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Blair Lowther
English 480
Professor McLuckie
June 9, 2002
An Explication of Nortjes Love of Perversity
Love of Perversity
Love of perversity, rage, and vice,
unknown to all who live complacently,
drive me to lunacy, compel confessions
I am loathe to make were I at Peters Gate. ...
London, September 1970
In order to fully appreciate the syntax, theme, and personal attachment of Arthur Nortje to his sonnet, Love of Perversity, it is imperative that the format and speaker are identified and interpreted. Love of Perversity is composed in the first person; however, the speaker is not Nortje himself. ... Several themes and references within the poem relate to events in Nortjes life surrounding the publication date. ... Nortje also provides a buffer zone between the readers and the subject of the poem by giving an alternative to those who posses a "love of perversity, rage and vice" (1). ... From the perspective of someone who loves perversity, rage, and vice, those who do not qualify for this category would seem complacent. As a result of the negative implications of perversity, rage, and vice, complacency is actually presented as a pleasant alternative. ... Like most sonnets, Love of Perversity contains fourteen lines. However, unlike the English sonnet, wherein the lines are divided into three quatrains and a resolution couplet, Love of Perversity is divided into an octave: two four line quatrains describing the conflict, and a sestet: six lines describing the resolution. With the exception of the concluding rhyming couplet, which is reminiscent of the English sonnet, there is little else in common between Nortjes sonnet form and the traditional Petrarchan and English sonnets. ...
The title of the poem, Love of Perversity, makes a vague suggestion that there is an element of the positive in the negative. ... Yet, the title of the poem implies that there are positive attributes to perversity. That is, Nortje combines the positive connotations of love with the negative associations of perversity.
Approximate Word count = 1536
Approximate Pages = 6.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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