Sonnet 21 was written by
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
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Sonnet 130Shakespeare's Sonnet CXXX mocks the conventions of the garish and flowery courtly sonnets in its realistic portrayal of his mistress.-Interpretations:...
, it addresses the issue of truth in love, as the speaker frankly admits that his lines, while less extravagant than those of other poets, are more truthful.
I am unlike the other poet, who praises a woman made artificially beautiful by
cosmeticCosmetic may refer to:*Cosmetics, or make-up, substances to enhance the beauty of the human body, apart from simple cleaning*Cosmetic, an adjective describing beauty, aesthetics, or appearance, especially concerning the human body...
s, who compares her to the heavens, and indeed to everything beautiful. He proudly compares his beloved to the sun and moon, to the beauties of earth and sea, to the flowers of April.
Sonnet 21 was written by
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. Like
Sonnet 130Shakespeare's Sonnet CXXX mocks the conventions of the garish and flowery courtly sonnets in its realistic portrayal of his mistress.-Interpretations:...
, it addresses the issue of truth in love, as the speaker frankly admits that his lines, while less extravagant than those of other poets, are more truthful.
Paraphrase
I am unlike the other poet, who praises a woman made artificially beautiful by
cosmeticCosmetic may refer to:*Cosmetics, or make-up, substances to enhance the beauty of the human body, apart from simple cleaning*Cosmetic, an adjective describing beauty, aesthetics, or appearance, especially concerning the human body...
s, who compares her to the heavens, and indeed to everything beautiful. He proudly compares his beloved to the sun and moon, to the beauties of earth and sea, to the flowers of April. For myself, because my love is true, I wish merely to write truly. My beloved is as beautiful as any human, though not so bright as the stars. Those who like exaggerated rumors may speak more if they wish; since I do not plan to sell my beloved, I will not waste time with superfluous praise.
Source and analysis
George WyndhamGeorge Wyndham PC was a British politician, man of letters, noted for his elegance, and one of The Souls.-Background:...
calls this the first sonnet to address the problem of the
rival poetShakespeare's Sonnets feature several 'characters,' either fictional or real persons. Several theories about them have been expounded, and scholarly debate continues to put forward both conflicting and compelling arguments. One such character is the Rival Poet, whom the author sees as a rival for...
;
BeechingHenry Charles Beeching was an English clergyman, author and poet. He was educated at the City of London School and at Balliol College, Oxford. He took holy orders in 1882, and began work in a Liverpool parish. He later became Dean of Norwich. He gave the Clark Lecture in 1900 on The history of...
and others, however, differentiate the poet mentioned here from the one later seen competing with Shakespeare's speaker for the affections of a male beloved.
Edmond MaloneEdmond Malone , was an Irish Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare. His first name is sometimes spelled Edmund.- Biography :...
found parallel descriptions of the stars as candles in
Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young "star-cross'd lovers" whose untimely deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet and Macbeth, is...
and
MacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth, commonly just Macbeth, is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
. While Alexander Schmidt glosses line 13 as "fall in love with what others have praised,"
Edward DowdenEdward Dowden , was an Irish critic and poet.He was the son of John Wheeler Dowden, a merchant and landowner, and was born at Cork, three years after his brother John, who became Bishop of Edinburgh in 1886. Edward's literary tastes emerged early, in a series of essays written at the age of twelve...
has it "those who like to be buzzed about by talk." As
William James RolfeWilliam James Rolfe, Litt.D. was an American Shakespearean scholar and educator, born in Newburyport, Massachusetts.He graduated from Amherst in 1849, and between 1852 and 1868 was head master of high schools at Dorchester, Lawrence, Salem, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.Early in his career, he...
notes, the line refers definitely to the type of exaggerated praise the sonnet has just described.
George Wyndham notes a parallel to the final line in
Samuel DanielSamuel Daniel was an English poet and historian.-Biography:Daniel was born near Taunton in Somerset, the son of a music-master. He was the brother of John Daniel. Their sister Rosa was Edmund Spenser's model for Rosalind in his The Shepherd's Calendar; she eventually married John Florio...
's
Delia 53; in that poem, the speaker condemns the "mercenary lines" of other poets. As
Madeleine DoranMadeleine Doran was an American literary critic and poet who taught at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from the early 1930s until her retirement in the 1970s. Doran's work combined historical and formalist impulses...
and others note, criticism of exaggerated praise was only slightly less common in Renaissance poetry than such praise itself.
Because of the repeated --are rhymes in the third
quatrainA Quatrain is a stanza of poetry consisting of four lines. Existing in various forms, the quatrain appears in poems from ancient civilizations including Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome continues into the 21st century where it is seen in works published in several languages.-Forms:*The heroic stanza...
, the poem has six rhymes instead of seven.
Interpretations
- Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs, Lady Nunn, , is a British actress who was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom. She is married to Sir Trevor Nunn and they have two children: a son Jesse and a daughter Ellie.- Early life :...
, for the 2002 compilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from multiple recording artists, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, source or subject matter...
, When Love SpeaksWhen Love Speaks is a compilation album that features interpretations of William Shakespeare's sonnets and excerpts from his plays by famous actors and musicians, released under EMI Classics in April 2002.-Track listing:...
(EMI ClassicsEMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed classical music releases....
)
External links