The Face that Launched a Thousand Poets
The jealous poems... the main theme that I saw emerging in these poems was not wanting to share OOP with others.
Sonnet 78 had a couple lines, "...which I compile, whose influence is thine." and "under their poesy disperse." This reminded me of Helen of Troy, whose face was said to have "launched a thousand ships" (hence my blog title). Shakes seems to be exalting OOP by labeling him the inspiration of a many great poets (The Oddysey)
Sonnet 80 has the line "Then if I thrive and I be cast away, the worst was this: my love was my decay." Shake seems to be saying that he fear's disaster through this relationship, and he would hate to know that something as beautiful as love could culminate in such a way. This could be a resemblance of the Protestant/Catholic split that left Shake's Elizibethan world hatefully divided over a story of love (The Bible).
In sonnet 81 I thought the final couplet portrays Shake's poin very well, "You shall live-such virtue hath my pen- where breath most breathes, even in the mouths of men." He seems to be telling OOP of the great lengths he will go to tell of this incredible love (relationship) to the world, even beyond OOP's grave (Pyramus and Thisbe)
Sonnet 88 seems to take on a self-sacrificing view of love. "That for thy right myself will bear all wrong." is the line that sums this idea up best. Shake is trying to be communicating a love that is willing to go through anything for it's lover. It somewhat resembles a messianic love (The Bible).
When I first started reading these sonnets, my book labeled them as jealous sonnets. I think as a writer Shake had an appreciation for other writers. It seems to me that when he is expressing the idea of other writers stealing his inspiration, OOP, and using him in their writing in sonnet 78, that rather than expressing contempt for writers, he is crediting them with capturing love so well. I looked at it as though he was saying things like: Homer captured the beauty of Helen so well, that it feels like he had to have based it off of my OOP. That is why I put the story in parentheses that Shake might have based his concept of love on for each individual sonnet.
I think that Shakespeare did
I think that Shakespeare did have an appreication for the other writers, but I also believe that he was intimidated by them to some degree; "O, how I faint when I of you do write,/ Knowing a better spirit doth use your name".
I like all the comparisions to older literature you made...do you think Shakespeare had these in mind while he was writing these sonnets?
-Hilary
Well...
I think that Shakespeare might have realized that they were good poets, but I don't think Shakespeare appreciated them very much. The line before the one you quoted said, "O, how faint when I of you do write,". The side note said that faint meant discouraged. I think it is pretty hard to appreciate someone when they make you discouraged about writing sonnets to the person you love most. But that is just my take on it. But, I do wonder if maybe these other poets were after the same sort of relationship that Shakespeare was after.
faint reasons
There are probably several reasons why he might be faint or discouraged. One is that he would be in jeopardy of losing his patronage, his financial support. The second could be that he would be seen as being inferior, that the allegiances would be shifting. So, Shakespeare could be worried the other poet is better. He might recognize the artistry of the other poet and see it as a threat. It is likely, given the various speculation of the years, that the rival poet was after what Shakespeare was after, patronage. Bradley
Bradley
a delicate balance
Some of the rationale for labeling these the jealous sonnets is because it seems, as near as scholars can tell, that there was another poet vying for the OOP's attentions. Because of that, and because Shakespeare addresses that possibility in these poems, there is a certain jealousy. As I noted in an earlier response, some of the speculation is that the two poets were competing for financial support. I'll be talking about the patronage system in class on Thursday to provide more context to these poem and this rival among the poets. But the reason for the delicate balance is that Shakespeare would want to avoid insulting the OOP for preferring another poet because he would, in essence, be challenging the OOP's taste in poetry. And if he's wrong about the rival poet, maybe he's wrong about Shakespeare as well. Bradley
Bradley
Great referenes
I enjoyed how you compared each of the sonnets to another love story! Reading your interpretation of how S viewed the other writers was helpful as well. I thought that S was becoming paranoid about another poet capturing the OOP's attention, but the way you viewed it makes sense to me. I still think he feels a sense of superiority to them... he still wants the OOP to "be most proud" of what he compiles.
Erin Kay Schulz
Inspiration
Wow! That's an interesting theory. I like some of the theories you've been coming up with. Some are hard to accept, but they catch me and make me rethink my ideas. That is something I appreciate in a class like this! I definitely agree that the couplet in 88 could sound like a messianic love, but it doesn't tie in with the rest of that sonnet. But the idea that he perhaps wasn't talking about his specific OOP is certainly worth discussing.
-Renee Ward