My attempts to understand Shakespeare

[Ultermarto]

Good day to you, users. I've attended this site for the sole reason of seeking help in my understanding of Shakespeare. Now I'm well aware that this is not the Shakespeare forum, it is the introduction forum, but I expect that the Shakespeare forum will be dwelling with users far more experienced and less willing to help a new reader understand his first individual reading of the works.

But I assure you that I'm not just using this site as a convenient dictionary, either. I've done my best to analyse 'Sonnet 1', looking up its alien meanings, decoding the displaced language. As of yet, I'm getting several meanings from one poem.

-At first, it seems that Shakespeare is discussing nature, natures beauty and our lust for it. He then goes on to mention the 'Riper' (the ... the reaper?), and how his heir might, I don't know 'avenge his loss'.
-But then, he appears to be speaking of a woman or a partner. This person is beautiful, 'bright eyed', but is only so because of their vanity and egotistical attitudes. They are greedy, they take what is not theirs.
-And the rest just looses me in a coagulation of terms and contexts that I do not understand.


Please, if any of you could offer me some advice when reading these poems. I really want to understand Shakespeare. I believe that, despite the difficulties of his language, his artistic payload will be worth the effort.

[Charles Darnay]

Your point "he appears to be speaking of a woman or a partner. This person is beautiful, 'bright eyed', but is only so because of their vanity and egotistical attitudes. They are greedy, they take what is not theirs." is most correct. Except his greed flows from "the lover's" (as he/she is often called) beauty not by any act on his/her part.


But this is not really your question. As far as understanding Shakespeare goes on the most general level - personally I have found the sonnets more difficult to understand than his plays. Even the popular and seemingly simple Sonnet 18 has a certain depth, the reason being because the sonnets are wrapped in metaphor and allusions and every line has to be parsed out.

So I guess my suggestion to you is, if you are new to Shakespeare in general and not familiar with his style and language - start with some of the plays. As you read more Shakespeare and start to get into his head (as much as one can), the sonnets will begin to open up to you.

If you are intent on tackling the sonnets, going line by line and understanding each word is a must. you then have to piece it together like a puzzle, figuring out how disjointed images may be connected.