book report by Misspring
The immortal song of loveArguably the greatest writer in recorded human history,William Shakespeare wrote mumerous plays that are still relished by people across the world today.Alongside these splendid plays,sonnet, a form of poetry invented in Italy, which was greatly transformed by Shakespear,had its most glorious time when Shakespear wrote and left 154 of them.The topic of most sonnets written in Shakespeare's time was love or a theme related to it,which saw no exception with Shakespear's sonnets.
Shakespear's sonnets are traditionally divided into two major groups:the fair lord sonnets(1--126) and the dark lady sonnets(127--154).In this paper,I will elaborate on the former group which depicts the poet's unrequited love toward a young and remarkably beautiful man.Truly,around the homosexuality seemingly implied in these sonnets there have been more than enough debates,but from the perspective of savouring the love sentiments and realistic thoughts embodied in these sonnets,we can not help but be moved and enlightened by the poet's deep vision of love and faith,which is the one that these sonnets set to immortalize.
The sonnets 1--126 can be regarded as a consistent and complete love story in which the poet is first tormented by the unequal reciprocation of his feelings and then,amid his emotional sufferings,the poet's dignity slowly emerges in his high-minded endurance,in the strength of his love,his forgiveness,and his powerful verses .Finally,the poet concludes his love song with the realization that the power of genuine love can triumph over any human suffering and the ravages of time.Love is immortal,not because the beauty or the youth,but because the mere faith in it can transcend life's unrelenting waste and futility.
The love song
The immortality of love is ejected by the sharp contrast between the poet's keen affection toward the fair lord and the latter person's vicious,shallow and selfish character.To clearly illustrate the emotional development of the poet,I would like to follow the natural sequence of sonnets1--126 in the form of a story.
Part One(sonnet1--17)
The poet commences his accounting of love by highlighting the fair lord's magnificent beauty and urges him to preserve this physical virtue by passing it on to a child.Nevertheless,this sincere pleading is ignored by the young man,which saddens the poet deeply.Also in this part,the fear of time's destroying power is mentioned by the poet by the first time.In sonnet 12,the poet observes the tick of a clock,the setting sun,the withering flowers and falling leaves,and becomes aware that the fair lord,too,will grow old and die.This realization compounds the poet's distress as his request for preserving the fair lord's beauty in a child is not responded.
Part Two(sonnet18--25)
In sonnet 18,perhaps the most famous one in all of the 126 sonnets,the poet shifts his tone for a personal declaration.Gone is his hope that the fair lord will preserve his beauty by bearing a child,instead,he believes that the sheer power of his verses will serve the role[ ]."Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate."In this sonnet,the poet's affection toward the fair lord becomes explicit and from this on,his personal character,his suffering and maturing begin to enter the picture.
Part Three(26--80)
This part of sonnets witnesses the most intensified emotional turbulence of the poet,and also,it is the time that the poet,by conquering various problems that occur in his relationship with the fair lord, eventually acquires the attributes essential to an immortal love,such as tolerance,forgiveness and an optimistic heart.In sonnet 35,for instance,the poet soothes the the fair lord for his wrong doing,probably a sin of flesh,by saying"All men make faults,and even I in this,authorizing thy trespass with compare,myself corrupting,salving thy amiss,excusing thy sins more than thy sins are."Struggling with his frustration at the fair lord's fault,the poet manages to restore his faith in love,for in the poet's mind,by deciding to overlook the young man's offence,he himself has fallen guilty in the name of love.
Chills foreshadow the relationship from time to time,basically because of the fair lord's faithlessness in love,his narcissism and self-centeredness.What's more,the poet's fear for the ravages of time grows keener and keener.He frown and upsets at the possibility that one day he will grow old,thus losing the final appeal to his beloved one,and also that the beauty he has accoladed times upon times,will pale and perish eventually.
In sonnet 60,the poet's fear for the latter is clearly manifested.
"Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forward do contend.
……
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand. "
Bit by bit,we can see the poet,as if passing beyond his torments,begins to achieve a valedictory insight.He becomes aware that the passing of time and inevitable death affects him personally.He speaks of his aging and the briefness of life;he seems to let go of life along with his bitterness and regret,even urging the fair lord to forget him,in sonnet 71,if the memories of him will cause the young man pain.With this inner quest of peace and dignity,the poet leads us to the final part of his love story.
Part Four(81--126)
Upon his contemplating on the biting relationship between his love and the ticking-away of time,and between the young man's beauty and the formidable power of nature,the poet at last reconciles with the fact that everything in the world is mortal,but his verses,which has been filled with his love toward the fair lord,will immortalize both love and the beloved's beauty.For his verses,as is said in sonnet 81, will serve as an epitaph to the young man for future generations will read and remember.Further into sonnet 91,the poet bursts out the most touching declaration of his faith in love.
"Some glory in their birth, some in their skill, Some in their skill,
Some in their wealth, some in their bodies' force,
Some in their garments, though new-fangled ill,
…………
But these particulars are not my measure;
All these I better in one general best.
Thy love is better than high birth to me,
Richer than wealth, prouder than garments' cost,
Of more delight than hawks or horses be;
………… "
Love,in the poet's eyes,prevails over all other pursuits and pleasures for human beings.The prestige held in a family name,the gorgeous garments worn by those aristocrats with low tastes,are dwarfed by and can be disposed with at any time compared with his love.
For his battle against the ravages of time,the poet defies the destroying power of it by implying that love actually lies in the eyes of the beholder.Therefore,though three cold winters have shaken the leaves of three summers off the trees,and three beautiful springs have turned into the yellow color of autumn,as long as the poet keeps faith in his love,even if the beauty he has been obsessed with fades,his love for it will not change.In this way,love triumphs over time and decay,and is immortalized with the unrelenting faith of the lover.
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