Shakespeare's Sonnets is a famous and beloved piece of writing, but, in the view of this podcaster, the work is misunderstood and only about half as good as it can be, if a reader knows what to look for. This podcast will explore The Sonnets on three levels:
Level 1: The 154 poems group perfectly in an 11x14 Meta-Sonnet structure. This means that there are 11 groups of 14 sonnets and each sonnet functions as a line within a larger sonnet. Furthermore, these 11 sections group into 5 acts (with the first 3 sections forming Act 1 and each subsequent Act is 2 sections long). Regardless how readers interpret The Sonnets, they will notice that thematically similar sonnets almost always group neatly into Meta-Sonnet quatrains and couplets. They will also see that narrative arcs start and stop neatly within their sections and acts. Reading the poems in this way enables readers to make connections that would otherwise be invisible.
Level 2: There are three main characters in The Sonnets: the Poet, the Fair Youth, and the Dark Lady. Many readers see these characters as real people who lived 400 years ago and nothing more. That's fine, but there's plenty of textual evidence that the Fair Youth can also be a personification for poetry/the work itself (not a new idea) and the Dark Lady can be seen as a personification of the Sonnet Format/Renaissance Poetic Conventions/Meta-Sonnets. As such, in this view, The Sonnets is not the private love poems of bi-sexual playwright. Rather, it is a critical examination of the relationship between poet, poetry, and form. Other interpretations are perfectly valid, but this is new way to enjoy the work. Importantly, readers need to see the Meta-Sonnets to full appreciate this interpretation of poems.
Level 3: Assuming Level 1 and Level 2 are true, astute readers will have some serious questions. Maybe they won't and they can just connect the Meta-Sonnets to their existing ideas, but, for others, they will want some answers and rightfully demand an explanation. For example: how could this have happened? Why would Shakespeare have done this? If it's too perfect to be random, why did Shakespeare create Meta-Sonnets and not tell anyone? Honestly, I have no secret knowledge about Shakespeare, but I do have the text. Sonnet 43 (and Act 2 in general/the Second Season of this Podcast) is the best place to go for answers, but there are clues in other sonnets too. In short, the text leads me to believe:
1. Shakespeare invented Meta-Sonnets and wrote about them in the work.
2. He intentionally kept them a secret.
3. He knew that seeing them would double the reading pleasure.
4. If Sonnet 43 was an early sonnet (many scholars believe yes), then that suggests that Shakespeare always intended for The Sonnets to have secret Meta-Sonnets.
These Three Levels are very different. Most readers can easily accept the First Level and many readers are comfortable with the Second Level. The Third Level, however, is scary. Many might even suggest off-putting or ridiculous, and, without a doubt, it is controversial. Fair enough. If readers want to ignore the Third Level, that is fine, but it does not discredit the first two. Having said that, I will explore all three in the podcast.