Sonnet Iii
The sonnet is addressed to a nightingale (a small songbird).
In the first stanza the speaker gently asks the nightingale why it is so sad that it keeps lamenting to the moon every night. While the nightingale's songs of sorrow would be very beautiful, the speaker wishes to know the cause of such sadness.
In the second stanza the speaker further paints the picture of the small and fragile nightingale leaving its nest every night to tell the night of its worries.
In the last stanza the speaker speculates what happened to the nightingale to make it sing to sadly, whether it was betrayed by friends or unhappily in love. The poem ends with the speaker proclaiming that she wishes to be able to sing her sorrows out allowed as well, implying that the speaker is envious of the nightingale's freedom and can relate to such a deep sadness.
Sonnet Lxxi
In the sonnet, the speaker establishes that this piece is written in Weymouth, a touristic seaside town in the South of England, during the off-season in winter.
At first the speaker describes the deserted wintery beach and harbor negatively, as “black and gloomy” (l. 4) and with cold nights. The comparison of this negative impression with the speaker's own “cheerless breast” (l. 4) reveals the speaker's sour and depressed mood that she sees mirrored in the way the town looks during winter.
Then the speaker reflects that soon, in summer, this picture will look very differently, with people enjoying themselves on the beautiful, sunny beach, picturesque boats on the sea in the background and music everywhere. But the speaker already knows that she will resent this happy atmosphere and will instead seek out lonely, shadowy spots, away from the holidaying crowd, because everything that made her happy is gone.
Sonnet XV
The sonnet XV pictures Petrarch (the Italian poet famous for his sonnets) as the poems first-person-narrator laying in the grass, mourning his dead lady love when she suddenly appears as an angel to comfort him.
Petrarch first paints a very harmonic scene where he is laying in the shadow of a tree in summer, with light, pleasant wind and the soft sound of a river in the background. Yet Petrarch seems unable to enjoy the atmosphere, but is musing instead. Suddenly a woman who Petrarch knows to be dead appears in front of him in a very lively, angelic form.
The second part of the poem is her addressing Petrarch in direct speech, talking to him as to a lover, telling him to use and enjoy his time on earth and to remember that one day he will join her in heaven where she will be waiting for him.
Sonnet Lxxii
In the sonnet the speaker is praising the sunrise in the morning, personified as addressee.
At first the speaker points out how seamen and lovers both anticipate the sunrise every morning to let its light guide them on their way. Then the speaker reveals their own special relationship with sunrise. While they will never again be able to enjoy it themselves, sunrise lit them the way to heaven (implying that the speaker has died).
