MARCIEGAMBETTA

Marcie Gambetta

English 231

Sonnets by William Shakespeare

Reading Journal 5 – 51-100

9/10/14

 

FIRST THOUGHTS

 

After all of the reading yesterday on the first 5o sonnets, I was anxious to read the next 50 and have them finished.  The first group seemed very obsessive and I am curious to see where the next 50 go.  We left off with the lover having cheated and the poet seeming to have forgiven him. The poet is now depressed about traveling because it will take him away from the lover. 

 

QUOTES

 

“Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore, so do our minutes hasten to their end.  Each changing place with that which goes before,..."  This quote from Sonnet 60 jumped out at me because it is very true.  Time keeps marching on, relentlessly like the waves on the shore.  The young take the place of the old just like the pebbles on the beach the poet is discussing.  It is important to remember this and not to squander our time.

 

“So shall I live, supposing thou art true, like a deceived husband; so love's face may still seem to love me, though alter'd new".  This quote, from Sonnet 93, shows me the poet is still in denial, pretending the lover still loves him only, and knows it.  I think it's important that he does recognize the lover is unfaithful but makes the choice to continue on pretending the relationship is fine.  I think a lot of people do this also and fall into the trap of thinking all is fine, while ignoring blatant clues.  It's interesting to see how these words that are so old still apply to modern times.

 

"For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; lilies that fester, smell far worse than weeds."  This quote from Sonnet 94 is also true today.  Beauty, sometimes, can be only skin deep.  If you are only beautiful on the outside but do not have good character, you will become corrupt and people will no longer see the surface beauty.  This seems like a warning to the lover, the poet is trying to keep him virtuous. 

 

QUESTIONS

 

Will the lover and the poet stay together?  The poet and the lover, seem to stay together, it is hard to tell if the later Sonnets are about the same lover.  Their relationship is often on-again, off-again.  The poet also, goes back and forth between jealousy and acceptance.  I would like to see the poet find a healthier, more stable relationship in the final group of sonnets.

 

Will we see more of the mistress?  The mistress has not made a reappearance yet.  This group of sonnets deals with a rival poet.  The poet spends a lot of time writing to the lover about the rival.  Sometimes the poet seems confident and others he seems very insecure.  Some of the sonnets are very sarcastic, so I don't think the poet really is insecure about his work.  

 

VOCABULARY

 

  Carcanet:

    Definition: a woman's ornamental circlet for the hair, often of gold decorated with jewels or pearls.

    Sentence: The queen had a very elaborate carcanet.

 

  Foison:

    Definition: abundance, plenty

    Sentence:  After the harvest, the foison was remarkable.

 

  Durst:

    Definintion: dared, to have the necessary courage or boldness for something 

    Sentence: How did you durst to jump off of the roof?

 

  Sepulchres:

    Definition: a burial vault, tomb, or grave

    Sentence: The sepulchres were scary to be around at night.

 

  Penury:

    Definition: extreme poverty; destitution

    Sentence:  It is hard to travel into areas, where the penury is so profound.

 

Impute:

    Definition: to attribute or ascribe (something dishonest or dishonorable, esp a criminal offense) to a person

    Sentence: His actions made it easy to impute the theft to him.

 

SUMMARY/RESPONSE

 

While, I still found the reading to be very tedious, I did like how the Sonnets come together to make a soap opera of sorts. The relationship between the poet and lover is still very rocky and flucuates more frequently. Towards the middle of this group of sonnets, the relationship seems to change a little, the poet still obsesses about the lover but it doesn't seem as fiery and ardent as before. The poet is still a little manic depressive, alternating between extreme happiness and acceptance to deep despair.

 

In the first two Sonnets, (51 & 52) the poet is traveling away and missing the lover. He understands why the horse slowly plods along. The poet is not happy about the time he will be spending alone because he will only be able to think of the lover. He also claims that he will treat the time apart like a treasure box. The separation will be like locking the lover (who is the treasure) away, so that he can cherish the lover all the more when he returns.

 

In Sonnets 53-55, the poet is back with the lover and has the lover in high regard. They must be currently together and the lover is treating the poet well. The poet explains how the lover is the standard of beauty and that everything that is beautiful, is beautiful because they all get something from the lover. Due to this every other beautiful thing is inferior to the lover. Not only is the lover beautiful, the lover tells, but he is deep and can also be appreciated for his moral character.  The poet writes about the lovers virtues and points out that these poems will stand the long test of time to tell the world about the lover (which it seems they have).

 

Sonnets 56-58 are focused on the lover and his lack of affection. The poet wants the lover to feel as strongly for the poet as he did in the past and to understand that true, strong love is better than lust. This indicates to me that the lover is cheating again. The lover also seems to treat the poet like a trohpy, in that the lover puts the poet away when he isn't interested in him, expecting the poet to wait expectantly for the lover to return. The poet becomes sarastic isn the 57th & 58th Sonnet, pointing out the double standard the lover has. The poet feels he is at the lover's beck and call and cannot question or say the lover did wrong. The lover does as he pleases without telling the poet but expecting the poet to do nothing and wait for him.  When the lover returns from his exploits, he acts like he has done nothing wrong.

 

In Sonnets 59-65 the main topic is the poet's hope of immortality through his writing and how he dreads the ravages of time.  The lover and the poet seem to have made up and are discontentedly back together.  In Sonnet 61 the poet is sarcasatic again asking if and the lover enjoys causing the poet stress and the inability to rest. He asks the lover, if the lover has enough love for him to find out if he (the poet) us up to anything. Would the lover be jealous? The poet doesn't think so, he thinks he loves the lover more and is worried the lover is up to his old shenanagins. The rest of the Sonnets in this group are about the lover and show how the poet is worrying over what time will do to the lover, like a dog worrying over his bone. The lover makes the poet feel young and beautiful himself, until he (the poet) looks in the mirror.  The poet has seen how once people age, others do not remember the beauty, youth, and vitality they once had.  The poet is determined to trick time by writing about the beauty and virtue of the lover, and by doing this others will remember his beauty, youth, and vitality. The poet shows his shallowness more obviously in Sonnet 64 when he laments about how time will age his love and this thought feels like death to the poet.

