See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/343770199

Shakespearean sonnets

Research · August 2020

CITATIONS READS
0 6,816

1 author:

Iman Faiz
Majan College
2 PUBLICATIONS   0 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Critical discourse analysis View project

Critical discourse analysis View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Iman Faiz on 20 August 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Key words: William Shakespeare, Sonnets, literature

Abstract
William Shakespeare is known as the world wide best known English poet that produced a
number of remarkable plays, poems and sonnets. This paper will analyze the Shakespearean
sonnets from 1 until 16 . When Shakespeare reflected the Renaissance era; when the poets moved
from social hierarchy that included kings, queens and wars to a new direction of humanity, beauty, nature
and love. In his significant sonnets William Shakespeare was able to deliver an efficient illustration of
beauty, love and nature in such a phenomenal way that teaches you about how love should be and how
love goes beyond all the surface of beauty.
Introduction:
William Shakespeare is one of the most recognizable figures in the history of English literature.
He was born April 23, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon and he was the son of Mary Arden and
John Shakespeare. He is a well-known English poet, Playwright and actor who originated in the
Renaissance era when England experienced the golden age of Queen Elizabeth. Shakespeare was
one of the main pioneers of the cultural shift in Elizabethan England; the shift that was the birth
of the Renaissance movement that changed face of England for decades. His contribution in the
Renaissance era was highly reflected in his literary work when at that time, England was at the
peak in arts and theatrical work. The renaissance movement carried beauty, humanity and reality
and these factors created an ascendancy for Shakespeare’s work. Therefore, (Hale 2008) noted
that one of the main reasons that the Renaissance has a substantial association with arts and
poetry is due to the movement that happened during the Elizabethan age that created a significant
movement in humanity, medicine, ancient languages and science that made influence in arts and
poetry. During that time there was an enormous acceptance of social hierarchy in England and
since the Renaissance era arrived in England, it carried new ideas about humanity and reality.
Writers like William Shakespeare carried a new human-centered literary work that presented
humanity in a new form. A form that illustrated the everyday life and the life of others instead of
royals and Aristocrats. Indeed, Shakespeare was considered a vivid writer that portrayed the
Renaissance movement that held a rich amount of beauty, humanity and reality.
William Shakespeare’s wrote 38 plays that was perpetual and equally recognized in the English
literature, hence they marked the history by their remarkable stories and powerful characters.
Significantly, this remarkable literary work included a variety of Historical, Comedy and
tragedies plays that marked the English literature. Some of the famous plays includes “Othello”,
“King Lear”, “Hamlet” and “Macbeth”; they marked the history by their memorable characters
and stories that the history will never annihilate. Furthermore, according to (Shakespeare 2000)
William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets and a variety of several poems that marked the English
literature and world’s literature. Indeed, Shakespearean sonnets and poems were one of the most
brilliant pieces that the English literature ever written. Markedly, William Shakespeare ability to
rise above the typical narrative and descriptive aspects of human nature and humanity; he
reflected the profound aspects in human nature is a marvelous way that marked the English
literature. some of the famous sonnets were: “The Phoenix and the Turtle”, “Venus and Adonis”,
“Sonnet 116” and “Sonnet 1”.
(Jamieson 2020) defined sonnets as the type of fourteen-line poems that consist an octave
that includes two quatrains ostanza of 8 lines. It also consists of sestet that contains a stanza of
six lines. Generally, sonnets follow a set of Rhyme scheme and a meter of iambic pentameter.
Hence, the most common sonnets are the Petrarchan sonnet also known as the Italian sonnets and
English sonnets also known as Shakespearean sonnets. Chiefly, Edmondson and Wells (2004)
noted that the intensity of sonnets forms contains the nature of the language that is often
presented in condensation way that makes the reader read it more thoroughly in order to
understand the full idea. Sonnets contains several artistic recognition challenges because of the
rhetorical form and formal structure that conveys the relationship between the writer and the
reader. Correspondingly, Shakespearean sonnets contains a wide variety of propositions such as
“you” as and this illustrated the intimate between the Shakespeare and the reader, hence the
reader will feel more connected as if he is addressed in the sonnet. Henceforth, Shakespearean
sonnets gives the reader a momentary vision because it can take less than a minute or over a min
depending how fast the reader will read the sonnets. Reading Shakespearean sonnet is more as
looking at painted canvas that contains a variety of beautiful words and phrases that catch your
eye from the first sign. While looking at the painted canvas you must delve into the paint and try
to explore and understand the beauty that relays under. It is known that Shakespearean sonnets is
a living art itself; the way he presents and illustrate the words gives the reader an extortionary
view of beauty and art that lays in miniaturized literary and poetics devices.

Charlies Dickens once said “ “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of
wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
…” time will always be a major concern for poets and writers. It is acknowledged that poets and
writers always illustrated the beauty and the satire of their time in their work; and William
Shakespeare’s has always reflected times in his literary work. Shakespearean’s sonnets portrayed
the life during Elizabethan era and his characters humanized the royal classes and highlighted the
working class more often, hence in Shakespearean sonnets 1 and 116 he presented the strong
connection of humanity and time and was one of the main representations of the Renaissance era
in England. Smith (2007) noted that most today’s readers of Shakespearean sonnets experience the
first encounter of his ideas and how illustrated the magnificent artistic views of the Renaissance
era and the Golden age of England. His ageless ideas and words that relays in sonnets are
considered to be enduring testimonials of the power of love and time. Therefore, Time was a major
theme for many of the writers, writers and playwrights always reflects time in their work and
William Shakespeare is no expectation. William Shakespeare obsession of beauty, love and time
was the defy in most of his sonnets. His illustration of the importance of time, love and beauty was
dazzling and eye capturing for the reader, he was able to capture the minds and reiterate the reader
mind-set when it comes to love and time.

