Read the following Sonnets for our last (sigh) official class on The Sonnets, even though we'll be discussing your Paper #2 assignment on Friday (so I guess that still counts). However, I tried to summarize the rest of the 'story' of the Sonnets up with the following Sonnets, though feel free to read more around them--I still left out some great ones!
Read the following for Wednesday's class: 116, 121, 126, 127, 129, 130, 134, 135, 138, 144.
We'll do an in-class writing response when you come to class on Wednesday, but consider some of the following ideas:
* What makes Sonnet 126 different from all the rest? Look less at what the sonnet is saying than how it is written...compare how it looks on the page to other sonnets (hint, hint).
* Sonnet 116 is one of the most famous sonnets in the entire sequence, almost as much as Sonnet 18, and is often read at weddings. What makes this sonnet so traditionally romantic, and why is it coming so late in the sequence (especially since he ends things with the young man in Sonnet 126)? Is it out of place?
* How does Sonnet 121 seemt to negate Sonnet 116, and why do they come so close together in the sequence?
* Sonnet 127 is the first one featuring the "Dark Mistress," as most scholars call her. How is his relationship markedly different with her than the Young Man?
* Sonnet 130 is another super famous one, and is often contrasted with Sonnet 18. Is this also a romantic sonnet? How is his love and appreciation different for the woman than the man?
* Look at all the possible meanings of "will" in Sonnet 135, one of which is the poet's own name, Will. Read the longer note on page 339 if you really want to open your eyes to all the possibilities!
* What kind of relationship does the poet have with the mistress by Sonnet 138? Is this deep love and affection? Deep distrust and paranoia? Or a reluctant truce?
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