Thou Blind Man's Mark Figurative Language

In the poem, “Thou Blind Man’s Mark” by Sir Philip Sidney, the speaker characterizes desire as a force able to take one’s mind. Sidney is able to effectively emphasize the idea through poetic devices such as extended metaphors, apostrophe, and personification. The description and tone of desire is very accusatory and harsh. There were multiple shifts in the speaker’s tone due to how much desire has put an effect on him. However, the speaker is determined to defeat the power of desire. The poem begins with an accusatory and condescending tone with desire. With the use of imagery and extended metaphors, the speaker asserted, “Thou blind man’s mark, thou fool's self-chosen snare” (Line 1), Sir Sidney implies that desire is something that a man’s decision will consequently lead him to trouble and no one is able to see desire for what it truly is. The diction the speaker uses elucidates that desire is evil and is something that is chosen by an individual. To the speaker, desire is like a force that takes control of one’s mind. Sir Sidney continues to elaborate desire as a “band of all evils, cradle of causeless care; thou web of will.” The speaker is aware that desire acts like an evil demon, capable …show more content…
In line 5-7, the speaker repeats the words, “desire” and “too long” to demonstrate how evil and impactful desire is in people’s lives, including his own. Within these lines, the speaker wants to prove that desire has created conflict for individuals during their lifestyle. The tone shifts to being reflective rather than accusatory. The speaker stated, “I have too dearly bought, with price of mangled mind, thy worthless ware,” revealing his attitude comes from his personal experience with the power of desire to ruin one’s mind. The speaker laments that his mind was wasted on desire when it should have thought of “higher things” that have more