Running Head: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE AS A POET 1

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE AS A POET

Name

Institution
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William Shakespeare as a Poet

Introduction

English as a language is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. There are

significant contributors to the perpetuation of the language. Talking of names, they do not come

any more influential than William Shakespeare. A 16th-century writer and poet, his works remain

relevant even to date. Although he was a writer, Shakespeare is also widely known for his

poetry, the most significant of this work being his sonnets. The content of his sonnets is mostly

about day to day things and emotions, ranging all the way from love declarations to heartbreaks,

albeit not in so simple words. Poems are some of the purest forms of artistry and some of the

rawest forms of expression. To someone who understands and appreciates poetry, one cannot

help but marvel the genius of a poet like Shakespeare.

A sonnet is defined as a poetic work with a total of fourteen lines or verses, usually

having a formal rhyme scheme and with an average of ten syllables in each line. Shakespeare

wrote a total of one hundred and fifty-four (154) sonnets as per the record. Written over the

course of nearly a decade, the sonnets are the account of a young man who grows along the way.

In the first 126 sonnets, the sonnets talk about a man who fancies a lady and tries to build a

relationship and find love. In the remaining sonnets, the subject of the sonnets has found a young

lady whom he calls his dark lady. Unfortunately for him, the lady loves another man, and the

young man can only hope that she eventually loves him. This paper seeks to delve into some of

Shakespeare’s sonnets zeroing on the 116th (one hundred and sixteenth sonnet). In the course of

the paper, the author will seek to explore how Shakespeare expresses himself and how he is able

to make the reader either understand or sympathize with his position, state of mind or feeling.
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Shakespeare probably had a concept in mind or a message to pass. The author analyzes what he

was possibly trying to elicit in his work without being the least subjective or biased.

Type of Research

This paper is a qualitative study of the aforementioned poetic publication. The author

uses qualitative-textual analysis to analyze the said sonnet and help the reader get a healthier

understanding of the sonnet (Kalra, Pathak & Jena, 2013). Given the big number of sonnets by

Shakespeare, the analytical method preferred is exploratory as there are various variables in the

stylistic devices employed in Shakespearian works.

Research Method

The methods employed for this paper are a case study of the 116th sonnet by William

Shakespeare using sources from various publications highlighting the same as well as other

poetic works by the man (Sauro, 2015). The data collection process, as stated above, is

documentation, with a focus on the 130th sonnet. The author will read the sonnet several times to

get a basic understanding of what the writer is trying to convey. There is a particular delicacy to

poems, more so sonnets, that requires the reader to read and understand each word. There is

nothing random about the choice of words, meaning that each word in the sonnet may have a

particular meaning or intention. The author of this paper acknowledges that interpretation of the

sonnet is a personal thing, and may differ from other versions. Bearing this in mind, one should

know that any postulations proffered here are per as the author’s own understanding and

interpretation and should be considered such.

During the course of this study, the author has sought consultancy in various documents

and publications detailing the life and works of the Stratford-upon-Avon native. The too many to

count publications shed light to the thinking and mental state of one of England’s best writers.
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These revelations and data are in stark contrast to the author's previous knowledge.

Understanding the works of Shakespeare not only helps one place themselves in the man's shoes

but also enables one to get a grasp of the social climate and way of life in that particular period,

popularly referred to as the Elizabethan Jacobean era. In as much as the sonnets are centuries old,

the message and the struggles are still as relevant today. Treading the sonnets, one is able to

relate to the particular scenarios presented in sonnets.

Shakespeare as a Poet

Always in his element, nearly every poetic work of Shakespeare is a work of art in its

own. It does not take much effort to think of the man and wonder, what drove him? What

motivated him? What made him pen down his thoughts and imaginations for the masses? The

answers are varied depending on who you ask, but the constant remains; the man was good at

what he did. For those who care to read his works, one can not help but notice the vivid imagery

and attention to detail in his work. One can not also ignore the sheer number of words he coined

along the way. In essence, he is an artist who takes creative writing as his canvas and goes on to

splash it with the most vivid colors that turn out to be classic works of art. Living in a relatively

tumultuous period, Shakespeare has been referred to as the poet of the plague years and the poet

of love (Bradbrook, 2013). Historical accounts determine that Shakespeare worked in a theatre

company, meaning that as a playwright, his works were often as per the directions of the

company. On the same, these particular works were either romantic comedies or reflective of a

period before his time, a period of stability, and goodwill. The sonnets, on the other hand, are

private works and probably the epitome of his artistry. These are the rawest and most real

expressions of the man, the realest expressions of the man himself, free to explore, free to create

(Kiernan, 2016).
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Shakespeare’s Major Works

As seen before earlier in this article, the works of Shakespeare are as many as they are

dynamic. From tragedies, histories, comedies, and romances to poems, he is a writer who could

do it all ("Shakespeare's Works", n.d.). Arguably, his plays are his more known works. However,

his sonnets are, without a doubt, his most famous pieces of poetry. To get an understanding of

the sonnets, take the example of sonnet 116.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips
and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved. (Shakespeare, 1609)

