What is blazon in sonnet?

One of the most conventions of the Sonnet tradition is the Blazon, the poetic listing or cataloguing of the various parts of a woman’s body, a description in which her physical attributes are compared favourably to natural objects and generally seen to surpass them in their beauty.

What is anti blazon poetry?

William Shakespeare. This poem is usually called an “anti-blazon” since the list of the beloved’s attributes can seem critical. But the sonnet disparages the conventions of the blazon itself—the false comparisons that “belie” true appearance—more than it does the mistress.

What is the meaning of blazon in poetry?

Glossary of Poetic Terms. Blazon. Blazon: French for “coat-of-arms” or “shield.” A literary blazon (or blason) catalogues the physical attributes of a subject, usually female. The device was made popular by Petrarch and used extensively by Elizabethan poets.

What is an example of blazon in the poem Epithalamion?

Spenser’s “ Epithalamion ” includes examples of blazon: “Her goodly eyes like sapphires shining bright, / Her forehead ivory white …” Blazon compares parts of the female body to jewels, celestial bodies, natural phenomenon, and other beautiful or rare objects.

What is an example of a contreblazon poem?

See for example Thomas Campion’s “ There Is a Garden in Her Face .” Contreblazon inverts the convention, describing “wrong” parts of the female body or negating them completely as in Shakespeare’s famous sonnet “ My mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun .” For a contemporary example, see “ My Boyfriend ” by Camille Guthrie.

What is the difference between a blazon and a crest?

blazon – the official symbols of a family, state, etc. blazonry, coat of arms, arms. crest – (heraldry) in medieval times, an emblem used to decorate a helmet. heraldry – emblem indicating the right of a person to bear arms.