Shakespeare wrote a long sonnet-sequence consisting of 154 pieces. These sonnets were written over a number of years and, though there are several strands to impart to them a unity of sorts, they do not have the kind of continuity which one might expect from a collection which has been called a sequence. These sonnets were written during thé years 1592 and 1597 or 1598; but they were not published until 1609, only seven years before Shakespeare's death. They were not published by Shakespeare himself. The publisher was a man called Thomas Thorpe, a literary-minded man who had previously published a number of famous plays, particularly those written by Ben Jonson and Chapman, and who had also published Marlowe's translation of Lucan. Now, this Thomas Thorpe had obtained the manuscripts of the sonnets from one Mr. W.H. but nobody really knows who this Mr. W.H. was.
Perhaps he was not at all the man from whom the publisher obtained the manuscripts of these sonnets. Most biographers and critics are of the opinion that Mr. W.H. was the young lord to whom the large majority of these sonnets are addressed. In other words, Mr. W.H. was the young man who inspired Shakespeare to write these sonnets and for whom Shakespeare had developed a great admiration and a profound love. As this is a widely accepted view regarding the identity of Mr. W.H., we have assumed, for the purposes of this critical study, that Mr. W.H. refers to the young lord whom Shakespeare adored and to whom the sonnets are addressed.The Shakespearean sonnet form is
the result of the development of sonnet writing in English, established by
Wyatt and Surrey. It is a more sophisticated and developed literary mode,
capable of immense flexibility, despite its apparently rigid structure.
The form used in the
Shakespearean sonnet is found inherited from Surrey. Instead of the typical
Petrarchan division of the sonnet into two unequal parts, this has four parts.
There are three quatrains and a concluding couplet. This is also virtually the
norm of the sonnets of Surrey and his followers, as the following observation
by George Gascoigne indicates-"Then you have sonnets .... which are of
fourteen lines, every line containing ten syllables. The first twelve rhymes in
staves of four lines by cross metre, and the last two lines rhyming together do
conclude the whole."
Thus, in Shakespeare, the
fourteen lines of the sonnet are divided into three quatrains, covering twelve
lines, and a concluding couplet. The structural division here is not two, as in
the typical Petrarchan sonnet, but four. The quatrains are symmetrically
arranged, and the couplet concludes the tetra, outlined in the quatrains.The
sonnets are divided into two groups: Sonnets 1-126 and Sonnets 127-152. Sonnets
of the first group are addressed to a young man who is, for us, the Earl of
Southampton; and the sonnets of the second group are addressed to a woman who
has come to be known as the dark lady whose identity again is a matter of some
controversy. But most probably, this woman was Mary Fitton, a maid of honour in
some important household of the time. The last two sonnets (153 and 154) stand
in a class by themselves. These sonnets are a celebration of love because they
describe the invincible power of Cupid, the god of love. They are not directly
related either to the first group or to the second group of the sonnets,
The Three or Four Persons
Who Figure Prominently in the Sonnets
What binds the sonnets together
is the inter-relationship among the three or four persons who figure
prominently in them. These persons are the Earl'of Southampton the young friend
to whom the first one hundred and twenty-six sonnets are addressed, the dark
lady to whom the next twenty-six sonnets are addressed (with the exception of
two sonnets* which have no connection with the dark lady), and a contemporary
poet, not named in the sonnets, who seems to have been a rival of Shakespeare
and round whom ten or eleven of the sonnets (numbers 76 to 86) centre. The
rival poet has generally been thought to be one of the following three-(i)
Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593); (ii) George Chapman (1559-1634): and (iii)
Robert Greene (1558-1592). It is curious that none of the persons figuring in
these sonnets has been named, and that the true identity of none of them is
known with any degree of certainty. This is quite in keeping with the fact that
the true circumstances of Shakespeare's own life are also not known to us with
any degree of certainty, and that all biographies of the great genius are based
largely upon guess-work.
Largely Autobiographical
and Psychological
The sonnets are autobiographical,
though even this is a matter of some doubt. The "I" of the sonnets
does seem to be Shakespeare himself, and the sonnets do seem to be a record of
Shakespeare's own relationship with the various persons who figure in the
sonnets. But the sonnets are not a record of the external events of
Shakespeare's life or of the various experiences which he went through as an
actor, as a dramatist, as a poet, or as a social personality. They are a record
of Shakespeare's thoughts, meditations, mental conflicts, his friendship with
the Earl of Southampton, his love for the dark lady, his painful sense of the
Earl of Southampton's transfer of his patronage from him (Shakespeare) to the
rival poet, and his even more painful sense of the dark lady's transfer of her
affections from Shakespeare to Shakespeare's friend (namely the Earl of
Southampton).
