15 The Sonnet and the Sonneteer
Naples National Archaeological Museum, public domain.
“He was not of an age, but for all time!”
The Sonneteer:
To express his great love, Petrarch. To sing out to the word, Shakespeare. To Speak to one, Browning - all sonneteers ~
Petrarch
Writing in the 1300s, Petrarch developed the sonnet as he expressed his great love for Laura, the wife of another man.
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare, known lovingly as The Bard, was born on April 23 in 1564, and died at the age of 52, on April 23, 1616. We all know him as a playwright and poet, but Shakespeare was also a businessman and an actor. Shakespeare was born and grew up in Stratford-on-Avon in England, he married a woman from Stratford, and it was in Stratford where he had property and where his family lived , but he worked in London.
The story of why Shakespeare moved to London to work or how he got involved in theater and writing is not known. In fact much of his life is a mystery. For example, even his birthdate is debated. We do know that he was writing between the years 1585 and 1613, and that he wrote 39 plays, 154 sonnets, 3 narrative poems, and a few poems of various styles.
Shakespeare’s legacy is his work. Today, popular worldwide, his plays have been translated into every known living language and have been dramatized and talked about and studied more than any others. Many of the sayings coined by Shakespeare have permeated our culture. For example, did you know that Shakespeare was the first to say, “All that glitters is not gold”?
By 1616, half of Shakespeare’s plays had been published as quartos, one play editions. In 1623, the first collection of his work was published as the First Folio. Then in 1709, Nicholas Rowe edited the plays adding lists of characters and divisions in act and scene.
Shakespeare’s Sonnets are a collection of reflective poems that celebrate the many facets and feelings of love. In the strict pattern he shaped himself, the poet’s voice is a voice of assurance and confidence.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Writing to the man she would soon marry, Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote from her heart, of the developing relationship she was experiencing. As her love and intimacy grew, the content of the writings changes to reflect that growth. Hesitant to publish due to the personal nature of the poems, she decided to publish these poems with the idea that they were simply translations of the writings of others.
Resources
Shakespeare, William. Shakespeare’s Life, Folger Shakespeare Library, September 10, 2021. https://shakespeare.folger.edu
Questions
What do you know about Shakespeare?
Have you ever read or listened to something that was written by Shakespeare?
Do you have a favorite Shakespearean sonnet?