Discussion Post
For our class discussion, first discuss your thoughts on the sonnets in general; which specific one you liked most, and why; and/or a certain line or lines that stood out for you. Then, address any one of the following points.
1. In Sonnet 1, the speaker argues that the only way for the young man to defy the ravaging power of time is to reproduce, but in later sonnets, he seems to think that the permanence of his poetry will preserve the young man's beauty for all time. Why is the speaker so concerned with the ravages of time? How do the sonnets portray time? How can they claim to defy it?
2. What question does the poetic speaker ask himself in the opening lines of sonnet 18? What are some of the problems with a summer's day that the poet discusses in the first eight lines? What does the poet mean when he says, "But thy eternal summer shall not fade"?
3. Sonnets 18, 29 and 116 are part of the 'Fair Lord' sequence. What sorts of similarities between them do you find (in images, ideas, tone/mood)? What sorts of differences?
4. Does Sonnet 130 strike you as a traditional "love" poem? Why or why not?
5. In these collected sonnets, what views does Shakespeare express regarding the nature of true love- and the miseries of misguided love? In a larger sense, how do these poems represent Renaissance literature?