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Dec 15, 1992 | ISBN 9780679417415 Buy
Jul 08, 2015 | ISBN 9780375712814 Buy
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Dec 15, 1992 | ISBN 9780679417415
Jul 08, 2015 | ISBN 9780375712814
If William Shakespeare had never written a single play, if his reputation rested entirely upon the substantial and sterling body of nondramatic verse he left behind, he would still hold the position he does in the hierarchy of world literature. The strikingly modern sonnets–intimate, baroque, and expansive at once; the invigorating narratives drawn from classical subjects; and the flawless lyricism represented by a poem like “The Phoenix and the Turtle”–permanently deepen our understanding of the multiplicity and extravagant energy of our greatest poet.(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was a poet, playwright, and actor who is widely regarded as one of the most influential writers in the history of the English language. Often referred to as the Bard of Avon, Shakespeare’s vast body of work includes comedic, tragic, and historical plays; poems;… More about William Shakespeare
“Shakespeare has deliberately opened up the two-character form he inherited and, as the dramatist he would become, populated the love-sequence in new and drastically more interesting ways . . . In inventive metaphorical reach alone, Shakespeare excels his predecessors . . . [He] makes the sonnet-voice ampler and more psychologically convincing than ever before.” –from the Introduction by Helen Vendler
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was already known as a playwright and actor before he published, in 1593 and 1594, his two narrative poems Venus and Adonis and Lucrece (usually known by its subtitle The Rape of Lucrece), both dedicated to Henry Wriothesley, third Earl of Southampton. These long and accomplished poems suggest a sustained period of verse-writing which must have preceded them, and that period may have included some of Shakespeare’s sonnets. The sonnets are first mentioned in 1598 by Francis Meres; it is possible that the extended compositional period of the 154 sonnets both preceded and followed the long narrative poems, though the sonnets as a group were not published until 1609 (together with the long poem called A Lover’s Complaint). The 1609 Sonnets lacks an authorial dedication of the sort found in Venus and Lucrece, and t has been conjectured that the volume was published without Shakespeare’s authorization.
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