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Sonnets
By: Lauren Santoru
Background
William Shakespeare first made his mark on the literary
globe in the competitive theatre business in 1587 in the
city of London.
In reference to love, these sonnets note that as time goes on, true love
truly endures despite the fading of beauty with age.
The young man sonnets also reference death and the fact that it will
eventually happen to everyone; therefore, they almost serve as a
warning to the young man in a sense that the young have a hard time
realizing this reality.
These sonnets also help to ground the young man being that they
reference that some men think too highly of themselves.
In the 126th sonnet, Shakespeare leaves the final rhyming couplet blank,
which could be in reference to the fact that he is letting the young man
go, just as death eventually lets everyone go.
The Dark Lady Sonnets
Shakespeare’s final sonnets, numbers 127-154, are all in
reference to a dark lady.
The dark lady sonnets set the stage for Shakespeare to tell his readers
that although she may not be described as attractive, the dark lady truly
is attractive because she is a grounded and realistic lover.
What do the sonnets tell us about
Shakespeare?
Although it has not been confirmed, the procreating sonnets give readers
an insight to Shakespeare’s possible religious affiliation being that he
urges his readers to be fruitful and multiply, which is a common belief
within the Protestant of Catholic faith.
The young man sonnets give readers a possible idea that Shakespeare
himself had recognized that love is much deeper then the physical sense
and he believes that others do not make this connection.
Sonnets 1-127 can also give readers a sense that Shakespeare was
accepting of the idea of death and that he possibly does not fear it.
Lastly, the dark lady sonnets can give readers a hint that Shakespeare
thought highly of himself in comparison to his literary counterparts being
that sonnets 127-154 serve as a mockery towards other love poetry at his
time.
Works Cited
Damrosch, David. “William Shakespeare.” Gateways to World Literature:
The Ancient World through the Early Modern Period. Ed. David Damrosch.
Boston: Pearson, 2012. 1083-1085. Print.
Miller, Nelson. "Basic Sonnet Forms." Sonnet Central. N.p., n.d. Web. 18
Apr. 2014. <http://www.sonnets.org/basicforms.htm>.