Shakespearean sonnets 1 and 116 contains a major thematical focus on beauty, time and love.
These three factors were the major characteristics of the Renaissance era and William
Shakespeare illustrated that in his sonnets in a dazzling and indelible way; that simply leaves the
reader in awe. The strong connection that holds these factors together simply cannot be severed
from one another; and William Shakespeare describe how time influences beauty and love in
sonnet 1 and 116. Time is unavoidable and how we spend it and with who is always a major
concern for us, our surroundings will always contain love but what if love goes hand to hand
with time and beauty? And this what Shakespeare reflected to the young man in his sonnets. He
addressed him that time will always influence beauty and beauty will influence time. Real love
can be challenged with time and beauty; and love is always higher than our human awe.

In sonnet 1 the speaker urges and motivate the young man to create a life by his own by finding
a job and stop wasting his precious years to a waste. It is more as a mentor advice to his student
to push him to do great in life and motivative him to have a strong will power and create a life of
how own. Time is like sword it is unavoidable and We cannot revive time even if we wanted to.
“From fairest creatures we desire increase, That thereby beauty’s rose might never die” the
speaker reflects that all creatures are beautiful and from beauty we always want to increase , he
urges that it is a human nature to multiply, and we desire beautiful creatures to increase so we
can keep the beauty of the world. In third quatrain the speakers tell the young man that his
beauty is “And only herald to the gaudy spring,” and it will fade away by time and in the end he
will bury his beauty in his own self, and finally the speaker urges the young man to increase “
Pity the world, or else this glutton be” or else he will be buried in his grave with his beauty. This
reflects that beauty can fade away by time and the young man should create his own family and
reproduce because life waits for nobody. “But as the riper should by time decease” time will
always be a concern for the human nature, the speaker encourages the young man not waste his
life and his time because time will always conclude. Beauty exist but it is destined to fade away
and since time waits for nobody the young man should waste no time and try to create his own
reproduction of beauty. In addition, Ma (2014) noted that the “beauty’s rose “is the man’s inner
beauty and growth that lays in his youth, in the speaker’s eyes the fair young man has the world
at his hands, the world can be transient and lived and felt by him and if he choose to let it goes
away, it will die with him in his grave. Hence, Shakespeare illustrated a major poetics device
such as Rhyme that follows iambic pentameter “creatures we desire increase”, “riper should by
time”.

Once again William Shakespeare illustrates the importance of time and how it effects beauty and
love; sonnet 116 reflects the importance of marriage and how it is the love’s root and reflection.
(Shakespeare 1964) noted that the sonnet 116 delivers the definition of love when the speaker
says that love is “the marriage of true minds” and this illustrate that the speaker tells the young
man that marriage is not only in terms of physical attraction or beautiful words. Marriage is the
collide of two minds that goes in the same road as the hearts. Love that relays in marriage is
perfect and consistent. The marriage of mind is one the essential factors that keeps the love and
the marriage strong, it is the marriage and the collide of ideas, thoughts and mindsets that lays in
the two lovers and when the speaker said “Admit impediments. Love is not love” which reflects
how love is much bigger than our own feelings and hearts, it includes the mind as well. Hence, in
the second quatrain Shakespeare reflect the metaphor of “That looks on tempests and is never
shaken; “, “It is the star to every wand'ring bark” which reflects how the speaker describe that
love is not susceptible. Love is a solid thing that is not easy to break or reassemble. The speaker
illustrates how love is different than beauty when time is involved “Love’s not Time’s fool,
though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle’s compass come” Love, unlike the beauty
cannot be changed or fade away; love is unvarying and it cannot be changed within days, months
or even years. It has the power to remain even if the beloved is gone, even if the time was
challenged love will remain the same. In the final couplet, the speaker attests to his certainty and
challenge others if they can proof that he can be in error. He declares “If this be error and upon
me prov'd,I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.”” that there is no written words if no man can
ever have been in love.

Finally, it is important to mention that William Shakespeare spoke about time, love, and beauty
from sonnets 1 utill 226. (Shakespeare 1964) noted that sonnets from 1 till 226 were more as a
mentor who addresses the young man and motivates him to find love, beauty and family in his
life. The first 17 sonnets were focused on the encouragement the youth build his own life, have
children and create his own family. Henceforth, many of the Shakespearean sonnets reflected the
characteristics of the Renaissances era that has been carried till our modern days. Many modern
poets and writers use Shakespearean sonnets as an inspiration of time beauty and love and how
these three features will never leave our time or lives. Simply, beauty and love are marked in our
human nature and time will always be our major concern.
References:

Hale, J.R. (2008) . England and the Italian Renaissance: the growth of interest in its history and
art (Vol. 6). John Wiley & Sons.

Smith, B.R. ( 2007) . Shakespeare’s Sonnets and the History of Sexuality: A Reception History.
na.

Shakespeare, W. (2000) . Shakespeare's sonnets. Yale University Press.

Ma, F. (2014). The tragic vision in the fair youth group in Shakespeare's Sonnets. Theory and
Practice in Language Studies, 4(5), p.941.

Jamieson, L. (2020) . What Is A Sonnet?. [online] ThoughtCo.