William Shakespeare- Mysterious Romantic

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William Shakespeare- Mysterious Romantic

On an unknown April night, in 1564, at an unpretentious home in Henley St. in the serene town of Stratford, England Isle of Wight, Mary Arden and John Shakespeare gave light to a poet, who would later be referred to as a Literary Genius. Who is William Shakespeare? The known facts of Shakespeare's life are few, but nearly four hundred years after his death, William Shakespeare's art continues to inspire his readers. Much of Shakespeare’s praise is due to the wonderful words of his short sonnet poems, and how Shakespeare is able to apply virtually indescribable feelings into divine words. A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem, which Shakespeare traditionally wrote in iambic pentameter. Throughout his life Shakespeare wrote a total of 154 sonnets. All of his sonnets project some stage or aspect of love. Still, Shakespeare’s love life is a very contradicting topic that has been the subject of recurring debate. Even if the world lacks information regarding Shakespeare, his sonnets are evidence of his sexuality. What readers fail to realize while they assimilate his sonnets to their real life relationships is that Shakespeare was continuously defying the conventions of courtly love in his writings. This is why it can be deduced that the main theme of Shakespeare’s sonnets is love and how it reflects his sexuality.

The originality of Shakespeare's sonnets is clearly displayed through his first seventeen sonnets, or the Procreation Sonnets. They are written to a young man, known as the 'Fair Lord' or 'Fair Youth'. Throughout these sonnets Shakespeare is urging and persuades his breathtaking friend to get married and start a family, thereby passing down his beauty to the next generation. It is...

... middle of paper ...

...k Lady, but there are fact that are perfectly clear such as the fact that William Shakespeare was a romantic poet. Love is recognizably portrayed throughout his 154 sonnets, which are all clearly based on the different types of love that he explored all throughout his life. Shakespeare expressed his love to marriage and family, to a young boy, and finally to a dark lady. Therefore, it clear that the main theme in William Shakespeare’s sonnets is love.

Works Cited

Andrews, Hannah. "William Shakespeare." The Academy of American Poets. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb 2011. .

Greenblatt, Stephen. "William Shakespeare." The Norton

Anthology of English Literature. M.H. Abrams. Print.

Mowat , Barbara A. "Shakespeare's Sonnets ." Folger Shakespeare Library n. pag. Web. 14 Jan 2011.

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