Sonnets Essay, Research Paper
Sonnets: An Insight into Shakespeare’s Mind?
During Elizabethan times, 1550-1625, a great writer’s explosive way of writing brought forth-new life to poetry. This outstanding poet, author and playwright, was William Shakespeare. Shakespeare wrote fourteen-line poems called sonnets. Although Shakespeare is known for his masterpiece plays, his sonnets are also worthy of this credit. These autobiographical sonnets are tales of love, deception, and betrayal. Although it is presumable that Shakespeare did write these sonnets about his own life, some experts are still puzzled by the possibilities. It seems as though Shakespeare poured his whole self into the sonnets. However, the idea of the sonnets being fictional comes few and far between. If one man can so exquisitely write fictional stories about love and still include a controversial issue in them, then where do we draw the line between fact and fiction? On account of much research, I have found that the belief of the majority of experts I reviewed was that the sonnets are most likely to be autobiographical. Some evidence shows this theory may be true. Therefore, Shakespeare, according to many experts, used his real life affair with a man and a woman in his sonnets. His recreations of pain, joy, and sorrow help to add to the drama of the sonnets. Also, Shakespeare has shown the possibility of writing to a distinct person. Many experts ponder the question of whom. Although they have narrowed down the group of possible candidate many agree on one specific in each category.
As the Black Death was making its voyage from Sicily to conquer the European countries, an eager Shakespeare might have been contemplating whether or not to write a comedy or a drama. However, as soon as the plague did reach Europe, theaters closed and there was nowhere for Shakespeare?s plays to be performed. This posed a problem for the young author. Shakespeare had to somehow exert his ability to another area of writing. What better way to fulfill his urge than to write sonnets? The sonnet was being used as a common way for expressing one’s love for another. Shakespeare thought of this common way of writing as an outlet to do just what everyone else was doing. He would express his innermost thoughts and feelings to the people he loved.
The sonnet is a fourteen line lyrical poem written in iambic pentameter, a meter in which five accents are placed on the stressed and unstressed syllables in each line. English poets were eager to find some way to make their sonnet better so “when sixteenth century English poets discovered the Italian sonnet, they decided to alter the rhyme scheme to a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g” (Rozakis 354). Shakespeare used this discovered form in his sonnets. The concluding lines of the poem resolve the problem discussed in the above twelve lines of the sonnet. After Shakespeare?s death the English sonnet that he so profoundly popularized was renamed the Shakespearean Sonnet (Rozakis355).
After researching the grouping of the sonnets there is still much controversy about Thomas Thorpe’s arrangement. Many of the experts doubt the accuracy of the order in which they are found today. The sonnets are currently found in an order called Thorpe Quarto. This order seems practical and does not pose any unanswered questions. ?Thorpe?s arrangement groups the Sonnets by whom he is supposedly writing to. Then they are numbered for practicality since no titles were provided?(Wilson). However, researchers find that this arrangement was just a guess on Thorpe’s part and was not grouped by the poet himself. Nevertheless, when the sonnets are re-arranged they have no order or sense to them. Thorpe’s arrangement also gave experts the ability to look at the sonnets in a way in which you could take the individuals addressed and say that there are two distinct groups.
The first group of sonnets, which run from sonnets one to one hundred twenty six, address two people of the male gender. Sonnets one hundred twenty seven to one hundred fifty six have a distinct person as to whom he is speaking, he addresses a “dark lady” who is supposedly seductive and sexy (”The Sonnets”1). This group of sonnets has been the contradicting side of many experts’ theories. Sonnets one hundred fifty three and one hundred and fifty four are unusually unrelated to the two groupings. They relate to a Greek poem about Cupid and his torch (”The Sonnets”1). The first group then can be split into two smaller sub-groups. Sonnets one to seventeen tell how Shakespeare wants to marry and have children (”The Sonnets”1). In addition to the sonnets about a young man, sonnets seventy-eight to eighty-six are about a “Rival Poet, ” who experts say “temporarily wins the favor and presumably, patronage, of the friend? (”The Sonnets”1).
