Nyomi Mosley
Cline
ENG 102
6 November, 2011
Love in the Art of Shakespeare
His poems have caught the eyes of many people across the world. He has enlightened the hearts of many through his work and brought upon several great discussions. Shakespeare is a well known author of poetry and drama, and he wrote many plays in during his lifetime. (World Book Encyclopedia, 342-347)Many of Shakespeare’s poems seem to follow a pattern. This pattern begins with and explanation of the main character then a love forms, and that love either ends in heartbreak or in a deep realization of truth. Included in this pattern Shakespeare tends to involve a feeling of being trapped. At many times his work includes characters such as Romeo and Juliet, who like some of his other characters in a few more of his poems seemed to be trapped away from love. Through all of his work he conveys a message to his audience. It is an amazing fact that many of his poetic works and plays still have the ability to uplift spirits, and will always be works of art that will last for generations to come.
Shakespeare’s sonnets from “Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music” catch your eye from the moment you begin to read. This first sonnet is about a lord’s daughter that looked up to one man yet loved an Englishman. This tale ends with a choice the maiden made to go with the Englishman. In the words of Shakespeare: “But one must be refused; more mickle was the pain. That nothing could be used to turn them both to gain. For, of the two the trusty knight was wounded with disdain; Alas! She could not help it. The art with arms contending was victor of the day; which by a gift of learning did bear the maid away. Then by lullaby the learned man hath got the lady gay” (Shakespeare, 1311). After reading this sonnet and some more of Shakespeare’s comedic writings I will never feel the same way towards his writings. I have been surprised by the fact that many of his works are filled with rhymes that are cheerful and witty, and show a side of Shakespeare that is unfamiliar. The surprise that this poem brings to Shakespearian work is only one of the many things that make Shakespeare such a wonderful author.
However, not all of his work is witty and clever; most of his texts are very serious. Many of his works give excellent life lessons, such as sonnet number five of the “Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music”. This sonnet is about a shepherd who is pleading with the lover to live out in the world together. The shepherd describes their life together as pleasurable and melodious. However, the lover realizes that the reality of living with this shepherd out in the world will not be as magical as the shepherd makes it seem (Shakespeare, 1312). The life lesson is to not let love get in the way of looking at reality. Many times people let love get in the way of family and of friends and of having a future. Shakespeare showed through the wisdom of the lover that there are things in this world other than love. He showed that we should learn to look at those things and not become blinded when love presents itself. In many of his texts he gives life lessons that are encouraging in the way of doing what is proper. This is another one of the things that makes Shakespeare such a great writer, and that has allowed his work to succeed for such a long time.
In some of the Shakespearian plays and poems the feeling of being trapped is expressed. According to the world book encyclopedia this play is said to be about: “Two teen aged lovers in Verona, Italy, who are caught in bitter feud between their families” (World Book Encyclopedia, 356). This play displays that Romeo and Juliet are trapped from expressing their love for each other due to a feud between their families. The story continues with Juliet’s father forcing her to marry a man who is not Romeo. At this point in the story we see the trapped feeling in Juliet. She feels that she cannot live trapped in a relationship with a man she does not love. Thus she chooses to take a drug that causes her to appear to be dead, so that she can escape. Juliet’s father believes she is dead and alerts the kingdom, and eventually this alert reaches Romeo. He does not know that Juliet is not dead but what he feels is that he cannot live without her; he feels trapped without Juliet. So he chooses to die by poisoning himself. Juliet eventually wakes up from her sleep and, realizing that Romeo is dead right next to her, sees that she too cannot live without him and so she decides to kill herself with a knife. This point in the story shows another instance of the trapped feeling. Romeo and Juliet cannot stand to be trapped in a loveless marriage or in a world away from each other’s love, and so they go through drastic measures in order to be together. The thing that Shakespeare is trying to convey through this play is that people will do anything for love. Yet, in other plays he suggests that this is not always the best road to take.
Shakespeare has written many wonderful poems. When I read my first poem by Shakespeare I began to really enjoy it by the time I reached the end of the first paragraph, and after every sentence I was encouraged to read on. The poem I read was called “A Lover’s Quarrel”. This poem involved two characters: A daughter, the one she loved, and a father. The maiden in this poem is communicating with deepest regret to her father her sorrow over the man she married. This maiden developed a deep love for a man that she did not know very well, and she chose to act on it. She says to her father “But woe is me! Too early I attended a youthful suit, it was to gain my grace, of one by natures outwards so commended, that maidens’ eyes stuck over all his face. Love lacked a dwelling, and made him her place; and when in his fair parts she did abide, she was new lodged and newly deified.”(Shakespeare, 1306) She states earlier that she knew he was too young, and that other girls enjoyed being around him too much. However, she ignored her wise judgment and rushed in, and when he asked her to marry him with “The deep green emerald” (Shakespeare, 1307) she openly consented. Throughout her marriage we see that she is trapped with a man that wants her to be with him yet continues to betray her. She expresses his betrayal with the following words: “Thus merely with the garment of a Grace the naked and concealed fiend he covered the unexperient gave the tempter place, Which like a cherubim above them hovered” (Shakespeare, 1308). As the story goes on she explains her reconciliation with this man to her father: “O! That infected moisture of his eye, O! That false fire which in his cheek so glowed. O! That forced thunder from his heart did fly. O! That sad breath his spongy lungs bestowed. O! All that burrow’s motion seeming owed. Would yet again betray the fore-betrayed and new pervert a reconciled maid” (Shakespeare, line 328). I learned from this poem that Shakespeare not only writes poetry, but he also teaches lessons. Through his poetry Shakespeare has the wisdom to express his opinion of love, and do so in a way that is not offensive to anyone.
In this poem Shakespeare wrote about the deep love that one person can have for another and how that love has the ability to betray and hurt. While I was reading this poem for the second time I noticed that Shakespeare involved a lesson about avoiding the pain that comes with certain types of love. In this poem he expressed through a tale that people should not do anything for love. He expressed through this story that, when love is not embraced in the proper way it can have harsh consequences. Shakespeare wanted his readers to understand that if they want to end up in differently than the maiden, they need to learn how to control their feelings until they gain knowledge of their prospective love. If the maiden had controlled her feelings, and taken the time to become aware of the man, then she would have lived a better life. This is a great life lesson and one that like Shakespeare’s work can be taught and learned for many years to come.
It is a fact that Shakespeare is a well known poet and play writer. To many he is considered one of the greatest around. Through performances of his plays, readings of his texts, and quotations of his powerful words Shakespeare has impacted many, and will continue to do so for a long time. Many of Shakespeare’s pieces have the power to tell a story and give a clever lesson. Through the understanding of Shakespearean writings this fact can be seen. Most of Shakespeare’s poems are filled with sad stories of love. Many of which include lessons of love, and how it should be handled. The work of Shakespeare shows that he is not only an excellent playwright and poet, but also that he is very wise.
Works Cited
Shakeapeare, W. Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music. In W. Craig, The Oxford Shakespeare (pp. 1311-1313). New York: Oxford University Press.
Shakespeare, W. A Lover's Complaint. In W. Craig, The Oxford Shakespeare (pp. 1305-1308). New York: Oxford University Press.
Wadsworth, F. W. (2000). William Shakespeare. In W. B. Encylopedia, Volume 17 (pp. 342-347). Chicago: World Book Encyclopedia.
Wadsworth, F. W. (2000). William Shakespeare. In W. B. Encylopedia, Volume 17 (p. 356). Chicago: World Book Encyclopedia.