A Couple of Sonnets,
Containing Some Historical References
Two or three of these sonnets,
but no more than two or three, contain references to certain contemporary
events and have, therefore, some historical importance. For instance. Sonnet
107 refers to the Spanish invasion of England or to the grave illress which
Queen Elizabeth, the British sovereign of the time, suffered. These historical
references however, have hardly any significance so far as the subject-matter
or the style of the sonnets in general is concerned.
The Central Theme of the
Sonnets, and the Subsidiary Themes
The central theme of the sonnets,
taken collectively, is Shakespeare's deep love for, and his profound
admiration for, the Earl of Southampton. The first one hundred and
twenty-six sonnets contain many tributes to the Earl of Southampton, and
they also express Shakespeare's profound attachment to him, though a few
of them contain his grievances against that eminent personage. Another
theme which emerges, more particularly in the sonnets of the second
group (127-152), is Shakespeare's adulterous love- affair with the dark
lady (adulterous because Shakespeare was a married man and had a wife
living back at home in the town of Stratford-on-Avon). The situation
presented to us in the sonnets, taken collectively, is quite interesting, and
even intriguing. It seems that the Earl of Southampton began to feel
attracted by Shakespeare's mistress (the dark lady) and that, in course
of time, was able to win her heart and wean her away from Shakespeare.
The Earl of Southampton thus became guilty of betraying Shakespeare's
trust in him. The Earl of Southampton's behaviour naturally offended
Shakespeare who thought that the young lord had let him down badly and
that his mistress too had played him false. Shakespeare therefore began
to nurse a grievance against both the guilty persons though he was unable
to give up either of them. The sonnets of the second group clearly show
that, while Shakespeare severely condemns the dark lady for her treachery
towards him, he still loves her passionately, though his love for her is
merely sensual. And the sonnets of the first group show equally clearly
that Shakespeare still continues to love and admire his friend. In this connection
it may also be pointed out that, considering the language of worship and
adoration which Shakespeare has employed in addressing the Earl of
Southampton, his friendship with that young lord might have been of a
homosexual nature. In addition to all this, there is one other important theme
which seems to have become as great an obsession with Shakespeare as his
friendship with the Earl of Southampton and his love for the dark lady had
become. This theme is the power of Time. In fact, Time may also be regarded
as a character in the entire drama which is enacted before our eyes in
the sonnets. Shakespeare repeatedly refers to the destructive power of Time;
and he points out to his friend again and again the havoc which Time plays
in this world. Time is depicted as the great destroyer. Nothing can withstand
the assaults of Time. All things in this world, including youth and beauty,
are subject to the destructive power of Time. But there is another theme
which is also quite important and which too receives a lot of emphasis
from Shakespeare. This other theme is the greatness of Shakespeare's own poetic
genius. Shakespeare expresses a very high opinion about the sonnets
which he has written, telling his friend several times, and with great
force, that these sonnets would preserve his friend's youth and beauty
for ever, and that these sonnets are therefore more powerful even than Time.
Time conquers everything, but these sonnets would conquer even Time, and would
perpetuate the youth and beauty of his friend. These sonnets would continue to
be perused by all the coming generations and would thus keep his friend's name,
eminence, and merits alive for ever and ever. In view of this variety and
multiplicity of themes, these sonnets are for us a rich storehouse, and a rich
treasure of ideas and feelings. The light, which these sonnets throw on
Shakespeare's own and temperament, greatly enlarges our knowledge of the great
bard.
The Controversy About the
Identity of Mr. W.H.
The sonnets of Shakespeare were
dedicated to a person who has simply been named as Mr. W.H., and who has been
described in the dedication "as the only begetter of these sonnets. This
is how the dedication was worded and printed on the title page when the sonnets
were published for the first time in 1609 although Shakespeare had begun
writing them in 1592 and had kept writing them intermittently for the next five
or six years. The question naturally arose at the time as to the identity of
the person named as Mr. W.H .; and the question assumed the form of a
controversy which could not be settled to the satisfaction of all those
concerned, and which continues to trouble some people even now. However, most
scholars have accepted the view that Mr. W.H., designated as "the only
begetter" of these sonnets, was the man who inspired Shakespeare to write
them, even though some of them are of the view that Mr. W.H. might have been
the initials of the publisher or the printer of these sonnets. At the same time
these sonnets have been treated by some commentators as mere "court exercises"
by Shakespeare to please his friends, and not to please, flatter, or win the
patronage of, any particular exalted personage.
