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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
I still don’t feel comfortable giving star ratings to poetry because I’m still learning, but I will say I found these poems beautiful, engaging and liked how some left me perplexed. Did he mean this or did he mean that? Maybe both?
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Over the past several months, I listened to the actor Patrick Stewart read these sonnets, only one each day. That counts as reading, right? He skipped a few for different reasons and I then went to the text to read those, as well as several I wanted to “hear” more fully after listening to his rendering. Regardless, these sonnets deserve to be reread.
inspiring
reflective
I'm not an expert on Shakespeare, nor on Renaissance poetry. Thus reading and interpreting these kind of things is not easy. But I found this very refined and classic.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
medium-paced
4 Stars. I read this in an undergraduate Shakespeare class and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The sonnets were (obviously) quick reads, but there’s a lot to unpack is a short amount. If you have the capability, I’d definitely recommend discussing this with others along the way to get the most out of the sonnets.
Shakespeare's sonnet sequence comes at the end of the sonnet tradition, but perhaps because of the long history leading up to his own attempt, some of these sonnets are some of the best I've read from Early Modern poets. However, it will be clear rather quickly that there are certain themes which are repeated - sometimes to the point of frustration - for instance, the first nearly 20 sonnets are simply repetitions of his request that the beautiful young man he's addressing produce some progeny. Although the repetition can seem at times redundant, at the same time, readers should expect to find gems within each of these broad themes that are worth memorization.
Simply spectacular. Love poetry of the highest order. Withstands the test of time.