“Sonnet- to Science” Edgar Allen Poe’s “Sonnet- to Science” is an example of how the structure of a poem can both aid and hinder the poet in communicating his or her thoughts. Usually, when the poet chooses to structure his poem in the form of a sonnet, he is, through his speaker, asking a question and reaching an answer. In this poem, however, the speaker, probably a young poet, questions Science but reaches no conclusion. Poe uses the English sonnet to communicate his youthful speaker’s feelings of disdain for science and facts as opposed to mythology and fantasy, which inspire poetic musings. He implores Science as to why “she” must impose her “dull realities” on the hearts of poets like himself, squelching their wandering minds. Since science is not a tangible being, the dramatic situation is an apostrophe- the speaker is addressing a concept and not another human being. Therefore, he is probably alone, possibly looking up at the stars in the “jeweled skies” he refers to in line 7.The voice in this poem, due to its questioning nature, is probably that of a young person, but not a child. The speaker’s deep knowledge of mythology and use of metaphorical language exclude the possibility of him being a school-age child. However, the last two lines emphasize the youth of the speaker: “…and from me/ The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?” Since dreaming beneath trees is an activity associated with the young, the speaker is probably in or around his early twenties. Evidently, the speaker is a poet, because he asks Science why she must prey “upon the poet’s heart.” He then goes on to call Science a vulture, indicating that he takes personally the effect that science has on poetry. Although he speaks of “the poet” in third person, his deep understanding and intense attachment to the poet’s fe...
