"Desiring naught but how to kill desire". The idea that one has to get rid of all desires would be a tough challenge. As Sir Philip Sydney describes the troubles that a blind man has he uses tone, diction, and shift to make his point stronger.
As one might think becoming blind is the end of the world, they would use a depressing vocabulary to describe how they feel. Sydney used phrases like "mangled mind" and "worthless ware" to show just how hard it can be to be blind. He also repeated the word "vain" in an attempt to really get the point across of how hopeless things are.
The poem starts off as a sort of rant about how miserable things are. When several reasons are given he switches the mood to be more accepting to the idea. "But yet in vain thou hast my ruin sought". In this line the author begins to fuel acceptance for the condition and begins to start a new life.
Between the rant and depressed beginning and the acceptance of a new life, the author has fulfilled in getting his point of view across. Sydney created an overall sense of what it feels like to have a desire. When one form of desire takes place, like the blind man wanting to see again, another will soon form overpowering the old, "desiring naught but how to kill desire."
Sir Philip Sydney used an overall tone about desire by his use of a shift to separate two feelings and by his use of word choice in creating a better sense of how he feels.
No comments:
Post a Comment