Sonnets (Vol. 75) - Michael Cameron Andrews (essay date autumn 1982)
Michael Cameron Andrews (essay date autumn 1982)
SOURCE: Andrews, Michael Cameron. “Sincerity and Subterfuge in Three Shakespearean Sonnet Groups.” Shakespeare Quarterly 33, no. 3 (autumn 1982): 314-27.
[In the following essay, Andrews explores Shakespeare's sonnets to the young man. The critic contends that the speaker of these sonnets should be understood as a dramatic character separate from his creator, and demonstrates that through the course of the sequence the speaker journeys from insincerity and delusion to anguish.]
Early in Sincerity and Authenticity, Lionel Trilling comments on the “implicit pathos” of Polonius' final adjuration to Laertes: “Who would not wish to be true to his own self? True, which is to say loyal, never wavering in constancy. True, which is to say honest: there are to be no subterfuges in dealing with him.” But as Trilling sadly observes, “We understand with Matthew Arnold how hard it is...
[The entire page is 8225 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