The First Group is entitled by Thomas Thorpe is “The Friend,”. Shakespeare was said to have a love for the boy written about. This statement brings up the question of homosexuality or bisexuality on the part of William Shakespeare. On the contrary, ?Shakespeare also said that his love for the boy was purely spiritual?? (Wilson). Shakespeare says in his sonnets that he “wants to marry and have children of his own, but only with a woman” (Martin). The controversial identity of Shakespeare’s male lover has perplexed many experts. Yet, written on the inside cover of the 1609 edition of the sonnets is the following dedication, “To The Onlie Begetter Of These Insving Sonnets Mr. W.H. All Happinesse And That Eternitie Promised By Our Ever-Living Poet Wisheth The Well- Wishing Adventurer In Setting Forth” (Wilson). Mr. W.H brings the idea of a man with the initials W.H., such as William Herbert. (”The Sonnets” 2). William Herbert was the Third Earl of Pembroke. His candidacy seems most appropriate because of his thoughts on marriage. However Herbert was only thirteen in 1593, the year that many scholars would date the sonnets. (”The Sonnets” 2). This age difference suggests that his being the object of Shakespeare’s spiritual love would be simply ridiculous (Martin). Because of this factor the reversal of the initials was brought to mind. Perhaps Shakespeare did not want readers to know the identity of his male friend. This could be true, however, scholars investigated the possibilities and one name came up in many instances. Henry Wriothesley was The Earl of Southampton. He being twenty in 1593 further supported the theory of the reversal of the initials. This is the basis of many experts’ theoretical views on his sexuality. Was Shakespeare in love with this boy or was his “spiritual love” actually what it meant ? spiritual.
Shakespeare also wrote in the sonnets about yet another man. This man was said to be ma man of good stature. “?The so-called ‘Rival Poet’ who appears importantly in Sonnets seventy-eight to eighty-six,” was said to have stolen the young man away from Shakespeare. The candidacy for this character runs with an outstanding agreement upon a George Chapman, who was never the friend of Wriothesley or Herbert. This posed questions of the relation of the “Rival Poet” to the young man. Shakespeare perceived the rival poet to be learned, possibly a university graduate. Shakespeare thought of this as a threat and presumably turned out as one (Wilson).
The Dark Lady is the second grouping of the sonnets. The Dark Lady series begins with Sonnet number one hundred twenty seven and addresses a distinct character. This “Dark Lady” is presumably beautiful and has dark features. She has dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin. This may possibly be because of their deep sexual love. His thought about the woman were said to be sexual because he believed that, “a man’s sexual parts belonged only to a woman,”(Wilson). The spiritual sonnets about his lover twist to a sexy, tempestuous tales of paradoxical love (”The Sonnets”4). Shakespeare did not use direct sexual statements in his sonnets he concealed them with puns and sexual allusions (”The Sonnets”4). The numerous candidates for this role have left many scholars in a puzzling disposition about the ongoing names have been narrowed down to a bantam amount. Mary Fittton, Emilia Lanier, Lucy Morgan, Penelope Rich, and William Davenant’s mother are the most qualified people in the category. Now much evidence is provided on this subject area but the women have fit Shakespeare’s detailed descriptions of her. However, Many scholars dispute the accuracy of the names.
In conclusion, it is my belief that the sonnets are arranged in a way that addresses particular people and that the Sonnets reflect his true life and are possibly autobiographical. Although the opinions of experts and scholars are varied the researching that I have done has given me the ability to make the appropriation that my statement is true. Shakespeare’s self image is often doubted and yet his character as an author is not. There has to be some basis of this opinion. The Sonnets provide this foundation for thought. “Wordsworth believed that Shakespeare unlocked his heart in the Sonnets,”(”The Sonnets”1) If this quote proves true then all the more Shakespeare he!