 

Sonnets 66-70 deal with the lover and the supposed injustices others are showing to him. The poet is tired of all the sinners taking advantage of the perfect lover. The lover is the flawless and Nature keeps him to show what she used to be capable of, because no one can compare to him (the lover). The poet is warning the lover about how, since he is so beautiful, everyone is jealous of him and they will make up vile things that aren't true. The poet tells the lover to be careful about who he hangs out with, because even though the poet knows the lover is faultless, others will see the company the lover keeps and judge him.  

 

In Sonnets 71-74 the poet has decided he is dying and is focusing on what he wants the lover to do when that happens.  The poet is trying to make his love for the lover seem so pure that he wants the lover's love to die with him (the poet), so that the lover will not suffer long and so that others will not mock him for his grief.  In Sonnet 73 the poet is attempting to get the lover to reaffirm the strenght of his love, by telling him (the lover) that you love more, that which you will soon lose.

 

Sonnets 75-90 now focus on the rival poet. The lover is going to another poet because the rival poet writes in a newer style and flatters the lover.  The poet defends his work, explaining that he doesn't write ostentatious things about the lover, because it is obvious how wonderful he is.  If he were to do that, it would actually be degrading to the lover.  The poet seems to be self depricating regarding his writing, but it appeared to me that he was being sarcastic.  The poet knows his work is good and he thinks the rival is not worthy of the lover's time.  The poet gives backhanded compliments to the rival poet as a way to call him out and embarrass him.  The poet also, chastises the lover for being narcissistic and having a big ego.  Sonnet 87 is very sarcastic, the poet is pointing out how egotistical the lover is being and wants him to realize what is going on.  The poet will do what ever he can to protect the virtue of the lover, even hating himself.  The poet senses that the lover is making up excuses to leave him.  In Sonnet 90 the poet is asking the lover to leave him now, if he (the lover) is planning on leaving so the poet can deal with it and move on.  The poet has endured so much and if the lover is leaving, would like to know now, so that his other suffering will not seem so bad compared to the loss of the lover.  He asks the lover to not wait, if he intends to leave, so he (the poet) will not be blindsided by it later on.

 

Sonnets 91-96 are like a lover's quarrel.  The first two show the poet tell the lover how the poet will be ruined if the lover leaves.  The poet then throws a tantrum telling the lover that he is happy while the lover is here, because he knows he will die when the lover leaves and will not have to deal with the loss.  Then the poet starts discussing how he will live in denial, pretending the lover still loves him because the lover doesn't show his unfaithfulness, even though the poet knows he is.  The poet keeps warning the lover that he needs to have inner beauty also, or the ugliness will start to seep out into the outward beauty.  The poet tells the lover he is like a wolf in sheep's clothing and asks him to stop his corruption because the poet's reputation could be affected too.

 

In Sonnets 97-99 the poet seems happy with the lover again.  He is now pining about a physical separation.  Even though it is the middle of summer, it feels cold and dark.  The lover is what made the summer days enjoyable.  The beauty of the birds and flowers goes unnoticed by the poet because they are only imitations of the lover's beauty.  The poet then gets really bored and starts talking to the flowers, telling them how they should be abashed at how they are stealing from the beauty of the lover.

 

The last Sonnet of the group, 100 is addressed to the poet's muse, who is not the lover.  The poet cannot find any inspiration from the lover right now.  The poet reminds the muse that his work gives the muse her power.  He wants the muse to look at the lover and give inspiration back to the poet.  The poet explains to the muse that he wants to help the lover become more famous and do it faster than time can destoy the lover.

 

The relationship still does not seem that healthy.  The poet is either defending his work to the lover, defending the lover's honor to others, or dealing with the mistreatment the lover shows to him.  It is like the lover uses the poet and his love for self gratification.  The lover doesn't care about the feelings of the poet, only about how the poet can amuse him or help him look better in the eyes of others.

 

There are many themes that could be discussed with these Sonnets but there were a couple of themes that stood out to me.  One was "Man vs Temptation", the poet continually warns the lover to stay honorable but the lover can't seem to help himself and gives in to his vices.  The lover may not feel the struggle, but the poet feels the struggle on his behalf.  Another theme was “Ravages of Time” because, again, the poet dwells on what will happen as the lover ages. The poet also feels his own mortality and stuggles with getting old and dying. "Love Will Conquer All" is another theme I would like to discuss.  The poet feels he will give the lover and himself immortality because his love is so true.  The poems the poet writes about the lover will conquer time itself. 

 

I used Moral Critism to help analyze this text, that for me, was very difficult.  As I read I wrote summaries for each Sonnet and an explanation of what I had interpreted it was discussing. As I wrote the explanations and interpretations, I wrote a commentary and discussed the moral character of the lover.  In spite of the apparent lack of morality on the part of the lover, the poet tries to portray him in a positive way.  The poet also, continues to point out that inner beauty is important, and you can't stay beautiful on the outside, if you are debased inside.

 

WORKS CITED

 

Shakespeare, William.  Shakespeare/s Sonnets.  Kindle Reading Library. 2012

Dictionary.  Dictionary.com LLC 2014 http://dictionary.reference.com/ 9/10/14