Shakespeare and His Sonnets
Within Shakespeare's sonnets appear characters which evolve throughout his work. As he begins, the man who seeks his lover ponders the wastefulness of youth and beauty, and would rather transcend the superficial and move into a realm of reality. To the man, procreation is the way to immortality: "If thou couldst answer- 'This fair child of mine/Shall sum my count, and make my excuse-'/Proving his beauty by succession thine!" (Sonnet II ln10-12). The man has grown beyond the fancies of youth. "He is urged not to throw away all his beauty by devoting himself to self-pleasure, but to have children, thus satisfying the world, and Nature, which will keep an account of what he does with his life" (Ledger par 1). Shakespeare recognizes that it is the way of nature for succession of offspring, and that youth is fleeting.
The theme of youth as fleeting echoes throughout most of Shakespeare's sonnets. As he continues to write the about his fair lover, he comes to reject the love he once held close, and transitions into an annoyance of the superficiality of love. The lover he spoke so fondly about in the beginning: "Now, perhaps in the early days of his love, there is no such self-doubt and the eternal summer of the youth is preserved forever in the poet's lines" (Ledger par 1); to the fatigue of the fickleness of love and life: "For that reason it brings us down to earth with a bump, for it tears us away from the tortured conceits of the sonneteers, and perhaps from our own idealisations of the beings we love, and forces us to accept that the things we love often have an earthly and earthy beauty, much less than a divine one. For we also know that love is a power beyond rationality, and that it does not depend on the beloved being made of coral, or ivory, or rubies, but of flesh and blood with all its imperfections. The falseness lies in worshipping humans as if they were all Venuses and Adonises. The poet here finds himself perplexed that the woman he loves does not appeal to his five senses, as the tradition of sonneteering insists that she must, and yet he still loves and desires her"(Ledger par 3). As Shakespeare's sonnets progress, the characters evolve, as Shakespeare's own opinions evolve. He recognizes that the sonnets he writes will perpetuate his own immortality, yet it is the immortality in life which eludes his characters.
The woman is fickle and coy towards Shakespeare's man, which makes the man foolish in the name of love. While he knows that she is untrue-"When my love swears that she is made of truth,/I do believe her, though I know she lies;" (Sonnet CXXXVIII ln 2-3)-he continues to love her regardless. He feels that she will be the death of him. Shakespeare uses his characters with great diligence, he understands the placement of their within the realm of reality. "Shakespeare also reacted against strict adherence to the rules of time and space in drama, arguing that dramatic illusion is grounded not so much on the actual verisimilitude of staging as on the imaginative cooperation on the part of the audience..." (Landa pg 5). It is this realism and dramatic creditability in which the audience sympathizes with the lovers. While the woman accepts his love, she does not return the love in the same fashion, which is distressing to the man. Shakespeare concludes that his lover is subject to her own faults, and that the man is folly in her game of deceit. He also decides that nature is the only true love, and notes how the fickle love of this woman is much like the fickleness of youth and beauty. Immortality is only available through the written word, all else falls short, as youth and beauty falls short of true love.
The theme of youth as fleeting echoes throughout most of Shakespeare's sonnets. As he continues to write the about his fair lover, he comes to reject the love he once held close, and transitions into an annoyance of the superficiality of love. The lover he spoke so fondly about in the beginning: "Now, perhaps in the early days of his love, there is no such self-doubt and the eternal summer of the youth is preserved forever in the poet's lines" (Ledger par 1); to the fatigue of the fickleness of love and life: "For that reason it brings us down to earth with a bump, for it tears us away from the tortured conceits of the sonneteers, and perhaps from our own idealisations of the beings we love, and forces us to accept that the things we love often have an earthly and earthy beauty, much less than a divine one. For we also know that love is a power beyond rationality, and that it does not depend on the beloved being made of coral, or ivory, or rubies, but of flesh and blood with all its imperfections. The falseness lies in worshipping humans as if they were all Venuses and Adonises. The poet here finds himself perplexed that the woman he loves does not appeal to his five senses, as the tradition of sonneteering insists that she must, and yet he still loves and desires her"(Ledger par 3). As Shakespeare's sonnets progress, the characters evolve, as Shakespeare's own opinions evolve. He recognizes that the sonnets he writes will perpetuate his own immortality, yet it is the immortality in life which eludes his characters.
The woman is fickle and coy towards Shakespeare's man, which makes the man foolish in the name of love. While he knows that she is untrue-"When my love swears that she is made of truth,/I do believe her, though I know she lies;" (Sonnet CXXXVIII ln 2-3)-he continues to love her regardless. He feels that she will be the death of him. Shakespeare uses his characters with great diligence, he understands the placement of their within the realm of reality. "Shakespeare also reacted against strict adherence to the rules of time and space in drama, arguing that dramatic illusion is grounded not so much on the actual verisimilitude of staging as on the imaginative cooperation on the part of the audience..." (Landa pg 5). It is this realism and dramatic creditability in which the audience sympathizes with the lovers. While the woman accepts his love, she does not return the love in the same fashion, which is distressing to the man. Shakespeare concludes that his lover is subject to her own faults, and that the man is folly in her game of deceit. He also decides that nature is the only true love, and notes how the fickle love of this woman is much like the fickleness of youth and beauty. Immortality is only available through the written word, all else falls short, as youth and beauty falls short of true love.
WORKS CITED
Landa, Jose Angel Garcia. "Sir Philip Sidney." Hypercritica: A Hypertextual History of Literary Theory and Criticism. Universidad de Zaragoza, 2004. [March 29, 2008]
Ledger, Dr. G. R. "Complete Sonnets of William Shakespeare." Shakespeare's Sonnet. Oxford: Oxquarry Books Ltd., 2004.
Shakespeare, William. Complete Sonnets. Ed. Stanley Appelbaum. Toronto: Dover Publications, 1991.
Published by Carolyn Lawrence
I have been writing and taking photographs for as long as I can remember. View profile
- Who was Shakespeare?There's been much speculation and debate about the true authorship of Shakespeare.
- Understanding SonnetsMany are taught in high school to appreciate his plays and how to understand them. Many high schoolers, and adults for that matter, never touch on the sonnets he has written.
- A Breakdown of William Shakespeare's Most Noteworthy SonnetsA brief review of the important plot points of the sonnets that make up the Young Man and Dark Lady series of Shakespeare's poetry.
Sonnets IIThis is a collection of sonnets in English by author from Serbia and Montenegro... You are welcomed to enjoy in 30 sonnets with rhyming... This is a second collection, called So...- Shakespeare Voices Two Combating Views of Love in His Collection of SonnetsShakespeare was a man of many words and many contradictions. Upon reviewing some of the 250 sonnets he wrote in his lifetime, there are many themes that he addresses. There are two pieces in particular that focus on...
- Organizational Aspects of Shakespeare's Sonnets
- You Might be Quoting Shakespeare Without Realizing It!
- A Study of Shakespeare and Romantic Love
- Shakespeare: A Brief View of the Man and His Works
- William Shakespeare and the Power of Love
- William Shakespeare and the Sonnet
- Understand Shakespeare Like a Pro