Sonnet 24 Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices

Sonnet 24: Mine Eye Hath Play’d The Painter and Hath Steel’d

Mine eye hath play’d the painter and hath steel’d,
Thy beauty’s form in table of my heart;
My body is the frame wherein ’tis held,
And perspective it is best painter’s art.
For through the painter must you see his skill,
To find where your true image pictur’d lies,
Which in my bosom’s shop is hanging still,
That hath his windows glazed with thine eyes.
Now see what good turns eyes for eyes have done:
Mine eyes have drawn thy shape, and thine for me
Are windows to my breast, where-through the sun
Delights to peep, to gaze therein on thee;
Yet eyes this cunning want to grace their art,
They draw but what they see, know not the heart.

Summary of Sonnet 24

Popularity of “Sonnet 24”: This beautiful piece by the canonical writer, playwright, and poet, William Shakespeare, first appeared in 1609 in the First Folio of sonnets. The sonnet seems to house a painting shop of the poet whereby he compares his body to a frame and his whole self to a painting shop. This comparison of the poet with the artist has made this sonnet popular among the readers.
“Sonnet 24” As a Representative of Art and Love: Shakespeare starts this sonnet by saying that his eye has taken up the role of an artist and has pictured the beauty of his beloved on his heart. Similarly, he goes on to say that this makes up his physical structure as its frame and rest become the space that surrounds it. Only this art could picture the true beauty of the beloved. He says that only a painter knows where the beauty of the picture lies. His argument is that beauty lies in the eyes and the heart knows nothing as it only houses these paintings. Therefore, the argument of the poet is that the eyes of both, of the poet as well as the beloved, have become one and the same thing that both are painting each other’s beauty. He says that the eyes of his beloved are the windows of his heart from which he could peep at different things of nature. However, eyes cannot look into the heart but the drawback of the eyes is they only see what is before them.
Major Themes in “Sonnet 24”: Love, art, and the role of eyes and heart in love are the major themes of this poem. Although the sonnet is about love, it shows how love and art go together. The eyes see what the heart desires but the heart cannot see the beauty and the same goes for the eyes in that they cannot see what lies in the heart. They only picture beauty or nature as what is before them. It shows how eyes play a major role but the role of eyes also differs from person to person; the eyes of a lover see things differently from that of the beloved. Even the eyes of the poet have a different role. That is why an artist draws only what he sees but can hardly see what the heart feels.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Sonnet 24

William Shakespeare is matchless in using literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices he uses are as follows.

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “Mine eye hath play’d the painter and hath steel’d” and the sound of /o/ in “They draw but what they see, know not the heart.”
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ and /z/ in “Now see what good turns eyes for eyes have done” and the sound of /s/ in “For through the painter must you see his skill.”
Enjambment: It is a device in which the meanings of verse roll over to the next without having any pause or punctuation mark. The sonnet shows the use of enjambment, such as;

Mine eyes have drawn thy shape, and thine for me
Are windows to my breast, where-through the sun
Delights to peep, to gaze therein on thee;
Yet eyes this cunning want to grace their art,
They draw but what they see, know not the heart.

Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. William Shakespeare used imagery in this poem such as “That hath his windows glazed with thine eyes”, “Now see what good turns eyes for eyes have done” and “Mine eyes have drawn thy shape, and thine for me.”
Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet used different metaphors, such as the eyes, comparing them to a painter and heart to a table and the body to a frame.
Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as painter, beauty, table, heart, and body to show the comparison of the body with the shorts of an artist.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Sonnet 24

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

Diction: It means the type of language. The sonnet shows good use of formal and poetic diction.
End Rhyme: It means to use the use of end words rhyming with each other such as heart/art and skill/still.
Quatrain: It is a four-lined Persian stanza. There are usually three quatrains in a sonnet, such as the first one.
Rhyme Scheme: This sonnet shows the rhyme scheme of ABABCDCD in its octave and EFEFGG in its sestet.
Sonnet: It is a fourteen verses poem. This poem is a sonnet.
Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a pleasing, loving, and interesting tone.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to quote when talking about love and the role of eyes in love and painting.