The Sonnets, Nos. 20, 22, 23, 29, 30, 33, 36, 40, 41, 42, 46, 55
NOTE: I’m skipping around a
bit since there is literally so much going on in these Sonnets. Feel free to read the entire range of 20-60,
but these are the ones I want to focus on in class, since they hit many of the
high points As before, read them all but
focus on a few to re-read and closely examine.
Answer TWO of the
following...
1. Where in these new
sonnets do we get a sense of who the ‘players’ are? (we can’t assume it’s
Shakespeare and Henry Wroithsley—or even another candidate, William
Herbert). What might be their social
classes? Ages? Feelings toward one another? Complications? Attachments with other characters not
directly seen? Quote a line or two to
support your readings.
2. In this group we see an
increasing—though subtle—use of theatrical metaphors. How does Shakespeare employ metaphors and
ideas from the stage to illustrate some aspect of love, relationships, or
growing old? Do any of these remind you
of other ideas/works of Shakespeare?
3. Around Sonnet 33
something has changed in the relationship between the poet and the ‘young man’:
are there any clues to reveal what happened?
Did someone betray the other? Was
something discovered? Was something
said? Consider specifically the
metaphors Shakespeare uses in Sonnet 33—the rising sun, the mountains, the
“ugly rack” and the “region cloud” (though you don’t have to focus solely on
this poem).
4. Sonnets 40-42 reveal a new character in the Sonnet sequence: who is this person, and what is his/her relationship to the lovers? How does the poet use this new character to explore the drama of a Spring/Autumn relationship and the perils of falling in love and risking heartbreak?
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