Sonnet 44 Analysis Distance is irrelevant to the power of thought: The elements, land and sea, might separate two

lovers, but the distance does not diminish their adoration for one another. Shakespeare uses hyperboles in Sonnet 44 to communicate through words the narrators resilient love towards his lover. Certain words he chose have a mysterious streak that accentuates the elusive power of distance, which in turn, sets the stage for the allencompassing power of love and thought to shine through. The phrase farthest earth removed describes the distance between the two people as astronomically large, but it can be overcome because there are more powerful forces than distance. The narrator portrays the agony he feels from not being able to exist in thoughtsthoughts can leap large lengths, but he, as a physical creature, cannot. If the narrator were only made of thoughts, he could be wherever his beloved was from the limits far remote where he is now and sadly, it is where he must stay because he cannot cover the distance thought can. Thoughts are powerful, more powerful than any amount of distance, but they cannot reach their full potential when trapped inside a physical body. Throughout the poem, the elements, more specifically water and earth, appear repeatedly. They first occur in the description of the problem where jump both sea and land is used to define the power of thought overcoming the elements as if they were mere hurdles on a track. They also appear in the counterclaim in the form of so much of earth and water, to state that the narrator is only made out of earth and water, which ties him down to the sluggish ways of bodily beings. The recurrence of two fundamental elements enhances the dominance of distance, but ultimately gives thought the most support. Thought is penned to be able to conquer two of the four primal elements that have played crucial roles in countless fantasy novels. Thought triumphs over these elements by sheer will and inflexibility, while distance merely takes advantage of the elements to make it more formidable. Using powerful elements that are familiar to almost every reader makes sure that the message is clear: if the human is strong enough, distance succumbs to thoughts.