Sonnets | The Poet
In this excerpt, John Klause discusses the Poet's frequent self-abasement and his seeming inconsistency, which Klause regards as part of the speaker's strategy to create and preserve the affection of a young man who is neither lovable nor aware of what love means. Klause also discusses the candor of Sonnets 127-52, judging that the Poet despises the Dark Lady and knows he's a fool for desiring her.
For many commentators, the speaker's expression of his tortured thoughts and feelings represents the chief interest of Shakespeare's sonnets. The Poet has been variously described as enigmatic, self-deluded, inconsistent, and servile. Both Philip Martin and John Klause have tried to explain his deferential attitude to the young man. In Martin's judgment, the Poet exchanges the self-effacing demeanor of the early sonnets once he and the Friend have achieved a relationship of greater intimacy. By contrast, Klause has argued that the Poet's self-deprecation is one of the...
[The entire page is 9407 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...
