Introduction
Desire is one of the most common themes explored in poetry. It is also the subject of Sir Philip Sidney’s poem “Thou Blind Man’s Mark”. On the surface, the text seems to implicate desire as the main cause of harm, yet a closer inspection of poetic devices can show the emotional attachment the author has towards this feeling. Overall, personification, metaphors, and anaphora implicate the author’s inability to resist the desire despite realizing how dangerous it can be.
Discussion
The first and most evident poetic device is personification, which is expressed by the pronoun “thou”. The author uses it in the title (“Thou Blind Man’s Mark”) and throughout the text (“thou hast my ruin sought”). The only time when the word “desire” is actually used is in the fifth line as an apostrophe of the symbolic interlocutor to whom the author addresses the poem. The use of personification signifies the complex nature of the author’s attraction to this feeling.
The second and most used poetic device is the metaphor. The poem begins with a number of phrases that have a hidden meaning, such as “fool’s self-chosen snare”, and “band of all evils”. The use of metaphors allows the author to evoke vivid imagery that is more effective at conveying the message than the use of the real meaning of words. The poem also ends with a metaphor (“kill desire”), signifying how aroused the author by this emotion is.
The third poetic device implicating the author’s attitude is anaphora. It is used on two occasions: the beginning of the fifth line (“Thou”) repeats the beginning of the first line (“Thou”), while the tenth and eleventh lines begin with “in vain thou”. Repetition stresses the author’s emotional attachment to the criticism of desire. Combined with the use of metaphors implying negativity, anaphora signifies the author’s negativity evident in different expressions of the same idea.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the poetic devices showcase the irony of the author’s intent on eliminating desire, while becoming engulfed in the feeling itself. The poem is notably emotional, with metaphors and personification adding imagery to the text. Ultimately, the vigor that the author shows while trying to highlight the desire as the antagonist is so intense that the end of the poem shows how self-defeating the entire purpose is.