Published and distributed by Grey House under license from EBSCO. Prefatory "About this volume" signed: Mirela Roncevic. Contributors: Elizabeth Jane Bellamy, Robert C. Evans, T. Fleischmann, Andrew Hadfield, Ashleigh Imus, Rafeeq O. McGiveron, Michael Rogers, Mirela Roncevic. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
The author & his work -- Historical & literary contexts -- Close readings of 25 sonnets -- Critical readings 1 : Form & technique -- Critical readings 2 : Main themes -- Resources. The author & his work. Biography of William Shakespeare -- Shakespeare the poet -- Introduction to Shakespeare's sonnets -- The lasting allure of Shakespeare's sonnets -- Historical & literary contexts. English poetry in the sixteenth century -- Does Shakespeare's life matter? -- The sins of the sonnets -- Shakespeare (not?) our contemporary : his sonnets and more recent examples -- Close readings of 25 sonnets. Sonnet 1 ; Sonnet 18 ; Sonnet 19 ; Sonnet 20 ; Sonnet 29 ; Sonnet 30 ; Sonnet 31 ; Sonnet 53 ; Sonnet 54 ; Sonnet 57 ; Sonnet 73 ; Sonnet 90 ; Sonnet 94 ; Sonnet 97 ; Sonnet 98 ; Sonnet 102 ; Sonnet 104 ; Sonnet 106 ; Sonnet 109 ; Sonnet 116 ; Sonnet 129 ; Sonnet 130 ; Sonnet 141 ; Sonnet 146 ; Sonnet 151 -- Critical readings 1: Form & technique. The form of Shakespeare's sonnets -- Vocabulary and chronology : the case of Shakespeare's sonnets -- Sound and meaning in Shakespeare's sonnets -- Ambiguous speaker and storytelling in Shakespeare's sonnets -- Secrets of the dedication to Shakespeare's sonnets -- Critical readings 2 : Main themes. Four pivotal sonnets : Sonnets 20, 62, 104, 129 -- Shakespeare's sonnets and the history of sexuality -- Shylock in love : economic metaphors in Shakespeare's sonnets -- Hoarding the treasure and squandering the truth : giving and possessing in Shakespeare's sonnets to the young man -- Without remainder : ruins and tombs in Shakespeare's sonnets -- Ecosystemic Shakespeare : vegetable memorabilia in the sonnets -- The social masochism of Shakespeare's sonnets -- Love's usury, poet's debt : borrowing and mimesis in Shakespeare's sonnets -- Who bore the canopy in Sonnet 125? -- Resources. Chronology of Shakespeare's life -- Works by William Shakespeare -- Editions of the sonnets -- Guide to free online resources on the sonnets -- Guide to literary criticism on the sonnets -- General bibliography -- All sonnets -- Contributors -- Index.
Summary:
"The Critical Survey of Shakespeare's Sonnets offers a collection of new essays on the Sonnets written by William Shakespeare, the most famous English playwright of all time. A basic part of the literature curriculum, Shakespeare's works-still being introduced to students, from high school through college, four centuries after their composition-have never lost their popularity. Each essay in The Critical Survey of Shakespeare's Sonnets is devoted to a single sonnet and provides an in-depth critical analysis of the sonnet's historical significance, literary technique and discusses its meaning to a contemporary audience. The themes put forward in Shakespeare's Sonnets, written over 400 years ago, still hold value, meaning and significance to today's audience. Some of the themes discussed in these Sonnets include: beauty, eternity, time's destructiveness, sexuality, gender, love, depression, sorrow, memory, alienation, grieving, love as slavery, seasons and age, time, absence, love as strength, eternal youth, fidelity, true love, lust, truth, and body vs. soul."--Publisher description.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.