It shows us that there is unity in those three quatrains in terms of meaning while the couplet, the end part reflects another meaning. Three quatrains emphasize the pain of love and beauty, how he wants to get rid of that love but how he is tightly binded to love and beauty. Althrough those three quatrains Drayton explains pain, sorrow and desire for getting rid of that pain while in the couplet he reflects his loyalty to his love and her beauty despite all the pain he endures.
In addition to all these issues, there is a wide range of poetic devices, language techniques in that poem. First of all, there is enjambment in the poem. First three quatrains are written in the form of a single sentence, one line doesn’t reflect a full sentence and also the couplet reflects a single sentence. Two lines don’t reflect two separate sentences. The lines do not convey meanings to the reader on their own, they must be united.
In addition to these, Drayton uses several various kinds of language techniques to make the exposition much more effective. Figurative language, especially the metaphor, personification, parallelism in terms of meaning, oxymoron and the hyperbole are used to influence reader. In the lines “An evil spirit your beauty haunts me still” and “Thus am I still provoked to every evil”, the word “evil” is used as a metaphor. The beauty of the woman is seen like an evil as it is impossible for the lover to reach her; she is the inaccessible one so that he has to avoid her. He tries to avoid himself from her love and to prevent himself from torturing himself by dispraising her beauty with the word “evil”. Also the word “spirit” is another metaphoric usage. As Anne’s beauty becomes a part of his soul, he accepts it as a spirit.
On the other hand, that spiritualism emphasizes the unavailability of her and impossibility of receiving a response from her. He continues emphasizing that impossibility in love by using personifications. “beauty” is personified in the first line as it “haunts” him still. Also in the line “In me it speaks, whether I sleep or wake” “it” is personified by speaking ability. Moreover the most essential point is that; althrough the poem only her “beauty” and “an evil spirit” are personified which shows us that the poet tries to take the attention of reader by personifying “beauty” and “evil spirit” because they symbolizes the same thing “the pain and sorrow of the platonic love and impossibility of getting rid of that love”.
Another effective point in the poem is that there is parallelism in terms of meaning which emphasizes the power of love that is capable of torturing the lover even if hasting the lover to death, to commit a suicide. “With great torments then it me doth take/and tortures me in most extremity” both lines reflect the torturing aspect of love by using the parallel words “torture-torment”, “great-extremity”, they carry parallel meanings.
Also the poet reflects the opposite sides of love by using oxymoron in the last line “By this good wicked spirit, sweet angel-devil”. Love is comforting with the good spirit it contains and also evil at the same time. Drayton wants to emphasize that love contains both virtuous and wicked sentiments simultaneously and that makes love special. Love means “a parched body”, first it warms then it burns. Beside these, Drayton uses hyperbole in two lines; “And hastes me unto a sudden death” and “Now tempting me to drown myself in tears”. He exaggerates the damaging effects of love on him. Love and beauty are identified as destructive powers associated by “sudden death” and “drowning in his tears” which are nearly impossible.
Michael Drayton makes much of lexical choice so as to give the real sentiment of power of beauty and love by using connotations, archaism, solemnity, modifiers, abstract and concrete nouns. “An evil spirit” is a connotation of which meaning differs from person to person; it may mean love for one and pain for the other. Moreover Drayton uses archaism such as “unto, ceaseth, doth”. In addition to these some abstract and concrete nouns are used so as to show that love is both concrete and abstract as it can be both accessible and inaccessible. In general Drayton uses abstract nouns in his sonnet in order to tempt the feelings and arouse emotions of the reader. For instance, “spirit” and “devil” are abstract nouns that delineate the painful aspect of love and the destructiveness of beauty.
Also modifiers are used in that sonnet. For instance, in “one poor minute’s rest” “one poor minute” is a pre-modifier of “rest”. When the poem is analyzed grammatically it can be obviously identified that all the lines start with conjunctions, and propositions except for the first line and it is determiner. They provide continuity and enjambment in the poem. For example, “An…/wherewith…/which…/nor…” are used. Also there is an exclamation expression “alas” which is used to take attention of the reader. Beside these, inverted sentence is used to reflect the psychological conditions of a lover. His world becomes upside down as he cannot reach his love and that lover psychology is reflected into the poem so as to make the exposition much more effective.
All in all, in “An Evil Spirit” Michael Drayton emphasizes his own love, sorrow and the destructively powerful beauty of a woman; Anne. That poem arouses emotions by highly effective language. Drayton does a very successful lexical choice for versifying his own sorrow. Readers not only read the sonnet but also feel, perceive the sonnet. It is impossible to discard the pain in the poem, it makes the reader cry and it tempts reader to drown himself/herself in tears and he makes everyone feel like giving up breath in sighing. He reflects his feeling through various kinds of poetic devices, he doesn’t say “she” for the spirit but he says “in me “it” speaks”, he never uses the word “love” although he experiences a great love-pain and by these ways “an evil spirit” highly affects the reader. Everyone reads between the lines and investigates the “evil spirit” torturing themselves who realizes that they are carrying a torch for something like Drayton’s love to Anne.
