The color black is used frequently in the dark lady sonnets to characterize the woman’s dark identity. What other instances of color symbolism appear in the sonnets? Find at least three examples of color symbolism and explain them. A: Shakespeare’s language is markedly tactile, imbued with specific imagery; thus, color (as well as sound, smell, […]

Several of the sonnets are rife with financial imagery. Find as many examples of this imagery as you can, and try to account for their distribution within the sonnets. A: Ask yourself: what does the poet wish to achieve by describing the sonnets’ characters and events with the language of money and finance? Consider Shakespeare’s […]

Several of the sonnets are rife with financial imagery. Find as many examples of this imagery as you can, and try to account for their distribution within the sonnets. A: Ask yourself: what does the poet wish to achieve by describing the sonnets’ characters and events with the language of money and finance? Consider Shakespeare’s […]

Discuss the theme of unfaithfulness in Shakespeare’s sonnets. A: Specific questions to consider here are: Who is being unfaithful to whom? How can one characterize the narrator’s reaction to his learning of his loves’ infidelity? And how is infidelity portrayed? As an incurable sin – or as something to be understood?

Frequently throughout the sonnets the poet criticizes himself for his inadequacy. Find at least three examples of such self-criticism, and interrelate them in the context of the sonnets as a whole. A: The rival poet certainly inspires feelings of inadequacy, but there are other instances to look for as well. More important, what does such […]

Critics are divided over whether Shakespeare’s sonnets really do contain expressions of homoerotic desire. What do you think? A: There is of course no right answer here, but any argument must again pay close heed to the particulars of the text. Is the narrator’s love for the fair lord purely one of friendship, or is […]

Frequently throughout the sonnets the poet criticizes himself for his inadequacy. Find at least three examples of such self-criticism, and interrelate them in the context of the sonnets as a whole. A: The rival poet certainly inspires feelings of inadequacy, but there are other instances to look for as well. More important, what does such […]

Critics are divided over whether Shakespeare’s sonnets really do contain expressions of homoerotic desire. What do you think? A: There is of course no right answer here, but any argument must again pay close heed to the particulars of the text. Is the narrator’s love for the fair lord purely one of friendship, or is […]

Critics are divided over whether Shakespeare’s sonnets really do contain expressions of homoerotic desire. What do you think? A: There is of course no right answer here, but any argument must again pay close heed to the particulars of the text. Is the narrator’s love for the fair lord purely one of friendship, or is […]

The rival poet enters the scene to stir things up with the narrator’s fair lord. How would you characterize the poet’s reaction to the thought of losing his fair lord to another? A: A close analysis of the text on hand is crucial for this essay. The student should pick a reaction – jealousy, perhaps, […]