Thou Blinds Man Mark by Sir Philip Sidney Poem Analysis (Essay Sample)

In the poem “Thou Blind Man’s Mark” by Sir Philip Sidney the thoughts of the speaker are shown to express ideas about resenting desire. Desire is viewed as something degrading topeople through the use of personification, irony, and diction.

Desire is personified as a person who is hated by the speaker. In the poem it states, “With price of mangled mind, thy worthless ware.” Calling desire things like “thy worthless ware” shows how the speaker views it as a useless feeling. Hating a human feeling to the point of personifying it and calling it names shows how much desire the speaker has to get rid of desire. On the other hand, the speaker could be talking to himself, and hating how desire has left him broken after what it did to him. Desire is seen as an emotion that tears people down and distorts their views on life. The speaker’s past may contribute to the disliking of desire.  

Irony is also used in addressing the negative connotation held against desire. In the poem it states, “In vain thou madest me to vain things aspire.” The speaker viewed desire as something that was sought for, but now it is something that he despises. The price of the risks that come with desire may have been revealed to him from possible past experiences.

Negative diction is used to show how desire goes after people who chose it for themselves. In the poem it states, “Thou blind man’s target, thou fool’s self-chosen snare.” People who do not see the consequences of their choices are the ones setting themselves up for disaster. Desire can be compared to addiction with the way people crave it even if it has ill effects. The speaker sees these people setting themselves up and.