The Shakespearean Sonnets - Book Report/Review Example

Elements of Literature The Shakespearean Sonnets Submitted 6th February 2009 This paper would seek to examine the differences that exist between the Petrarch sonnets and the Shakespearean sonnets. Shakespeare wrote in total 154 sonnets and the format was such that the sonnet consisted of three quatrains and one couplet. If one was to analyze the pattern of the sonnets, it would be deduced as "ababcdcdefefgg". The sonnets have not followed the Petrarch tradition and the sonnet structure was also used by Shakespeare in order explore many themes within a short piece. A sonnet is a fourteen line poem which rhymes in a particular manner and pattern. In the times that Shakespeare used it, the pattern was according to the following: ababb cdcd efef gg, and the final couplet was usually used for the purpose of creating a surprise ending or summarizing the main ideas or themes. The iambic -pentameter is defined as the rhythmic pattern of the sonnets. An iamb is used for the purposes of measurement as it is metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable and one unstressed syllable. The format which was used by Shakespeare consisted of five of these and it was used to make the pentameter. The sonnets structure lies in the beginnings and the endings of the sonnets and the actual outcome is foretold. The beginnings start off with the introduction of a theme, plot and characters. The Shakespearean sonnets ultimately centered on winning the beloved as has been the theme of most English sonnets. These sonnets center on a theme of devotion of oneself to a faithless "Lady" and through the poem, the poet's patron and rival are accused of stealing this lady from the poet himself. This situation is treated with the intensity of true passion and with the observation of psychologist and his insight. However all attempts to prove the identity of the three players in this triangular relationship fail to do and prove to be inconclusive. The sonnets form has been divided along side two formats-while the Petrarch format is divided into the octave and the sestet. The octave is eight lines long and the rhyme scheme of it is as follows: ABBAABBA, or ABBACDDC. The sestet follows a rhyme pattern of CDCDCD, or CDECDE and is usually found in the last remaining six lines of the poem. The octave and the sestet are usually found in a manner in which they contrast each other. The Shakespearean sonnet however, follows a different pattern and setting as it is not divided merely into two parts but into four parts. If one was to examine the structure, it would be evident that the first three parts are our lines long and are named as quatrains; following the rhyme sequence of ABAB. The last part is defined as the couplet and follows a rhyme sequence of CC. The Shakespearean sonnet is used more often for the purposes of developing a theme or a metaphor of ideas. The quatrain part usually contains the ideas while the couplet part usually contains the summary or a new presentation of the ideas. The structure of the sonnets, if examined closely, is connected through a pattern of the theme, the style itself and lastly, the subject matter. The first 126 sonnets which have been written by Shakespeare center on the young man and his affectations. The first seventeen sonnets, urge the young man to marry and to carry forward his lineage due to the lack of time available for the youth. The sonnets from 100 to 126 are addressed to the same youth but after the passage of a few years having passed. While the sonnets provide the reader little about his life, they do however, provide one insight into his artist's being. The sonnets are full of metaphorical imagery and center on universal themes of love, change, lust and beauty. The Shakespearean sonnet in many ways is much more complex than the Petrarch sonnet format as not only is the sonnet's sequence occupied with the subversion of the traditional themes of love present in sonnets but there are formal patterns involved which combine innovation with daring. In many of the sonnets it was found that the thematic pattern of a Petrarch structure was imposed onto the formal pattern of a Shakespearean sonnet -in the sense that though there are three quatrains and one couplet, the first two quatrains might ask a question which would consequently be answered by the third quatrain and couplet. Such juxtaposition creates a much more complex than found otherwise in Shakespearean sonnets. With the exception of certain sonnets such as the sonnets 99, 126 and 145, the rest follow a typical English pattern. Each of them is the fourteen line poem in the form of iambic pentameter which comprises of four sections but however, Shakespeare's sonnets do not have the traditional effect of expressing an idea in each quatrain and the argument or summary in the ending. His sonnets overall follow a sequence if observed closely. In the time that Shakespeare' sonnets were gaining prominence, there was a wind of change which constituted of an anti-Petrarch structure which was bound by the traditional motifs and themes. The twentieth sonnets consisted of themes and their poetic style as well. The main elements of the Shakespearean poem consisted of the rhetorical devices, syntax and device. The multiple associations that the words and phrases used resulted in these sonnets being highly intriguing and interesting for all readers alike. Another issue that comes on the forefront is the complexity and the ambiguity of the Shakespearean figurative language as he makes effective use of tone and mood as well in the sequence. The departure from the standard and typical poetic requirements resulted in these sonnets being the focus on a lot of critical attention. Most of the themes that were employed by Shakespeare included the usual topics such as that of love and beauty and that of time. However, all themes are addressed in a fashion and manner which creates a sense of fascination as they are all handled in a manner which is distinctively Shakespeare's own. The poems of love and praise do not make the subject a young, fair maiden but rather the young man. The sonnets introduce a second subject; that of the woman who has virtues and attractiveness of a questionable nature. The critics have also tried to lay emphasis on the paradoxical nature and representation of the theme of affection in these sonnets. Shakespeare has also created a sense of immortality for the young man as his beauty would be kept within the sands of time forever. The sonnets also pertain to themes of friendship and betrayal as the main issues to be analyzed and discussed. In stanza number 29, there is another variation and break away attempt form the typical English language poetry setting which portrays the difference between the Shakespearean and the typical English poems: When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes I all alone beweep my outcast state, And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon myself, and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd, Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope, With what I most enjoy contented least; Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, Haply I think on thee,-and then my state, Like to the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate; For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings That then I scorn to change my state with kings. Due to the passionate, intense and emotionally vivid nature of the sonnets, the critics have often thought these elements might pertain to elements of Shakespeare's own life and being. If one was to analyze the sonnets in greater detail, there would be certain contradictions and ambiguities which come across quite profoundly. Even if they were studied on an individual or a collective basis, there would be certain generalities and summations which come across to the readers. As a result of the highly complex nature of the sonnets, a number of interpretations have been made which at the same time are contradictory in nature. References Collins, John Churton. Ephemera Critica. Westminster, Constable and Co., 1902; p. 216. Colin Burrow, ed. The Complete Sonnets and Poems (Oxford UP, 2002), p. 98-102-3. Bray, Sir Denis. The Original Order of Shakespeare's Sonnets. (Brooklyn: Haskell House, 1977) p. 36 Muir, Kenneth. Shakespeare's Sonnets. (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1979) p. 57 McGuire, Philip C. Shakespeare's Non-Shakespearian Sonnets. Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 3 (Autumn, 1987) p. 304-319; 306 Read More