Poetry Journal #2

Soneto
Mientras por competir con tu cabello,
oro bruñido al sol relumbra en vano;
mientras con menosprecio en medio el llano
mira tu blanca frente el lilio bello;

mientras a cada labio, por cogello.
siguen más ojos que al clavel temprano;
y mientras triunfa con desdén lozano
del luciente cristal tu gentil cuello:

goza cuello, cabello, labio y frente,
antes que lo que fue en tu edad dorada
oro, lilio, clavel, cristal luciente,

no sólo en plata o vïola troncada
se vuelva, mas tú y ello juntamente
en tierra, en humo, en polvo, en sombra, en nada.

By Luis de Gonagora


Sonnet (translation)
While trying with your tresses to compete
in vain the sun's rays shine on burnished gold;
while with abundant scorn across the plain
does your white brow the lily's hue behold;

while to each of your lips, to catch and keep,
are drawn more eyes than to carnations bright;
and while with graceful scorn your lovely throat
transparently still bests all crystal's light,

take your delight in throat, locks, lips, and brow,
before what in your golden years was gold,
carnation, lily, crystal luminous,

not just to silver or limp violet
swill turn, but you and all of it as well
to earth, decay, dust, gloom, and nothingness.


S: A man
O: Any
A: Woman who think of themselves only for their beauty
P: To warn that youth and beauty withers with time
S: Beauty/ youth- the passage of time
Tone: Reflective

Literary Critic Response:

In this sonnet Luis de Gongora talks about the splendid beauty of a woman, but warns her that with time her beauty will wither just as everything in life does. In the first stanza the speaker describes the beauty of the woman whose golden hair overshadows the beauty of the sun’s rays and the lilies that cannot compare to her brow. The speaker talks about the admiration she excites from all who look at her, drawing attention away from even the most wonderful beauties of the world. Gongora employs anaphora repeating the word “Mientras (while)” at the second and fourth line in the first two stanzas. But as the author moves from the second to the third stanza this poetic device is no longer used and the structure changes from quatrains to tercets. By breaking away from the original structure and use of anaphora the author successfully highlights the main idea of the sonnet. The author is not simply admiring the beauty of the woman but is trying to make her realize that her youth is not ever lasting. The author wants her to understand that she cannot base her life on something that will fade away with time. What is most remarkable about the structure of this poem is that it reflects the passage of time, the ending of life. Especially in the last line when the author writes, “en tierra, en humo, en polvo, en sombra, en nada” it is as if the heart beat rhythm that was carried through out the poem slowed down until it finally came to a stopped. Her beauty will die with time and she will be left with only the memories of what she once was, just as the words in the poem slowed down and came to an end. The author, indeed, is very effective in conveying his message.