ENG 221 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Sonnet 116, Sonnet 130, Sonnet 29
Introduction to Shakespeare:
The Sonnets
These notes cover the information found on the following pages:
• Introduction to Shakespeare (pg. 1273);
• Introduction to the Sonnets (pg. 1276);
• Sonnets 18 (pg. 1277), 29, (pg. 1278), 116 (pg. 1284), and 130 (pg. 1287)
All of this is found in Volume 1B of the Longman Anthology of British Literature, 3rd ed.
The Courtly Love Tradition:
Poets in Shakespeare’s day knew very well what was expected of them when
writing love poems, especially sonnets. Here are the main things that writers and
readers expected from love poems during the Early Modern Period:
a) They must worship a woman from afar, a woman who does not speak and
who takes no action (she must remain silent and immobile);
b) They focus on her physical attributes, especially those which can be seen from
a distance: face, eyes, lips, cheeks, hair, smile, and her beauty is usually beyond
compare;
c) If her personality is mentioned at all, it is in terms of her sweetness,
gentleness, purity of heart and mind, shyness and modesty;
d) Good colors are white (skin), red (lips), and usually blue (eyes); bad colors are
black (anything) and other dark, somber colors.
e) There are always two characters: one is the Lover, who is usually the speaker
of the poem; the other is the Beloved, the object of the Lover’s affection. She is usually
female, silent, and objectified by the poem.
Shakespeare, being the genius that he was, was not content with playing the
game by these rules, though. He was more interested in using the form to either play
with it, or to suit whatever his purpose was at the time, or even his mood. Therefore, I
have chosen a handful of sonnets that use these characteristics, but that Shakespeare
adapted in some way. Your task as a reader is to recognize exactly how Shakespeare
changed the tradition.
Document Summary
These notes cover the information found on the following pages: All of this is found in volume 1b of the longman anthology of british literature, 3rd ed. Poets in shakespeare"s day knew very well what was expected of them when. The courtly love tradition: writing love poems, especially sonnets. She is usually female, silent, and objectified by the poem. Shakespeare, being the genius that he was, was not content with playing the game by these rules, though. He was more interested in using the form to either play with it, or to suit whatever his purpose was at the time, or even his mood. Therefore, i have chosen a handful of sonnets that use these characteristics, but that shakespeare adapted in some way. Your task as a reader is to recognize exactly how shakespeare changed the tradition. In this particular passage, shakespeare seems to be wholeheartedly embracing. The catch is: the sonnet undermines the courtly love tradition (after [slightly,
