Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • Free Essays • My Term Papers • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Poetry EA Poes Sonnet to Science EA Poes 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 feelings suggest that he is referring to himself. The first time the speaker uses a personal pronoun is in line 13, at the “turn” of the sonnet. He states that Science, in addition to undoing the magic of classical mythology, has stolen his personal “summer dream.” The speaker is evidently a dreamer and poet disappointed by the damper that fact places on fancy. The tone throughout the poem is one of questioning, like most sonnets. However, in this particular poem, the speaker is disdainful to the subject, Science. He angrily accuses Science of preying like a vulture upon the poet’s heart. The speaker seems to have personal resentment against Science, because he names himself as suffering a loss at the hands of fact and reality along with the mythological Diana, Hamadryad, and Naiad. In the first line of the poem, “Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!,” the speaker appears to be respectful toward Science, and the reader might mistake this poem for a tribute to the subject. However, the tone immediately changes when he describes Science as having “peering eyes” in line 2. This is the reader’s first indication that the speaker holds contempt for the “daughter of Old Time.” The speaker’s descriptions of Science grow worse as he accuses her of dragging Diana “from her car,” the moon, and “driving the Hamadryad from her wood,” a tree which she is never supposed to leave. When the speaker finally mentions himself as a victim of Science’s “dull realities,” his rage reaches a peak and his questions are finished. Since Science is a concept, rather than an actual being, the reader must assume that the speaker is alone in his loud, angry questioning. His “summer dream” has been stolen from him, so perhaps he is in a wintry setting. He may even include the weather as part of Science that he so denounces, so as well as resenting the theft of his dream, he may also be feeling the loss of summer itself. He mentions that Science has refused to leave him alone in his “wandering” beneath the sky, so perhaps he has chosen to address the stars that he can no longer look upon with an undaunted eye. Poe’s use of the sonnet to convey his speaker’s dismay suggests that, as tradition dictates, there is a question being asked and an answer being reached. The question here is obvious- the speaker wants to know why Science must impose her “dull realities” on mythology and fantasy. He also asks why the poet should love and appreciate Science when she has destroyed the treasures of dreams and imagination. However, there is no definite “answer” to these questions in the last two lines of the sonnet. Here the speaker only personalizes his inquisition and finishes off with another question. The only transition made during this turn is that the speaker uses the personal pronoun “me” for the first time, tying in the question to his own personal feelings. Therefore, this sonnet does not conform to the conditions of the traditional English sonnet; it asks questions but, at the “turn,” reaches no conclusion. Not even the tone changes in the last two lines; it only grows more intense. The lack of resolution at the end of this poem leaves it to seem unfinished, and perhaps the use of the sonnet form detracts from the message. Readers expect an answer from a sonnet, and when none comes, one wonders why Poe chose to use this particular form for a question to which he had no answer. Throughout Edgar Allen Poe’s “Sonnet- to Science,” the speaker angrily accuses his subject of ruining mythology and imagination. He questions her and demands to know why she must force her “dull realities” on his dreams and those of other poets. However, the speaker never reaches an answer to his questions. Therefore, Poe’s use of the sonnet was inconsistent with his message. Bibliography: Word Count: 972
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