Mind in Character: Shakespeare's Speaker in the Sonnets"This book is about poetry rather than theory. Shakespeare's poetry, I find, remains more relevant and more rewarding than any theory, however elaborate, as to who, if anyone, should read a text and, if so, how they should do it. In other words, I do not intend another prolegomena for future studies of the reader in the text and/ or the text in the reader. I simply have written what I think the sonnets are about, what they say and how they say it. I do not attempt to speak for "the reader," as I know little about him or her, but only for myself. What interests me especially is the behavior of Shakespeare's sonnet-speaker, the coherent psychological entity projected by the speaking voice in these poems. I do not identify that speaker with the historical William Shakespeare, knowing scarcely more about him than about "the reader."--Preface. |
Contents
Ironies of Awareness I | 1 |
Soliloquy Sonnets | 44 |
Dialogue Sonnets | 99 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
action appears argument attempt auditor awareness beauty becomes begins beloved called claims closing comparison concern concludes continues contrast corresponds couplet creates criticism defined described dialogue direct earlier effect entire evil example experience expression eyes fair false feelings final follows four gives heart human idea ideal imagery implies ironic irony lack lady leads less lines linked live looks marks meaning merely mind mode moral nature never object observation once opening pattern phrase poem poetic poetry praise present procreation pronouns quatrain question reference reflects relation remains result rhetorical seems seen sense sequence serves Shakespeare's Shakespeare's Sonnets single soliloquy sonnet 63 speaker speaking statement structure suggests thee theme things thou thought throughout tion true turning verb woman youth