1. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Introduction and Sonnets

2. A Brief Life (1564-1616) ◦ Born in Stratford, son of a glove-maker and local political officer(constable, high bailiff) ◦ He attended Stratford Grammar School, where he would have learned Latin and graduated when he was 16 ◦ He also attended church regularly (required of all British citizens in this era) and most likely learned his father’s business ◦ He married Ann Hathaway in 1582 (he was 18, she was 26 and pregnant) ◦ They had three children (a daughter, Susanna and twins, Hamnet and Judith)

3. As Playwright ◦ Sometime between the 1580s and 1590s, Shakespeare moved to London (he left his family behind) ◦ He established himself in the theater world and started writing plays in the 1590s and was associated with a number of acting companies ◦ He also wrote poetry, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece ◦ By 1594, he was part of the Lord Chamberlain’s men, and a part owner/manager of the company (patronage of Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon)

4. Fame and Fortune ◦ Principal manager and actor in the Chamberlain’s men (1590s) ◦ Part owner of The Globe (1599)—the most prestigious public playhouse in London ◦ His early works included the poetry (influenced by Ovid), classical plays based on Roman dramas, history plays, and a few comedies ◦ In 1596 his father was granted a coat of arms ◦ Shakespeare purchased New Place in Stratford and was prosperous

5. The Globe Theatre A reconstruction of what it looked like Built in 1599 and burned down in 1613

6. Later Years ◦ When James I became king, the Chamberlain’s Men became the King’s Men and received royal patronage ◦ In the early years of James’ reign, Shakespeare composed his great comedies ◦ Near the end, he turned to tragedy, writing Antony and Cleopatra, Hamlet, and Macbeth, among others ◦ After his last great play (The Tempest), Shakespeare wrote a few plays in collaboration with other dramatists ◦ He left the stage around 1611 and spent time in Stratford ◦ Shakespeare died in 1616 from unknown causes, although he left a will ◦ The First Folio was published seven years after his death and contained 36 plays

7. THE SONNETS Immortality, Perpetuation of life through art, ambiguous sexuality

8. Introduction to the Sonnets ◦ Stephen Greenblatt describes the sonnets as “a cunning sequence of locked boxes” ◦ “naked autobiographical confession” (W. H. Auden) ◦ Early critics tried to relate the poems to Shakespeare’s life ◦ Many sought to identity the young man or the dark lady

9. ◦ Shakespearean Sonnet: 14 lines, written in iambic pentameter ◦ Iambic (unstressed/stressed) ◦ Pentameter (5 meters per line or ten syllables) ◦ includes 3 quatrains (4 lines stanzas) and a final couplet ◦ First Two Quatrains: idea, theme, or story ◦ Third quatrain marks the turn or Volta when the mood of the poem shifts ◦ Final rhyming couplet summarizes the theme or introduces a new outlook ◦ Different types of sonnets have different rhyme schemes. Shakespearean sonnets are ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

10. ◦ First published as a whole sequence in the Quarto of 1609 ◦ Possibly written during 1592- 1593 when the theatres were closed due to the plague ◦ Probably were passed out to friends before publication (a common practice during this era) and a few appeared in print in other collections prior to 1609

11. Division of the Sonnets ◦ The Sonnets are usually divided by scholars as follows: ◦ 1-126: Sonnets to the Fair Youth: praise for a beautiful young man and urging him to marry ◦ 1-17: The Procreation Sonnets ◦ 78-86: The Rival Poet Sonnets ◦ 127-154: The Dark Lady Sonnets: passion and anguish at his unfaithful mistress

12. Sonnets to the Young Man ◦ The young man is presented as perfectly beautiful but sadly the wrong gender ◦ These sonnets often discuss forms of earthly immortality: art keeps us alive, having children prolongs our existence ◦ Many critics argue that Shakespeare was queer, but this is impossible to know ◦ Conventional aspects of these sonnets: helplessly adoring, pleading for pity from the beloved ◦ Less conventional ideas: love may be a waste of time

13. Sonnet 1 ◦ The poet suggests that we desire children so that we may be immortal. ◦ The beloved “feed’st [his] light’s flame with self-substantial fuel” and refuses to have children. ◦ The poet begs the young man not to hoard himself. ◦ In a sense, Shakespeare states: You belong to the world and the world should enjoy your beauty through your offspring.

14. ◦ Shakespeare points out two different types of mortality and immortality in this poem: ◦ The parent bush or rose represents the individual, who will die ◦ By recreating himself, the individual mortal can be said to live forever in their seed ◦ There is an attempt to keep the world at stasis—to forever add a new version of the young man.

15. Sonnet 11 ◦ What do you think the opening lines mean? How could you restate this in modern English? ◦ One thing to note: early modern people believed that spending sexual desire actually shortened the human lifespan (thus, while Shakespeare is urging the young man to procreate, this procreation will shorten life)

16. ◦ Is the poet suggesting a form of selective breeding? ◦ The poet juxtaposes two sets of three words (lines 5, 6): Are these terms exact opposites? WisdomFolly BeautyAge IncreaseDecay

17. Sonnet 15 ◦ What are the dominant metaphors in this sonnet? How do these two metaphors work together? ◦ Throughout Shakespeare’s work you will find mention of the stars’ influence on human lives (this terminology is still used today—The Fault in Our Stars) ◦ Shakespeare often also refers to the world as a stage; how much of our lives are performed? How much is real? ◦ What new way to combat time does the poet offer? Which do you think works?

18. Sonnet 18 ◦ Why is the beloved not like a summer’s day? ◦ Is this poem more about poetry or about the beloved? Some critics claim the poem glorifies the poet rather than the young man. What do you think? ◦ Why is nature lacking? ◦ The poet here works to praise the young man by disparaging the summer day

19. Sonnet 20 ◦ Do you read this poem as an expression of chaste love or of sexual passion? ◦ What do you think Shakespeare means by “master mistress of my passion”? ◦ “False women’s fashion”—women in early modern England viewed as less stable than men (leaking, unbalanced) ◦ Homosexual vs. homosocial

20. Discussion Questions ◦ Why do you think that even though Shakespeare repeatedly promises to eternalize the young man he never tells us his name? who is immortalized? ◦ Shakespeare offers two options for posthumous fame—procreation and artistic achievement. Which is preferable? ◦ Although Shakespeare express love for the young man, he also notes that: “Mine be thy love, and thy love’s use their treasure.” The poet, therefore outlines two different types of love. How do we define these two types of love? Which is better?