Bibliography
Sorry NO BIBLIOGRAPHY!!!!
315
Другие работы по теме:
Wordsworth Essay Research Paper Wordsworth
Wordsworth Essay, Research Paper Wordsworth’s “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge,” September 3, 1802 Clearly, Woodsworth is experiencing an emotional high when peering upon the Westminster Bridge. This soothing sonnet makes it easy to imagine the beauty of this moment, by using words like, “beautifully,” “glittering,” and “bright.” It is morning time and Wordsworth is apparently alone with the bareness and silence of the sleepy towns below.
Renaissance Essay Research Paper When the Renaissance
Renaissance Essay, Research Paper When the Renaissance crept into the world’s social senses people were moved. However, when the Renaissance began to affect the literature of the sixteenth century, the world was changed forever. The Renaissance, meaning a “re-birth,” was a time of many changes. These changes wrought pandemonium among the civilized people of earth.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning Encyclopedia Article Abstract Essay
, Research Paper Shilstone, F.W.(1996). Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. In World Book Encyclopedia (Volume 2, pp. 655-656). Chicago: World Book, Inc. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the best-known poets of her time. The oldest of twelve children in an upper middle-class family, she received no formal education, but a desire for knowledge enabled her to learn eight languages on her own.
Summertime Blues Essay Research Paper Summertime BluesAmazing
Summertime Blues Essay, Research Paper Summertime Blues Amazing authors can induce thoughts by a single word. The ideas that can form in our heads by a small phrase are powerful. Only the most talented and capable authors can provoke such feelings within us. Who is more than able to stir these feelings in a reader but William Shakespeare? His various plays keep us entranced and curious but it is his poetry that strikes a chord deep within us. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” by William Shakespeare is particularly powerful using specific phrases to evoke the inner feelings of the reader as well as the woman to which he is speaking.
John Donne Essay Research Paper As a
John Donne Essay, Research Paper As a young poet, John Donne often utilized metaphors of spiritual bond in many of his Songs and Sonnets in order to explain fleshly love. Once he renounced
Sonnet 29 Essay Research Paper Rob BenkovicMrs
Sonnet 29 Essay, Research Paper Rob Benkovic Mrs. Stahl Period 8 5/8/00 Explication of “Sonnet 29” The reader can find Shakespeare’s dilemma in the first two stanzas. His problem is quite clear: he is lonely and depressed. As an outcast of society, he feels unlucky and thinks that there is no hope for him. Not even God can help him.
John Donne
’s Holy Sonnets Essay, Research Paper The Holy Sonnets By making many references to the Bible, John Donne s Holy Sonnets reveal his want to be accepted and forgiven by God. A fear of death without God s forgiveness of sins is conveyed in these sonnets. Donne expresses extreme anxiety and fright that Satan has taken over his soul and God won t forgive him for it or his sins.
Othello Essay Research Paper William Shakespeare was
Othello Essay, Research Paper William Shakespeare was and is considered a poetic genius. He produced 37 plays and 54 sonnets. Indebted to Petrarch, Shakespeare nevertheless devised most of his own sonnets in a form that would come to be called the English Sonnet : quatrains (four-lined stanzas) with alternate rhymes, followed in a concluding couplet.
Sonnet Essay Research Paper The sonnets 130
Sonnet Essay, Research Paper The sonnets, 130 and 292, written by William Shakespeare and Francesco Petrarch, both shows their passionate love towards their woman and it is very interesting to compare and contrast the two. Although their passionate mind was similar, they differ in form, tone, and meaning.
Sonnet 73 Analysis Essay Research Paper Poetry
Sonnet 73 Analysis Essay, Research Paper Poetry is a common medium for people to express love. Sonnets are almost always about love. William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 73″ is no exception. Senti-ments of love along with those of against and death are expressed through the use of figurative language. The poem is organized in such a way that, as it progresses, the reader feels the author approaching death as the use of carefully chosen meta-phors that give “Sonnet 73″ such powerful imagery.
