Shakespeare's Major Poetic Works Analyzed

Shakespeare's Poetry

The most outstanding poetic works by William Shakespeare include The Sonnets, Venus and Adonis, and The Rape of Lucrece.

Understanding Sonnets

A sonnet is a 14-line poem that rhymes in a particular pattern. In Shakespeare's sonnets, the rhyme scheme is typically abab cdcd efef gg. The final couplet was often used to summarize the previous 12 lines or present a surprise ending.

The rhythmic pattern of the sonnets is iambic pentameter, a metrical line consisting of five metrical feet. Each foot contains one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable:

unstressed | stressed | unstressed | stressed | unstressed | stressed | unstressed | stressed | unstressed | stressed

Historical Context

In the summer of 1592, an outbreak of the plague occurred in London, leading to the closure of public gathering places, including theatres. Instead of joining a theatrical company on tour, Shakespeare decided to stay in London. He needed a way to earn money until the theatres reopened and also sought to be taken seriously as a writer.

At the time, playwrights were often considered populist hacks writing mainly for entertainment. Poetry, on the other hand, was regarded as the art of nobles and gentlemen. Shakespeare introduced himself into this world between 1593 and 1594.

Major Narrative Poems

Venus and Adonis would become his most widely printed work during his lifetime. The following year, he published The Rape of Lucrece. Both were calculated to boost Shakespeare's reputation and finances.

The Sonnets

The sonnet was the most popular verse form in England when Shakespeare began writing. Imported from Italy as the Petrarchan or Italian sonnet, the form took on a distinctive English style: three rhymed quatrains and a concluding rhymed couplet.

We have 154 sonnets attributed to Shakespeare, generally divided into three groups:

• Sonnets 1-126: These deal with a young, unnamed lord, often referred to as the 'Fair Youth'.
• Sonnets 127-152: These concern the poet's relationship with a mysterious mistress, known as the 'Dark Lady'.
• Sonnets 153-154: These seem to be poetical exercises dedicated to Cupid.

Points of Debate

Key points of debate surrounding The Sonnets include:

• The order of their arrangement.
• Whether the sonnets are autobiographical.
• The identities of 'Mr. W.H.' (to whom the sonnets were dedicated), the Fair Youth, and the Dark Lady.
• The exact nature of the poet's relationship with those he addresses.

Venus and Adonis

This narrative poem owes its story to Ovid's Metamorphoses. It tells a story in which the goddess Venus falls in love with the handsome youth Adonis. Unlike Ovid's version, Shakespeare's Venus is portrayed not only as a goddess but also as a comically frustrated seductress who cannot distract Adonis from his love of hunting.

The Rape of Lucrece

The source for this poem is also Ovid. With this story, Shakespeare creates a tense drama with both moral and political overtones. Both Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece provoked significant critical debate.

The Passionate Pilgrim

The Passionate Pilgrim is a collection of 20 poems published in 1599, which the publisher attributed entirely to Shakespeare. However, only five works can be reliably traced to him:

• Versions of Sonnets 138 and 144.
• Three poems probably taken from an edition of Love's Labour's Lost.