SONNETCAST – William Shakespeare's Sonnets Recited, Revealed, Relived

Apr 14 2024 1

SONNETCAST – William Shakespeare's Sonnets Recited, Revealed, Relived Podcast artwork

Sebastian Michael, author of The Sonneteer and several other plays and books, looks at each of William Shakespeare's 154 Sonnets in the originally published sequence, giving detailed explanations and looking out for what the words themselves tell us about the great poet and playwright, about the Fair Youth and the Dark Lady, and about their complex and fascinating relationships. Podcast transcripts, the sonnets, contact details and full info at https://www.sonnetcast.com

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Sonnet 80: O How I Faint When I of You Do Write

Apr 14 2024 28 mins

With his amazingly brazen Sonnet 80, William Shakespeare metaphorically pushes the boat out in more sense than one and comes close to mocking not only his rival, but also – albeit gently – his young lover whom he insinuates being drawn to this other writer not only by his compelling poetry but by a prowess of an altogether more physical nature too. The poem, for all its theatri

Sonnet 79: Whilst I Alone Did Call Upon Thy Aid

Apr 07 2024 29 mins

With Sonnet 79, William Shakespeare continues his lament, begun with Sonnet 78, that he no longer enjoys the exclusive privilege of writing poetry to and for his young lover, constructing an – objectively speaking fairly tenuous – argument why the young man should not be overly grateful to this Rival Poet for his efforts. With a transactional tone taking over the second half o

Sonnet 78: So Oft Have I Invoked Thee for My Muse

Mar 31 2024 28 mins

Sonnet 78 is the first in a group of nine sonnets that concern themselves almost entirely with the apparent arrival on the scene of someone else who is now writing poetry for Shakespeare's young lover, vying for his attention and possibly obtaining his patronage, which is why these poems are collectively known as the Rival Poet Sonnets. Strictly speaking, Sonnet 81 does not me

The Halfway Point Summary

Mar 24 2024 45 mins

This special episode summarises what we have learnt so far from the first 77 sonnets by William Shakespeare. It recaps the principal pointers that allow us to put together a profile of the young man they were written for or about and outlines the phases of his relationship with our poet, and it also dismantles some of the misconceptions that are sometimes put forward when discussin

Sonnet 77: Thy Glass Will Show Thee How Thy Beauties Wear

Mar 17 2024 26 mins

The curiously didactic Sonnet 77 marks the halfway point of the collection of 154 sonnets contained in the 1609 Quarto Edition and it stands out for several reasons. What most immediately catches the eye is that it seems to be written into or so as to accompany a book of empty pages for its recipient to collect their thoughts and notes in a book of commonplaces, as would have been

Sonnet 76: Why Is My Verse so Barren of New Pride

Mar 10 2024 23 mins

The deceptively unsensational Sonnet 76 asks a simple question and provides to this a straightforward enough answer that will hardly come as a surprise: how is it that I write one sonnet after another and they all sound the same? Because "I always write of you." With this one declaration it settles a debate that – in view of its very existence bafflingly – has more r

Sonnet 75: So Are You to My Thoughts as Food to Life

Mar 03 2024 20 mins

Sonnet 75 marks a moment of comparative calm in the turbulent relationship between William Shakespeare and his young lover. With its sober assessment of a continuously conflicted world of emotions that oscillate between abundant joy at being allowed to bask in the presence of the young man and utter dejection at missing him when he is absent, the sonnet seems to reconcile its poet

Sonnet 74: But Be Contented When That Fell Arrest

Feb 25 2024 27 mins

Sonnet 74 continues the argument from Sonnet 73, and now reflects on what will happen when I, the poet, William Shakespeare, am dead. My body will be buried and return to earth, but my spirit will live on in this poetry that I write for you, the young man, which is why the loss you experience at my death will be insignificant: it only entails my passing physical presence, not my es

Sonnet 73: That Time of Year Thou Mayst in Me Behold

Feb 18 2024 23 mins

Sonnet 73 is the first in a second pair of poems to meditate on the poet's age and mortality and to reflect on the point of his very existence. But while Sonnets 71 & 72 focus on Shakespeare's reputation, which he perceives as poor and which he fears might also tarnish the young man were he to show his love and mourning for Shakespeare after his death, Sonnet 73 concent

Sonnet 72: O Lest the World Should Task You to Recite

Feb 11 2024 25 mins

Sonnet 72 picks up on Sonnet 71 and explains why the supposedly 'wise' world would look down on the young man for having loved or for still loving Shakespeare after his death and why he should therefore forget him and allow the poet's name to pass into oblivion, along with his decomposing body in the grave. The sonnet reinforces and intensifies the sense that Shakespear