Shakespeare and Petrarch use the elements of postmodernism . We can see the links clearly in their work; they were truly the giants we stood on. With Petrarch and his abrasive “love” more like obsession for Laura who if had the chance would have put a restraining order on his butt. To Spenser the ever boring lovesick puppy and courtman of being corny. Lastly the man that gave the FABULOUS Shakespeare the Pirate of Parody lots of his cannon fodder to be the Petty Pratt with ROASTING Riley.
Summary of Element One - Parody
Just as “Romeo and Juliet" when written by Shakespeare was also intended to be a parody as the idea of the drama of the Italian stage with even the notion of two young kids to be willing to die for one another was absurd. Just like the parody of serious bands was to Ylvis which was clearly shown in his parody of the matter “What does the fox say."
With the postmodern element of parody of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet where Romeo serenades Juliet with melodies Polyphemus serenades passing women which did result with not so standing ovation with stones being thrown instead of tomatoes. Poor Polyphemus the poor ladies man can’t help it if he should’ve been a siren or the half son of Apollo instead of Poseidon with pipes like that.
Summary of Element Two- Clarity of Prose
Shakespeare was known for his common language to even being crass at times as he was known as a man of the people within his works like his “Sonnet 130 My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun”.
“My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red.”
With Shakespeare’s clear writing and meaning of parody within the use of his language by use of simple terms and repeating refrains just like Cummings’ did in his piece “[I carry your heart with me(i carry it in]" with his usage of clarity of prose.
Summary of Element Three - Poioumena
With Cummings’ blatant use of the postmodern element poioumena which is a specific type of metafiction in which the story is about the process of creation. Throughout the third stanza of the poem the mentions of the process of life are a means to convey how deeply his father has impacted his life and been there for him. How his fathers’ and mothers’ strong love for their son and one another has profoundly impacted his view and appreciation of love and the connection between life and creation it has had on him and guided him through his own. Just like life is as fleeting as a summers’ day your love will carry on being the message put forth within this stanza with comparing love and life to nature Cumming does so in a way like Shakespeare does so in his Sonnet 18 “Shall I Compare Thee To A Summers’ Day?”
“Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd.”
With both Shakespeare to natures’ fleeting love and beauty yet a permanent lasting memory of such love that we will forever carry with us like the usage of creation linking both Cummings’ and Shakespeare's’ works can easily be linked to the postmodern element poioumena.
Conclusion
Wrapping up this brief commentary (fangirling) of the Renaissance Era Literary Era with the main character being the one and only Shakespeare (if I could put the imaginary jazz hands around his name I would but I’m not that tech savvy). Of course Shakespeare didn’t get to where he is without the side characters of the era being the sappy Spenser, pervy Petrarch (seriously restrain that creep or throw a chancla at his head for some human decency) and Waterworks Walter Riley. With Shakespeare’s postmodern lenses of his wonderful works he truly was ahead of his time with the amount of postmodernism this man used truly making him the GOAT.
Works Cited
“Ylvis - The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) [Official music video HD].” YouTube, 3 September 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jofNR_WkoCE. Accessed 10 May 2024.
“season 4 love GIF.” Giphy, 25 April 2016, https://giphy.com/gifs/season-4-the-simpsons-4x15-l2Jeif8RVq65xpMgU. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s….” Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45087/sonnet-18-shall-i-compare-thee-to-a-summers-day. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 130: My mistress' eyes are nothing like….” Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45108/sonnet-130-my-mistress-eyes-are-nothing-like-the-sun. Accessed 10 May 2024.