The Third Earl of
Southampton, the Young Friend of Shakespeare
However, the belief, that
Shakespeare had felt inspired to write these sonnets by a particular
individual, went on gaining ground; and soon afterwards the belief took the
form of a firm conviction that the sonnets were inspired by some young man of
noble birth, handsome appearance, and varied talents. Two young men were
particularly named in this connection. One was the Earl of Pembroke whose name
was William Herbert; and the other was the Third Earl of Southampton whose name
was Henry Wriothesley. In the case of the Earl of Pembroke, the initials are
obviously correct and straightforward; but in the case of the Earl of
Southampton, the initials have to be reversed because his actual initials are
H.W., and not W.H. The majority of biographers, commentators, and critics have
taken the view that the inspirer of these sonnets was the Earl of Southampton,
and not the Earl of Pembroke. One very strong reason to support the claims of
the Earl of Southampton is that the first seventeen sonnets are a strong plea for
marriage and for the begetting of children to keep one's name and memory alive.
When Shakespeare started writing these sonnets, the Earl of Pembroke was
between twelve and sixteen years of age and, therefore, too young to have been
urged by Shakespeare to get married and beget children. The Earl of Southampton
was at this time eighteen which was, in those days, the age of majority and an
age at which a young nobleman could reasonably be urged to get married and
beget children to keep not only his own name and memory alive but to perpetuate
the family to which he belonged. The Earl of Southampton's father had died in
1581 when this Mr. W.H. (or Mr. H.W.) had attained the age of eighteen or so.
Under the circumstances, it appeared to Shakespeare more than desirable, and
more than reasonable that, on growing to the age of maturity, the young man
should get married without further delay so as to perpetuate the name of a
family which was socially eminent. As for the personal qualities of the two
candidates to the honour of being the "inspirer" of these sonnets,
both were handsome, highly talented, and great patrons of drama and poetry. And
both were averse to marriage. But personal qualities here have no relevance
here because of the other circumstances which have been specified above. Thus
we should accept the view that the inspirer of these sonnets was the Earl of Southampton; and,
throughout this critical study, we have assumed that the Earl of Southampton is
the person addressed, described, spoken about, complimented, admired, praised,
adored, and worshipped in all the one hundred and twenty-six sonnets in which
Mr. W.H. or Mr. H.W. figures.
Structure of the
Shakespearean Sonnets
This structural organisation of
the Shakespearean sonnet may be illustrated by referring to some specific
sonnets.
Sonnet 18 –
William Shakespeare
1st
quatrain
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
2nd
quatrain
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimm’d;
3rd quatrain
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
Concluding
couplets
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
In the sonnet “Shall I compare
thee” (No. 18) , The first quatrain states the friend's beauty by referring to the
decay of natural objects. He is lovelier and more temperate than 'summer's day.
'Rough winds' 'shake the darling buds of May' and 'summer's lease hath all too
short a date',
The second quatrain continues and
develops the theme of deca in the natural world further. 'The eye of heaven
(sun) shines 'sometimes too hot' and often is his gold complexion dimm'd.
'Every fair from fair sometimes declines' 'by nature's changing course.'
There is a pause between the
first quatrain and the second, and this shows the orderly process of
development.
The third quatrain emphasizes the
friend's beauty and its perpetuation in the poet's lines. His 'eternal summer
shall not fade,' 'Nor shall Death brag' of possessing him. He will grow 'to
time' in the poet's 'eternal lines'. The poet's argument in this quatrain
develops from his statements in the first two quatrains. There is a pause also
between the second quatrain and the third.
The concluding couplet sums up
the chain of the poet's arguments in the optimistic assertion-
“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”
Sonnet 64 – William Shakespeare
1st
quatrain
When I have seen by Time’s fell hand defaced
The rich proud cost of outworn buried age;
When sometime lofty towers I see down-razed,
And brass eternal slave to mortal rage;
2nd
quatrain
When I have seen the hungry ocean gain
Advantage on the kingdom of the shore,
And the firm soil win of the watery main,
Increasing store with loss and loss with store;
3rd
quatrain
When I have seen such interchange of state,
Or state itself confounded to decay;
Ruin hath taught me thus to ruminate,
That Time will come and take my love away.
Concluding
couplets
This thought is as a death, which cannot choose
But weep to have that which it fears to lose.
Sonnet 65 –
William Shakespeare
1st
quatrain
Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea,
But sad mortality o’ersways their power,
How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,
Whose action is no stronger than a flower?
2nd
quatrain
O how shall summer’s honey breath hold out
Against the wrackful siege of battering days,
When rocks impregnable are not so stout,
Nor gates of steel so strong, but Time decays?
3rd
quatrain
O fearful meditation! where, alack,
Shall Time’s best jewel from Time’s chest lie hid?
Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?
Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?
Concluding
couplets
O none, unless this miracle have might,
That in black ink my love may still shine bright
In both the sonnets (64 and 65),
the effects of mutability, caused by time, are represented. In the first two
quatrains, the poet traces the ruinous power of time to decay and change all.
