Publication
Shakespeare was, basically, a dramatist. But during the devastating plague of
England in 1593 to 1595, almost all the theatres had been closed in order to
reduce the number of casualties and to protect the people of England. As he was
unable to maintain his dramatic career, he began composing poems. Venus and
Adonis and The Rape of Lucrèce were his first but influential poems. Yet he had
taken to write sonnets one by one. In 1599, only two of his sonnets were
published. The first major publication of The Sonnets was achieved by Thomas
Thrope. Although he published The Sonnets without the permission of
Shakespeare. The second edition was published by John Benson in 1640 and he,
unethically, replaced 'he' with 'she' and added 30 other sonnets.
This edition voided all the scholarly discourses and was considered as standard
until 1780 when Edmond Malone republished the 'unauthorized' quarto of Thomas
Thrope.
Preface
The preface of The Sonnets has been printed as thus:
To the only begetter
of these ensuing sonnets
Mr. W.H. all happiness and
that eternity promised by
our ever-lasting poet wisheth
the well-wishing adventurer
in setting forth.
T.T.
The dedication is the riddle of Sphinx; hard to solve but interesting as
well. It is obvious that Shakespeare has been dedicating all the sonnets to his
Fair Youth whose name begins with W and H. The supposed well-wishing adventurer
is probably Thomas Thrope as his name starts with T and T. Shakespeare wishes
him well for the misconduct done by him and Shakespeare plans to fight with him
legally.
Characters
There are two major characters portrayed in his sonnets, Fair Youth and Dark
Lady but who they actually are? Let's discuss briefly:
Fair
Youth
William Hart
Being the nephew of Shakespeare and having Hamnet died, Shakespeare made him
his heir and it is said that he might have been stealthily handed over The
Sonnets to Thomas Thorpe.
Third Earl of Southampton, Henry Wriothesley
During the terrible and killing plague, Earl of Southampton patronized poets and
Shakespeare exclusively in order to meet his financial requirements. Almost all
the critics are agreed upon Henry Wriothesley being the Fair Youth of
Shakespeare. But his name does not comply with W. H.
William Herbert
Another strong contender for Fair Youth is Third Earl of Pembroke. He was also
a patron of Shakespeare but he had a secret desire for Marry Fitton which is a
strong evidence of being Shakespeare's "Gentle Thief".
William Himself
Another speculation for the quest of W. H. is quoted as William Himself was his
Fair Youth.
Dark Lady
Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth's reign holds significant importance in England. Her kingly
strength is considered to be quoted like a man and it is speculated that
Shakespeare might have used the pronoun He to denote Queen Elizabeth,
Anne Watley
"A ghost" as referred by Shakespeare's biographer (because many
critics doubt of her existance), Russel A. Fraser, Is speculated to be
Shakespeare's Dark Lady. Before his marriage with Anne Hathaway, it was
rumoured that Shakespeare might have affairs with Anne Watley, especially, when
he ventured in London to earn his livelihood.
Elizabeth Vernon
Another candidate for Dark Lady can be quoted as Elizabeth Vernon as she had a strong influence in Elizabethan Court. Shakespeare was also an influential personality of the court and he might have a secret desire for her. But she became the Countess of the Earl of Southampton. The Earl had been imprisoned for a short period of time by Elizabeth on account of marrying a maidservant.
Marry Fitton
The mighty contenderess for the crown of Shakespeare's Dark Lady, as disclosed by Thomas Tyler, is considered to be Marry Fitton. Her secret affairs with William Herbert, Third Earl of Southampton as she was also an influential figure in the court of Elizabeth, paved the way to lead her life as his countess and it is speculated that Shakespeare also had his eyes on her: she was taken by the 'gentle thief'.
Homosexuality
This factor makes The Sonnets one of the most disputed works ever done in the history of English Literature. George Steevens, in 1793, when he was trying to republish and purify sonnets, he accused Shakespeare of homosexuality and omitted some of the sonnets from being published as these sonnets addressed his Fair Youth in such a way that was only suitable for a female beloved. Edmond Malone came with the argument in defence of the sonnets that these types of addresses and titles were common in the Elizabethan Era. For instance, Richard Barnfield wrote several poems portraying obsessive love between two men. An English critic, Sir Brian Vickers sums the dispute up by titling these sonnets as 'anachronistic assumption'. Which means the cult of homosexuality was mistakenly assumed during that time.
