The Poetry of William Shakespeare (Sonnets)

This is the second article in a three-part series on William Shakespeare’s life and poetry and its relevance to modern writers and poets. If you haven’t done so, you might want to read the introduction.

Shakespeare the Sonneteer

In 1609, a collection titled SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS was published, which included two previously published pieces (sonnets 138 and 144) plus 152 previously unpublished sonnets. This collection contains the entirety of William Shakespeare’s sonnets, which are each referred to by number as they are not titled.

There is some confusion surrounding this manuscript. Thomas Thorpe (T.T.) is believed to have been the publisher. However, there are doubts about whether the publication was authorized by Shakespeare. Additionally, some scholars have questioned whether Shakespeare even authored all of the sonnets in this collection, though most believe that he is correctly attributed and consider such notions to be ill-advised and unproven conspiracy theories.

The sonnets can be read individually or collectively. Many have studied them as a whole since the subject matter appears to be interconnected among the various sonnets.

The Shakespearean (or English) sonnets are composed of three four-line stanzas (quatrains) followed by a final couplet, all written in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme follows the pattern abab cdcd efef gg. Exceptions to this construction are Sonnets 99, 126, and 145. Many of the couplets tie off the preceding quatrains by summarizing the overall message of the poem.

The Young Man (1-126)

Shakespeare’s sonnets can be grouped according to subject. The first 126 appear to be written to a young man. Of these, the first 17 urge the young man to get married and start a family. These are called the procreation sonnets. Sonnets 18-126 express the author’s adoration for the young man or “fair youth.” Some scholars believe that Shakespeare had a homoerotic affection for the man depicted in these sonnets. However, it is difficult to know what was in the poet’s mind when he authored these poems. There has been particular speculation about sonnet 20, which has been the cause of much controversy:

Sonnet 20

A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted,
Hast thou, the master mistress of my passion;
A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change, as is false women’s fashion:
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hue all hues in his controlling,
Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created;
Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she prick’d thee out for women’s pleasure,
Mine be thy love and thy love’s use their treasure.

In this day and age, the idea of Shakespeare writing romantic poetry to another man is hardly shocking. I do want to stress that we don’t know for sure whether that’s what this poem conveys. Part of poetry’s magic is that it is often open to interpretation, and poets are hailed for being abstract, vague, and for using metaphor. The young man in the poem could be Shakespeare’s art (writing); it could be an abstract, such as time or death; it could even be the poet writing to his younger self. Read sonnet 20 again and try to decide what you think it’s about, or what it could be about.

The Dark Lady (127-152)

The second group of sonnets address a “dark lady,” who is referred to as the speaker’s mistress with whom he is having an adulterous affair. Within this group, some of the sonnets mention another affair between the dark lady and the young man from the first 126 sonnets in Shakespeare’s collection. For this reason, some scholars have speculated that Shakespeare not only had homoerotic affections for the young man, but that he also had an adulterous affair with a woman and that this woman and man had an affair with each other (sonnets 40-42, 133-34, 144).

Sonnett 144

Two loves I have of comfort and despair,
Which like two spirits do suggest me still:
The better angel is a man right fair,
The worser spirit a woman colour’d ill.
To win me soon to hell*, my female evil
Tempteth my better angel from my side,
And would corrupt my saint to be a devil,
Wooing his purity with her foul pride.
And whether that my angel be turn’d fiend
Suspect I may, but not directly tell;
But being both from me, both to each friend,
I guess one angel in another’s hell:
Yet this shall I ne’er know, but live in doubt,
Till my bad angel fire my good one out.

It’s worthwhile to note that Shakespeare’s dark lady is often held in contrast to the “fair youth” of the first 126 poems. She’s never actually called a lady, and she’s described as dark but once. However, she is described as having black hair and dark skin, and she is repeatedly associated with blackness. Some have attempted to identify this woman and various persons from Shakespeare’s time have been presented as possibly being the woman about whom these poems were written, but nobody knows for sure who she was or if she ever really existed.

Cupid (153-154)

The last two sonnets in the collection are allegorical and deal with mythological figure Cupid.

Though there is clear topical cohesion among the three groups of sonnets (the young man, fair lady, and Cupid), a number of other issues are addressed throughout the sonnets. In particular, the “rival poet” as well as self-control (with regards to lust), criticism of the world, plus various sonnets that deal with themes such as love, beauty, politics, and mortality.

Other Poems

The final poem in SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS is titled “A Lover’s Complaint,” a narrative poem. We’ll look at this and other poetry by William Shakespeare in the third and final article in this series, so stay tuned for that.

Sources for this Article: Wikipedia, The Norton Shakespeare.

Do you read poetry? Have you studied Shakespeare? Is it important for modern poets to learn about the great writers of the past and to look at their work with a studious eye? How do Shakespeare’s poems resonate with you? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment. Questions are welcome too!