The English Sonnet is a poem form consisting of 14 lines, each with ten stressed and unstressed syllables known as iambic pentameter, with a set rhyme scheme of: a b a b c d c d e f e f g g. The rhymes may be ear-rhymes or eye-rhymes: an ear-rhyme is one that rhymes in sound, e.g. “increase” and “decrease”; an eye-rhyme is one that rhymes by sight, e.g. “compare” and “are”. This rhyme sequence sets the usual structure of the sonnet as three quatrains (sets of four lines) concluding with 1 couplet (a pair of lines). It is usual for there to be a pause for thought in the sonnet’s message at the end of each quatrain, especially the 2nd, in order to add tension, with the sonnet resolving to its objective in the final couplet, just as a song normally resolves to its root chord at its close. To convey the sense of resolution and completeness at the end of the sonnet there are often key-words, or tie-words, present in the closing couplet that are also present in the earlier quatrains. This structuring provides a framework on which to build the words, phrases, themes, rhymes, syncopation, punctuation and rhythm of the sonnet making it, at its best, a self-contained work of art.Having established this structure though, the author can then go on to breach the framework to add tension and meaning: a quatrain will not necessarily comprise a full sentence - instead a quatrain may contain more than one sentence or a sentence may straddle more than one quatrain, sometimes extending across the whole sonnet giving a breathlessness to the sonnet. Sentences may end mid-line adding tension and dysfunction to complement the message of the sonnet. Key-words may be deliberately absent from certain quatrains where they don’t belong with the sentiments of that particular quatrain, emphasising the meaning the author wishes to convey by literally being absent. In this way, the sonnet can convey meaning and mood via compliance with the standard sonnet structure, or by deliberately venturing outside of that framework, depending on the effect required.
The sonnet was introduced to England by Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-42) following his various European diplomatic positions, including Italy, in the court of Henry VIII. The form was then developed by Henry Surrey (1517-47) and became very popular with several Elizabethan sonneteers, particularly during the 1590’s, among them Shakespeare.
The sonnet form pre-dates this period by over 200 years though with Petrarch being its pre-eminent exponent. Petrarch centred his sonnets on a series of themes comprising: Love, Chastity, Death, Fame, Time and Eternity and it is clear that these themes were used by Elizabethan sonneteers as the model for many examples of their works. Shakespeare especially wrote many sonnets that have the Petrarchan themes of Time and Death at their centre and he even goes so far as to spoof Petrarchan sentiments in Sonnet 130. Equally, in this “Golden Age” of the English Renaissance, poets were inspired and influenced by their peers’ works and there are evident examples of close correlation such as between some of Constable’s and Shakespeare’s sonnets. Many of the sonnets are clearly personal but some may have been written on behalf of other people as part of a commission. It is important to bear all these extraneous factors in mind when looking for autobiographical clues in the works.
Shakespeare’s sonnets are known to have been circulated amongst “his private friends” and sent to his patron before a collection of 154 were published in the 1609 Quarto. It is not known whether the 1609 publication comprises all the sonnets he wrote. The sequence in which they were published is not necessarily completely chronological and there is good reason to believe from the style, method and content that they are not – Sonnet 77, for example, fits well with the 1-17 sequence, and 145’s style and content suggests it is an earlier rather than a later example. The decline in popularity of sonneteering after the burst of activity during the 1590’s probably accounts for the modest sales of Shakespeare’s sonnets in 1609.
Many of the sonnets are intensely personal divulging carnal interests and indulgences while others are deeply emotional, disclosing the author’s most private feelings and emotions. There are also a few compositional variances such as in 146 which lacks a word on the second line, 99 which has an extra line at the start of the first quatrain to take the standard 14-line sonnet to 15 lines, and 126 that has 12 lines instead of 14. For these reasons, it is believed by some that Shakespeare was not involved in their publication and that they may have even been published without his knowledge or consent. Conversely, there is significant form and meaning to the sonnets’ composition that one would not expect from a compiler other than the author: all the Dark Lady sonnets are not listed together for example; instead a couple are together followed by a diversion to a different subject before returning again to the Dark Lady. Additionally, there is no explicit revelation anywhere of the identity of the subjects of the sonnets (though identification via anagrams and assonance is made of Anne Hathaway, Will Shakespeare and Henry Wriothesley) as though they are deliberately kept anonymous. This suggests a careful and attentive hand in the sonnets’ compilation and sequencing which I discuss in greater detail here.
The first 17 of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets have been traditionally believed to be addressed to a young and beautiful man of social status - the gender of the subject is clear from several of the sonnets in the series. They are all concerned with encouraging the subject to marry and have children to reproduce his beauty and they achieve this with various direct and metaphorical pleas. There have been various suggestions as to who the subject is, the most convincing being either the Earl of Pembroke or the Earl of Southampton, but Sir Robert Dudley (1574-1649) who was the Duke of Northumberland and son of the Earl of Leicester is a compelling candidate too.
The next 109 sonnets (18-126) cover a wide variety of personal subjects and Petrarchan themes and include his very best examples, but a distinct series (78-89) concern The Rival Poet and the apparent demise of Shakespeare’s relationship with his patron. This is a period of high anxiety for Shakespeare that he handles with remarkable self-effacement. It is worth commenting that this 109 sonnet sub-sequence just pips Sidney’s famous sequence of 108 sonnets called “Astrophil and Stella” published in 1591 that was the principal cause of sonnet writings’ popularity during the 1590’s.
Sonnets 127-133 and 147-152 cover the subject of The Dark Lady – a beautiful dark-skinned woman by whom the author experiences wildly different emotions of lust and self-loathing.
The remainder of the sonnets are a mixture of autobiography and emotion ending with two almost throw-away standards that are distinct from the rest, inspired by an anthology of Greek poetry known variously as the Greek Anthology or Palatine Anthology.
We can tell a lot about the character of Shakespeare from these sonnets whilst avoiding the hazards of mis-interpreting what are exercises in Petrarchan themes and revisions of others’ sonnets:
His name was Will, a name he plays on explicitly in at least three sonnets, and many times in other sonnets. His wife was named Anne Hathaway, a name he puns on in one sonnet. He did not benefit from higher education, a fact that he makes clear when comparing himself to those that had “learning” compared to his own “rude ignorance”. He was very generous in his observation of others’ talents especially when comparing them to himself where he showed no vindictiveness despite their threat, but he knew he had a talent of worth to compare with the best. He was not from a noble family, nor did he indulge in noble pursuits, activities that he describes as “not my measure” and at times had contempt for the shallowness of those who pursued royal favour describing them as “obsequious pitiful thrivers”. He was a deep and emotional man who was prone to periods of profound melancholia and had a fear of his own death and his destiny of “a common grave”. He was lusty with “sportive blood” and indulged in heterosexual carnal pleasures with enthusiasm but subsequently suffered from pangs of guilt and self-disgust for what he had indulged in. He was a brilliant man with a rare talent that left us magnificent works of literary art - an Everyman for every man.
Enjoy.
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| Most verbose Sonnet |
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That thou hast her, it is not all my grief |
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| Most verbally diverse Sonnet |
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Who will believe my verse in time to come |
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| Least verbose Sonnet (and one of the least verbally diverse) |
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Tired with all these, for restful death I cry |
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| Least verbally diverse Sonnet |
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What is your substance, whereof are you made |
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| Highest different/total words ratio |
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Those hours that with gentle work did frame |
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| Lowest different/total words ratio |
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If thy soul check thee that I come so near |
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Text © NigelDavies.home@Virgin.net