Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Great Regulars: The speaker's claims, at first, seem paradoxical,

when he says, "I am displeased with the company of friends," but the reason for this displeasure is that to his friends his "bad qualities appear to be good." They even mistakenly accept his "faults as virtues." The speaker does not want to be told lies about his qualities; he realizes that if he is not aware of his faults, he will not be able to correct them. Therefore, he wants to know, "where is the bold and quick enemy/To make me aware of my defects?"

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Persian Poet Moslih Eddin Saadi

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The speaker seems to think he is flattering the woman by telling her she has the same sexual desire that he does, and he also flatters his own ego by telling her that not only does she have the sexual desire, she also has him and his desire. In his mind, she is thrice blessed: she has her own "will," she has his "will," and she has him, who is "Will," itself.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 135

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It is "for love" that he becomes a suitor in order to "fulfil" the desires of the lady--her lust, and his own lustful desires. He is, of course, rationalizing his lust again, but this time focusing more squarely on her own lust than his. He is somewhat an innocent who is merely willing to accompany the lady on her journey to lust fulfillment, he playfully suggests.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 136

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The speaker continues musing through questions: he wonders why his heart can be captured by a woman who behaves as a common prostitute. He wonders why he allows a tempting face, which he knows to be "foul," to lure him as if it were a model of "fair truth."

He is, of course, again answering his own questions even as he asks them. The riddle of human behavior always shows that that behavior moves like a pendulum between good and evil.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 137

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Again because of the discipline of concentration, the speaker's soul can "constantly hum" the name of the Divine Beloved in all activities that engage the speaker, "waking, eating, working, dreaming, sleeping,/Serving, meditating, chanting, divinely loving." No matter what he does or where he goes, his mind remains focused one-pointedly on the Divine.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Yogananda's God! God! God!

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