In my high school chamber choir, we sang Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee"). It was set to gorgeous music, and I always had an image in my mind while singing the sonnet of this girl sitting in some beautiful open field. Yet I have never taken the time to sit down and read a large collection of Shakespeare's sonnets before. So I was intrigued when reading the introduction and discovering that the person addressed in the sonnets is intended to be a male, rather than a female. So naturally, my image of this girl sitting in a field was shattered as I re-read through Sonnet 18.
It made me consider how important it is to read the sonnets as a unit, rather than individual poems. If one were to read a single sonnet, the general point and theme of the sonnet could be understood. Yet not until you place it into context with the other sonnets can you fully grasp the meaning and gain new insight. The language makes it so easy to get caught up in an idea and stick to that idea, and it becomes common to overlook the details. Therefore, when looking at the entire set as a story, as the introduction suggests, you are able to better see where the narrator is coming from. For example, one of the more interesting sonnets to me was Sonnet 20. After realizing that Shakespeare is addressing a man in the early sonnets, it becomes clear that there is love and admiration for that man. Sonnets 15 and 20 are full of youthful love and praise. So when I got to Sonnet 20, I found the discussion about women versus men unique. It seems as though he likes certain womanly attributes that the young man has. An interesting sonnet about gender and love.
Of course, after reading the series of sonnets, one has to wonder how directly they apply to Shakespeare himself. Or rather, if the feelings and themes portrayed in the sonnets accurately reflect Shakespeare's life. I am certainly not a Shakespeare expert, but from the intro I do know he was married and had children. Of course, marriage and homosexuality were looked upon completely different in that time. It would be difficult to know for sure if the sonnets he wrote here are of truth to his own life. Perhaps they are, and the rumors and speculations are true. Yet maybe they are not, and the sonnets are simply art for art's sake, with no deeper, outside meaning. Maybe the mystery and speculation is what makes the sonnets so unique and intriguing.
Regardless, the language and style of the sonnets is classic and it would be hard to argue that Shakespeare was less than fascinating.
About Me
- Matt McClure
- Spending last semester interning in NYC. Not sure what comes next...
Such a good point! I did the same thing ever reading the sonnet series together as a whole! Always thought he was talking about a woman as well. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThere's certainly a lot to be said about reading the sonnets as a whole collection and understanding them in that context. But I also think there's some value in reading the sonnets individually and interpreting them in your own unique way free from the restrictions.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there's a lot to be gained in reading the sonnets as a unit, but I also think that its important to the look at each sonnet as an individual poem as well. The thing that I really enjoyed about Shakespeare's sonnets was that they really fit together in a sequence, with interconnecting themes and motifs, but also that each sonnet stands very well on its own. However, it is worth noting that reading a single Shakespearean sonnet on its own is an entirely different experience than reading it in the sequence. I just think it's really rewarding to be able to look at it both ways.
ReplyDeleteThat said, great rumination! It really got me thinking about how the sonnets work as a unit vs. how they work individually.
Great point Matt! I also think it is important to read the sonnets as a unit. Your example of Sonnets 15-20 as youthful praise is right on target, as I have heard they were written towards a friend or teacher Shakespeare idolized. Also interesting to note, is the change in tone from those Sonnets to Sonnet 138 and others like it. The voice of the sonnet speaker is much more sexual and passionate, than the youthful, praiseful voice of Sonnets 15-20. I have also heard Sonnet 138 and others like it as being part of "The Dark Lady Sonnets" -- apparently many academics think Shakespeare was addressing the same dark featured lover in all of them.
ReplyDeleteGreat point Matt. I completely agree. It is easy to get caught up on certain elements of Shakespeare's writing from just one sonnet without looking at the entire frame of sonnets. In my Shakespeare class we are dissecting twelve of Shakespeare's plays this semester and our professor loves to point out how scholars love to pull certain Shakespearean soliloquies out of context from their place in their plays. When responding to our wildcard this week, I pulled elements and examples from other sonnets in the selection. In general, I think its safe to say that when analyzing literature, understanding the main idea is just as important as unraveling the minute details.
ReplyDeleteIt is true, reading the sonnets together does change your perspective a lot - that's a good point! What I really like about this rumination though, is how you point out Shakespeare's possible homosexuality. I'm actually taking a music history course this semester that is dealing solely with gender and sexuality in music history, and we have the same case here as with so many musicians: we have an artist who's in question, and we don't really have evidence that points one way or another. We can always imply that because he wrote a set about admiration and love of a young man that he was a homosexual, or we can say that he did wrote these sonnets purely from a woman's point of view in order to become a more diverse poet. We won't ever know for sure whether or not Shakespeare was gay unless we were to hear it directly from his mouth. But in the end, we're always left with one question: ... does it really even matter whether or not he was gay or straight? Knowing this might help us better understand how and why he wrote the way he did, but nevertheless, I completely agree with you: Shakespeare is nothing less than fascinating.
ReplyDelete