Sonnet #8

Music to hear, why hearst thou music sadly?

Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy.
Why lovst thou that which thou receivst not gladly,
Or else receivst with pleasure thine annoy?
If the true concord of well-tuned sounds,
By unions married, do offend thine ear,
They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds
In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear.
Mark how one string, sweet husband to another,
Strikes each in each by mutual ordering,
Resembling sire and child and happy mother
Who all in one, one pleasing note do sing:
Whose speechless song, being many, seeming one,
Sings this to thee: Thou single wilt prove none.

Beauty
If beautys in the eye of the beholder,
Who is to see the beauty within me?
Scars, bruises, and skin with dark colors bolder
than the bright sunset across the deep sea.

Hair. Curlier than a piglets short tail,

With massive frizz, looks like a lions mane.
Emotions, both good and bad, make me wail
Out of anger, joy, and eternal pain.
Is it bad to be taller than the Redwoods,
With enough clumsiness to trip on air?
They were exactly where I once stood,
But now, together, we sit and we share
Thoughts about our lame, insecure, past.
Our beauty thrives forever: it has always last.
~Jordyn Brounstein

Jordyns Analysis of Sonnet #8

In William Shakespeares piece of work, Sonnet #8, he uses a variety of diligent
comparisons to explain to his muse that marriage is the step to achieve fulfillment in their life. In
the first line, Music to hear, why hearst thou music sadly? he is using the word music to
correlate to marriage: in other words, it could be thought as, When you think about marriage,
why do you think of it in a sorrowful way? As Shakespeare continues, he attempts to expound
by saying, Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy. These sweets could be the two
people in a relationship; instead of fighting with one another, war, their joy reflects off one
another. Eventually, he goes to compare the strings of an instrument, such as a harp, that,
Strikes each in each by mutual ordering,/ Resembling sire and child and happy mother, to

show the harmony between the strings and the harmony of a family working together.
Shakespeares use of the speechless song, being many, seeming one, is another example of
the harmony of many corresponding notes being played at the same time to make one beautiful
sound much like the two different people who come together to make a wonderful child. To
conclude and show is final point, the song of marriage and family life, Sings this to thee, Thou
single wilt prove none. In this last line he uses the song of marriage, which is the ideal lifestyle
choice of this classical time, to say, Without a husband and kids your life will have no meaning,
proving you worthless.

Nicoles Analysis of Sonnet #8

In Williams Shakespeares Sonnet #8, he uses the sweet sound of music to portray
marriage and children and how it can lead to a life of contentment and happiness. In the first line
of the poem, Shakespeare asks uses questions to compare music and marriage and how
closely related they truly are, Music to hear, why hearst thou music sadly? In other words,
Shakespeare is trying to say, Why do you think marriage in a sad way? Shakespeare is trying
to figure out why his muse refuses marriage even though it is so sweet like music. In the second
quatrain Shakespeare revisits the topic and once again correlates music with marriage, If the
true concord of well-tuned sounds,/ By unions married do offend thine ear,/They do but sweetly
chide thee,... Here Shakespeare once again tries to explain to the muse of the poem that
marriage is good, and it isnt meant to hurt someones life but to improve it. The well-tuned
sounds that are referred to are the two people coming together. Well-tuned sounds could be
related to a harmony, which is two notes (people in this case) coming together to form a
beautiful sound, or otherwise in this poem, marriage. Shakespeare uses something as beautiful
as a harmony to show how beautiful marriage can be therefore making it seem like something
his muse would enjoy instead of something he or she would protest. As all Shakespearean
sonnets conclude, the final lines of the poem summarize the idea that staying single wouldnt
benefit his muse, Whose speechless song, being many, seeming one,/ Sings this to thee: Thou
single wilt prove none. The last words of the couplet symbolize the point Shakespeare has
attempted to get across, he uses one and none to illuminate that being one (referring to
being single) is equivalent to being nothing (none).

Sonnet #8
Music to hear, why hearst thou music sadly?
Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy.
Why lovst thou that which thou receivst not gladly,
Or else receivst with pleasure thine annoy?
If the true concord of well-tuned sounds,
By unions married, do offend thine ear,
They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds
In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear.
Mark how one string, sweet husband to another,
Strikes each in each by mutual ordering,
Resembling sire and child and happy mother
Who all in one, one pleasing note do sing:
Whose speechless song, being many, seeming one,
Sings this to thee: Thou single wilt prove none.