I'm finally reading all the sonnets in sequence. I think the sum is more than the parts, by that I mean, IMHO many of the sonnets are mediocre and not easy to read. (Shakespeare often writes in riddles, probably to hide his and his "beloved" identities. Also, I found much of the poetry's syntax awkward.) Taken together, however, the sonnets tell a powerful story about the emotions and thoughts of Shakespeare. I don't see how anyone can say that we shouldn't read them autobiographically. To me they are a window to Shakepeare's tortured soul. (Yes, he was in pain and not in peace with the world; and from that pain, I believe, came his great plays.)

Now that I've read the sonnets, I feel as if I know Shakespeare, or at least a good part of him.

I'll also recommend Clinton Heylin's book about the untold story of the sonnets: As Long As Men Can Breathe.

Recently, my step-sister gave me a complete collection of Shakespeares work. You're sonnet reading has really inspired me to open it up and dig deeper.

I own two copies of Shakespeare's "Comedies" published by Easton Press. What gorgeous books they are. Leather binding and gold gilded pages. I think I'll run a contest soon to give away one of them to a BookTalk.org member.

So you're saying to really appreciate Shakespeare we should read the whole shebang. Maybe we should have a discussion of Shakespeare here on the BookTalk.org forums. I just don't know where such a discussion would fit.

Chris OConnor wrote:Maybe we should have a discussion of Shakespeare here on the BookTalk.org forums. I just don't know where such a discussion would fit.

I would absolutely LOVE to have a Shakespeare discussion. This notion makes me a happy former English major. Please take it into serious consideration. I can wait. But I will be there every day if we have Shakespeare discussions. Every day.

(I realize I'm here everyday already, but this is different. This is Shakespeare!)

Shakespeare is a huge theme which could be broken down into sonnets, historical plays, comedies, etc, Shakespeare through the eyes of contempories, the age-old "who really wrote Shakespeare's play's" debate, biographies, Shakespeare's contributions to the English language, reception of plays, historical plays seen in the light of contemporary politics, influence on modern authors, etc, etc, etc.
I really do think we could do a lot with it, Chris.

I agree, there seem to be a bunch of Shakespeare lovers here, and I'd really like the 411 on Shakespeare. It'd be an asset to this site, that's for sure.

Randy, whenever you see this, I've started a thread for the sharing of favorite Shakespeare pieces, be they sonnets, songs from plays, soliloquies or what have you. I'd love to see what you would have to contribute, if you have some extra time. The thread is called Shakespeare Fever! So far I've shared two sonnets, the Queen Mab speech from Romeo and Juliet, DWill shared the "O that this too too solid flesh would melt" speech from Hamlet, and I've just posted the opening speech from Richard III. I'd love to see what your favorite Shakespeare is and what your thoughts on them are, as well. Stop on by if you have a chance!