The sonnet has normal stylistic devices that define one. These include the rhyme scheme,

meter, and other miscellaneous devices such as imager and metaphor. The rhyme scheme used is

full for this particular sonnet, with exceptions in the second, fourth, tenth, twelfth, thirteenth, and

fourteenth lines. The sonnet also contains the customary iambic pentameter, which is to say ten

syllables with five beats in every verse, albeit with exceptions in the sixth, eighth, and twelfth

lines, which add an extra beat. An additional stylistic device used is a metaphor, which means

comparing something to another, which is not practical. For instance, in the seventh line of this

sonnet, Shakespeare compares love to a star, which is not practical as love is not tangible.

Hyperbole is apparent in most of the sonnets, which refers to exaggeration of a fact or thing. For

instance, in this case, love does not get shaken even in tempests, as per line 6 (Spacey, 2019). In
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real life, this is not likely at all. Shakespeare also personifies his content more often than not.

Personification is where a non-human entity is accorded human-like qualities. As in the case of

love. The author speaks of love as if it is capable of fending for itself or making its own way.

Themes

Themes are the subject matter of a poem, that is to say, the messages in the poem. In

Shakespearian sonnets, the themes do vary. For the purpose of this paper, we go back to the

116th. The main theme is love, apparent from the five odd mentions of the same in this sonnet.

The nature of this love remains a mystery to most readers, even today. However, there is a

distinct element as to the nature of true love and its associated qualities. Whether this love is

romantic, agape or universal love is not distinctly clear from this sonnet. One cannot help but

notice a certain negative tone in this sonnet. For instance, the very first line says, "Let me not…"

begins as being negated, before the word goes on to appear four more times in the sonnet. In

essence, it can be said that Shakespeare is trying to describe what love is not. What love is to the

poet is a little beyond his comprehension, or ability o describe or both. What he does know is

what cannot be construed as love. As per the poet, love is steadfast and does not change. He

compares it to a star that helps in homing, a beacon, a lighthouse for those who are lost. If the

subject has love, then they are right where they belong. This iteration of love describes what love

can be if done right. To add on to the steadfastness of love, the poet describes how love cannot

be bound by time. The ninth and eleventh lines speak as to how love is not subject to time, and

can withstand any alterations. To cap off his description of love, the poet makes the bold but

very relevant claim that if what he just described is not love, then his work exists in a

fictionalized state and no man has ever beheld the joys of love (Spacey, 2019).
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Nevertheless, there have been arguments that the 116th sonnet may be widely

misunderstood. Taking it into context, it does make more sense. Although neglected earlier in

this paper, one should note that the sonnets are all sequential, meaning that they are the

equivalent of one long poem from sonnet 1 through sonnet 154. What contributes in the

misunderstanding of this sonnet is the preceding and following sonnets in the sequence, namely

sonnets 115 and 117, respectively. For example, the 117th sonnet is about the poet admitting to

unfaithfulness and neglect of the lady referred to as his beloved. However, one chooses to view

it, and the bard is probably just trying to make a good name for themselves before dropping the

bombshell (Levine, 1987). But perhaps that’s the beauty of poetry, not knowing the poet's true or

real intentions, however hard we try.

Conclusion

When all is said and done, the genius of the bard from Warwickshire is unparallel even in

today’s world. A man who can captivate the world and horrify it in equal measure, coming from

an almost insignificant background to an eternal icon in the annals of the poetry halls of fame. A

man who used the simplest language and invented the most complex of language along the way,

helping is understanding and appreciate the world as he saw it through his poetry. From the

above article, it is clear that Shakespeare draws inspiration from the events and circumstances

around him, using them to come up with works of art. What remains of the reader is to read and

understand in their way and hope that they can learn from poetry or enjoy it for what it is.
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References

Bradbrook, M. (2013). Shakespeare The Poet in His World. doi: 10.4324/9781315018287

Kalra, S., Pathak, V., & Jena, B. (2013). Qualitative research. Perspectives In Clinical Research,

4(3), 192. doi: 10.4103/2229-3485.115389

Levine, R. T. (1987). The Magnanimity of True Love: Shakespeare's Sonnet 116. Essays in Arts

and Sciences, 16, 1.

Sauro, J. (2015). 5 Types of Qualitative Methods. Retrieved 7 November 2019, from

https://measuringu.com/qual-methods/

Shakespeare, W. (1609). Sonnet 116. The Sonnets (Lit2Go Edition). Retrieved November 07,

2019, from https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/179/the-sonnets/3890/sonnet-116/

Shakespeare's Works. Retrieved 7 November 2019, from https://www.folger.edu/shakespeares-

works

Spacey, A. (2019). Summary and Analysis of Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare. Retrieved 7

November 2019, from https://owlcation.com/humanities/Summary-and-Analysis-of-

Sonnet-116-by-William-Shakespeare