The Sonnets by William Shakespeare

[kelby_lake]

Firstly, a little word. There are 154 sonnets- 126 are written to a young man (well, some of them are about death but they're around the time of the young man), and the rest are written to a 'dark lady'. The thought that Shakespeare might have had feelings for men has worried some scholars so they come up with bizarre 'alternatives' as to what the young man might be. but let's leave the mystery of who or what Shakespeare was lusting for four hundred years ago and concentrate on the work.


Everybody thinks they know the sonnets but I keep finding new things in them each time. Although you can read them out of order, one at a time, the best way is to read them in chronological order (although scholars still squabble on the order, the order is pretty good). The narrative is vague but watching the narrator's relationship progress and fluctuate is strangely gripping. Sonnet 116 is one of the best sonnets and often used as way of defining love, but the narrator's experiences of love are not so steadfast. These sonnets are not simply sophisticated Valentine's messages- they explore all areas of love, death, and all that.

Recommended.

[kelby_lake]

Forgot to add a poll :(

[MANICHAEAN]

Its curious Kelby the way many interpreters of Shakespeare omit the principle thing. They revel in his grammer, his history, his psychology and his ethics, but lay insufficient emphasis on his poetry. He is above all else a poet and as the most wayward and subjective of all souls he is prepared to sacrifice truth and morality. He will let the probabilities of a character vanish into air when once such a one has served his purpose, when once he has put into his mouth his own brooding upon life, his own imaginative reaction.

[OrphanPip]

Of the big 3 English sonnet sequences, with Spenser's Amoretti and Sidney's Astrophil and Stella, I think Shakespeare's is the best. It's definitely a must read for any lover of poetry. In comparison with Sidney and Spenser you really get an idea of how daring and innovative Shakespeare was with the form.

[kelby_lake]

Definitely. There's so much difference in the tones between some of them.