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Shakespeare's ideas of love
Major Theme in Shakespeare's Sonnets
Shakespeare's ideas of love
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Arguably the most famed writer of all time, William Shakespeare became famous for his plays and for his sonnets. These sonnets discuss everything from the importance of children to the troubles of rival poets, and have even been divided into two distinct subgroups—those of the “Fair Youth” and those of the “Dark Lady”—because of the differences between the two. However, a common theme that runs throughout nearly all of them is that of love. Illustrating and exemplifying love, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 provides a classic example of this theme, as Shakespeare both defines love and holds it up as a paragon of all things good. In Sonnet 116, or “Let me not to the marriage of true minds,” Shakespeare uses personification and metaphors to convey his idea that true love is unchanging and thus never ends.
William Shakespeare, the author of Sonnet 116, was born in April of 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. At the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, who was six years older than him, and then is recorded to have begun his acting and playwriting career in 1592 when Henry VI was first produced and performed (Branam). Most notably writing plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare wrote thirty-seven plays altogether, according to general consensus (Gibson). Also notable, though, were his sonnets. Shakespeare began writing his sonnets at approximately the same time as his completion of Romeo and Juliet. One such sonnet is Sonnet 116, or “Let me not to the marriage of true minds,” which is found in the “Fair Youth” section of his sonnets (Branam).
Shakespeare’s famed Sonnet 116 opens with the phrase, “Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments” (Shakespeare 1-2). This line ...
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Gibson, Rex, ed. The Sonnets. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Print.
Krieger, Murray. “Poetry as A Testament to Immortality.” Shakespeare’s Poems and Sonnets. N.p.: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999. 55-57. Print.
Leone, Bruno, et al., eds. Readings on the Sonnets. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Print.
Livingston, James. “Sonnet 116.” Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition. Ed. Phillip K. Jason and Tracy Irons-Georges. Revised ed. N.p.: Salem Press, 2002. N. pag. Literary Reference Center. Web. 6 Mar. 2012. .
Vendler, Helen. The Art of Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997. Print.
"Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal [but] which the reader recognizes as his own." (Salvatore Quasimodo). There is something about the human spirit that causes us to rejoice in shared experience. We can connect on a deep level with our fellow man when we believe that somehow someone else understands us as they relate their own joys and hardships; and perhaps nowhere better is this relationship expressed than in that of the poet and his reader. For the current assignment I had the privilege (and challenge) of writing an imitation of William Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 87". This poem touched a place in my heart because I have actually given this sonnet to someone before as it then communicated my thoughts and feelings far better than I could. For this reason, Sonnet 87 was an easy choice for this project, although not quite so easy an undertaking as I endeavored to match Shakespeare’s structure and bring out his themes through similar word choice.
"Sonnet 116." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 1. Eds. M. H. Abrams,
Canfield Reisman, Rosemary M. “Sonnet 43.” Masterplots II. Philip K. Jason. Vol. 7. Pasadena: Salem Press, 2002. 3526-3528. Print.
Shakespeare, William, "Sonnet 42." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Eds. M.H. Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt. 7th ed. 2 vols. New York: Norton, 2000. 1:1033.
When he writes "And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare as any she, belied with false compare." (lines 13-14) in the final couplet, one responds with an enlightened appreciation, making them understand Shakespeare's message that true love consists of something deeper than physical beauty. Shakespeare expresses his ideas in a wonderful fashion. Not only does he express himself through direct interpretation of his sonnet, but also through the levels at which he styled and produced it. One cannot help but appreciate his message of true love over lust, along with his creative criticism of Petrarchan sonnets.
William Shakespeare, the immortal Poet and Dramatist, is considered to be the greatest English dramatist and poet. His writings include plays, comedies, historical plays, and tragedies and some numerous sonnets. He wrote one hundred fifty four sonnets during 13th to 14th century, which mostly discussed about his love towards the “Handsome Young Man” and “The Dark Lady”. Shakespeare addressed from sonnet 1- 126 about an unidentified young man with outstanding physical and intellectual attributes. And from sonnets 127-154, Shakespeare devoted most of his attention to addressing a mysterious "dark lady" who explained as a sensuous, irresistible woman and beautiful
Shakespeare’s sonnets are numbered in a sequential order and adjacent sonnets often have similar content. Throughout Shakespeare’s sonnets, he covers many subjects, such as interest in the life of a young man, his love for a young man, and his love for a dark haired woman. In sonnets 57 and 58, Shakespeare discusses how love is like slavery in its different manifestations. The object of the narrator’s love has a dominating power over the narrator, which controls him and guides his actions. Shakespeare shows in sonnets 57 and 58 that love can be displayed by using many different routes such as viewing love as a controlling force, exploring the theme of time and waiting in regards to love, and the question of the physical state of being of love.
This sonnet rhymed abab cdcd efef gg form. Most of his sonnets were written in the 1590s at the height of the vogue, but they were not published until 1609. The first 126 are addressed to a young man; the remainder (with the exception of the last two, which are conventional sonnets on Cupid) are addressed to an unknown "Dark Lady." Whether or not Shakespeare laid bare his heart in his sonnets, as many critics have contended, they are his most personal poems.
"Sonnet." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
In addition, the sonnet is a statement of respect about the beauty of his beloved; summ...
Sonnet 71 is one of 154 sonnets written by William Shakespeare, and although it may rank fairly low on the popularity scale, it clearly demonstrates a pessimistic and morbid tone. With the use of metaphors, personification, and imagery this sonnet focuses on the poet’s feelings about his death and how the young should mourn him after he has died. Throughout the sonnet, there appears to be a continual movement of mourning, and with a profound beauty that can only come from Shakespeare. Shakespeare appeals to our emotional sense of “feeling” with imagery words like vile, dead, be forgot, and decay, and we gain a better understanding of the message and feelings dictated by the speaker.
From the works of William Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser it is clear that some similarities are apparent, however the two poets encompass different writing styles, as well as different topics that relate to each other in their own unique ways. In Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” and Spenser’s “Sonnet 75”, both poets speak of love in terms of feelings and actions by using different expressive views, allowing the similar topics to contain clear distinctions. Although Edmund Spenser’s “Sonnet 75” and William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” relate in the sense that love is genuine and everlasting, Spenser suggests love more optimistically, whereas Shakespeare focuses on expressing the beauty and stability of love.
Biespiel,David. “Sonnet14.” Masterplots II. Philip K. Jason. Vol. 7. Pasadena: Salem Press, 2002. 3521-3522. Print.
Spencer, Edmund. “Amoretti: Sonnet 37”. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Gen. ed. David Simpson. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 2006. 904. Print.
Almost four hundred years after his death, William Shakespeare's work continues to live on through his readers. He provides them with vivid images of what love was like during the 1600's. Shakespeare put virtually indescribable feelings into beautiful words that fit the specific form of the sonnet. He wrote 154 sonnets; all of which discuss some stage or feature of love. Love was the common theme during the time Shakespeare was writing. However, Shakespeare wrote about it in such a way that captivated his reader and made them want to apply his words to their romances. What readers do not realize while they compare his sonnets to their real life relationships is that Shakespeare was continually defying the conventions of courtly love in his writings.