Compare Collins' "Litany" with the rhetorical, argumentative moves of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, "My Mistress' Eyes".
Both pieces take on a rather offensive approach. The two poems seems as if they should be aimed towards flattering a person, by the style of writing. Meanwhile, the pieces do the exact opposite. Both "Litany" and "My Mistress' Eyes" insult the main characters of each poem. The language and style of the two poems, almost dances around this fact though, and there is a pattern of contradiction. It is almost if the author are mocking the style of poem. Traditionally, this type of genre would compare the beloved to objects or situations that are beautiful, or flattering. Obviosly, there authors did not follow the trend, and playfully reconcstructed this particulary love poem genre.
tag: materiality
The apparent insults are really not directed at the beloved, are they? Did you consider that perhaps the poets mock (or insult) the genre of love poem that suggests the beloved be compared to such iconic representations?
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