'The lofty towers' and the work of 'brass' are 'razed' by time, while 'the
hungry ocean' and the 'firm soil' are made to increase 'store with loss, and
loss with store' (sonnet No. 64). Again, 'sad mortality' oversways 'brass',
'stone', 'earth' and 'boundless sea', just as 'rocks impregnable' and 'gates of
steel' decay under the impact of time (sonnet No. 64). The third quatrain of
the sonnets develops further the statement of the earlier quatrains. The
'interchange of state' and the state of 'decay' lead the poet 'to ruminate'
that 'Time will come' and 'take' his 'love away'. (sonnet No. 64) The poet is
haunted with the fearful meditation that no 'strong hand' can hold 'the swift
foot' of time back, and none can forbid 'the spoil of beauty' by time.
The concluding couplet of each
sonnet serves to sum up its entire argument. In the sonnet (No. 64) the poet
admits sadly the power of time and 'cannot choose but weep to have that which
it fears to lose'.
In the other sonnet, there is the
same admission of the inviolable power of time with a reliance on the miracle
of his verse-
"That in black ink my. love
may still shine bright."
Sonnet 116 –
William Shakespeare
1st
quatrain
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediment. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
2nd
quatrain
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
3rd
quatrain
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom
Concluding
couplets
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
The theme of this sonnet 116 is the celebration of the lofty idealism of
love. Different quatrains serve well here as the links of the chain of this
theme.
The first quatrain speaks of the
constancy of true love. True love admits no 'impediment' and does not alter,
'when it alteration finds.' This is definitely an idealistic statement on love.
The second quatrain, after a
pause, follows the argument of the preceding quatrain and characterizes true
love as 'an ever-fixed mark' that looks on tempests and is never shaken.' The
poet even calls this 'the star to every wandering bark.'
There is a pause after the second
quatrain to continue and expand the poet's argument in the third quatrain that
goes further and shows the superiority of true love to time. The poet asserts
here that 'love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his
bending sickle's compass come', and declares finally the triumph of love over
time-
"Love alters not with his
brief hours and weeks
But bears it out even to the edge
of doom."
The concluding couplet of the
sonnet is the poet's final and positive assertion of his contention made in the
quatrains.
"If this be error and upon
me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever
loved.
Sonnet 73
1st
quatrain
That time of year thou mayst in
me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or
few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake
against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late
the sweet birds sang.
2nd
quatrain
In me thou see'st the twilight of
such a day
As after sunset fadeth in the
west,
Which by and by black night doth
take away,
Death's second self, that seals
up all in rest.
3rd
quatrain
In me thou see'st the glowing of
such fire.
That on the ashes of his youth
doth lie,
As the death- bed, whereon it
must expire,
Consum'd with that which it was
nourish'd by .
Concluding
couplets
This thou perceiv'st, which makes
thy love more strong ,
To love that well which thou must
leave ere long.
Sonnet 73 contains the poet's plaintive
anticipation of the decay of his physical vigour and of his death and
expresses his faith in the restorative power of his friend's love to rouse his
drooped spirit.
The three quatrains of the sonnet
are employed to indicate the decay that is setting on the poet. He draws a
vivid image in each quatrain to substantiate his contention. Each image is
complete in itself and forms a symmetrical design in the enlargement of the
poet's statement of his own decay.
The first quatrain presents the
decadent state of nature under the grip of a dreadful winter to indicate the
poet's failing health. The second quatrain has the analogy of the fading light
of the sun 'in the west' and the coming of the 'black night'. The third
quatrain depicts the imagery of the dying hearth to emphasize the poet's
physical decay. There is a pause after each quatrain. The concluding couplet
leads to the poet’s consolation, even amid his gloomy state, that his growing
physical infirmity 'makes' his friend's 'love more strong'.
There is, thus, a structural
order in the organisation of Shakespearean sonnets. This is, no doubt, somewhat
rigid, but the pattern is perfectly suited and properly applied to the
development of the poet's subject-matter, theme, or statement.
This orderly structural pattern
is supported by an equally orderly rhyme-scheme, followed by Shakespeare.
Instead of the conventional five rhymes of the Petrarchan sonnet, the
Shakespearean sonnet has seven rhymes. In each quatrain, alternate lines rhyme
rather rigidly. The last two lines form, as noted, a couplét. The Shakespearean
rhyme order
is as follows-
|
First quatrain |
Second quatrain |
Third quatrain |
Concluding couplet |
|
Line 1 a |
line 5 c |
line 9 e |
line 13 g |
|
Line 2 b |
line 6 d |
line 10f |
line 14 g |
|
Line 3 a |
line 7 c |
line 11 e |
|
|
Line 4b |
line 8 d |
line 12 f |
|
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