Rival Poet
Despite the presence of the two major characters of his sonnets, there are some sonnets (sonnet number 78 to 86) which point to another character formally known as Rival Poet. The fictitious person has been addressed as Better Spirit, Mighty Verse and Proudful Sail. There are two contestants for the very title. The first one is George Chapman as his art of poetry was so powerful that he translated the literary works of an ancient Greek poet, Homer, especially an epic known as Iliad. It is said that he wrote Ovid's Banquet of Sense as a response to Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis in order to grab the patronage of the Earl of Southampton. Another contender is Christopher Marlowe. He was a successful dramatist than a poet. But he created a competitive atmosphere between the two. Without Marlowe, Shakespeare would not have been existed.
Thematical Analysis
Procreation
Diotima, the teacher of Socrates, proclaims that to love is being creative and
creativity comes either in the birth of body or the birth of the soul. The human body is
mortal and temporal. So it makes love mortal. Birth in the soul is the idea of
being immortal highly dwells in creating the masterpiece which should last
forever. Shakespeare and his Fair Youth have acquired currency of fame till this
very day through the everlasting creativity in Shakespeare's drama and poetry.
Friendship
Friendship sees itself in its new shape in Shakespeare's sonnets. He considers
him and his Fair Youth as two bodies, one soul. Yet the same soul plays double
with Shakespeare and takes his beloved Dark Lady away. He is deeply grieved
over the mean act of his friend but:
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end (Sonnet 30)
Love not Lust
Love is regarded as a spontaneous motive of attraction without reason while
lust is a temporal temptation of flesh. Love and lust are two opposite passions.
Shakespeare, in his sonnets, compares love and lust as thus:
In all external grace you have some part,
But you like none, none you, for constant heart.
In this couplet, Shakespeare advocates the pure form of love, which deeply depends on the constant heart, the heart which is constant in likes, dislikes and promises kept with his beloved
The canker blooms have full as deep a dye
In the above mono-stich, Shakespeare sharply symbolizes lust as a wild rose, which holds a strong dye of temptation of flesh but is devoid of the sweet fragrance of spiritual purity which is essential for the formation of 'love'.
Beauty
It is well said that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. It is up to the
person how he regards beauty. It is a proper arrangement of something or in
someone. But in Shakespeare's Sonnets, the beauty is divided into innermost
beauty and outer beauty. Outer beauty is deceptive and is often associated with
lust while the inner beauty of a person highly depends on the contentcy of the
heart that how it handles in keeping promises. Shakespeare does not love his
Fair Youth for his external beauty but for his internal beauty:
In all external grace you have some part,
But you like none, none you, for constant heart.
Time
Time is immortal and is "debating with decay" to mortalize abstract
or non-abstract ideas and objects. Love is mortal if it is adulterated with
lust. Love can only be immortalized after winning the war against time through
the sword of literature as is mentioned in the last couplet of Sonnet 15:
And all in war with Time for love of you,
As he takes from you, I engraft you new
Immortality
Time has mortalized everything everywhere yet time will immortalize the beauty
and contency of the heart of his beloved after he wins the war against time
through the sword of pen:
And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth,
When that shall fade, my verse distills your truth. (Sonnet 54)
Structural Analysis
Sonnets are only limited to 14 lines. So a poet has to condense his thoughts to
meet the requirements needed for composing a sonnet. Consequently,
artificiality takes over the realm of thoughts and the identity of characters
turns obscure. The Sonnets is infested in similes, metaphors and an infinite
amount of imageries.
Each sonnet is divided into three quatrains and a couplet, while following
strict iambic pentametric structure. The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef and gg.
Often, the first mono-stich of third quatrain contains a volta, a shift of
poet's tone from gloomish to that of relieve.
Conclusion
The Sonnets by Shakespeare are obscure, thematic, iambic and most importantly,
Shakespearic in tone, nature, melody and rhyme.
Source
- Lectures of Sir Mohsin Ghani
