Rossetti conveys a message about an abuse of power in the poem “Cousin Kate”. The “Lord” entices and tempts the narrator to come to his luxurious “palace home”. The use of the word “lured” creates a sense of foreboding, emphasizing his authoritative position. Through his charm and flattery, he manages to seduce the narrator and then ensnares her like a predator capturing its prey. Due to his high social standing, the Lord treats the humble “cottage maiden” as a mere possession, adorning her like a valuable silk knot. Feeling inferior to the Lord, the narrator allows him to exploit her trust and subject her to degradation, resulting in her self-worth being diminished to that of an insignificant “glove”.
The text emphasizes the degradation and lack of appreciation the protagonist experiences in her relationship with the “Lord.” When he abandoned her, she became an “unclean thing,” feeling dirty and tainted despite not being at fault. Rossetti suggests that it was not just their actions that caused the narrator to feel soiled, but also how the “Lord” left her. He used and discarded her, much like a prostitute. The narrator laments that she “could have been a dove,” symbolizing the freedom she had before being burdened by the “Lord.”
The symbol of the “dove” is also employed to symbolize the purity the narrator possessed prior to her encounters with the “Lord”. Rossetti potentially suggests that the narrator carries a permanent sign that sets her apart from others, perhaps in the form of her son who shares the “Lord’s” DNA and serves as a reminder of their brief romance. Additionally, Rossetti may be emphasizing the gravity with which such situations would be regarded in Victorian England, where men, solely based on their gender, enjoyed a natural advantage that enabled them to engage in adultery.
The superior status of the “Lord” allowed him to exert power over people and choose the lady he wanted to sit with him on high. This superiority enabled him to abuse his power and reputation, as he did with the narrator. In Rossetti’s portrayal, Kate is an ideal woman who is both good and pure, maintaining her precious virginity. However, beneath this surface image, Kate is influenced by the “Lord’s” social status and desires the title of “Lady Kate.” She does not simply fall at the “Lord’s” feet; instead, she insists on marriage before becoming involved with him.
It can be perceived that her relationship with the “Lord” is flawless since he chooses to “bind” her with his “ring”. However, the reader can also interpret it as a doomed relationship where the “Lord” will persist in abusing his power. The term “bound” conveys a feeling of being trapped and implies that once married, “Kate” will be stuck with the “Lord”. This represents a false sense of love. “Kate” is only in the relationship for the wealth and status of the “Lord”, and the “Lord” is satisfied with any woman who can fulfill his needs.
In his poem “Sonnet 116,” Shakespeare endeavors to define love in a manner typical of the Elizabethan era. The poem portrays love in its most charming and idealized state, which aligns with Shakespeare’s usual depiction of love. According to Shakespeare, love remains steadfast even in the face of changes brought about by age or illness. Love, he asserts, is timeless and immune to alteration. In the second quatrain, Shakespeare employs the metaphor of love as a guiding star (referred to as the North Star), leading lost ships.
Love is unchanging; it cannot be affected by a storm or the passage of time. Love is like a steadfast landmark, always present and reliable, just like a star in the night sky. Shakespeare is so confident in his definition of love that he states if his definition is proven wrong, then love does not exist at all. In “Sonnet 116,” Shakespeare carefully selects his words to convey his views on love and marriage. He employs repetitive word pairs such as “love is not love,” “alters when it alteration finds,” and “remover to remove” in the initial lines.
The concept of a loving couple is conveyed through the combination of these words. The impact of “Sonnet 130” is heavily influenced by its rhetorical structure. In the initial quatrain, Shakespeare presents a separate catalogue of his mistress’ physical attributes, likening them to the “sun” and “wires”. However, in the subsequent two quatrains, he elaborates on these descriptions, devoting two lines to each attribute. The comparison between “perfume” and his mistress’ “breath” completes a pattern of unrhymed pairs. Shakespeare employs this structure to construct a persuasive argument, and as the poem progresses, his reasoning broadens.
This also prevents the poem from becoming tedious. Each of the poem’s take a slightly different method to describe true love. “Sonnet 130” is written in a more relaxed manner, and doesn’t contain the cumbersome feel of “Sonnet 116”. Shakespeare depicts love in a less passionate way, and destroys the idea that love is always fresh and exhilarating. He loves to hear his mistress speak, however “music hath a more pleasing sound”. We get the impression that Shakespeare aims to illustrate that love won’t always be exciting and romantic.
He understands that his mistress is not a “goddess” and he does not have unrealistic expectations of her. Throughout the poem, he presents beautiful imagery and compares his mistress to these images. He believes that his love for her is rare and values her for who she truly is. This may initially leave the reader feeling dissatisfied, but it becomes clear that Shakespeare is simply being realistic. In “Sonnet 116,” Shakespeare portrays love as a stable feeling without change. This parallels the imagery depicted in “Sonnet 130.”
Both poems emphasize the importance of the visual appearance in love. However, there is a contrast between Rossetti’s portrayal of love and the two other poems. While Rossetti suggests that love revolves around one’s exterior, the narrators in the other poems believe that true love will remain constant even if someone changes. Rossetti accentuates the significance of appearance by stating that the “Lord” chose “Kate” because she became more beautiful than her counterparts. This emphasis on appearance is further highlighted when Rossetti mentions that he “saw” her and then “chose” her, indicating that her physical appearance was the deciding factor in his choice of love interest.
