1. ENG 261 Henderson 2013

2. Why Write? To Whom? probably created as a monetary endeavor: necessary aristocratic patronage to fund his vocation as a playwright. Earlier poems dedicated to Henry Wriothesley, third Earl of Southhampton. Dedication page of Sonnets states the poems are to a “Mr. W. H.” who may or may not be Wriothesley, and who may or may not be the person the speaker addresses in the sonnets.

3. Overview of motifs: Sonnets 1-17: "celebrates the beauty of a young man and urges him to marry and beget children who will bear him image." Sonnets 18-126: "focused on the same beloved young man, develops as a dominant motif the transience and destructive power of time, countered only by the force of love and the permanence of poetry“ Remaining sonnets: "focus chiefly on the so-called Dark Lady as an alluring but degrading object of desire.“ NAEL

4. His sonnets differ from others… Choice of a young man as the object of praise and love. Woman addressed in poems is dark, aloof, sensual, and worldly instead of chaste blond beauty typical of many poems of the day. The mood in the sonnets does not remain depressing and dark like the typical sonnets of the day; rather, the speaker covers the entire spectrum of emotions, including delight, pride, melancholy, shame, disgust, and fear

5. Form 14 lines (three quatrains and a couplet) Specific rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg Three quatrains Each develops a different idea or metaphor Couplet Confirms or totally disagrees with what has been said prior. Turn Change in direction, often at the couplet, but can be around the last quatrain, or even line 9. Look for the key word: but or yet.

6. How to read the sonnets Define unfamiliar words. Read from punctuation mark to punctuation mark. Visually divide the poem into its parts (quatrains/couplet). Identify the idea being presented in each quatrain. Read for literal as well as symbolic meaning.