of Harvard University Press， 1999.

作者简介：弓铭琦（1995—），女，汉族，籍贯：黑龙江绥化，单位：云南大学外国语学院，2015级研究生，研究方向：非裔美國文学。