What do Shakespeare's sonnets actually say?  What can they tell us about the life or character of the man who penned them?
Not only romantic and philosophical, the sonnets are erotic, desperate, and often angry, laced with shocking sexual imagery and emotional confession;  as a group, they break all conventions of Elizabethan poetry, and trace the ghostly outline of two passionate affairs -- one a brief, tawdry fling with a mature voluptuous woman, and one a long, fraught relationship with an androgynous young man.

This will be followed by a discussion of the publication of the sonnets,  the possible identities of the "Dark Lady" and "Fair Youth," and their relation to the plays; and then by a discussion for patrons only of the "authorship controversy."

Please support this podcast in order to keep the lectures coming and make them regular and dependable! -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632

Join as a member to hear the in-depth exploration of the "Shakespeare Authorship Controversy" -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/32922586

Poems analyzed in this lecture:  1, 18, 20, 27, 33, 50, 52, 80, 86, 116, 127, 128, 129, 144

Full text of Shakespeare's sonnets, searchable:  http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/Archive/allsonn.htm

Suggested further reading:  Katherine Duncan-Jones, ed., "Shakespeare's Sonnets";  Joseph Pequigney, "Such Is My Love";  Lynn Magnusson, "A Modern Perspective" in Folger Shakespeare Library's edition of Shakespeare's Poems.

Myth of the Month 10: Who Was Shakespeare? -- pt.  2: "Comfort and Despair"

History lectures by Samuel Biagetti, a historian (and antique dealer) with a Phd in early American history; my dissertation was on Freemasonry in the 1700s. I focus on the historical myths and distortions, from "the Middle Ages" to "Race," that people use to rationalize the world in which we live.   More info at www.historiansplaining.com

Please see my Patreon page, https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632, if you want to keep the lectures coming, and to hear the patron-only materials.

Myth of the Month 10: Who Was Shakespeare? -- pt. 2: "Comfort and Despair"

Historiansplaining