Sonnet 73 Essay Research Paper Poetry is
Sonnet 73 Essay, Research Paper Poetry is a common medium for people to express love. Sonnets are almost always about love. William Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 73" is no exception.
Essay On Shakespeare
’s Sonnet 18 Essay, Research Paper William Shakespeare?s Sonnet 18 is part of a group of 126 sonnets Shakespeare wrote that are addressed to a young man of great beauty and promise.
Aggressive And Witty Essay Research Paper Aggressive
Aggressive And Witty Essay, Research Paper Aggressive and Witty Margaret Edson’s play W;t tells a compelling story of Dr. Vivian Bearing who is the main character. She is a renowned professor of seventeenth-century poetry, specializing in the Holy Sonnets by John Donne. Ms. Bearing is diagnosed with deadly ovarian cancer that will eventually take her life.
Shakespeare S Sonnet Number 126 Essay Research
Paper Anonymous English September 28, 1993 A Not-Too-Critical-Essay of Shakespeare s Sonnet Number 126 Shakespeare s sonnets, as poems, have been obscured by the enormous amount of speculation, much of it unjustified, that has grown up around the problems presented by the dedication. The following sonnet is commonly grouped with 125 others that are believed to have been written to a much admired young man, who was Shakespeare s junior in both years and social status.
Shakespeare Essay Research Paper Shakespeare William The
Shakespeare Essay, Research Paper Shakespeare, William (The Poetry)Shakespeare would be well known for his poetry alone. His first published works were the narratives Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594). The love poem The Phoenix and the Turtle appeared in 1601. But his major achievement is the Sonnets (1609, written in the 1590s).
Love And Shakespeare Essay Research Paper Love
Love And Shakespeare Essay, Research Paper Love and Shakespeare The love theme in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is confusing but at the same time entertaining. The love triangle involving Viola, disguised as Cesario, is in love with Orsino. Orsino is in love with Olivia. Olivia, however, loves Cesario. Orsino tries to woo Olivia with the language of love; however, his many attempts fail because the heart cannot be controlled.
John Milton 2
John Milton – Understanding Essay, Research Paper Understanding and Enjoying the Poetry of John Milton Though he is a difficult poet to understand, John Milton can be enjoyable once he is understood. After multiple readings of his sonnets, the meanings of each become much clearer. If one cannot understand Milton, one cannot enjoy him.
Whitman Essay Research Paper In my opinion
Whitman Essay, Research Paper In my opinion the poet which best exemplifies modernism is Walt Whitman. Walt Whitman?s stylistic preference is not exactly mine, but it is definitely a good example of ?modern poetry.? He has broken down many walls of traditional poetry, using the style of long, free verse prose.
Comparison Of Sonnets 18 And 130 Essay
, Research Paper Sonnets 18 and 130 In Shakespeare’s sonnets 18 and 130 he referred to two women that he loved. These two sonnets shared similarities and yet contained many exciting
John Donne Holly Sonnet X Analysis Essay
, Research Paper Death, commonly viewed as an all-powerful force against life, is otherwise described in John Donne?s Holy Sonnet 10. As found in any English Sonnet, there is a rhyme scheme and a standard meter. Although the standard meter is iambic pentameter, as in most English Sonnets, the rhyme scheme differs a little from the usual, consisting of ABBA ABBA CDDC AE.
Sonnet 20 Essay Research Paper Sonnet 20Over
Sonnet 20 Essay, Research Paper Sonnet 20 Over the centuries since the publication of Shakespeare s Sonnets, they have been subjected to a vast amount of analysis. From this seemingly endless supply of critiques, I have selected two that deal particularly with Sonnet 20 and its somewhat sexual ambiguity.
Analyzing Shakespear
’s Sonnet 55 And Fletcher’s Licia Essay, Research Paper Many factors can be used to analyze Sonnet 55 by William Shakespear and Licia by Giles Fletcher. Sonnet 55 and Licia share the subject of eternal love. In Sonnet 55, the narrator says that the memory of his love will last through wasteful wars that destroy tangible objects (Shakespear 5).
Shakespeare Sonnet 18 Essay Research Paper Shakespeare
Shakespeare Sonnet 18 Essay, Research Paper Shakespeare and His Sonnet 18 ?Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer?s Day?? William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English poet and playwright, recognized in much of the world as the greatest of all dramatists, is perhaps the most famous writer in the history of English literature.
Elizabethan Sonnets Essay Research Paper In Elizabethan
Elizabethan Sonnets Essay, Research Paper In Elizabethan Age, the sonnets had advanced into a form with new metric and rhyme scheme that was departing from Petrarchan sonnets. Yet, Elizabethan sonnets still carried the tradition of Petrarchan conceit. Petrarchan conceit was a figure used in love poems consisting detailed yet exaggerated comparisons to the lover’s mistress that often emphasized the use of blazon.
John Milton Essay Research Paper John Milton
John Milton Essay, Research Paper John Milton: On his blindness John Milton was born in 1608 to a Puritan family. During his service to the Commonwealth, in 1652, Milton became blind and it became necessary for others to share in his labors. His blindness occasioned one of the most moving of his sonnets, “On his blindness,” written in 1655.
Examination Of 3 Shakespearean Sonnets Essay Research
Paper An Examination of 3 Shakespearean Sonnets William Shakespeare is one of the most famous authors of all times. His works span a wide range of formats, styles, and themes. While best known for plays, such as the tragedy “Romeo and Juliet,” he was also a composer of poetry. To many people, these poems constitute the greatest of Shakespeare’s accomplishments.
Sonnet 130 Essay Research Paper Shakespeare was
Sonnet 130 Essay, Research Paper Shakespeare was obviously a very deep passionate and learned man; he was very open with how he felt and was able to express it in a way that was very exact and easy to comprehend. In his sonnets, which to me., are like a little diary, he tlaks a lot about his life involving his mistress as well as a male friend that he may or may not have been involved with.
Shakespere Salinger
, & Poe Essay, Research Paper William Shakespeare, was one of the greatest, romantic poets of all time, no other author that I am going to write about has ever, or ever will break through to as many people as Shakespeare. It was said that Shakespeare “was not of an age, but for all time,” and that is very true. Shakespeare, the only author in my paper that has not only had his works done in writing, like the others, but his work was performed on stages, and on the silver screen.
Poetry Explication Essay Research Paper Poetry ExplicationThe
Poetry Explication Essay, Research Paper Poetry Explication The second sonnet in Mark Jarman’s group of sonnets entitled The Word “Answer” can be interpreted two different ways. Is there a “right” way from which to view this poem, or is the poet simply exercising his God given right to ambiguity? Sonnet 2, as I will refer to it, revolves around someone sitting in a bathtub when suddenly there is a knock at the door, which soon turns into ringing and pounding, and finally the sound of breaking glass.
Analysis Of Sonnet 130 Essay Research Paper
Analysis of Sonnet 130 Of William Shakespeare’s one hundred fifty-four sonnets, his one hundred thirtieth is one of the most intriguing to examine. In Sonnet 130, the speaker describes the woman that he loves in extremely unflattering terms but claims that he truly loves her, which lends credibility to his claim because even though he does not find her attractive, he still declares his love for her.
Sonnet 130 Essay Research Paper Sonnet 130William
Sonnet 130 Essay, Research Paper Sonnet 130-William Shakespeare’sShakespeare always wrote in such a way that his writing inspires its’ readers. It was not surprising how Shakespeare is considered by many scholars as, “…a magnificent play write…” or “… a superb poet whose talents cannot be matched, even to this day.” Aside from all his plays, I am infatuated with his sonnets, particularly 116.